Over the month of June, our project partner Public Libraries 2030 hosted a series of “Lighthouse Sessions”, in partnership with Tortoise Media and with the support of the European Cultural Foundation, exploring topics concerning the impact and implications of the coronavirus for the library sector. Our “Lighthouse Libraries” network was invited to take part in these exclusive sessions and discuss a variety of subjects. Each of our sessions had a carefully selected theme reflecting the realities of the library sector.
We tackled the following in our sessions:
- How can the new digital space complement the physical spaces of libraries?
- How can libraries become hubs for democracy?
- How can libraries communicate their value in the new world?
Through each of these sessions, a speaker presented their vision on the topic and the floor was opened up to discussion between the participants giving us wonderful insights!
During the first session on digital spaces and libraries, Tony Ageh emphasised the importance of selecting digital tools that are clean and ensure transparency so that the sanctity of a library is not sacrificed when using new tools. Bruno Eiras questioned during the second session on democratic infrastructure in libraries if library professionals were ready to take on more responsibility regarding democracy and civic participation. In our final session, Maria Stella Rasetti touched on how libraries can be part of the solution during the recovery from the corona crisis especially in supporting those who may have lost their jobs or their companies.
Over the course of these sessions, our “Lighthouse Libraries” network highlighted how they saw opportunities for service development and community outreach as part of the lockdown recovery process. These “Lighthouse Sessions” proved to be enlightening for us and a strong jumping off point in understanding the changes that could occur in librarianship following the lockdown.
If you would like to watch the sessions, the recordings from the sessions are available on the PL2030 website or right here:
