An international library experience 2017: Part 2

Editor's Notes

1. There were 16 Australian and New Zealand Library Industry professionals on the tour which only added to the professional learning that occurred as we were able to discuss and debate the Library Services and buildings that we visited.
2. There were 16 Australian and New Zealand Library Industry professionals on the tour which only added to the professional learning that occurred as we were able to discuss and debate the Library Services and buildings that we visited. We travelled by train throughout Germany and Denmark so a lot of the time was spent on travel but we did find time to do a City tour and see a host of Cathedrals and some lovely Art Galleries and for me a highlight was seeing a Salvador Dali, Picasso and Miro artwork.
3. Dokk1 Aarhus Opened in 2015 18,000 square metres Library space 11,000 square metres of rental space Built higher than the river to protect from floods and flood prevention treatment included an $8million kroner pump Planning started in 1998 so it was a challenge to keep up the momentum Light rail will open in September with a stop directly under the library Library was an anchor to pull people into the harbour district and is part of a larger harbour redevelopment project for the City. The library is to be a place for 30 years so designed it for human needs not a building for books.
4. The Library team asked themselves which societal problems in society is the library the answer to. For the Aarhus Library team that includes Democracy; Education; Culture. They reinvented the library with new ways to be a library professional, new products, new alliances and looking for new ways of funding. They also wanted the physical library to be an experience – one you can only have in the building.
5. Their Aim was for an open and transparent design with 360 degree views within the library. Key aims: Space for human development and interaction with a Special focus on children and families. They wanted a flexible and programmable building that Promotes experience, learning, innovation, perception, contemplation and inspiration. They wanted a library for humans not for books
6. Partnerships as a way of working – not considered extra but considered essential. Want these to happen with minimum bureaucracy as these partnerships activate the space. 42 events in the past week through partners. Mapped out who would be an interesting partner then went to the CEOs and had a chat. There are multiple levels for partnerships: Director Level, Team Level, Operational Level – very simple agreements and it was very important for staff to have the openness to generate and decide on these partnerships to get this off the ground.
7. Key planning learnings: make building decisions at the last responsible minute, leave spaces empty so that you can experiment; significant increase in space with no extra staff; Can operate the library with only 5 staff on the floor. Every sign that is not a permanent sign is digital – as this requires less staff interaction. They have already moved the front counters as they were not quite in the right place after 12 months.
8. Staff competencies in the new normal is as a Teacher / tutor; a facilitator; Project Lead; Developer: with a service mindset.
9. No defined maker space as it pops up in a different space around the building. Also did not have a youth space as all youth were able to go anywhere depending on what experience they are after. Really wanted to create a sense that Young people were welcome and did not have to confine them to a space. The spaces were designed around expected behaviours and this is what drives the experience.
10. There was a real reaching out to the community to let them decide on projects, what the project budget should be spent on and this took a lot of time. The City Council had 800 dinner parties to develop how citizens want to be involved and how can citizens hold the power – everyone is encouraged to be involved. Activism as citizen engagement for an involved democracy rather than a representative democracy.
11. Again, there is a blending of showcasing the digital content and the physical content.
12. Cafe
13. Outdoor play areas – again that real focus on a place where families can come and stay – lots of different experiences
14. Recyclable bins and magazine shelving on wheels. That functional ability to move experiences translated to the facilities like bins and functional equipment like shelving.
15. Different outdoor play spaces
16. Instead of smart boards they used these cardboard boards that stand up – staff areas designed to support iterative ideas building. There is no end point to the human centred design process. They are continually in Beta, and evolving.
17. Venue spaces are free for not for profit and community – all with high tech but ease of use so no staff required with the venue hire Music chairs – each seat has a different sound and the action of sitting creates music. Sitting together creates a band.
18. Really testing ideas – if the community wanted a workshop area in the library do not overthink it – prototype with a simple table and chairs and write and observe how people use it. The gong – where you start your life and where you become a citizen. The gong is connected to the Maternity ward at the local hospital. When a child is born the mother is given the option of pressing the button and the gong sounds in the library.
19. What has surprised staff is : the way that the citizens themselves rearrange the spaces and the furniture The sheer number of students and people who come to the library They had to rearrange the foyer to allow for the amount of people who congregated there.
20. Innovative projects can be pitched with a 5 line idea: If chosen the staff member is given 2 weeks away from their day job to write up the project fully and given access to project manager, finance staff so that this development can be realised. Grant applications are then done. Another idea was a Grow your Library – from the most pressing need that came from young people – wanted to learn about climate change; how to act and the library wanted an optimistic future – giving hope. So they loaned out a piece of land so they could learn by doing – young people plant, compost, have a beehive. Staff skills development: self awareness – what skills am I strong in / what am I weak in / what am I afraid of Used more visual outputs – use drawings rather than reports / this is to lower the barrier for staff participation / have stand up meetings / planning sprints to become comfortable to always be in beta. The idea is not to be perfect. Working hard with staff to build empathy : take the time to listen and not do.
21. Always in beta with community designing the future library
22. Focus on children and families with a lot of space devoted to different experiences for families Norma the robot listens to children read and they have had a lot of success with this project. They do use Norma in many different ways though.
23. Successful weekend festival – totally run in partnership
24. Project in partnership with the Aarhus University: Placed – really working to explore the digital experience interaction within the physical library.
25. Art installation in the parking lot – gorgeous upside down cityscape.
26. German Public Library of the Year 2016 11 Branches, 1 Mobile, 2 Community Libraries Central Library opened in 1979 1.5 million population Now planning a renovation to make the building fit for the future
27. Key change in behaviour is that people want to spend more time in the library. Most visited cultural institution in Cologne with 3.2 million visits across all branches Partnering is very important and a successful way to make the library fit for the future Mission: A space for inspiration, learning, meeting and performance and all their strategies were equal: Leisure time; Creation; Exploration
28. Music library
29. Included the crocodile as it made me think of Queensland They are looking at the top Technological trends driving change, Media Trends and Playful Learning trends – Augmented reality and reading to plan the refurbishment and looking at the Danish models of engagement
30. Children’s area was a whole floor of the library and the focus was on recreation, learning and reading Role change for the staff has been that they are pivoting to working with people rather than books and for the collection management have really used the RFID to maximum effect.
31. Another driver for Cologne and again why they were German Public Library of the Year is the real push to move from consumer of content to supporting and driving staff to be a creator of content. The Director could not be there on our visit so her and her staff created a video presentation to be delivered. They were the first organisation to have 3D printers in Cologne and they got a lot of media attention.
32. The working motto for this library service is “Change is nothing exceptional but the normal state of things” All staff know how to work with the new tech and understand what the new tech is. They project plan with the idea to start small – do not overplan it or overthink it – the idea is to start it. Want quick wins to learn from the project – learn from our customers and learn to live with your mistakes. They are very proud of their aim for innovation: when others begin to plan they have already made their first mistakes
33. With Nao robot they had to translate all the programming into German so that Nao could respond to the German language. They operate with cross functional teams based on interest. Gaming Team (Cologne has a massive Game Fair & promoting gamers as producers ) \ VR Team \ Robotics Team \ Geeks Team \ Google Expeditions team – these are mostly operated online via email and meet irregularly. Their maker space – they use junior experts – and these are students / volunteers from High Schools – they have a broad view of making – not just tech. Virtual Reality Day / Mini Maker Faire \ Maker kids / Bec-Bots are for the 5 year olds & lead to coding classes for older children Learning workshops in Spring and Fall – Spring Digital Workshops for beginners / Fall Communications Services and Hardware – series of 20 workshops – social media / how to set up a website/ online calendars / devices ipad & smartphone etc.
34. Hold a special Heinrich Böll Archive was set up in the Cologne Library to house his personal papers, bought from his family, but much of the material was damaged, possibly irreparably, when the building collapsed in March 2009.[21] His cottage in Ireland has been used as a residency for writers since 1992.
35. Opened in 2011 6.5 million issues per year – 190FTE (340 staff) – 17 branches + 2 mobiles 70 FTE staff at the main branch – 9am – 9pm 6 days per week Have a morning crew (includes facility / tech staff for the building) Part of the Stuttgart 2021 planning as an anchor community facility. This planning started in 1997. Library is part of the inner circle of the development with the new main station to be positioned 700 metres away In winter there average Saturday visitation is 7000 Had to learn they were also a tourist spot and developed postcards and a booklet about the building and architect Outer façade is is only for decoration and people can go outside behind the façade.
36. There is nowhere where you can take a bad photo in this library. It was truly beautiful. Concept of the building is that you need to leave your daily distractions behind to let your ideas and inspiration grow. So you cannot see into the building but it still has a lot of natural light. People are amazed when they walk in – there is a beautiful white empty 4 story room that you enter that is also meant to inspire you. It is actually decorated by the security guard though so not sure about that intent. 20,000 sq metres all up with 16,000 square metres for public space 4 equal entrances and 9 levels All levels are arranged in concentric rings with an inner and outer section for each floor. The heart is a big cube – an art piece on its own
37. Shelving was created for the library. All formats in the library has a player so that you can use in the library. Café is a social enterprise with business training people with a disabilty as cafe staff. 300 computers throughout the building – must have a library card to use and for the wifi They used color to designate floors and the childrens floor is green – childrens library has books in 30 languages Quality art collection – they buy up local artists at the start of their career – 8 week loans Maintenance is a real issue in this library and after 5 years they had to replace the furniture to keep it looking clean.
38. They have an eGallery for digital arts – to differentiate from other galleries and you actually see the digital art being created as part of the exhibition. This is not available online and can only be seen in the building. They used tech a lot with a returns room robotics that is vertical sorter and this 24 hour smart wall that checks out your books in the foyer as a library for the sleepless. Not sure about this one.
39. Storyhouse
40. Manchester City Library
41. Manchester City Library had really innovative curation techniques to connect users to the collection.