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Conference to mark the 50th anniversary of the Central Library of the European Commission
Brussels, 2 December 2008
Libraries, creativity and innovation
Maruja Gutiérrez Díaz
Head of Unit Creativity and Innovation
DG Education and Culture
A personal reflection on libraries
• Libraries of my life• Libraries and internet• Libraries and education • Libraries, creativity and innovation• Challenges for libraries: going digital• Challenges for libraries: lifelong learning• Some other challenges
Libraries, a lifelong love story
• I was four when my parents taught me to read because books were good friends for life
• A passion for reading was difficult to sustain in poor times, in a city without libraries
• So, my discovery of libraries was the beginning of a lifelong love story
• I keep fond memories of libraries. Four in particular have taught me a lot of all I know.
Some important things libraries taught me/1
• School of Architecture, Madrid– Access to world-class knowledge, – Access to unaffordable books– The quality and special beauty of technical books
• University of Edinburgh– Libraries as a part of university studies: live learning
lists, support to students, support to research– Libraries as a profession: interlibrary loans, keywords– Libraries as friendly and social learning spaces
Some important things libraries taught me/2
• CIDAMM (Regional Centre for Information and Documentation, Madrid)– Libraries as public information services: openness– Libraries as tools for making unpublished public sector
information available to citizens: accountability– Libraries as multimedia repositories: maps, books,
studies, audio-visual material, planning archives– Libraries as cooperation between public administration
and universities– Libraries as tools for modernisation of public services
Some important things libraries taught me/3
• Central Library, European Commission– Libraries as multilingual and multicultural services– Libraries as multifarious repositories – readers may be
as interested in the Treaties as in past organigrammes– Libraries as key access point to published and
unpublished information: accountability and openness– Libraries as support to officials for better work quality– Library networks: the importance of sharing and
collaboration (Reseaubib, Eurolib)– Libraries require hard and motivated work
Libraries and Internet
I left the Central Library to become a member of the [very] small team launching the europa server
My work with internet made soon clear that- The best metaphor for internet is that of a huge, wild, splendid library
- Libraries are natural nodes in the new digital infrastructure- Libraries are natural PIAP (Public Internet Access Points). Conversely, PIAPs are natural digital libraries- Libraries and Internet hold a huge mutual potential which needs to be developed
Libraries and education
• Libraries are fundamental education tools– Supporting teachers and learners in their personal work– Teaching information skills, the best basis for digital skills– Developing an interested, curious, and positive but also
a selective and critical attitude to information. – Facilitating social inclusion, providing multilingual and
multicultural support to users– Supporting both traditional and digital learning
• Librarians are fundamental education agents
Libraries, creativity and innovation/1
• Innovation hinges in efficient transfer of knowledge • Libraries are efficient knowledge transfer services• Innovation requires a wide range of knowledge
(patents, photos, recordings, books…) on a wide range of subjects (science, arts, design…) with a wide range of approaches
• Libraries are one of the most powerful knowledge management systems existing
Libraries, creativity and innovation/2
• Creativity is better served and grown than taught• Creativity requires familiarity and manipulation of
past and present knowledge, traditions, skills, trades; it requires diversity and multiculturalism; it requires above all support and some guidance
• Libraries are a precious resource for creative people and for their teachers, parents and tutors
• Libraries can be geared to become an essential piece of the new creativity and innovation policy
Challenges for libraries: going digital
• Huge cultural transformation: from the library as a building to the library as a concept
• Many models are possible (from europeana to google); the challenge deserves strong public support
• Access to knowledge as a public service can reach unprecedented levels in the digital world
• There is also a need to design and test new “business models”, for private and public services; IPR issues
• New and transformed roles for librarians: carrying library skills (searching, referential, monitoring) into the digital context
Challenges for libraries: lifelong learning
• Any true lifelong learning policy needs a strong learning support infrastructure, necessarily including libraries
• Libraries should be friendly learning spaces, providing access and guidance, reaching out to new users and to users more in need of support
• Libraries are not only for utilitarian learning. They have a crucial role in providing access to cultural heritage.
• In a context of growing diversity, this role is essential • Libraries are a bridge from traditional to digital learning
resources. • Libraries are a much needed support for informal learning
Some other challenges
• At Commission level– Keeping up the libraries programme – Supporting europeana– Supporting the Central Library as a role model
• At DG EAC level– Developing a library reflection also for education
– Exploiting better the Central Library for information • European Year of Creativity and Innovation
– A good opportunity for mutual support
