Roskilde libRaRies

”Roskilde Libraries provide a lively meeting place for the whole community. They are the key portal for new experiences, learning, knowledge and encounters across generational barriers and social backgrounds.” This is the vision of Roskilde city council – and the reality that welcomes 11,000 weekly users to the libraries.

The municipality of Roskilde has a multitude of local clubs and socie-ties and many active cultural institutions. Together with residents and politic ians, these organisations have created a strong tradition for music and culture. Roskilde Libraries play a central role in the cultural life of the municipality as the preferred cultural institution of its residents.

In Roskilde, the aim is for citizens to be able to function in an increa-singly digitized world where many services are provided online. The library is the primary source of information, digital and otherwise – and will continue to be so. The library helps strengthen citizens’ digital skills so that they can make the best use of opportunities for digital information and communication. Innovation is the key to offering ser-vices that meet the needs of Roskilde’s citizens.

Partnerships are essential for realizing these visions. Roskilde Libraries work closely with key people in the cultural and knowledge sectors – locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.

Joy Mogensen, Mayor of Roskilde

The LIbRaRy – AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THE LOCAL COMMUNITY

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Roskilde Libraries focus on strategic develop-ment within four areas: the music, the digital, the dynamic library, and the library as a meet-ing place. please refer to the organisational diagram for Roskilde libraries.

denMaRk…a Scandinavian country in northern europe with a population of approximately 5.5 million.

Roskilde…a municipality with a population of 83,000.…a historic town dating from the Viking age known for its many cultu-ral highlights including its gothic cathedral, Viking Ship Museum and the Roskilde Festival, the world-renowned annual rock music festival. … located 30 kilometres from the capital city of copenhagen.

Roskilde libRaRies…six local branches and a mobile library spread throughout the region, covering urban, rural and university districts.… a central library for the Zealand region and the island of bornholm. Roskilde Libraries cooperate closely with 18 libraries in Region Zealand and have a series of obligations to these libraries, providing materials and advice, sharing experiences and training staff.

WhaT IS…?

the main library is in the centre of Roskilde near the main shopping street, the town parks and Roskilde harbour.>>

DEnMARK

FacTS anD FIgUReS

The 115 employees of Roskilde Libraries are divided into four main departments (Research & Development, administration, Service and Flow) and three interdisciplinary development teams to ensure that the strategic aims are fi rmly embedded in the day-to-day work.

ORganISaTIOn

ReseaRcH & deVelopMenT

adMinisTRaTion seRVice

MainlibRaRy

localbRancHes

THe diGiTal libRaRy

libRaRy diRecToR

THe MUsic libRaRy

THe libRaRy as a MeeTinG place

FloW

HoW aRe We Financed?every year Roskilde libraries receive € 6.9 million from local govern-ment, 1.1 € million from national government and between € 130.000 and € 200.000 in external funding for projects.

do UseRs HaVe To pay?all danish public libraries are municipal institutions run in accor-dance with the danish act on library services. The law governs public libraries nationwide and ensures a consistent level of service. citizens can use any library they wish free of charge.

HoW Many VisiToRs?every year 600,000 people visit Roskilde libraries. The average Roskilde citizen visits a local library more than 7 times a year and borrows on average more than 18 items a year.

and THe sTock?Roskilde libraries have a collection of more than 731,000 items. More than 1 million items are circulated annually – more than half of these are books, but music, audio books, fi lms and computer games are also popular.

HoW aRe We oRGaniZed?day-to-day management focuses on development and on the con-tinuous enhancement of staff skills. innovation is the byword for all initiatives.

Roskilde Libraries serve a municipality with proud music traditions and a natural focus on musical activities. or rather, on the fi ne arts because we see the library as related to all the arts. Every visit should hold the promise of an experience in literature, the visual arts, fi lm, theatre – and of course music.

One of Roskilde’s big international fl agships is the Roskilde Festival, a four-day rock festival that attracts 130,000 people every year. For several years Roskilde Libraries have been involved with the festival, the last few years with an ambitious initiative at the festival site itself: the Poetry hall.

MUsiconThe municipality also has grand plans for a new neighbourhood, Musicon, featuring a live music environment in the city.

Many cultural players in and outside Roskilde are involved in develop-ing the new neighbourhood – one being Roskilde Libraries.

The MUSIc LIbRaRy

Every year Roskilde libraries arrange around 170 events, children’s theatre activities, concerts, lectures and more. in addition, the libraries or-ganize about 70 exhibitions, most displaying the works of local artists.

the Poetry Hall offers Roskilde Festival guests a quiet space for contempla-tion – a place to take a break from rock’n’roll and enjoy digital literary installations, talks by authors, coffee and books. every year the poetry Hall attracts around 10,000 visitors during the four-day festival.

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ROcKbIbIn 2010 Roskilde Libraries entered into an innovative collabora-tion with Roskilde Museum to develop and run a library to be situated at the Danish Rock Museum in the Musicon neighbour-hood.

even before the Danish Rock Museum is completed, it has been opened to the public via a dedicated room at Roskilde Library, which, as well as lending out cDs and other materials also hosts concerts and other activities. The collaboration strengthens the Roskilde Libraries’ twofold ambition to provide a space for expe-rience and a space for learning where people can explore on their own and constantly discover sources of inspiration and surprises.

Once the Danish Rock Museum is completed in 2014, the music library will become an integral part.

the future danish Rock Museum is inspired by seattle’s ”experience the Music project”. photo: MVRdV og cobe architects.>>

Want to know more about Musicon?

Roskilde Libraries offer musical activities and knowledge in all genres and in multiple shapes and forms, including free download of music from the national portal www.bibzoom.dk.

Roskilde Libraries pride themselves on providing traditional li b rary services with a large stock of materials and good ser-vice. At the same time ”life between shelves” is also in focus.

People meet in groups, with friends, for events or to seek in-spiration. Some come to read the daily paper – either the print edition or through one of the many digital resources on-line. Despite all the digital services available, local people still love to spend time at Roskilde Libraries.

open-access libRaRyIn the small town of Ågerup near Roskilde, the idea of the library as a community space has been taken one step further – Ågerup Library has become an open-access library.

Many senior citizens now meet in the morning at the self-service machine or the sofa. Library users without internet access at home use the library’s internet and wi-fi daily, and families with young children are happy to be able to visit the library at their convenience, instead of during the hectic hour between daycare centre or school and home.

The LIbRaRy aS a MeeTIng PLace

People gather for events at Roskilde libraries, in groups big and small, or, as here, on their own for some quiet time.>>

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an id card is all local residents need to access the knowledge and activities offered by Ågerup library. since the launching of the open-access scheme, opening hours have increased by 500% and the number of visitors by around 30%.

The slogan ”Share your passion – you’ve got the activity, we’ve got the space” points up Ågerup Library as a local community space that encourages active participation. Local volunteers arrange talks on anything from hypnosis and knitting to travel tips and e-book readers.

The library has become a popular meeting place for groups and socie ties that use its premises as a community centre. here volun-teers can assume ownership of activities and plan for the future.

THe libRaRy oUTside THe libRaRyIn addition to the materials available at the library, Roskilde Li-braries also provide a service for those who cannot visit the library in person. If age, illness or disability prevents people from getting to the library, Roskilde Libraries offer to bring materials to them in their homes – free of charge.

every week Roskilde Libraries bring out materials to more than 100 individuals, 100 child-care facilities, a prison, a hospital and eight care homes for adults.

Roskilde Library houses Roskilde’s local his-torical archive, which contains materials and historical records chronicling 300 years of local his tory. archive staff are on hand to help citizens fi nd information about build-ings, companies, people and events in books, church registries, association archives, census records as well as photos, tapes and fi lm.

In the small town of Ågerup the residents use the library as a community centre. these women are united by a shared passion: knitting!>>

ShaRe yOUR PaSSIOn

The LIbRaRy aS a DIgITaL ReSOURce

Roskilde Libraries are at the forefront of digital development, providing services for citizens with advanced digital skills as well as those who need help to get started and keep up to date.

The need for digital skills is booming. Public and private organisa-tions alike are increasingly replacing personal service with on-line self-service. Digital skills are now a requirement for full participa-tion in Danish society.

In 2011 Roskilde Libraries entered into an agreement with Roskilde city’s Department for Digitalisation and Service. The agreement giv es Roskilde Libraries special responsibility for supporting and help ing the citizens of Roskilde to use digital solu tions. Roskilde Libraries maintain a strong focus on advice and learning, both in the shape of informed guidance and as orga nized IT courses for library users.

Computers are freely available and staff on hand to help people get started or take the next step. Roskilde library provides an digital lear ning centre – open throughout the library’s regular opening hours – where people can get digital help from specially trained iT staff.

Children and teens view iT as a natural part of their daily lives. libraries must constantly keep abreast of development: What will be the next big thing? >>

aGeFoRce.dkIntroducing social networks such as Facebook and Twitter is one of the successes enjoyed by Roskilde Libraries. however, Roskilde Libraries have also developed a new social network for users: age-force.dk, for 50+ citizens who want to meet on- and off-line. Un-like most other large social networks, ageforce is free of charge and free of commercial interests. It has simply struck a vein of popular interest.

ageforce.dk provides a forum for active communities and their common interests. This platform allows people to blog and to create and organize their own interest groups. They can exchange opinions, knowledge and thoughts on anything from photography and literature to knitting and cooking. and they can help each other. as well as using the platform as a virtual meeting place, many of the network members also get together in real life. ageforce.dk gives users a good oppor-tunity to hone their digital skills as well.

liTeRaTURe TakinG placeThe two-year project ”Literature Taking Place” focuses on litera-ture found outside the printed book medium. The project also explores how libraries can continue to offer literature when it breaks out of the printed book form and instead ”happens” as live performance, digital interaction, on the web, on mobile pho-nes and the like.

Roskilde Libraries annually arrange 100 free iT courses with around 900 participating citizens. The courses are planned every six months to keep up with recent digital devel-opment and trends in society in general.

AgeForce.dk started as a local network between Roskilde libraries and a group of highlycommitted local people. Today the network boasts more than 7,800 users all over denmark.

The network is still maintained by users and is a successful example of user-driven innovation.>>

The DynaMIc LIbRaRyInnovation and partnerships are an integral part of the day-to-day work of Roskilde Libraries. And it is here, in the constant interchange between local users and the rest of the world, that we fi nd the library’s future as a dynamic space.

Like the rest of society, libraries are under pressure and need to develop and redefi ne themselves. Partnerships and collabora-tion are two ways of securing and increasing libraries’ infl uence on society. although many libraries already work with external partners, few have a strategic and professional approach to part-nerships to rival Roskilde Libraries.

oUTside THe boXThe project ”Outside the box” is a collaboration between citi-zens’ Services and aarhus Public Libraries, Roskilde University and Roskilde Libraries with the aim of collecting and incorporating knowledge of partnership work and collaborative innovation. The project has focused on how libraries can professionalize their ex-ternal collaboration in order to profi le and transform their role in city culture.

Roskilde Libraries participate in the ”europeana” project – a professional knowledge-sharing plat-form for facilitating the exchange of information and knowledge about the digitization of cultural heritage. Roskilde Libraries frequently welcomes guests

from abroad. among the countries interested in library development in Roskilde are china, austria, Hungary, Romania, belgium, norway, england, italy, spain and Greece.

Discover”The Cultural Trail”

The MuseuM of ConTeMporary

roskilde CaThedral

The palaCe Wing

roskilde MuseuM

roskilde priory roskilde libraries

EDItInGDorrit birklund and Pernille carneiro Juel

ARtICLESPernille carneiro Juel

PHoto CREDItSPeter høybye (p. 1, 9), Jessica D. bicking (p. 13, 17, 20),Pernille carneiro Juel (p. 14)niels Lund Pedersen (p. 4)naSa (p. 4)

EnGLISH tRAnSLAtIon Lise Kok Petersen and Kirsten Lytsen

RoSKILDE LIBRARIES, September 2012

LAYoUt: grønagers graphic Productionwww.ggp.dk

URBAN PLANNINGAs an active participant in developing, for example, the strategy for a dynamic city centre Roskilde Libraries also play a part in the urban planning of the municipality of Roskilde. With its extended opening hours and external activities, the library helps make the city centre attractive as a backdrop to everyday life as well as a venue for major cultural events.

The library is involved with coordinating and developing activities for ”The Cultural Trail”, which runs along an axis of cultural and historical institutions such as the Roskilde Cathedral, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Roskilde Museum and the Roskilde Convent.

BETTER TOGETHERInternational partnerships are also in focus at Roskilde Libraries. Roskilde Libraries have taken part in European projects about life-long learning, local and regional cultural heritage and digitization, on several occasions as part of the Grundtvig programme mana-ged by the Danish Council for Internationalisation.

Having doubts about the importance of partner-ships as a driver of the future of libraries?

Watch the fi lm ”better Together – the potentials of partnerships!”

In connection with the project ”outside the box”, relations with libraries and cultural in-stitutions in chicago and san Francisco have been forged. The ‘literature Taking place’ pro-ject has been presented at conferences in new york and Helsinki. Modern libraries develop across cultural and geographical divides.

ContACtDronning Margrethes Vej 14 | Postboks 229 | 4000 Roskilde | Denmark

adm@roskildebib.dk | + 45 46 31 50 00 | www.roskildebib.dkWebsite for

Roskilde libraries