A library in a church, a slide, a robot and even young people in the library! Some 20 participants from the German library sector are amazed as they are guided by ekz-benelux director Marc de Lange through 9 special, future-oriented libraries in the Netherlands.
The study trip is organized by BI-International and the Goethe-Institut eV. Among the libraries visited are Rozet in Arnhem, the former Sint-Pieterskerk in Vught and LocHal in Tilburg. De Lange is happy to participate in this journey, because ekz-benelux attaches great value to innovating together. De Lange: “without innovation we stand still.”
Bibliotheek Rozet
During the trip, which takes 4 days, not only the libraries are visited, but also city walks are made and delicious meals are enjoyed. For this, the group does not have to look far at the first stop in Arnhem, because the Momento restaurant is located – just like the library – in the Rozet cultural center. And that is not the first thing that surprises the group.
Hanna Fisher (social media and online editor for the Munich city library) writes in a blog about her visit to the Dutch libraries: “Into the building with roller skates? Of course, no problem. Slide in the children’s area? Of course why not? Eating in the library? Not only that, thanks to the open space concept you can move freely between café, restaurant and library.”
In the former Petruskerk in Vught, which has been transformed into a multifunctional cultural centre, the Germans notice that the classical building is in harmony with the modern elements. The main hall of the former church not only houses the library, but also an exhibition space, a shop and a café.
LocHal in Tilburg
While the group is driven from A to B by bus, Rob Bruijnzeels (Ministry of Imagination, a design collective of architects and librarians) explains more about the Dutch library system. A practical interpretation of time, that warms our neighbors.
In the LocHal in Tilburg, the size of the hall is particularly striking. It is a bit on the large side, because they used to be busy here with locomotives, but now this hall is – to use the words of the blog writer: “a giant adventure playground for librarians and library users.”
Thanks to Hanna Fisher for the nice report and photos
That the 4-day tour of the Dutch libraries made an impression is evident from the report and the quotes from the participants that can be read in Hanna’s blog.
Would you like to know more about how the Germans think about our Dutch libraries?
Read the entire (German) blog (with many more beautiful photos!) by Hanna Fisher here. (Dutch translation via google translate here)
