Day-long Tour 16: Haarlem and Leiden
Libraries: De Bibliotheek Zuid-Kennemerland, Leiden University Libraries (UBL), African Studies Centre Leiden (ASCL)
Type of Library: academic, public
Total Distance Return Trip: 300 km
Meeting Point: Ahoy Rotterdam
Price per Person: € 25
De Bibliotheek Zuid-Kennemerland is the public library in five municipalities with 9 locations: Bloemendaal, Haarlem, Heemstede, Hillegom and Zandvoort. The mission of our library is to be an accessible place for inspiration, development and encounters. We want to contribute to the possibilities of the inhabitants to participate in society. All locations have their own local identity, look and feel.
More and more people know where to find the library in Zuid-Kennemerland. Of course to borrow books, but also to quietly read a newspaper, study, participate in an activity or to meet each other. De Bibliotheek Zuid-Kennemerland is changing, our place in society plays an increasingly important role in this. We are the living room of society where everyone is welcome and where you can ‘be yourself, together’. We also are a place where you can find answers to your questions and where you can develop yourself.
The library Haarlem Schalkwijk is located outside the center and you will find there a another vibe. We started in 2020 the “Meemaakpodium”. This is a place where local communities meet and organize all kinds of activities. For example Berber New Year, hiphop-lessons, making podcasts and creative activities for children. It’s a place where you can experience, participate and think along. What’s very important for this development is the change of acting that it causes in the total organisation of the library. Everyone is working with this new concept: our colleagues in the library itself, colleagues from facility, communications, finance etc. How are we achieving this organisation-innovation in our libraries? The next two years we want to develop the “Meemaakpodium” in eight other libraries in our region. We made a short movie about the results of the “Meemaakpodium” in Schalkwijk of the last two years. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVs7B-o6TEM&ab_channel=deBibliotheekZuid-Kennemerland