Germany's Open Air Library - A model for the future?

Made out of beer cans, open 24 hours, integrated with a reading cafe and open air stage, no library card required, books taken and returned on the honor system...this article from Fast Company describes the new library in Magdeburg, Germany.  A somewhat more detailed description can be found in this article.

Community generated and operated, it offers a low-cost model of what many of us believe the 21st century library is about - open access, a focus on books and reading, community engagement, and a gathering space.

Reading between the lines it also seems to be missing many of the things we librarians hold dear -professional collection development, a catalog, a website, reference services, library cards and circulation systems...

It is also not clear what, if any, involvement there has been by professional librarians. 

It's a fascinating model of what a community library could be...exciting and energizing, but also a bit scary!

I'd love to know what you think.

Comments

[Jim]

One of the articles mentions that a village/district library previously existed on the site (although I may be mistaken about that, as the article is rather vaguely written in parts); if so, too bad we don’t know what lead to the former library being shut (torn?) down, how long it’s been gone, why a traditional library didn’t replace the former building, etc. The article does not mention any involvement by an “official” governmental library jurisdiction in the development of the pop-up library, although the funding does appear to come from governmental (federal) sources. As near as I can tell, the City of Magdeburg Public Library web page does not make any mention of an open-air branch. Again, it would have been nice to know why the pop-up apparently has no relationship to the local library district.

That said, one can’t help but be impressed with the initiative behind making this library (which I think is extremely cool-looking), and the positive response by the public. Still, it would have to be considered the ultimate browsing collection, as there’s no mention made of how or if the collection is organized. As it’s also “take and leave,” I would think organization would be difficult if not impossible . . . and what would be the point anyway? Traffic at our reference desk would seem to suggest that people (at least those who come to the ref desk) are most often looking for specific titles, authors, or subject areas. Such patrons would not be fans of the organization (or lack thereof) at the open-air facility. On the other hand, there are for whom such an arrangement would be attractive and intriguing, and just plain fun.

Without more details, it’s a little hard to know just what to make of this story. Was the project at least in part a reaction to resistance from unimaginative bureaucracies at traditional library and governmental entities? Or is it a real-life example of people power and literally “thinking outside the box”? Or maybe both. Perhaps a traditional library wouldn’t be able to take the lead in a project like this, and depending on the personalities, would shun any involvement at all. I’d like to think that there’s a “both/and” aspect to the reality, that we have audiences for both “traditionally constructed” (physically and metaphysically) libraries and the imaginative flights which lead to a pop-up, and that people from both spheres could work together in the creation and sustaining of each.

[Kathy]

I like the idea of the "both/and" model. Thanks for the thoughtful response Jim