When libraries are... CATALYSTS | Libraries for Europe, England

This is your library as CATALYST. Librarians spark curiosity and encourage exploration. They promote lifelong learning and personal development through workshops, makerspaces, study circles, and book clubs, and foster active citizenship by organising events that bring people together for open dialogue on local decision-making. Additionally, librarians foster new networks and collaborations, locally and more broadly. For example, municipal reading programmes rely on the leadership of librarians to inspire, coordinate and guide multiple actors towards shared goals. You've watched one of seven video portraits of libraries as trusted community spaces, based on seven key roles of libraries identified in the forthcoming OMC report Strengthening Europe through Public Libraries. Watch all of the videos here:    • The seven roles of libraries as community ...   Read more about the seven role of libraries and the upcoming OMC report on The Europe Challenge website (available soon): theeuropechallenge.eu/OMCreport All protagonists of the libraries and communities portrayed in this series are part of The Europe Challenge 2025/26 - a programme connecting libraries and communities across Europe: FemLibrary and the Armeninan queer community, Yerevan, Armenia Hyvinkää City Library and Selkokulttuuri Ry, Hyvinkää, Finland Biblioteca delle Nuvole and Comitato territoriale ARCI di Perugi, Perugia, Italy Conțești Public Library and Asociația Comunitățile Viitorului, Conțești, Romania Yablunivka Village Library and U RENEW NGO, Yablunivka, Ukraine Paddington Library and Paddington Development Trust, London, England, United Kingdom Musselburgh Library and Wallyford Libraries andConnected Communities, Musselburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom The Europe Challenge 2025/26 is a Libraries for Europe initiative powered by the European Cultural Foundation. It is kindly supported by public funding through Arts Council England, Fondazione Cariplo, the Scottish Library and Information Council, and is co-funded by the European Union.