Think the unthinkable

Abstract

2020 will be remembered as the Covid-19 year. Libraries and the other cultural institutions locked down. Nevertheless, during the crisis, libraries created platforms and special webpages and diversified their services through telephone calls to their users, foodbanks deliveries, children’s care and contacts with elderly patrons. The digital library boomed. The challenge is to see to what extent library services can be implemented in a hybrid way – partly through the use of technologies, partly physical – and how to bring people together and at the same time keeping them at a distance from each other. At the end of the day, libraries showed a high level of resilience, to the point that the narrative should be reversed: during the Covid-19 time, libraries were more resilient and open than ever and were indeed pursuing sustainable development goals. These are not accessory objectives for libraries, just as sustainable development is not something that should be left to governmental policies for social and economic affairs. Moreover, they do not deal exclusively with climate change and low-carbon emissions and should not unfold through exhibitions, one-off events and poster sessions for small-scale, locally based projects, having a limited impact and being of purely demonstrative nature.

They should be incorporated into library main objectives and be part of their normal administration. The European Regional Development Fund strengthens economic and social cohesion in the European Union by correcting imbalances between its regions. ESF is Europe’s main instrument for supporting jobs, helping people to improve their employment prospects and ensuring fairer job opportunities for all EU citizens. They are attractive because they have been used in libraries in several countries – successfully.