thoughts on reshaping the public library concept in Romania!

The public library in Romania is crumbling both from the infrastructure point of view and from the concept point of view! Not much research but lots of fresh thinking has appeared in places including this article and with initiatives such as  the opening of the “grand” National Library and Noaptea Alba a Bibliotecilor  there is renewed hope for a shift in the right direction!

Going blind!

In an attempt to research the situation of public libraries in Romania I found it difficult to identify any significant research on the issue. If it exists it is kept well in someone’s vault not to be share with a living soul. The only tracks you seem to find is the work related to Biblionet (an initiative of the IREX organization which recently got a 27 mil $ grant from Bill&Melinda Gates Foundation)

I tried and failed to find documented research and although I question my research skills I also question the availability of date or info that showcase people’s satisfaction with the public library system in Romania.  So I can only offer a very strong personal perspective on the issue.

At the moment I would not be caught dead in a public library in Romania because there is nothing attractive there. It might however become interesting if at least some of these things were taken into consideration

The power of search

We now live in a world that is flooded with information, no longer do you have trouble searching for information in most cases it all comes to you in an instant. So the concept of going somewhere for info is utterly outdated. But with the flood comes opportunity! A skill the majority lacks is the ability to search and chose which piece of info is the most relevant and interesting. Lesson nr 1 for public libraries is that they should position themselves as “search engines for fascinating discoveries“.  From the dull “get a book – go home” concept to a modern, edgy concept that helps you search and discover either things you know you are interested in or the kind of things you had no idea existed!

Another key elements to this – search centric approach – should also be the acceptance of multimedia formats alongside books! Why not go to a public library and pick ups podcasts, audio books, dvds, animated documentaries and much more. I would also introduce a coffee & muffin corner cause it cannot do any damage!

Train the staff

No matter how much money you pour into something, if the people managing that certain something are not up to the job, it’s useless. Sounds familiar I know but it’s surprising to see how little attention is put on this process in public policy projects undertaken in Romania.

The training and retraining of staff to become “vectors of search” is no easy task, it takes professional trainers (I am not sure there are such professionals in Romania at the moment), it takes money and commitment from the people administrating the public library system. But the payoff can be huge because if you already have the able and skilled staff then you just put some computers on tables, hook them up to the internet and built from there (of course a little bit more strategy is advised). If however somebody imagines that it works the other way around (cash first – people later) I am afraid that would be a waste of money, time and energy.

Volumes could be written about how to create a proper people strategy for the public library system but I won’t be getting into the details of that right now.

Talk about your progress:

Like in most cases the process of communicating to the public seems to be the least important part of any project. It’s fascinating to see that the public library space in Romania has made some interesting headway in the last years but except for Bill & Melinda Gates donation few other initiatives get promoted.

This lack of understanding of the importance of public communication on all channels is one of the public sectors biggest lessons yet unlearned in Romania and to little in terms of progress has happened.

But if I had any say in the process of transforming the public library concept I would definitely recommend at first hiring a top PR&communication agency that would later train people from the inside to take over and implement a communication strategy that is effective.

Hope!

And this brings me to the one glimmer of hope public libraries in Bucharest/Romania seem to have. After 20 years of stagnation the new HQ of the National Library of Romania will be finished and opened to the public this year.

I am optimistic because a building as gigantic as the new HQ will not get unnoticed and people will flock there to discover stuff. Hopefully in this process both the people running the library and the ones going to discover will start to wonder how better to interact with each other. And from this process ideas like the ones outlined above might start to take root.

Until then see you all at Noaptea Alba a Bibliotecilor another initiative that will put the need for a new concept front and center!