Conference to mark the 50th anniversary of the Central Library of the European Commission Brussels,

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Conference to mark the 50th anniversary of the
Central Library of the European Commission
Brussels, 2 December 2008Libraries,
creativity and innovation

• Maruja Gutiérrez Díaz
• Head of Unit Creativity and Innovation
• DG Education and Culture

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A personal reflection on libraries

• Libraries of my life
• Libraries and internet
• Libraries and education
• Libraries, creativity and innovation
• Challenges for libraries going digital
• Challenges for libraries lifelong learning
• Some other challenges

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Libraries, a lifelong love story

• I was four when my parents taught me to read
  because books were good friends for life
• A passion for reading was difficult to sustain in
  poor times, in a city without libraries
• So, my discovery of libraries was the beginning
  of a lifelong love story
• I keep fond memories of libraries. Four in
  particular have taught me a lot of all I know.

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Some important things libraries taught me/1

• School of Architecture, Madrid
• Access to world-class knowledge,
• Access to unaffordable books
• The quality and special beauty of technical books
• University of Edinburgh
• Libraries as a part of university studies live
  learning lists, support to students, support to
  research
• Libraries as a profession interlibrary loans,
  keywords
• Libraries as friendly and social learning spaces

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Some important things libraries taught me/2

• CIDAMM (Regional Centre for Information and
  Documentation, Madrid)
• Libraries as public information services
  openness
• Libraries as tools for making unpublished public
  sector information available to citizens
  accountability
• Libraries as multimedia repositories maps,
  books, studies, audio-visual material, planning
  archives
• Libraries as cooperation between public
  administration and universities
• Libraries as tools for modernisation of public
  services

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Some important things libraries taught me/3

• Central Library, European Commission
• Libraries as multilingual and multicultural
  services
• Libraries as multifarious repositories readers
  may be as interested in the Treaties as in past
  organigrammes
• Libraries as key access point to published and
  unpublished information accountability and
  openness
• Libraries as support to officials for better work
  quality
• Library networks the importance of sharing and
  collaboration (Reseaubib, Eurolib)
• Libraries require hard and motivated work

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Libraries and Internet

• I left the Central Library to become a member
  of the very small team launching the europa
  server
• My work with internet made soon clear that
• - The best metaphor for internet is that of a
  huge, wild, splendid library
• - Libraries are natural nodes in the new
  digital infrastructure
• - Libraries are natural PIAP (Public Internet
  Access Points). Conversely, PIAPs are natural
  digital libraries
• - Libraries and Internet hold a huge mutual
  potential which needs to be developed

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Libraries and education

• Libraries are fundamental education tools
• Supporting teachers and learners in their
  personal work
• Teaching information skills, the best basis for
  digital skills
• Developing an interested, curious, and positive
  but also a selective and critical attitude to
  information.
• Facilitating social inclusion, providing
  multilingual and multicultural support to users
• Supporting both traditional and digital learning
• Librarians are fundamental education agents

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Libraries, creativity and innovation/1

• Innovation hinges in efficient transfer of
  knowledge
• Libraries are efficient knowledge transfer
  services
• Innovation requires a wide range of knowledge
  (patents, photos, recordings, books) on a wide
  range of subjects (science, arts, design) with a
  wide range of approaches
• Libraries are one of the most powerful knowledge
  management systems existing

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Libraries, creativity and innovation/2

• Creativity is better served and grown than taught
• Creativity requires familiarity and manipulation
  of past and present knowledge, traditions,
  skills, trades it requires diversity and
  multiculturalism it requires above all support
  and some guidance
• Libraries are a precious resource for creative
  people and for their teachers, parents and tutors
• Libraries can be geared to become an essential
  piece of the new creativity and innovation policy

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Challenges for libraries going digital

• Huge cultural transformation from the library as
  a building to the library as a concept
• Many models are possible (from europeana to
  google) the challenge deserves strong public
  support
• Access to knowledge as a public service can reach
  unprecedented levels in the digital world
• There is also a need to design and test new
  business models, for private and public
  services IPR issues
• New and transformed roles for librarians
  carrying library skills (searching, referential,
  monitoring) into the digital context

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Challenges for libraries lifelong learning

• Any true lifelong learning policy needs a strong
  learning support infrastructure, necessarily
  including libraries
• Libraries should be friendly learning spaces,
  providing access and guidance, reaching out to
  new users and to users more in need of support
• Libraries are not only for utilitarian learning.
  They have a crucial role in providing access to
  cultural heritage.
• In a context of growing diversity, this role is
  essential
• Libraries are a bridge from traditional to
  digital learning resources.
• Libraries are a much needed support for informal
  learning

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Some other challenges

• At Commission level
• Keeping up the libraries programme
• Supporting europeana
• Supporting the Central Library as a role model
• At DG EAC level
• Developing a library reflection also for
  education
• Exploiting better the Central Library for
  information
• European Year of Creativity and Innovation
• A good opportunity for mutual support

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• Best wishes for the next 50 years!
• maruja.gutierrez-diaz_at_ec.europa.eu