Sprettur at the library | A visit to Grófin

A motivated group of participants in Sprettur came for a visit to Grófin to get to know more about the library as an open social space – a venue til share, a place where you can simply be (as you are) and take part in shaping. 

We introduced the role of the library in today´s society, a place where we can share resources with each other and exchange and learn from each other. Valgeir opened up the makerspace in Grófin and the podcast studio Kompan. The group took a walk around the library space and searched for books in multiple languages. All of the participants in Sprettur have another language than Icelandic as their native language. They were encouraged to send in their recommendations for new book buys for the library written in their native languages.

The library is constantly changing and we are always curious to know more about the favorite places of our users, so that we can adjust the library to more diverse needs of the citizens and more people can make the library "their own place". We found out that when the participants in Sprettur don't want to stay at home or be in school or at work, they seek cafés, cinemas and sports fields to hang out. 

Some of the participants seek a relaxed atmosphere and like to lie down in the grass in a public part or go for a walk by the sea side. Others love to sit by themselves in a car and play loud music and then are those that seek more crowded places, like the swimming pool or shopping malls. 

It was a pleasant surprise to find out that most of the things they would like to have access to at a library, we already provide access to: Movies, magazines, sewing machines and games. 

We would like to thank the participants in Sprettur for an inspiring afternoon and for sharing their ideas with us. We look forward to our next meeting in Gerðuberg in January, where we will share stories about pets, fiction, refugees, consequences of global warming and stories of public shaming (that happended to a friend of a friend).