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The main Aarhus library Dokk1 is an open and accessible learning environment supporting democracy and community. It provides space for both contemplation, knowledge and co-creation.
Every month around 130 programs take place in Dokk1 – around 50% is organized in close cooperation with partners and citizens – and Dokk1 has approximately 130 registered partners. Furthermore Dokk1 was named the best new public library in the world in 2016 and has an extensive network in Denmark and also in the global library field.
The 18 branch libraries are community centers that involve the citizens in developing the library services.
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The Challenge Journey
The Challenge Journey
Who are the community/citizens working on the Europe Challenge?
We work with two different communities:
The community at Værestedet which is a drop-in center nearby the library open to citizens who are without housing and have problems with drugs, alcohol or other social and mental issues.
The community at Veriparken at the suburb, Risskov consists of three buildings, housing approximately 500 people and owned by the public housing association, AAB. A local board of residents, democratically elected, works among other things with issues regarding the renovation of the buildings. They are very positive regarding co-creating activities for the residents in an area that deals with social and economic issues.
How did you identify and engage your community?
Værestedet:
The library has already been in contact with Værestedet for some time, but thanks to our participation in the Europe Challenge it was possible to establish a stronger relation. Using the design thinking tool kit on every step it was possible to engage the community at Værestedet, starting with a co-creating an event with music, talks and art with the citizens from Værestedet at the outdoor area around the library and co-operating on ideas, local challenges and solutions.
Veriparken:
The library at Risskov is very well visited but primarily by the citizens living in the rich part of the suburb of Risskov in Aarhus. The staff at the library has therefore established contact with the board of residents at the public housing area, Veriparken, and together with the board and using design thinking methods we agreed to celebrate this connection by making an event together with the citizens at the library and then continue co-designing activities together with the residents in Veriparken.
What is your overall challenge topic? Which concrete challenges have your communities decided to address and why?
Our overall challenge is how we can use design thinking methods to engage with groups of people who do not use the libraries and together with them develop inclusive democratic library activities.
Our local challenge identified together with the staff and citizens at Værestedet is how to empower the citizens from Værestedet to use the facilities and possibilities provided by the library. As both the social worker Mathias Gregersen and several of the citizens say, many of the vulnerable citizens have found a refuge and a safe place at Værestedet, but to get on with their life they must learn that there are other safe places in society and that the library can offer such a space to this community as well as help them with learning and many other things.
Our local challenge identified together with the members of the board of citizens at Veriparken is how to empower the citizens in a housing area with social and economic issues around Risskov to use the facilities and participate in the activities at the library.
As a member of the board says they have many residents in the area that hardly ever use the library and are unaware about the many possibilities and activities that the library of Risskov offers that may interest them as well.
Værestedet.mp4How are your communities driving the challenge and what tools are they using?
Værestedet:
Together with several citizens and the staff of the drop-in center, we used design thinking methods and came up with four solutions to our local challenge:
Relation-building activities at Værestedet:
A: The employment of a social librarian; the library will employ a citizen for about three hours a week. The aim is that the social librarian will ease the way and help the citizens to use the library more frequently.
B: A Dokk-1 librarian will visit Værestedet on a regular basis and inform and empower the citizens to come to the library.
C: A bookshelf at Værestedet according to the principle 'take one and maybe leave one behind'. The library will provide some new books and otherwise use donations.
Relation-building activities at the library:
A: The former Writing Workshop at Værestedet moves to the library and is open to the public.
B: Co-creating activities between the library and The Writing Workshop.
Veriparken:
Together with the board of residents at Veriparken, we used design thinking tools to find our local challenge and came up with two solutions:
Relation building activities at Veriparken:
We are still in progress but have already plenty of ideas from the board to work on.
Relation building activities at Risskov library:
A: An event together with the citizens from Veriparken according to the concept of the Bake-off, with judges from the Danish Bake-off and cakes from the citizens of Veriparken. The event will both be used to establish contact with the citizens at Veriparken and engage in a dialogue, and to show and inform them of the many activities at the library.
How are your communities reimagining public space?
Værestedet:
By using the design-thinking tools and approach in our relation-building with the community the citizens and staff of the drop-in center realised that the library was seriously interested in listening to their ideas and wanted to co-create activities together instead of just doing what the library thinks that the community wants. This trust between Værestedet and the library made the community realise that their local challenge was to get the citizens to use the library and that they actively wanted to be part of the activities at the library.
Veriparken:
We are still in process but the democratically elected members of the board of the community are very eager to engage and involve the residents of Veriparken, to build a stronger relation with the library of Risskov and to co-operate on activities with the library of Risskov in the area.
How do you see the solutions to your local challenge being replicable / adaptable for other people and in other European contexts?
Værestedet:
We believe that our solutions are relevant to other contexts in Europe because they show that by using design-thinking methods and focusing on co-operation and co-creating together with homeless and other marginalized people, one can achieve positive results as to getting vulnerable groups to use the library more and thereby redefining the public space at the library. Our four solutions will show the homeless citizens and other marginalized people that the library takes them seriously and welcomes them, and as such create a bridge between the homeless people and the libraries which may be an interesting model to other libraries in Europe.
Veriparken:
We are still in process, but so far we have successfully used the design-thinking methods and have established a strong relation to the community of Veriparken at Risskov. The experiences from Værestedet have taught us that we must cooperate and co-design every step together with the community to reach the citizens instead of making things that we as a library think that a community need.
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