On May 15-16, 2024, the 4th General Assembly Meeting of the LibrarIN project took place in Helsinki, Finland, hosted by our partner VTT Technical Research Centre. The first day’s meeting was held at VTT FutureHub, while on the second day, we convened at Oodi Helsinki Central Library, where we enjoyed a guided tour before starting our session.
Oodi is a flagship library located in the heart of Helsinki, boasting beautiful architecture and a wide range of services, including a cinema, cafeteria, 3D printers, music studios, co-working spaces, and traditional library services. It serves as a communal living room for everyone.
The main objectives of the meeting were:
- Aligning partner responsibilities, activities, and task outputs
- Addressing and clarifying open questions
- Reviewing the timeline and ensuring timely delivery of planned deliverables
- Setting key priorities for the next project phase
- Agreeing on a detailed plan for the upcoming months
These objectives are crucial for the continued success and progress of the LibrarIN project.
The first day of the meeting featured a series of workshops:
- WP3 Case Studies Session: Partners were divided into two groups. Group 1 focused on Task 3.1 (Digital transformation and ICT), while Group 2 focused on Task 3.2 (Social entrepreneurship, public-private networks, and social innovation) and Task 3.3 (Living labs for co-creation and co-innovation). The goal was to summarize the case work undertaken by each group.
- LibrarIN Contribution to Policy Making (WP5 & WP6): This session presented the LibrarIN Policy Pillar, outlining activities and KPIs. A presentation on Policy Mapping and LibrarIN’s alignment with current policy debates followed. An interactive exercise on the Miro Board had partners split into three groups to map library policymakers and practitioners for engagement via policy briefs and events.
- Sustainability Plan Session: Another interactive Miro Board exercise had partners split into three groups to map LibrarIN’s Key Exploitable Results and their sustainability.
The second day of the meeting focused on the following presentations (Overview, Status & Open Issues, Next steps):
- WP4: Survey of public library innovation activities
- WP5: Stakeholders’ co-design and validation
- WP2: Conceptual framework of participatory management and sustainable growth
- WP3: Thematic and empirical work in selected co-creation areas
- WP6: Dissemination, Communication and Sustainability
- WP1: Project Coordination
The following General Assembly meeting will be held during autumn 2024 in Austria by AIT.