Library in the City – City in the Library

This project developed temporary and flexible library programmes for various groups in the Bremerhaven districts of Wulsdorf and Geestemünd. With its central library downtown and a branch library to the north, the Bremerhaven municipal library has long been active in this city of 120,000 inhabitants. With the so-called “BIB_TREFFs” (library meets), the library and local partners were able to initiate cultural impulses and explore what kind of services and options a library can and should offer city residents. The BIB_TREFFs were conceived as “pop-up” libraries which should revitalise vacant premises around town for nine months at a time. In this way, the project investigated how the municipal library can remain an open and accessible location even after business hours.

As part of the project, certain persons and groups were invited to the library who haven’t yet used it as a “third place”. The goal was to develop and test new formats and ideas together with the residents. The library team then adapted various participative approaches in response to each target group’s circumstances. The experiences gained from this process in the districts will later be used for further developing the main library.

Partner: Kulturbüro Bremerhaven