Lego brick road to the future
NOTHING was off limits for entrants to CILIP’s Library of the Future competition in which hundreds of entrants aged from two to 85 boldly marched to the frontiers of library land. Run as part of Libraries Week, entrants turned ideas into Lego realities featuring devices such as a ‘book cannon’ to distribute books to library users and a holographic VR suite where people can enter the worlds of their favourite books. Pushing the boundaries further were the flying libraries and a library designed to sup- port communication with aliens. Alongside their prophetic visions many entrants incorporated socially responsible themes. Environmental concerns were at the forefront with eco-friendly libraries, solar panels, wind turbines and bicycle-powered computers.
The competition winners, the Friends
of Padgate Library’s ‘Inspire Library’ for example, included electric charging points for cars – as well as a knowledge Hub and a Community Hub for learning and wellbeing that transports children ‘over the rainbow’ using their imagination and creativity. The building team comprised of Nathaniel, aged seven, Callum, 10, David, 10 and Samuel, 14, plus four adults and was led by the younger designers. Linda Riley, a member of Friends of Padgate
– which was set up to save the library from closure – said: “Winning the competition is recognition both of the Friends Group’s hard work and the success of the Lego Club.” CILIP Libraries Champion, Bobby Seagull, one of the judges, said: “Librar- ies are like time machines. They offer us a window into the past and help us to build our future. The fantastic, creative and imaginative entries to this year’s Li- brary of the Future com- petition really highlight the continued relevance of libraries, as they be- come an ever more im- portant hub at the heart of their communities.”
CILIP ran the Library of the Future competition, and Chief Executive Nick Poole said he had been “blown away” by the imagination on display: “The entries have made us laugh, made us think and most of all, they’ve told us how important libraries are in the imaginations of the next generation. “We saw unique and innovative ideas and inspiring ways to improve library services, all supported by the hundreds of libraries across the UK that organised Lego clubs and encouraged their users to take part in the competition.” The winners received four tickets to
Legoland and £500 to donate to the library of their choice. Judges were so impressed with the entries they also selected five run- ners up who will each receive a Lego book from DK Publishers. This year’s Libraries Week was support-
ed by sponsors Nielsen Book and Rakuten Overdrive, and celebrated the role of libraries in a digital world. The week-long celebration ended with ‘Worlds of Possi- bilities – The London Libraries Festival’ with London’s 325 public libraries delivering an expanded day of events including ‘library lates’, film screenings, music events, coding clubs and a wide range of digital sessions.
Winners of the Library of the Future competition (above) and a Lego club in full flow (below).
October-November 2019
INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL 9
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