Libraries as Community Hubs: International Guidelines for the Future of Inclusive Learning Spaces
Within the Byblios project, Work Package 5 (WP5) focuses on redefining the role of libraries in contemporary society, envisioning them as inclusive, creative, and competence-oriented community hubs.
Activity 5.1 – Guidelines for a New Library established international working groups to collect good practices, ideas, and innovative tools for enhancing the social and educational functions of local and school libraries.
Through the collaboration of 14 experts and 14 stakeholders from five European countries — Italy, Portugal, Germany, Romania, and Spain — the project produced a digital handbook titled “Make Your Library a Community Hub”.
This open-access manual offers conceptual frameworks, practical methodologies, and digital resources for librarians, teachers, and community actors to expand the library’s role in promoting digital literacy, inclusion, and creativity.
Introduction
In a society characterized by rapid digital, social, and cultural transformations, libraries are increasingly recognized as strategic spaces for inclusion, lifelong learning, and community participation.
However, to maintain their relevance, libraries must evolve from being repositories of information into interactive, multifunctional community hubs, capable of addressing local challenges through innovation and collaboration.
Activity 5.1 of the Byblios project responds to this need by designing guidelines and models for libraries to:
Develop tailor-made projects adapted to specific cultural contexts and community needs.
Integrate digital tools and creativity spaces into their infrastructure.
Redefine the professional profile of librarians in line with new educational and social roles.
This activity builds directly on the results of WP3 (Participatory Action Research and Skills Needs Analysis) and WP4 (Protocol for Professional Inclusion and Career e-Portfolio), ensuring a coherent and research-based approach.
Methodology
To ensure an inclusive and multidisciplinary approach, international working groups were created, composed of:
14 experts (two from each partner organization), and
14 stakeholders (two from each partner),
representing diverse cultural, educational, and professional contexts.
These groups included librarians, teachers, school managers, adult education professionals, and community organizers.
They collaborated through online meetings and international project events to exchange practices, discuss methodologies, and co-create the final guidelines.
This structure ensured a European and transdisciplinary perspective, reflecting different regional traditions of library management and social engagement.
The activity was informed by the evidence and results gathered in previous stages of the project:
WP3 provided the Participatory Action Research data identifying new community needs, and the Skills Needs Analysis, which highlighted emerging competences for librarians — such as digital facilitation, mentoring, and co-design.
WP4 contributed models of professional inclusion, particularly through the testing of internships for people with mental disabilities and the creation of the Career e-Portfolio as a digital pedagogical tool.
Together, these insights shaped the foundation for the WP5 guidelines, ensuring that they are both innovative and empirically grounded.
Results and Outputs
The main output of this activity is an open-access digital handbook, available in e-book format.
The manual is structured to guide librarians, educators, and local stakeholders in rethinking libraries as community-oriented learning ecosystems.
It includes:
A conceptual framework linking inclusion, creativity, and lifelong learning.
A collection of good practices and case studies from the five participating countries.
Guidelines for planning and implementing local initiatives, including models for digital creativity spaces and intergenerational projects.
Direct links to open online training resources, supporting the professional development of librarians and educators.
The handbook will be presented and evaluated during dissemination and exploitation events (WP2) to maximize its reach and practical adoption across Europe.
The guidelines are addressed to:
Local stakeholders and public administrators involved in community innovation.
Librarians and library managers.
Teachers and school leaders.
Adult education coordinators and education staff engaged in lifelong learning initiatives.
The approach emphasizes interdisciplinary cooperation to ensure that libraries act as cross-sectoral platforms connecting education, culture, and civic engagement.
Country-Based Insights
Italy
Italian partners emphasized the integration of creative and digital learning spaces in school and public libraries.
Case studies from Assisi, Fabriano, and Bologna show how libraries can promote intergenerational collaboration and civic engagement, combining service learning, storytelling, and design thinking.
Portugal
Portuguese partners focused on digital inclusion and lifelong learning, especially in rural and suburban areas.
Libraries in Lisbon and Porto implemented digital mentoring programmes for adults and seniors, making technology accessible and relevant for all citizens.
Germany
German libraries explored new professional competences and organizational innovation.
The concept of the “librarian as facilitator” emerged, highlighting roles in co-design, digital curation, and community participation.
Innovation labs and makerspaces were tested as models for participatory learning.
Romania
Romanian partners demonstrated the library’s social role as a space of empowerment and civic dialogue.
Initiatives in Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca promoted reading circles, digital literacy workshops, and career guidance for disadvantaged groups.
Spain
Spanish partners explored the creative potential of libraries through storytelling, audiovisual production, and participatory art.
Libraries in Madrid and Barcelona became platforms for collective expression, promoting visibility and inclusion for people with disabilities.
Discussion
The cross-country findings confirm that libraries can function as multidimensional community hubs, integrating learning, creativity, and social inclusion.
Key lessons include:
Digital literacy and creativity as central pillars of social participation.
Librarians’ new roles as facilitators, mentors, and project designers.
Cross-sectoral collaboration as a driver of sustainable community innovation.
By linking research (WP3), inclusion practices (WP4), and guidelines (WP5), the Byblios project creates a coherent European model for the future library: open, adaptive, and people-centered.
Results
The main and tangible result of Activity 5.1 is the Handbook “Guidelines for a New Library”, an innovative and open-access digital publication designed to support librarians, teachers, and local stakeholders in rethinking libraries as inclusive community hubs.
The Handbook, developed collaboratively by the international working groups, represents the synthesis of the entire Byblios research and experimentation process. It translates the findings of WP3 (Participatory Action Research and Skills Needs Analysis) and WP4 (Protocol for Professional Inclusion and Career e-Portfolio) into a comprehensive set of guidelines, tools, and inspiring examples.
Structure and Content
The Handbook is organized into thematic sections that address the key dimensions of the future library:
Inclusion and Accessibility – strategies for making libraries open to all, including people with disabilities and vulnerable groups.
Digital Literacy and Innovation – models for developing citizens’ digital competences through training and mentoring.
Creativity and Cultural Participation – examples of creative labs, storytelling, and makerspaces fostering collaboration and expression.
Librarian Professional Development – a set of new competences for librarians, including mentoring, facilitation, co-design, and digital management.
Community Engagement and Networking – frameworks for building partnerships among schools, municipalities, NGOs, and cultural institutions.
Each section is enriched with case studies, visuals, and open online resources, linking readers to practical examples and tools that can be directly applied in different cultural and institutional contexts.
Impact and Dissemination
The Handbook serves as both a conceptual framework and an operational tool, enabling institutions to design and implement tailor-made projects for their local communities.
It will be:
Published as a digital e-book, freely accessible online through the Byblios website and partner networks.
Presented and evaluated during dissemination and exploitation events (WP2) to ensure maximum outreach among stakeholders and policy-makers.
Integrated into training activities and professional development programs for librarians and educators.
Through its open-access format and European dimension, the Handbook is expected to strengthen the capacity of libraries to act as community hubs, promoting social inclusion, lifelong learning, and digital transformation across Europe.
Highlights
Five European countries (Italy, Portugal, Germany, Romania, and Spain) collaborated to co-create international Guidelines for a New Library, redefining libraries as inclusive, creative, and competence-oriented community hubs.
28 participants (14 experts and 14 stakeholders) from diverse educational and cultural backgrounds contributed to a multidisciplinary and participatory process.
The resulting Handbook “Make Your Library a Community Hub” provides conceptual frameworks, practical tools, and case studies linking inclusion, creativity, and digital transformation.
National case studies demonstrate varied innovations: digital mentoring in Portugal, makerspaces in Germany, storytelling and participatory art in Spain, civic engagement in Romania, and intergenerational collaboration in Italy.
The Handbook integrates outcomes from WP3 (research and skill needs) and WP4 (professional inclusion), ensuring a coherent, evidence-based European model for the future library.
As an open-access e-book, the Handbook serves as both a policy and practice tool, promoting lifelong learning, digital literacy, and social inclusion across Europe.
Conclusions
The Byblios project envisions the library as a living laboratory for inclusion, creativity, and digital participation.
Through the Guidelines for a New Library, it provides a replicable and evidence-based model for reimagining libraries as community hubs capable of empowering citizens and fostering lifelong learning.
By combining research, practice, and innovation, the project demonstrates that libraries can be drivers of social transformation, bridging education, culture, and civic life — a vision of the library as the beating heart of inclusive communities.