How powerful is libraries collaboration

Abstract

In 2017 the Silesian Library in Katowice (Poland) started educating librarians about how they can understand and inform about the Sustainable Development Goals in their local environments. Workshops which were organised in a partnership with the UN Information Center in Warsaw showed that librarians want to get involved and find partners to improve their activities. After that, public libraries began to emphasize their work for the SDGs on websites, posters and leaflets as well. It helped to be more noticeable for potential partners and find out more what other institutions do for promoting the SDGs. The next step was to organise regular consultative meetings in Katowice which allowed to meet representatives from many kinds of backgrounds - schools, adult education, local governments, student organisations and foundations - but also to say more about ongoing projects and plans. It was a great opportunity to share good practices and inspire other participants as well. Finally libraries run a film competition about protecting environment (due to the UN Climate Conference COP 24), workshops for pupils and participated in local teams for promoting the Agenda 2030 UN.

The poster presents what the Silesian Library did with other institutions for creating a network which implemented the SDGs and also library strengths which were crucial in establishing a new partnership.