So much depends upon a red wheelbarrow

Abstract

Inspired by the governing image in the poem “The Red Wheelbarrow” by the American poet William Carlos Williams, this poster will illustrate the culmination of the transformation that the municipal libraries in Turkey have been undergoing since 2016 as a result of Project LIFE. Prior to the catalyzing effort initiated by Project LIFE, funded by the Global Libraries Initiative of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the municipal libraries in Turkey were almost completely unknown and invisible, despite their potential for being key institutions that can benefit the society. With the implementation of the GL project model, the municipal libraries were transformed from being ordinary and marginal places into extraordinary and central “3rd places” that can serve their users and the society at large in a myriad of different ways. Aligned with the vision of IFLA, itself a legacy partner of the GL, the Project LIFE libraries, “upon which so much depends” now, are ready to address critical universal goals such as the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the UN’s 2030 Agenda, as well as to create increasing impact in Turkey in the seven designated impact areas of GL: digital inclusion, health, economic development, education, government and governance, leisure, communication.