Libraries as Co-Working spaces

HAROKOPIO UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS
LIBRARY & INFORMATION CENTRE
1ST National Workshop on New Working Spaces in Greece
COST Action CA18214 "The geography of New Working Spaces and the impact on the periphery" (2019-2024)
January 23, 2023
Libraries as Co-Working spaces
Ifigenia Vardakosta, PhD
Head Librarian
Harokopio University of Athens
Library & Information Centre
ifigenia@hua.gr

January 23, 2023
Outline
•Challenges-Trends for Libraries
•Libraries as a Space
•Libraries as Co-working Spaces
•Libraries as Co-working Spaces in Greece
•HUA Library as a Co-working Space

January 23, 2023
Challenges – Trends for Libraries (1/3)
(Bordorano, 2017)
Social
Cultural
Political
Globalization
Sustainability
Technology
Changing
understandings
of physical
library spaces

January 23, 2023
«By providing spaces for active engagement with information,
discussion, and the taking of decisions, libraries could help
support the development of appropriate responses to local
issues»
(IFLA, 2021)
«Develop libraries into attractive, inspirational and
cooperation-fostering places to read, spend time and partake in
hobbies and lifelong learning – which also means offering
different services and creating a new physical environment»
(Estonian Librarians Association, p.8, 2016)

January 23, 2023
Libraries & Sustainable Development
•Promoting universal literacy, including media
and information literacy, and digital literacy
skills
•Closing gaps in access to information and
helping government, civil society and business
to better understand local information needs
•Providing a network of delivery sites for
government programmes and services
•Advancing digital inclusion through access to
ICT, and dedicated staff to help people develop
new digital skills
•Serving as the heart of the research and
academic community
•Preserving and providing access to the world’s
culture and heritage
https://sdgs.un.org/partnerships/contribution-libraries-sdgs
Providing
access to
information,
Support for
literacy and ICT
skills, and
Access to
community
space
Libraries can support the
implementation of the SDGs by
Libraries’ Contribution to the SDGs

January 23, 2023
Libraries as Space

January 23, 2023
Libraries as Co-Working Spaces (1/5)
Co-working spaces (CWSs) are shared offices where a group of
individuals with more or less heterogeneous backgrounds co-locate
themselves in the same work environment
(Spinuzzi, 2013; Parrino, 2013)
They are collaborative environments that feed innovation and
creativity under the slogan “working alone together”
(Berbegal-Mirabent, 2021)
Co-working spaces bring individuals and teams, employed by
companies or self-employed, together in shared spaces where they
can share ideas and knowledge across their work and create a sense
of community
(ALA, 2023)

January 23, 2023
Types of Co-Working
(Choy & Goh, 2016)
Brainstorming,
Project work,
Presentation practice,
Writing out reports and papers,
Solving problems,
Peer learning, and
Informal social interaction…
Co-Working Spaces
Support
Student Innovation
Entrepreneurship

January 23, 2023
(Stoetzel, 2019 ; Sweeney, 2019)
Availability Free of charge
Quiet,
Distraction-
free refuge
Presence of
staff member
Accessibility
to resources
Technology
Mentorship Direction Education

January 23, 2023
International examples
https://startupsoflondon.com/londons-first-coworking-space-inside-a-public-library-is-open/
https://www.fastcompany.com/3034143/the-public-library-wants-to-be-your-office

January 23, 2023
International examples
(Bilandzic& Foth, 2013)
State Library of Queensland - The Edge

January 23, 2023
Libraries as Co-Working Spaces in Greece
«Few libraries created spaces for group study and transformed
the library space into a collaborative learning environment».
«Few libraries have been considerably modernized through the
creation of new modern flexible spaces to accommodate a more
technologically oriented, collaborative culture».
«The last decades’ changes were related to the creation of
additional shelf space for printed materials».
«The academic libraries are far from creating collaborative
environments in their physical spaces»
(Garoufali & Garoufallou, 2022)

January 23, 2023
HUA’s Library & Information Centre as a Working Space (1/2)
Technology
Personnel
Environment
Librarians
Information Literacy
•Location
•Extended working hours
•Accessible for disabled people
•Warm/Cold climate
•Fire protection Building
•Physical lighting/Low cost energy
lighting
•Pc’s
•Wi-fi

January 23, 2023
HUA’s Library & Information Centre as a Working Space (2/2 )

January 23, 2023
Conclusions
•Libraries worldwide are constantly changing.
•Greek libraries have been made significant progress in providing
services regarding research, information literacy, avoiding
plagiarism, acquisitions’ management e.tc. but didn’t take a step
forward to look after their spaces beyond the necessity of
bookshelves.
•As librarians are resourceful and scientists of action should make
–another one time- a step forward so to comply with the future.

January 23, 2023
Thank you!!
HAROKOPIO UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS
LIBRARY & INFORMATION CENTRE

January 23, 2023
REFERENCES (1/2)
•American Library Association [2023]. Co-Working / Co-Living. Retrieved from
https://www.ala.org/tools/future/trends/coeverything
•Bilandzic, M. & Foth, M. (2013). Libraries as coworking spaces: Understanding user
motivations and perceived barriers to social learning and Library. Hi Tech 31 (2), 254-273
•Bordorano, K. (2017). Wider Themes and Trends in International Librarianship at Home
and Abroad, p.131-146. Chadons publ.
•Choy, F.C. & Goh, S.N. (2016). A framework for planning academic library spaces. Library
Management, 37 (1/2), 13-28. https://doi.org/10.1108/LM-01-2016-0001
•Estonian Librarians Association. (2016). The 21st Century Library. Retrieved from:
https://www.eru.lib.ee/images/stories/dokumendid/21st-century-library.pdf
•Garoufali, A. and Garoufallou, E. (2022).Transforming libraries into learning collaborative
hubs: the current state of physical spaces and the perceptions of Greek librarians
concerning implementation of the “Learning Commons” model. Global Knowledge,
Memory and Communication, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-
print. https://doi.org/10.1108/GKMC-04-2022-0086

January 23, 2023
•International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA).(2021). Trend Report 2021 Update.
Retrieved from:
https://repository.ifla.org/bitstream/123456789/1830/1/IFLA%20TREND%20REPORT%20
2021%20UPDATE.pdf
•Parrino, L. (2013). Co-working: assessing the role of proximity in knowledge exchange.
Knowledge Management Research & Practice, 13 (3), 261-271.
•Schopfel, J., Roche, J. & Hubert, G. (2015).Co-working and innovation: new concepts for
academic libraries and learning centres. New Library World, 116 (1/2), 67-
78. https://doi.org/10.1108/NLW-06-2014-0072
•Spinuzzi, C. (2012). Working alone together: co-working as emergent collaborative
activity. Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 26 (4), 399-441.
•Stoetzel, K. (2019). Libraries are staking their claim as the original coworking space.
Retrieved from: https://www.kauffman.org/currents/libraries-stake-claim-as-original-
coworking-space/
REFERENCES (2/2)

Libraries as Co-Working spaces

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