How to make more than 7,500 spaces fulfill a core value in their communities?
Our public libraries--which for decades have not been able to adapt to new roles and for the most part face great challenges--have incredible potential in a country where close to 90% of children and young people have very few alternatives for learning and playing outside. from school. Given this scenario—which limits their possibilities and increases the risks to which they are exposed—libraries can become highly valuable public spaces for them and their communities.
In Mexico there are more than 7,500 spaces with great potential to offer experiences that can generate different opportunities for their communities, especially those with greater conditions of social vulnerability. However, the lack of key actions to transform them into truly attractive and functional places for their users keeps their possibilities very limited.
After having visited more than 200 libraries throughout the country, in addition to a few others in countries such as Denmark, the United Kingdom, Colombia and Brazil, it is clear that there is an enormous opportunity to turn them into places where creativity, coexistence and work as a team they become the axis of profound social changes at the local level.
This new possibility can be counted from ten clear actions:
