Library Labs as devices for community mediation: Public policies, implications and recommendations
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3145/thinkepi.2025.e19a27Keywords:
Library labs, Community mediation, Collective experimentation, Citizen participation, Sociotechnical devicesAbstract
This article examines the potential of library labs as devices for community mediation, based on the analysis of three programmes promoted by public administrations at different levels: the Laboratorios Bibliotecarios project of the Spanish Ministry of Culture, the Lab Bibliotecas of the Instituto Cervantes, and the BiblioLab programme of the Diputació de Barcelona. The text identifies the most recurrent institutional, methodological and community-related challenges involved in their implementation and highlights the opportunities these devices offer to strengthen territorial ties, consolidate networked forms of work, and generate shared knowledge infrastructures. Finally, it puts forward recommendations aimed at facilitating the activation of library labs from any type of library and institutional context.Downloads
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