Paris & Lille - From Sunday 7th September to Friday 12th, delegations from University of Lille (ULILLE - France) University of Thessaly (UTh - Greece), University of Vic (UVIC - Spain) and from University of Szeged (Hungary) were in France for a first FamTrip. The idea of the week was to immerse participants in the ecosystem of French libraries, showcasing innovative approaches, collaborative projects, and strategic exchanges focused on commons, open resources, and community engagement. The itinerary provided opportunities for cross-sectoral learning.
After a welcome at the Climat Academy in Paris, the trip began with a visit at la Petite Bibliothèque Ronde (PBR). This library dedicated to children’s books is very interesting regarding their missions and actions (i.e. cultural and scientific mediation with children). From an historical point of view, the PBR is an association created after the transfer of La Joie par les livres at the French National Library. During this visit, we performed a workshop, using the Speedboat methodology, about “How to think library out of the walls?” Participants explored breaking down traditional library boundaries, encouraging dynamic thinking and community-centric approaches.
The next day, we start at the CNRS to discuss foundational aspects of commons-based collaboration in libraries with Fabrice Papy (full professor in Information Science at University of Lorraine). After a short trip to Lille, project’s members were welcome at Lille University. Wednesday offered substantial time for exploration and immersion into Lilliad (one of the main buildings of Lille University library), including a presentation of Agora, the future library dedicated to social sciences. During the visit, project’s members made a deep visit aiming to understand its structure fully, like the example of Xperium. Later that day, participants engaged with staff related to Open Education Resources (OER) and Open Education (OE). They perform a second workshop dedicated to “What can libraries do to encourage universities to engage in open education?”
We finish the day by visiting the public library of Villeneuve d’Ascq (Till l’espiègle). This library is working with seven associated libraries on the territory of the city (a unique situation in France). In addition, the library allows you to borrow musical instruments).
Thursday in the morning, we visit the library of the Social Center Jean-Cocteau, one of the libraries related to the main library of Villeneuve d’Ascq. This small library has a deep connection with a public school (located very close from the library) and contributes to the access to books for children, with various backgrounds. We follow this day by a p2p session related to Commons and sustainability with the chair about Socio-Economy of the Commons. This session delved into ensuring long-term sustainability for digital commons by linking them to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The discussion was enriched by insights from LibCommon members, including presentations on the socio-economy of commons and challenges related to maintaining community-driven resources.
The FamTrip concluded with a working meeting at Lille University Library on Friday. This final gathering synthesized learnings from the week-long exploration into actionable steps for promoting open education resource adoption across various library types in France.
