by Edward Hirst Rowan Public Library
This past September I was in Oslo, Norway getting ready for
the start of the 2015 edition of Cycling for Libraries when it started to rain.
The rain would accompany our group of librarians for most of the first 24 hours
of our journey. At 9:00 pm when we arrived at our overnight stop we had visited
three libraries, had our first of three ferry crossings and it was still
raining. We were hopeful that it wouldn’t get any worse for the next day. Of
course, the next morning we woke to wind and heavy rain.
I first heard about Cycling for Libraries in 2012 after the
first tour was held in 2011 on a trip that went from Copenhagen to Berlin. Cycling
for Libraries was started by a group of Finnish librarians as an international
library unconference for librarians and library lovers with a twist, it is held
entirely on bicycles! Some of the goals of this unconference are to advocate
for libraries, raise awareness of the valuable services libraries provide to
their communities, and provide networking opportunities for the participants.
For 2015, "The New Nordic Cycling for Libraries
unconference" was held September 1st to the 10th and went from
Oslo, Norway to Aarhus, Denmark. There were eighty attendees from twenty
countries that included Belgium, USA, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Canada, Romania,
France, England, Germany, Russia, Croatia, Finland, Latvia, Iceland, and
Australia. Our journey covered about 450 miles, three ferry crossings, and
visits to over thirty libraries. We traveled with a chef who prepared our
breakfast and lunch, and most of the evening meals were sponsored by different
organizations. The sleeping arrangements varied from hostels to small cabins to
gym floors. We even slept in a library one night!
The sun eventually came out and Denmark welcomed us with
warm, sunny days that were kept busy visiting libraries and chatting with
fellow librarians. We even found a few lakes for swimming.
We ended our journey at the recently opened DOKK1 library in
Aarhus, the largest library in Scandinavia. It has a dedicated light rail
station and the largest fully automated robotic underground car park in Europe.
I brought back a lot of memories but, it was great to get
back home to Rowan Public Library.
No comments:
Post a Comment