Libraries as Incubators of the Future: the Role of Imagination in Shaping Tomorrow
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| Year of publication | 2024 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | Libraries are evolving from traditional book-lending institutions into dynamic community centers, lifelong learning hubs, and custodians of cultural and knowledge wealth. The current Czech strategy for 2021-2027 focuses on three main pillars: civil society and community centers, lifelong education, and the management of cultural heritage. Looking ahead to 2027-2037, libraries could become centers of participatory design and imagination, essential for addressing challenges such as the rapid aging of the population, climate change, migration, and other mega trends. However, today’s society faces a crisis of imagination, where pessimism, nostalgia, paralysis, and a lack of creativity hinder social progress. Libraries have the potential to play a crucial role in enhancing our capacity to envision a better future and design new social arrangements. By employing speculative design techniques and methods, libraries can help cultivate the creativity and forward-thinking needed to tackle emerging challenges. In this talk, we will introduce and explore some of these speculative design approaches, demonstrating how libraries can contribute to the radical reforms and innovations essential for the future. |
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