Workshop 

Can We Get Inclusion Done? A Hands-On Session

If our libraries want to open up to be resourceful places to everybody, there’s usually a lot left to do: We should make our library spaces more accessible, offer books and other media in many languages, improve the way we address patrons (Plain Language and/or Easy Read), etc. etc. – the number of tasks can be breathtaking and even daunting. In this session we try to sort things out. The Get-it-done format is in itself a participatory approach to address common questions and to work on pragmatic solutions. It’s all about how to include those that do not use the library at the moment – and it’s at the same time about realistic goals, peer-to-peer learning and the positive impact of tackling big problems together. Don’t forget to bring your smartphone – we’ll need it. There’s an app that will help us to get started.

Host 

Franziska Baetcke, director of City Library in Winterthur, Switzerland, former journalist, dedicated to art, literature and social justice. In my former position at Bibliomedia Switzerland one of the main topics was intercultural inclusion, now in Winterthur, as the City Council has approved the UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the focus becomes broader, inclusion in its full sense is at stake.