Transforming university libraries into a good and great places: Facilitating social sustainability and sociomateriality

The workshop aims to explore how university libraries can evolve into vibrant, inclusive, and sustainable hubs for community engagement, where you can interact without consuming. By examining the parallels between “third places” and university libraries, we will discuss how these spaces can foster the securing for social needs through social interaction, exchange of ideas, creativity, and learning. This workshop draws inspiration from the question of “What makes the playground a good, great place?”

Key themes:

Social Sustainability : We will delve into strategies for promoting social sustainability within library environments, supporting psychological wellbeing. This includes creating inclusive spaces that cater to diverse community needs, encouraging lifelong learning, and fostering a sense of belonging among all patrons.

Sociomateriality : The workshop will also address the concept of sociomateriality, emphasizing the interplay between social practices and material elements in the library setting. Participants will corporate on how to design and organize library spaces that enhance user experience through integration of technology, physical objects, and various events.

Learning outcome:

By the end of the workshop, our aim is that participants will have a comprehensive understanding of how to engage university libraries into dynamic, socially sustainable spaces that serve as a facilitator of securing social needs. We aim to have some guidelines that can be followed.