Public libraries need to adapt their service offerings to continue to be relevant in the 21st century. The good news is the hardest part is already done – Public Libraries have superb locations, excellent staff and name recognition. The difficulty is the vast majority of their inventory is outdated with the growing prevalence of e-books, online streaming for music and movies and access to information via the internet in general. Today’s library therefore needs to grow their offerings and start converting their spaces to loan a wide range of goods that cannot be accessed digitally. From loaning tools and sporting equipment to offering innovative workshops and Makerspaces, many libraries are already making the transition. Find out more about the future of libraries and how to transition to a more shareable society.

“Commoning is Bologna – Towards CO-Bologna” is a public policy specifically designed to support local democracy projects and strengthen the relationships between City Hall and the local community at large. Launched by the City of Bologna during the Civic Collaboration fest in May 2015 it advances regulation that enables public collaboration for the urban commons. “Commoning is Bologna – Towards CO-Bologna” aims at making urban commoning a cross-cutting methodology to run the city, from a social, economic and institutional point of view. Ultimately the process aims at creating a stable alliance between the public, the private and the community/commons inspired to design principles of shared, collaborative, cooperative and polycentric local and urban governance.

The Grainothèque is the first agricultural community library in the Ivory Coast. A tool at the service of farmers, it makes available high-quality seeds and a solar cold-storage room (agricultural products bank) for the conservation of cereals and food-producing crops after their harvest. It also offers a space for cooperative work and agricultural technique information and training kits. The Grainothèque is a unique space allowing farmers in rural areas who have not received initial training to improve their skills and their production capacity and to collectively find answers to their daily problems. A library of the future, our seed library is  more than a simple collection of books. It is a know-how transmission place open to everybody, which grant every user free inclusive access to new instruments in order to boost their activity and to improve their social conditions. The  Grainothéque is therefore a tool to fight against inequalities, rural exodus and massive migration of youth as well as a lever for social transformation.