Library of Things Erasmus Project

Project Title

Library of Things

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for adult education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Environment and climate change; Access for disadvantaged

Project Summary

Context/background
Library of Things – LoTs – describes non-traditional collections that are being loaned by libraries, and can include kitchen appliances, tools, gardening equipment and seeds, electronics, toys and games, art, science kits, craft supplies, musical instruments, recreational equipment, and more.
These borrowing centres and library collections are all a part of the sharing economy. Many of these libraries are offering tools and equipment that are useful to have access to, such as specialized cookware or niche technology items, but are often cumbersome to own and store. LoTs collections are often supported by educational programming and public events.
The core idea of the project is to reach out to the real target groups who need the services LoTs do offer the most: Economically weak persons and families who cannot afford to buy the different items offered by LoTs, and who are not very familiar with the core idea of a sustainable economy, people living from social welfare, migrants and refugees. We will involve these groups as costumers and regular clients of LoTs, but we will try to involve them as well as trainers for the workshops we will offer during the project.
The idea of supporting a sustainable and cooperative economy is not a national issue, but it involves the different strategies of combating the climate change and the strengthening of sustainability of the European Union. The evidence is clear that there is no national solution to the problem stated.

Objectives
Firstly, we want to spread the idea of LoTs in the partner countries and beyond. As this is the first time LoTs cooperate in a European project we focus on the exchange of information between the LoTs, the presentation of EU funding to support the idea of shared economy and on the recruitment of new target groups.
The project meetings and the workshops will be the perfect starting point for a fruitful cooperation on a European level.
Secondly, we will support the integration of migrants, refugees, economically disadvantaged people into the societies of the partner countries by forming mixed groups of participants for the workshops, bringing together the ones described above with well-educated local citizens. These opportunities of bringing together different parts of a society are valuable means of supporting the idea of solidarity.

Number and profile of participants
The one group of partners of the consortium are the LoTs in Brussels, Bratislava, Ljubljana and Vienna; the other part are educational institutes from Trnava (Cultural Centre), Ljubljana (University) and Vienna (Adult education centre).
Both groups of partners will join in an internal working group to create the design and curriculum for a workshop – learning/teaching/training event – that will be organised in every partner country by the LOTs involved.

Description of activities
The establishment of the internal working group will lead to a solid curriculum for the workshops. We will take the time needed to elaborate the curriculum from Sept. 2019 until February 2020.
Until summer break 2020 we will organise two workshops in Austria and Slovenia and end up the first year of the projects work with an online meeting in June 2020.
For the second year of the project year we will prepare two workshops in Slovakia and Belgium, and have our closing conference in Bratislava.

Methodology
The working group will be installed during the kick-off meeting. The methods we will use are round-table-discussions, facility studies, ongoing exchange of information on the projects google drive. Goethe-Institut Slowakei will lead the working group.
During the workshops we will use group work, round table discussions, lectures and presentations, and manual work to create a work piece.

Description of the results and impact envisaged
Curriculum: The consortium will produce a curriculum for a workshop that will be offered in every partner country. The different modules of this workshop will be adapted to the needs of the LoTs and to the special conditions of the partner countries.
Workshops: We will deliver four workshops in Bratislava, Ljubljana, Brussels and Vienna organised by the LoTs involved. The result will be 56 graduates of the workshops, and 32 participants delegated by the LoTs.
TPMs: We will organise three project meetings in the partner countries and one online meeting.
The project will have an impact on the LoTs in Europe being the starting point of a cooperation on a European level.
We will spread the idea of shared economy widely and invite representatives of the chambers of commerce to our project meetings.

Potential longer term benefits
One topic is the support of cooperation between the LOTs involved, exchange of information and national particularities and the information about European cooperation possibilities and chances.
The project aims at the dissemination of the idea of LoTs – sustainable economy, shared economy, climate change – to new target groups

Project Website

https://vhs.at/libraryofthings

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 60488,83 Eur

Project Coordinator

DIE WIENER VOLKSHOCHSCHULEN GMBH & Country: AT

Project Partners

• Leila – Verein zur Förderung von Gemeinschaftlichkeit
• Tournevie vzw
• EUROVIENNA EU CONSULTING MANAGEMENT GMBH
• UNIVERZA V LJUBLJANI
• KULTURNO DRUSTVO PROSTOROZ
• Publikum.sk
• Goethe-Institut Bratislava