Landscaping with books – How to repurpose the print collection to foster community building and knowledge creation

As many other libraries, the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam faces the challenge of dealing with a large but very little used print collection. In 2021, we started the project Omboeken (“Rebook”) in order to repurpose our print collection in innovative ways. In our paper, we will outline several approaches and illustrate how print collections can contribute to fostering community building and knowledge creation in a 21st-century library.

To assess the different values and potentialities of our books, we identified four categories: 1) rare books, 2) books for research and teaching, 3) books for inspiration and 4) books for artistic endeavors and social activities. One of the most interesting aspects of analysing a large print collection with modern computational tools is the possibility of exploring the collection with a data driven approach, instead of working with long lists of titles.

Furthermore, in developing the collections and the accompanying activities, we use the principles of Design Thinking that stimulate creativity and experimentation. In our paper, we explore how we have applied these tools to stimulate our own research mindset.

The innovative core of the project consists of books from categories 3 and 4. For the selection of books for inspiration, we co-create with researchers and students from different disciplines to curate “inspiration libraries” based on the Sustainable Development Goals. In the paper, we will outline the initial experimentation with building a Pride Library, the Decolonization Lab and the Green Office Library. By collaborating with these groups, we intend to provide student communities with spaces where books, art and community building come together. Furthermore, these libraries make VU research themes visible and foster interdisciplinary knowledge creation.

Finally, we will discuss a case study pertaining to the last category, books that have lost their informational value (due to their online availability or outdated content) but still have value as objects. One of the goals of the project is to explore the value of books on campus in the form of artworks. We will present the “Pantheon of Humanity”, an artwork fully created with books which aims to create a campus environment that fosters creativity and a researching mindset. With our paper we would like to share our approach and hope to inspire other librarians to develop a new perspective on the value of their print collections.