Workshop Building Library Image as a Modern Community Knowledge Centre

The second in a series of workshops aimed at building knowledge and skills of the librarians in specific areas relevant to the improvement of their work and position in local communities was held in Backa Palanka on 7th March 2013. Public library “Veljko Petrovic”, one of the partners in the project Libraries for a New Age , was the host of this workshop with the topic of Networking of the libraries through web portal biblioteke.org / knjiznice.org .

Firstly, the audience was warmly welcomed by Koviljka Dobric, the director of the library, who introduced the long tradition and work of the library to her colleagues form Serbia and Croatia and after that the participants of the workshop were welcomed by Miroslava Solaja, the representative of Backa Palanka municipality.

Download section*

• Biblioteka na društvenim mrežama (PPT)

• Skripta za ažuriranje dela portala biblioteke-knjiznice.org.net (PDF)

• Portal biblioteke-knjiznice.org i net (PDF)

* all materials in Serbian or Croatian language

Central topics of the workshop were the ways and online channels through which libraries can communicate interactively with their users and also with library materials in public libraries. The participants were introduced to both strengths and traps of communication via social networks, differences between a website and a presence on Facebook and Twitter, as well as the importance of linking all online communication channels of the libraries with the target audience.

The representatives of 8 partner libraries and their branches have been introduced with the special web portal BIBLIOTEKA FUTURA (LIBRARY FUTURA), which comprises four domains on one web location: www.biblioteke.org - www.knjiznice.org - www.biblioteke.net - www.knjiznice.net. The way in which this portal functions has been represented in detail and it actually presents ‘'the first virtual library network… established for continuous monitoring of the activities of libraries, establishing open communications to improve and modernize their working environment.” This network connects libraries from Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia and Montenegro on the Internet and it “serves as a forum for free exchange of experiences and creative ideas.”

The accounts on this portal have been opened for those partner libraries which do not have their web site. The accounts enable them to post news and information about their activities in the following period in order to present themselves to a wider network of libraries and to learn from their colleagues' good examples from other areas.

The workshop was brilliantly conceived and delivered by Mirko Markovic, from the Belgrade City Library, the founder of the Internet Club and one of the authors of the portal BIBLIOTEKA FUTURA (LIBRARY FUTURA), and Isidora Injac, from Belgrade City Library marketing sector. The lecturers dedicated great attention to promotion of the importance of cooperation, partnership and networking among libraries themselves, but also among libraries and other actors in the local community.

One of the expected results of the workshop is more active participation of partner libraries in online communication and presentation of their activities, primarily through web portals, libraries and other web channels through which they can achieve better and more interactive contact with their users and target public in general. Also, the project Libraries for a New Age will have its page on the regional web portal LIBRARY FUTURA, where all the news will be posted.

Workshop Agenda (in Serbian) here