Mobile Libraries Without Boundaries
Putujuće knjižnice bez granica
Day 1 - Tuesday, April 19
A working meeting was held in the Library Administration of the Ministry of Culture of Catalonia. Project participants were received by representatives of the hosts and partners, Director General for Cultural Promotion and Libraries Josep Vives and Head of the Library Administration Silvia Sanahuja. The second part of the program took place in the National Library of Catalonia under the expert guidance of Marge Losantos, who introduced the National Library to our colleagues and introduced them to the oldest original documentation on mobile libraries in Spain.
Day 2 - Wednesday, April 20
On the 2nd day of the mobility Silvija Perić and Ljiljana Vugrinec went on a tour of the bibliobuses around Barcelona. They first visited the Mola bibliobus in Castellvi de Rosanes and then the Montau bibliobus in Sant Pau d'Ordal. From the cordial hosts, the librarians learned a lot of interesting and useful information about the Catalan bibliobuses that run in the District of Barcelona - a total of 10. They exchanged experiences with colleagues about the work of mobile libraries, which has many similarities with those in Croatia. In both countries, bibliobuses are indispensable in providing library services to the population of small settlements in remote areas where there are no other organized cultural and educational facilities.
Day 3 - Thursday, April 21
On the 3rd day of the Erasmus + program, the librarians covered over 200 km to visit the libraries and mobile libraries of the Vic region. They first visited the city of Vic where they met with the crew of three bibliobuses and toured the book storage, workspaces and garage. They then headed to the Sant Quirze Safaja bibliobus stop and the Castelltercol stop at 800 m above sea level. In the afternoon, they also visited the Joan Triad City Library, located in the historic building of the medieval monastery.
Day 4 - Friday, April 22
The 4th day of the Erasmus + project was spent visiting some of the most prominent city libraries in Barcelona. The Sant Gervasi-Joan Maragall Library is a provincial library and is characterized by an excellent architectural solution for which it has received numerous awards. It is a great fit for a community space with state-of-the-art technology equipment. A completely different library, Vila de Gracia, is located in one of the most densely populated parts of Barcelona and is the center of community events. Our hosts once again welcomed the participants of the project and established new contacts that will lead to new collaborations in the future.
Days 5 and 6 - Saturday, April 23 and Sunday, April 24
Day 5 of the Erasmus + project. One of the most special days in Catalonia is April 23, when the national holiday of Sant Jordi is celebrated - the Day of Books and Roses. It is a long tradition that Catalans give each other books and roses on that day. Book fairs and guest appearances are being held across the country, and readers are patiently waiting in long lines to get the signature of their favorite writer. It is an amazing sight to see rivers of people filling the streets of Barcelona today for books and reading. Not even a thunderstorm with hail hampered the holding of book fairs.
Day 7 - Monday, April 25
The 7th day of the Erasmus + project was reserved for a visit to a unique institution that we do not have in Croatia. This is the Center for Lending and Special Services. The task of this institution is to collect written-off materials from all public libraries in Catalonia and lend them to those libraries that need them. It is a kind of deposit library that would be welcome in Croatia as well. At the same time, cooperation was agreed between the library societies of Croatia and Catalonia, given that our host Francesc J. G. Quadras is also the president of the Librarians' Association of Catalonia.
Day 8 - Tuesday, April 26
Day 8 of the Erasmus + project. The Erasmus + library and bibliobus adventure continues in Lleida, the center of the province of Lleida in northern Catalonia, on the very slopes of the Pyrenees. The director of the Library Support Center, Nati Moncasi, warmly welcomed the project participants and exchanged information on the library systems of both countries at the working meeting. This was followed by a visit to the Pere Quart bibliobus stop 85 km away in Talarn in the Pyrenees. The special feature of this bibliobus is that, due to the distance of several days, it stays on the field, together with its crew.
Day 9 - Wednesday, April 27
Day 9 of the Erasmus + project. The day started with the crew of Bibliobús Garrigues-Segrià in their garage where the hosts surprised us with a welcome in Croatian. The road to the Maials stop followed. The inhabitants of this picturesque town are loyal and regular users of the bibliobus, which we have seen for ourselves. Throughout the stay of the bibliobus, users alternated, from the youngest to the oldest. On the way back from the field our hosts took us around the beautiful city of Lleida.
Day 10 - Thursday, April 28
Day 10 of the Erasmusplus project. The Erasmusplus study visit started and ended at the highest level. On the first day of the mobility, a working meeting was held at the Ministry of Culture, which is our partner in the project, and the official part of the mobility ended with today's meeting in Lleida, where project participants were received by Bernat Solé At the meeting, Ljiljana Vugrinec and Silvija Perić briefly introduced Mr. Sole to the project and its goals. The participants of the meeting expressed the desire to continue the cooperation of librarians. Before leaving for the train to Barcelona, the project participants visited the beautiful Biblioteca Pública de Lleida. Finally, they thanked the coordinators of the program Nati Moncasi and Marta Garcia from the Central de Biblioteques de Lleida for their hospitality and mobility.
