I am a qualified librarian and started my career in the book trade and publishing industry. The past years I have been working for the Dutch Public Library Association (VOB). Up till 2010 I was responsible for an innovative project called "Libraries 2040", which in the course of time has developed into a permanent laboratory and a creative learning
environment for future libraries. I am program manager and promoter of new initiatives, such as The Library of 100 talents (a new concept for the children's library of the future) and The Architecture of Knowledge, a cooperation with the Dutch Architecture Institute (2009) in which principles for future library architecture are explored: Momentarily I’m working towards realization of the LibrarySchool, a groundbreaking new training course (university master), aimed at educating the librarian of the future, in which learning, working and innovating are united. I’m also affiliated to the Ministry of Imagination, an innovative workplace for library architecture.
The LibrarySchool is a recognized (accredited) academic training program for library management functions in public libraries. The School focuses primarily on the training of new employees who have completed college or university and are working in public libraries. Students will obtain an academic master degree at the end of the
course, but it is also possible to complete one or more certificate programs. The LibrarySchool is a project of VOB (or its successor) and CELSTEC, Centre for Learning Sciences and Technologies of the Open University in Heerlen (OUH), specifically aimed at cooperation with other educational institutions. The School integrates working and learning. It offers much more than the average training program, because the School not only provides inspired and trained librarians, but also increases the quality of innovation in the sector. The School provides a learning environment that supports the initiation of innovation. Ideas, knowledge and insights are shared and considered from various angles, so that solutions and new combinations can be created. The School is an attractive and challenging environment for learning and innovating, not only for new talents, but also for their colleagues in the library industry. Participants are considered as important ‘learning resources’, inspirators and knowledge brokers. All bring knowledge and inspiration from the various courses they have taken.
The Ministry of Imagination - a collaboration between architect Jan David Hanrath and librarian Rob Bruijnzeels - investigates and creates new forms of library architecture. Library Architecture that enables meaningful connections between information sources, for that is what makes libraries exemplary. The context in which public libraries operate has changed drastically. The rise of information technology has had a major impact on public library service. But there’s more to it: user behavior changes continuously, diversity in society increases
and trends are shifting rapidly. Libraries have to respond adequately to the new needs and demands of society. The classic principles of library service have been replaced by new paradigms and a new innovation agenda. Radical initiatives are needed. It will no longer be sufficient to work on improvement and modernization of the current service. Real change and innovation are necessary. A successful strategy for the new library will have to be focused on risky but necessary exploration rather than ‘safe’ exploitation. Only then innovation will lead to library service and -buildings that represent a new and distinctive identity. The library in transition requires a different library architecture. The current library buildings still largely represent the old paradigms and design criteria: consumer orientated stand alone facilities, based on information scarcity. Libraries are still built like bookcases, lined up like a traditional card catalogue. In the library of the future context and significance will be important. It will be a library that uses her collection to create rich and wonderful stories.
My profile: I’m always looking for new inspiration and have a keen eye for developments in related sectors and in society in general. They stimulate me to investigate relationships between new developments and the library sector. I’m not afraid to experiment and like to explore possibilities and boundaries. I’m an analytical and innovative thinker. My main motive is the desire to innovate by looking at the essence of librarian craftsmanship. Besides a thorough knowledge of the public library sector, I have organizational skills and I’m able to make connections, also with other sectors. I have a substantial network of contacts within the sector, as well as with other sectors outside the library world.
More about my projects (please click on the logo)
- -libraries 2040; The Libraries 2040 project is a ‘permanent laboratory’ that focuses on the future of the public library. The Bibliotheken 2040 project deals with what we want from the future. The desired future that we will shape with our own ideals, our imagination and our dreams.
- -Click here for the movie about the spectacular Brabant Library, one of the seven ‘Libraries of the future’.
![NAI_TAOK_STEMPELS[3]](files/nai_taok_stempels005b3005d.jpg)
- -the architecture of knowledge: In fact, contemporary libraries are still built as covered stacks arranged and ordered according to an outdated catalogue.
- the LibrarySchool: makes innovation work and creates knowledge
- the iibrary of 100 talents: aims to be a library where children can really work with the collection. It aims to challenge children to discover their own opinions, experiences, conclusions and ideas and to share them with each other. October 2010 Biblion Publishers released a cassette of three books about this exciting project. It is a bilangual edition: Dutch and English.
- - a fresh look at the library: the wants and needs of today’s society are radically different from those of ten or twenty years ago.
- -Bookmark: What happens if 28 young designers from the famous Deign Academy Eindhoven dedicate themselves for four months to the library of tomorrow?
![NAI_TAOK_STEMPELS[3]](files/nai_taok_stempels005b3005d-2.jpg)
- -the architecture of knowledge: In fact, contemporary libraries are still built as covered stacks arranged and ordered according to an outdated catalogue.
