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Adult learning in Bergen Public Library
Start date: Jun 1, 2015, End date: May 31, 2016 PROJECT  FINISHED 

Bergen Public Library is a large cultural institution and much used by the immigrant population. Social and digital inclusion is in focus, and during the last years the library has developed it's services within the field of adult learning. The objectives of our project has been to improve the adult learning programme by acquiring new competence in organizing learning activities and methods for learning, and to widen our adult learning programme starting new activities and practices by getting new ideas. Five participants participated, all with their daily work in leading and planning the adult learning activities in our library. Three of the participants work mainly with language learning and social inclusion and had two mobilities (study trips) each. Two are more involved in digital inclusion and had one mobility each. In September a group of four travelled to the Netherlands for three days. FOBID Netherlands Library Forum helped us make an intensive and informative program in cooperation with Breda library, our main partner in addition to FlevoMeer Lelystad Library. The travel program also allowed interesting visits in the libraries of Utrecht and Amsterdam in the evenings. In FlevoMeer library we mainly studied the project Huis voor Taal, a learning and training network in collaboration with the Lelystad welfare organization. It focuses on language, numeracy and digital basic skills for life. We studied the learning area in the library, met volunteers at work and had a tour of the library with an amazing achitecture. The Breda library has a focus on battling illiteracy in the programme Taal & Werk (Language and work) aiming to improve language and job chances for a variety of inhabitants. We studied the programme and the library's learning area, learned about the Dutch Literacy week and production of reading material and participated in a reading groups led by a volunteer, all very impressing and enlightening. In Utrecht we focused on the project Beter Nederlands Leren (BNL) within of the program Taalsamenwerkung Utrecht (Language cooperation Utrecht), which several organizations collaborate on. In Amsterdam we mainly studied the program Leef en leer! and toured of the library. Both visits were very instructive. In November four of us flew to Copenhagen/Malmø for three days. By the airport we visited the Tårnby library, and had interesting talks on their learning strategy, escpecially on digital inclusion and saw their learning areas and library generally. Malmø Stadsbiblioteket presented their learning and cultural activities in relation to languages, and we got to know the impressing library. Studying the Learning centre (Lärcentrum) focusing on digital inclusion and informal learning, was also very instructive. We visited Rosengårdsbiblioteket, situated in an immigrant area and studied the language related activities, experienced the language café with volunteers of Swedish and immigrant background filling the library and met new ideas for language learning. In Garaget which is created as an "extra living room" for the local population, a meeting place for all generations and a library, we learned about how services and activities develop from the needs and ideas of the local population. We were generously welcomed in both Netherlands and Malmø/Tårnby. The enthusiasm and competence shown by the leaders and workers of the libraries and learning programmes were highly motivating. We were inspired by the well planned programs the libraries had for life long learning both within language and social learning and digital inclusion. In most concepts they cooperated widely in the local community, for instance with welfare organizations and schools who could recommend the library programs to their users, this showing us a way to reach the non-users in need of the library's learning activities. We learned from the libraries' willingness to listen to the needs and ideas of the users, testing and implementing new activities. Often the users themselves were part of running activities or volunteers were a driving force. The wide use of volunteers and ways of connecting to potential volunteers in learning activities, motivated us and gave us new ideas. The concept of Language Friend (Språkvenn) from Rosengårdsbiblioteket is a program which we would like to try out in Bergen. After the trip to Malmø we applied for economic means from The National library and have received a grant for a project of which we have high expectations. From Amsterdam we had the idea of making an interactive map of all free language and digital learning activities in town in cooperation with local organizations in Bergen. The map is now being developed by our digital department, and will be useful for the library, organizations and end users. Other ideas and motivations from the Erasmus+ study trip will be followed up in the time to come. We are very pleased with the outcome of the project!
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