Best Practices

They Live Among Us – But Do We Know Each Other?

[Jiří Mahen Library in Brno, Czech Republic]
As part of the project, we have organized an interactive morning for children full of games, music, reading, competitions, story-telling, sampling of traditional food and traditional clothing. Miss Leanh Nhuyen shared her memories of Vietnam. The library then approached patente and other people. The library also hosted an exhibition of photographs by Miroslav Mrkos taken during his trip to Vietnam and Cambodia. High-quality selection and acquisition of literature about Vietnam, Vietnamese literature, books in original and books supporting and developing tolerance between peoples and nationalities was a prerequisite for the project’s success. Other activities debates, book promotions) followed later. We have created a high-quality offering for potential users who can now use and borrow the newly acquired items during their regular visits to the library. We advertise our public events not only in the library but also in schools, public institutions, etc. In order to sustain the new way of promotion, the library wants to attract volunteers working on a regular basis, new partners and potential sponsors. Our flyers and website (www.kjm.cz) contain information about the library in Vietnamese. The project appealed to traditional library users as well as new, potential young and adult users. It has therefore helped both groups to get to know the other better. In particular migrants and minorities learned from the project about new possibilities offered by modern libraries that can help them to be successful, integrate into the mainstream society and get involved in local affairs and social life.

Source: Libraries as Gateways to the Integration of Immigrants in the EU (MKC Prague, 2006)

CONTACT
Jiří Mahen Library in Brno
Kobližná 4, 601 50 Brno
Czech Republic