Unknown Partners, Great Opportunities: How Libraries & Schools could Work Together for a Better Society

In order to strengthen libraries as places for dialogue with and among citizens and administration, a close cooperation between schools and libraries is inevitable. Only this collaboration right from the start can guarantee the same chances of social participation for all. What sounds so self-evident is often hard to achieve in practice. A detailed look at the framework conditions and a small, regional study in Germany from 2018 for a master thesis reveal some reasons: the heterogenous nature of the school system and very few administrative connections between the realms concerned. According to this improving the dialogue between these parties is required. The poster shows what is already common practice in Germany and many other countries and suggests how progress could be reached: collaboration during professional education and educational training as well as binding, reliable partnership. It also wants to encourage stakeholders bravely to take action by searching for political solutions, which could enhance the chances for a broad and successful cooperation over the long-term. The key issues are learning from and about each other, supporting each other and finding cooperative models for the future - in other words: a fruitful dialogue for working together systematically to facilitate social participation for changing the world, or at least the local community.