Desirable futures for the Cologne public library
How can public libraries remain resilient and relevant in uncertain societal futures?
How can public libraries remain resilient and relevant in uncertain societal futures?
In a large-scale futures thinking workshop, more than 100 staff members of the Cologne Public Library collaboratively developed speculative images of the future and concrete ideas for desirable public libraries.
→ Visit the project website
→ Visit the project website
- 100+ participantsStaff from the central library and several district libraries worked together to imagine future possibilities.
- 4 speculative scenariosAmbivalent future worlds provided a starting point for rethinking the roles of public libraries.
- 25+ future artefactsA wide range of speculative prototypes made desirable roles and services of public libraries tangible.
Public libraries are facing profound transformations: digitalisation, political polarisation, and shifting forms of community are reshaping expectations of public institutions. Our workshop marked the starting point of the Übermorgen project — a shared entry point for staff across departments to playfully explore possible futures together. The aim was to strengthen imagination, connect perspectives, and develop first shared visions of a desirable future library.
Workshop structure
1
Introduction to Futures Thinking
A shared introduction to futures thinking opened up the space of possibilities and laid the foundation for the workshop.
2
Exploring speculative futures
Four speculative future scenarios made societal developments tangible and served as starting points for discussions in small teams.
3
Deep dive & imagination
Guided by Betti, the AI assistant, participants mentally travelled into their respective scenario worlds and explored them through immersive sensory prompts.
4
Making futures tangible
Teams developed low-threshold prototypes that made desirable roles and services of libraries visible across different futures.
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