The transformation of public libraries is impressive: In two decades they have changed from quiet lending centres to indispensable places for meeting, learning and social engagement. What's behind this success? Colleagues Ronald and David wrote an article about it. The article below was in the December issue of Social Questions of December 2025. Since this week it can also be read online on their website:socialevraagstukken.nl
There has been a silent revolution in public libraries. In about twenty years, establishments have managed to shake off their dusty image to emerge as vibrant places of encounter, information and education. This development can be understood as a shift from . Libraries are no longer collections of books, but offer numerous social activities.
These activities vary widely; from crafts with children and repairing broken devices to poetry evenings, reading clubs and philosophical cafes. In addition, libraries host Information Points Digital Government (IDO) for questions about tax returns, municipal regulations and other digital government issues. They also offer walk-in hours for energy coaches, for example, and have found their place there for volunteers learning newcomers Dutch. Finally, a majority of locations are multifunctional: library establishments share their building with a (high) school, a daycare centre, a municipal institution or a cultural facility.
"Some libraries even offer free subscriptions or have removed fines on late surrender of books"
Despite the decline in the number of independent library organisations from 542 in 2000 to 131 in 2024, separate establishments have started to organise much more activities. In 2023 it was a 32 percent increase, compared to a year earlier.
Houserooms of the city
The revival of libraries is remarkable. In times of social displeasure, political polarization and gloom over the future, the transformation of libraries provides inspiration and hope. This transformation raises the question of how to explain the success of libraries. Part of the answer relates to attractive, often multifunctional library locations in village or city centres or shopping centres. In addition, the buildings themselves may be special: a thirteenth-century monastery church in Zutphen, a former chocolate factory in Gouda or the beautiful former post office in the centre of Utrecht, to mention some examples.
Libraries are called the town halls of the city of Ohio, and that is understandable: There is a lot of investment (see below in this article) in an inviting atmosphere with plants, sitting areas, colorful carpets and beautiful rooms, amidst shelves full of books. Locations invite to stay longer and people also know how to find the library better and better. Following a steady decline in the number of members, there seems to be stabilisation or even slight growth. In any case, visitors do not have to be a paying member to participate in activities. Some libraries even offer free subscriptions or have removed the fines on late surrender of books. This helps to make the library accessible to everyone.
Creative employees
But eventually, people make the library. Despite the longer-term shrinkage of the workforce, more paid and often younger employees have been added in recent years. Moreover, the number of volunteers has increased significantly: from around 7000 in 2010 to over 26 000 in 2023. At the same time, the old profession of librarian is disappearing. On the other hand, libraries attract enthusiastic directors and highly trained executive staff with backgrounds in theatre, art or literature. This creates a lot of creativity in the design and organisation of social activities.
"Employees allow visitors to engage in conversation with such a living book, with the aim of achieving mutual understanding"
One example of this creativity is theLiving Library, a library consisting of books that are alive: People who have a special story to tell, evoke prejudices or controversy, such as ex-cons, transgender individuals or someone with autism. Employees allow visitors to enter into conversation with such a living book, with the aim of achieving mutual understanding.
Fun factor
Currently, libraries are committed to training so-calledcommunity librarians: library staff actively investing in social networks and connecting to citizens. Their role is to address different target groups, to share knowledge and to programme activities that match local needs. This is preferably done in consultation with neighbourhoods and neighbourhoods.
Furthermore, library staff attract people and organisations from outside to set up and carry out low-threshold meetings. For example, branches in various places work together with ecclesiastical diaconies and volunteers, who bring in their own expertise. Libraries offer a location, a cup of coffee and a (digital) sign, neighborhood residents do the rest. Within this design visitors can walk in for a chat or are invited to a philosophical café.
Library staff attract people and organisations from outside to set up and carry out accessible meetings
Employees always try afun factor(b) to be applied. Besides sometimes difficult subjects there is always room for cosiness and fun. By way of illustration, libraries organise meetings on the future of digitalisation.artificial intelligenceFor many people a complicated theme. Then not only an expert is invited; People are also working with each other to get theirselfieto make in the style of Van Gogh. And that brings us back to thinking about how much energy this actually costs.
Citizenship
Libraries summarize the social activities that they organise themselves in terms of "Citizenship." This focuses on specific digital citizenship: supporting people to be independent and resilient in an information society. These are the IDOs mentioned, but also information packages, inspiration days, workshops and training sessions. Furthermore, libraries work on democratic citizenship: join society and work together to find solutions to shared challenges. The library makes you a citizen, according to the Utrecht library network BISC.
However, the success of libraries does not mean that visitors come to something as abstract as "Citizenship." People find something in the activities that resonates with them. Thefun factorhas already been mentioned, but the appeal of libraries goes beyond that. During our national tour of various library activities, it was noted that contact and connection are crucial elements. Write afternoons, evenings and listening groups make people from different backgrounds and ages meet. This can also be a bycatch of activities that focus primarily on something else: crafting with children or writing stories together on an old-fashioned typewriter. Libraries offer all space for spontaneous encounters and conversations. They can already be created at the reading table where the elderly can read their newspapers and study young people free of charge.
Inner fulfillment
With their talent to facilitate meeting and connecting between people, we come to richer and deeper layers of what libraries have to offer; They are often not discussed in discussions and policies on citizenship. Meeting and connection contribute greatly to the well-being of visitors. A compliment after someone has recited his own story, an unexpected engaging conversation with a stranger, encouragement and comfort; It's meaningful moments that help people to feel seen and heard. Visitors to activities talk a lot about "a spark" that jumps over or about the "magic" of poetry.
This underexposed moral and spiritual layer of what is happening within libraries seems to touch a sensitive string in our secular society. While there is talk of a widespread "phrase crisis," libraries are physical places where inner fulfillment takes place. The social activities that libraries organise are not primarily focused on efficiency or utility, but simply leave people to be bred as a goal within themselves. During activities something of idealism and resistance to cynicism, polarization, the dangers ofartificial intelligenceand other forces that threaten our society. For feeding democratic citizenship, a spearhead of libraries, this is an important insight: meaning and meaning are powerful impulses for community formation in a society where there are many concerns about populism, individualism and loneliness.
Large investment
The described transformation of libraries does not take place in an administrative and legal vacuum. After years of austerity, mergers and reorganisations, the Dutch government has recently invested heavily in the sector again. With so-called SPUK funds (the one-off local library benefit scheme), libraries were able to spend a total of €57.4 million on making their establishments future-proof from 2023 onwards. This money has taken place in new or renovated buildings, extended opening hours and cooperation relations with museums, schools and childcare.
After a review of the Public Library Facilities Act (Wsob) in 2019 revealed that public libraries were heavily members under austerity drive, the then cabinet decided that every Dutchman should have access to a full branch within a reasonable distance. The underlying idea and ideal was that libraries contribute to personal development, lifelong learning, promoting reading, closing social gaps and combating low literacy. In other words, the government saw libraries as the ideal solution to major societal challenges.
Municipalities will be required to keep at least one establishment open from 2026.
Yet libraries remain vulnerable. History shows a constant struggle for subsidies. As mentioned earlier, after the last two decades, the number of independent library organisations has declined. Since 2015, the number of branches remains fairly stable and varies between 1200 and 1300. In order to protect libraries from closure, each municipality will have a duty of care from 2026 to keep at least one establishment accessible at least 15 hours a week and operated professionally.
In addition, five key actions already enshrined by law in 2015 in the new Library Act of 2025 have been re-protected: promoting reading, enabling learning, providing information, organising meeting and getting to know art and culture. This has also given libraries a legally strong social anchor.
Sustainable future
To sum up, the social success of libraries can be explained by a combination of attractive locations, creative employees who have accessible activities with afun factororganise, and find visitors who meet, connect and meaning. Furthermore, the government has invested in libraries and a new library law has been in force since 2025.
A key point for other societal initiatives to take along is that libraries can stimulate interhuman contact, do something fun and learn with each other, in a neutral, playful and casual atmosphere. Visitors can escape from care and (performance) pressure during activities, there doesn't really need anything, and there is room for individual attention. Man is central to the library, which contributes to feelings of meaning and personal well-being.
"However, the success of libraries also brings with them dilemmas"
However, the success of libraries also entails dilemmas. The range of activities currently being organised is so large that the question arises as to what libraries do not actually do. And can libraries meet all the high expectations associated with the desire to promote democratic citizenship? Much of the current funding is project-based, not structural. This creates uncertainty in libraries about the continuity of programmes and the availability and equipment of staff. Does libraries actually manage to be there for everyone? For example, the threshold to enter a branch is quite high for low-class people. Although the sector is currently in the wind, critical reflection on the social function of libraries remains necessary to ensure a sustainable future.
Would you like to know more about the programme Ronald and David are working on? Then take a look at the programme page.Public libraries and Citizenship