Winner of Public Library of the Year 2018: “People from all over the world come to see our library”
A few months ago, the Dutch library School 7 was awarded with the 2018 Public Library of the Year prize. Jacinta Krimp, Director of the winner library, tells about the time after the newly won title.
29 October 2018
It has almost been two months since the Dutch library School 7 grabbed the title as the world’s best new public library in 2018. Since then, the attention of the library, which is part of the Dutch library association KopGroep Libraries, has not diminished.
The newly built library School 7 is located in the city of Den Helder, and in 2017 – a year after it was built – the library won a national award as the best library in the Netherlands. Today, School 7 also holds an international award.
“People from all over the world come to see School 7 with their own eyes. They are all very enthusiastic and understand why we have won the Award,” says Jacinta Krimp, Director at School 7 and KopGroep Libraries. She further tells about the experience:
How has the reactions been after you returned home from the Public Library of the Year award ceremony?
“When we arrived at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, we planned to go home by train but little did we know, that there was a great welcoming committee standing outside. The mayor, colleagues, family and friends were there to pick us up. They most all have left home early that morning to make it in time! It was a very special moment for us.”
How has the local community in Den Helder responded to the award and School 7’s new title as Public Library of Year 2018?
“It was very special. We received a lot of presents, flowers and cake from colleagues in the Netherlands but also from our visitors. It was a very special weekend also because there was planned a party for the citizens of Den Helder. It fell into place with receiving the award and the party for the citizens. The reason for the party was to celebrate ten years of urban renewal, which School 7 was part of. The hole city was on cloud nine and everybody was so proud of the city and School 7!”
How have you celebrated the new title as Public Library of the Year 2018?
“Before we left to Kuala Lumpur we said to our colleagues and volunteers that the nomination was a price to celebrate, so therefor we planned a party on 8th September. Also, the people we worked with to complete School 7, the architects, the mayor and his colleagues were invited as well.”
People from all over the world come to see School 7 with their own eyes. They are all very enthusiastic and understand why we have won the Award
The world’s best new library is elected every year by the IT company Systematic together with the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA).
This year’s winner of the Public Library of the Year award was announced at the IFLA annual meeting on August 28. The winner is selected annually by an international jury of IFLA library specialist from all over the world, while Systematic sponsors the prize of USD 5,000.
Watch the video from KopGroep Libraries and experience the highlights from the representatives’ trip to the award show, which this year was hosted in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia:
