Common Crafts – Common Libraries

Common Crafts – Common Libraries brings together nine European Goethe-Institutes in a shared process of learning, exchange and development. At its core lies the question: What new impulses can traditional craft practices bring to libraries — as spaces of knowledge that go beyond providing books and instead connect people through hands-on activities?

To explore this question, librarians, designers, and cultural practitioners from Armenia, Bulgaria, Greece, Croatia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic met in Athens in 2025 to discuss approaches and perspectives for connecting crafts and libraries. Practices such as pottery, textile work, bookbinding, and gardening make traditional knowledge tangible and accessible. Libraries are thereby reimagined as public spaces where knowledge is explored through practice, reflected upon and further developed.

The project connects craft practice with sustainable ways of working and new forms of knowledge sharing.

The regional diversity of the participating experts is a particular strength of the project. Different experiences, resources and local contexts create opportunities for mutual inspiration and for developing approaches that are firmly rooted in local realities while remaining relevant and transferable across the region.