BiblioGreen
RESIDENCIES FOR SUSTAINABLE LIBRARIES
THE RESIDENCY
10 Goethe-Institutes from Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Turkey and Ukraine invite experts and libraries to participate in a project centered on sustainable and green libraries.
Residency Goal: What We Aim to Achieve Together
The library residency creates space for creative ideas, promotes sustainable action and strengthens libraries as vibrant spaces of transformation. The goal is to foster ecological responsibility and establish libraries as centers of expertise for sustainability.
Shaping the Future: Libraries as Sustainable Knowledge Spaces
- Strengthening libraries as centers of expertise for sustainability: developing and implementing strategies on topics such as recycling, environmental education and circular economy
- Libraries as networking spaces: promoting exchange between librarians, experts, journalists and activists in the fields of ecology and sustainability
- Libraries as drivers of social change: integrating sustainability as a core component of library work
PROJECT TIMELINE AND KEY PROGRAM ELEMENTS
The project launched in fall 2025 with a digital kick‑off event and initial networking activities. This was followed by several online formats for professional exchange and short residency stays in ten libraries. The project concluded with a joint meeting of all participants in Warsaw.
GUIDELINE
The guideline provides a concise overview of key sustainability concepts for libraries, outlines practical steps for implementation, presents selected best‑practice examples from the BiblioGreen project, and offers additional materials for further exploration.
City · Environment · Culture
In the city’s heartbeat, knowledge is growing.
As part of the programme BiblioGreen – Residencies for Sustainable Libraries, the Goethe-Institut Athen is collaborating with the environmental organization Mamagaia to organize a series of educational and participatory activities under the title “City · Environment · Culture: In the city’s heartbeat, knowledge is growing”. The aim is to connect spaces of education, knowledge, and information — such as libraries and schools — with active participation in communities of environmental awareness, learning, and action.
General Framework
The series of activities was implemented in February 2026 with the aim of strengthening the toolkit of librarians and educators, enabling their institutions to enhance their role as active agents of sustainability and resilience within the city. Through experiential learning, exchange of experiences, and practical applications, participants explored how the climate crisis affects the functioning and daily life of the school community, and how realistic interventions can be designed to connect theory with practice. The training fosters a shared vocabulary and common tools, allowing schools and libraries to operate complementarily as spaces of education, information, and participatory environmental engagement.
The initiative offers a comprehensive experience of networking, exchange, creativity, and collective action, with each activity serving as a meeting point for experimentation and activation for diverse audiences. It demonstrates that libraries are not merely reading spaces, but vibrant hubs of social action and environmental awareness—places where theory becomes practice and communities gain the tools to actively contribute to the sustainable development of the city.
New Program (July – November 2026)
The program is carried out in cooperation with the Heinrich Böll Foundation – Thessaloniki Office and the environmental organization Mamagaia. Following the successful completion of the first phase, the program continues with a new cycle of activities for the period July – November 2026, which includes:
- Consultation and coaching sessions for libraries
- Support for the implementation of a small‑scale action
- Organization of the BiblioGreen Festival at the Goethe‑Institut Athen
Call for Participation
Libraries are invited to submit a project proposal related to sustainability and environmental management within their institution. The most innovative proposals will receive financial support for implementation. The application form remains open until 15 July 2026.
PARTICIPATING LIBRARIES AND THEIR GREEN PROJECTS
PARTICIPATING EXPERTS
CONTACT
Nikoletta Stathopoulou, Head of Library and Information
nikoletta.stathopoulou@goethe.dePARTNER
The educational and participatory activities under the title City · Environment · Culture are carried out in cooperation with the environmental organization Mamagea.
