ICI London is delighted to take part in the EUROLIS Seminar 2026, Innovative and Less Conventional Libraries.
In a constantly evolving world shaped by new challenges, how can libraries adapt to the needs of the communities they serve?
From integrating artificial intelligence into library systems to establishing multidisciplinary working groups; from responding to climate change to adapting collections to reflect shifting borders, national identities and evolving languages – or even countries that no longer exist – libraries are rethinking their role and exploring new ways to meet the needs of their communities.
This year’s EUROLIS Seminar will explore how European libraries are addressing these challenges, showcasing unconventional approaches, innovative projects and pioneering practices that are helping to redefine the future of libraries.
The Italian speakers will be Paolo Martinelli and Alessandra Di Tella from Archilabò, based in Bologna.
Their presentation, entitled Books, Bits and Belonging: Reimagining Literacy in the Contemporary Library, will explore Archilabò’s approach. For several years, the organisation has been designing and developing innovative school and public libraries, reimagining them as inclusive spaces for learning, participation and creativity, while keeping books and reading at their core.
The presentation will showcase this approach through the example of Liquid Lab, a hybrid environment that brings together a library, a fab lab and a video game archive within a single, flexible space. Through hands-on, interdisciplinary activities combining STEM subjects and the humanities, Liquid Lab offers people of all ages the opportunity to explore digital culture while preserving the fundamental role of books as tools for knowledge, imagination and discovery. This experience illustrates Archilabò’s work with schools and local communities to create libraries that bring reading, technology, culture and participation into dialogue.
Read the FULL PROGRAMME HERE.
The seminar will take place in person at Europe House, 32 Smith Square, London SW1P 3EU, on Friday 20 November 2026, from 10 am to 4.30 pm. The event will be held in English.
Admission is free, but booking is essential.
BOOK YOUR PLACE HERE
This project is co-organised by the European Parliament Liaison Office in the United Kingdom and EUROLIS, an association of librarians and information professionals from Austria, Greece, Italy, France, Poland, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom, representing the European cultural institutes based in London.
Founded in 2002, EUROLIS believes that libraries and information services are essential to building an informed and open society, founded on the idea of a free Europe that thrives through diversity and tolerance towards other cultures. This collaborative project is built on trust and cooperation among its members, highlighting how the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Paolo Martinelli is President of Archilabò and teaches Semiotics at the University of Bologna and NABA in Rome. He is also an adviser to the Department of Public Administration at the Presidency of the Council of Ministers.
Alessandra Di Tella is Project Manager at Archilabò, where she coordinates funded projects in education and training. She holds a PhD in Literary and Philological Studies from the University of Bologna, where her research focused on digital libraries and new media.