BUDDIES - Connected Libraries & Communities

Europe’s 65,000 public libraries—along with school, prison, community, and other libraries—are vital lifelines for disadvantaged communities. BUDDIES empowers frontline library and community worke...

Europe’s 65,000 public libraries—along with school, prison, community, and other libraries—are vital lifelines for disadvantaged communities. BUDDIES empowers frontline library and community workers to create more inclusive, relevant, and impactful learning opportunities for marginalised groups. By building a pan-European network, the project equips them with skills and tools to nurture libraries as hyper-local learning hubs, strengthening their role in supporting vulnerable adult learners.

We pioneer mentoring by pairing library and community workers with a ‘buddy’ from another locality to support professional growth, networking, and problem-solving (WP2). A peer-to-peer KnowHow Lab connects 300+ frontline workers across 26 countries, building a sustainable network (WP3). The project develops a competency framework for engaging marginalised groups, policy recommendations with a high-level advocacy event in Brussels (WP4), and a campaign with two major multiplier events (WP5).

The project upskills and connects library and community workers across Europe to support disadvantaged groups, creating a ripple effect of empowered libraries providing better services to marginalised adult learners. This is achieved through tangible products (e.g. mentor-mentee scheme, P2P portal, competency framework) and intangible impacts (improved skills, attitudes, behaviours; enhanced role of libraries as learning hubs; greater uptake and sustained participation of vulnerable learners).