The Ministry of Culture celebrates Libraries Day 2024 with the slogan 'For a sustainable future'

The Ministry of Culture commemorates Libraries Day 2024 on 24 October. Under the slogan 'For a sustainable future', the Directorate General for Books, Comics and Reading is promoting initiatives throughout the country that aim to involve both library users and library professionals.

This year's edition focuses on highlighting the role of libraries in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda and a more just, diverse and equal society.

The main event takes place at 6 pm on 24 October at the Public Library of Castilla-La Mancha/State Public Library of Toledo. During the event, the current contributions of libraries to equality and possible future projects are discussed at the round table on 'Equality and libraries'. This meeting has the participation of the General Director of Books, Comics and Reading, María José Gálvez; David Guerrero, author of the book 'Corres como una niña'; Lourdes Tercero Jiménez, from the Library of the Women's Institute; Juncal Roldán, creator of the autism outreach channel 'TúyTea' and vice-president of families for educational inclusion in Castilla-La Mancha; Carmen Cáceres, coordinator of activities at the Down Toledo Library; and Elena Cuallado, from the Equality Observatory of the Ministry of Culture.

After the round table, the winners and finalists of the micro-story competition 'Sustainable Libraries', organised by the Ministry of Culture last August, will be announced.

As part of the day, numerous activities will take place in Toledo throughout the whole of the 24th. In the morning, the Director General of Books, Comics and Reading will accompany a bookbus on its tour of rural areas of the province, with a stop in the town of Villamuelas. This is where the storytelling activity 'Solfi's Life' takes place, a storytelling activity aimed at learning about music and instruments, and which seeks to highlight the role of mobile libraries in small communities. This activity is open to all audiences.

In addition, the exhibition 'Sustineri Progressio in Bibliotheca: A antiguos problemas, urgentes soluciones' at the Public Library of Castilla-La Mancha / State Public Library of Toledo and a centre of interest for readings related to sustainability. The day will end with a piano concert by Momentum.

Other municipal libraries in Toledo, as well as the State Public Libraries and the libraries of the El Greco Museum and the Sephardic Museum, and State Museums located in Toledo, are joining in the celebration of Library Day by organising their own themed activities.

Poster and commemorative video

The design of this year's poster, available in all of Spain's languages, is the work of illustrator Nicolás Aznárez. In addition, for the commemorative video, the Ministry of Culture has counted on the collaboration of the writer and populariser Jorge Carrión, who has sponsored this edition of Libraries Day as a strong defender of these institutions and their democratising role in society, a meeting point and link for families and communities.

For a sustainable future

This year's theme, 'For a sustainable future', aims to highlight the key role libraries play in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda. From this point of view, it is considered that through their collections, services and activities with users, libraries contribute to building an increasingly better informed, more egalitarian, supportive and just society, fully aware of the need to lead a sustainable way of life as a commitment to future generations.

Furthermore, it emphasises that, beyond the SDGs related to culture and knowledge to which libraries clearly contribute, these institutions promote quality education, gender equality, the consolidation of more democratic institutions, the dissemination of accurate information, the reduction of poverty and care for the environment.

It also wants to underline that libraries are adopting sustainable practices to reduce their ecological footprint, such as the implementation of energy efficient buildings and recycling programmes. In addition, they educate their user communities on the importance of environmental stewardship through numerous workshops, lectures and educational resources. This work supports European and national initiatives for a greener and more sustainable economy, such as the European Green Deal and the Spanish Circular Economy Strategy.

And it is pointed out that, as democratic institutions, libraries are accessible spaces open to the participation of citizens, who look to them as a place to meet, to exchange opinions and knowledge, to set up new ideas and projects, and are especially relevant in rural areas. Libraries also contribute to bridging the digital divide by providing access to new technologies and training in digital skills for people of all ages and backgrounds, in line with the Spain Digital 2026 Strategy and the objectives of Europe's Digital Decade.

Non official translation