Friendly Place: more than a library! Support a space where you can be yourself!

Who are we?

Team of librarians from Branch №9 of the Central Library of Poltava MTG. Our institution brings together proactive youth, curious children and their active parents. Our work aims at development, interesting leisure and socialization of young users.

Our Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/poltbibl9

Blog: https://bibliomaydanchyk.blogspot.com/

CB Website: https://cbs.poltava.ua/

Our experience:

Today's realities encourage librarians to independently seek means to improve user service conditions, whether expanding book collections or quality space transformation in the library.

Thanks to caring people, we've successfully implemented 2 crowdfunding projects:

• Creating children's creative space B-Zone (2020). The project involved fundraising on Spilnokosht platform with co-funding from Renaissance Foundation (USA). Thanks to active reader contributions, we raised over 44,000 UAH. Thus, one library room got new furniture and games.
• "Bookdeed" Project launched in 2023 – result of mentoring support from AlterFundLib project by "Library Country" CF. Throughout its operation, our branch received about 1200 new Ukrainian books from benefactors.

Why we decided to submit the project to the platform?

• Solve the problem of lack of space for youth and teens. Currently the library has a children's creative space, but it's oriented toward youngest visitors. The reading hall is constantly used for events held for organized groups. For teens and youth there's actually no place where they could freely spend time. Our goal is to change this.
• Update the old room. We have a book storage that, after writing off outdated Russian-language books, we can transform together with you into a comfortable place – stylish, convenient and functional. We want to give this space a second life, so it becomes a comfortable place for youth and promotes community development.

• Quality library space transformation. Today's library is not just shelves with books, but a place of meetings, learning and inspiration. We strive for the new space to meet modern needs and become a true "third place" – between home and studies, where one can feel free.
• Promote youth socialization and development, including IDPs. For many young people, especially displaced persons, adaptation, making acquaintances, integration into new community is acute. We want to create a place where they can distract from current realities, feel support, find friends and restore sense of normalcy. In this library space they'll be able to communicate over coffee or tea in informal atmosphere, play board games, watch movies, work on creative projects, rehearse performances or even create video content.
• Project terms allow possibility to receive co-funding from Kernel.
• Successfully implemented projects inspire us to turn to you for help again. We believe that together we're capable of new changes!