The Skillset Podcast #9: Ilona Kisch on Public Library 2030

It’s largely accepted as a truism that libraries connect and work together—interlibrary loan, consortia, union catalogs. However, working together and connecting is not a simple task. Add in different histories, cultures, languages, political systems and you begin to get a sense of what connecting libraries across Europe is like. This is the challenge this week’s guest, Ilona Kisch, has taken on with Public Libraries 2030, a nonprofit organization that harnesses the power of libraries to support “a democratic, socially engaged and digitally inclusive” Europe. We caught up with Ilona Kisch, who stressed the importance of building networks of people and ideas over institutions and agencies.