Spaces for Literacy: public discussions on the future of libraries

Theatrum Mundi will be in Edinburgh on 20-21 August 2015, hosting three public discussions on the future of libraries at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. With rapid global urbanisation, digital technology revolutionising access to information and demands on public funding, these debates will ask what spaces will literacy occupy in the 21st century city.

As Mayor of Medellin, Sergio Fajardo revolutionised education in the Colombian city of Medellin through the introduction of strident public libraries, and will present his current projects as Governor of the department of Antioquia in conversation with Scottish Libraries and Information Council CEO Amina Shah, in The Literacy Revolution. In Museums and Libraries New York Public Library president Tony Marx, curator Clementine Deliss and Theatrum Mundi founder Richard Sennett will discuss how the institutions at the heart of our cities store and produce public knowledge. Finally, architect Francine Houben, Scottish Poetry Library director Robyn Marsack and UCL Honorary Professor of Digital Humanities Claire Warwick will debate the contrasting roles of digital and physical space for literacy in Libraries in the Digital Age.

Tickets for all events can be booked via the EIBF website.