by Rebecca Royston, AWC Zürich Library Chair
Libraries have been a core feature of American communities since the 1800s, and years ago, our club’s founding members brought that spirit to Zürich. Thanks to their hard work, the AWCZ’s English-language library has become a fixture in Zürich.
The world of information and technology is ever-evolving, and modernizing a library is an essential step in keeping up. A library that has not been updated in many years may become outdated, and its resources may no longer be relevant to its patrons. Over the years, the AWCZ library has made use of many different technologies, from card catalogs to custom-built computer systems, and we’ve consistently tried to use both available technology and library science to serve the AWCZ community in the best way we can. That’s why, over the last year, the AWCZ library has been hard at work updating itself by incorporating new technologies, updating the collection, and creating a more user-friendly library space.
To assist in our efforts, the FAWCO Youth Cultural Volunteers spent several productive hours in our library, working hard to modernize our space. They helped to rearrange some shelving in our children’s library, which opened up the space and has made it much easier to browse our collection. They also crafted some decorations for the children’s library, turning it into a magical space where our young patrons can enjoy spending time. They helped remove old books from our collection: their combined efforts meant we could weed out around 250 books in a single afternoon. As a result, our collection is tidier, easier to browse, and serves our community more effectively.
The AWCZ library is a valuable asset, which plays an important role in promoting education and literacy in Zürich’s English-speaking community. Thanks in part to the FAWCO youth, we hope to remain an essential resource for decades to come.
Photo credits: Lyla Taylor
