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What if learning digital skills felt like exploring an open, interactive space rather than scrolling through a conventional list of online courses?

This summer, librarians taking part in the DigLib project are conducting a diagnosis of the digital competencies of their local communities. This is the fundamental first step towards setting up a Living Lab in each of the libraries.

This article summarises the research conducted by the DigLib partners across Italy, Poland, Flanders (Belgium), and Romania in order to offer a comparative overview of the evolving role of public libraries in the digital age. The research report brings together interviews, survey results, and desk analysis. Its findings will guide the next phase of the project: a) defining the training modules in a specific virtual environment; b) shaping the methodology; c) creating the Living Libraries where DigLib’s learning approaches will be tested in real environments.

[Update 21/07/2026: change in the list of selected libraries] Public libraries across Europe are stepping into a new role as key drivers of digital inclusion. As part of the Erasmus+ Digital Libraries (DigLib) project, 22 selected libraries from Belgium, Italy, Poland, and Romania will pilot Library Living Labs - innovative learning environments designed to help adults develop essential digital skills.

Eight trainers from Belgium, Italy, Poland, and Romania completed a three-day workshop in Warsaw this March, and they're now ready to bring digital education to libraries across Europe.

Public libraries are changing. They are no longer only places to borrow books or search for information. Today, they are also spaces where people learn, connect, and explore the digital world with more confidence. This role is especially important for people who need extra guidance, such as seniors, migrants, unemployed adults, or citizens who rarely use digital tools in their daily lives.

This is one of the core ideas behind DigLib. The project supports public libraries in becoming inclusive digital learning hubs, where librarians act as guides and community facilitators. To do this effectively, librarians need strong digital competences themselves, and the confidence and methods to support others.

In the project’s introduction article, we mentioned that the DigLib framework will be implemented and tested in 20 public libraries across 4 European countries. The approach we chose to do so is called "the Library Living Labs". It is time that we explain the meaning of this concept and why it is relevant for the completion of the project’s deliverables. At the end of this article, we also share tips for library employees who would like to implement Living Labs in their libraries.

In October of last year, the "Digital Libraries" project team met with librarians from "Przystanek Książka" (The Book Stop), a library in Warsaw, Poland. This library serves not only as a meeting place for literature but also as a digital education centre for seniors, where they learn practical skills that facilitate their daily lives, both online and offline.

We’re thrilled to introduce the DigLib (Digital Libraries) project! Funded by the Erasmus+ programme from 2025-2027, this project will harness the potential of public libraries as inclusive community hubs for lifelong learning. We are on a mission to transform public libraries into vibrant digital hubs, empowering librarians as community moderators. DigLib brings together five partners across four EU countries: FRSI (Poland), PL2030 (Belgium), EOS (Romania), CSBNO (Italy), and Dot Beyond (Italy).