The project “Artificial intelligence in the service of the book”, which the Literary team created together with the Raczyński Library in Poznań, received a recommendation for funding under the 1st call for proposals for Action 2: Improving access to culture and art under the “Culture” Program (EEA FINANCIAL MECHANISM 2014- 2021). The project partners include the City of Poznań, the Book Institute and NORLA – Norwegian Literature Abroad (Norway).
The project “Artificial Intelligence in the Service of Books” aims to raise the level of readership in Poland. To complete this task will be used, inter alia, artificial intelligence. According to the applicant, i.e. the Raczyński Library in Poznań, the main problem of low readership is the lack of access to new publications in libraries, a poorly developed network of libraries and an ineffective book recommendation system.
The main goal of the project is the development of reading in Poland, including by increasing the competences of library employees using innovative tools in the field of new technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) and the exchange of good ones
practices developed together with a partner from Norway.
The result of the project will be a book of good practices, and its implementation in the activities of the Raczyński Library in Poznań will serve as a kind of case study for libraries all over the country.
The project will result in the development of the library as a building institution
active relations between the reader, author and literary critic, development of entrepreneurship as a result of the project in partnership with a startup from the creative and cultural industries.
In order to achieve the assumed goals, the following activities have been planned:
- Building competences among managers and employees of public libraries, as well as other institutions involved in the development of literature in the field of:
• innovative methods of selecting and purchasing new items for libraries, cataloging and sharing library resources,
• innovative methods of recommending literature readers based on their expectations and the content of borrowed and purchased books,
• the use of a network of book kiosks in districts with low library availability. - Organization of events as part of the Book People Festival
The Book People Festival is a series of artistic, educational and promotional events that will be organized by project partners in Poznań and in sub-regional urban centers of the Wielkopolska and Warmian-Masurian provinces.
The main theme of the festival will be building in-depth and active relations between readers and authors from Poland, Ukraine and Norway, translators, editors, illustrators, literary critics and bloggers.
During the Festival, innovative methods of managing library collections, recommending literature and involving the reader in literary life with the use of AI will be presented and developed.
The project provides for the implementation of activities addressed directly to library employees and indirectly to readers, as well as authors and literary critics. Educational activities and testing of innovative tools for sharing books in places remote from libraries (a network of book machines) and tools based on AI technology, which will be used to build the knowledge necessary in a modern library, were planned: – how to manage library catalogs,
- how to recommend literature to readers in order to increase the number of loans,
- how to manage information about literature and literary criticism.
For these purposes, innovative tools developed by the start-up Literacka Sp. z o. o. – partner in the project. The partner from Norway and the Book Institute will join in all activities as active entities acquiring competences, sharing their own experiences from the Norwegian reading market (NORLA) and co-organizing the Festival.
Applicant:
The Raczyński Library in Poznań
Partners:
NORLA – Norwegian Literature Abroad (Norway)
Book Institute
Literacka Sp. z o. o
The city of Poznań
Only 14 applications were recommended, and all winning projects can be found at THIS link .
