Ignite Talk

As libraries, we want to be a place for everyone. Through our participation with the project “#queeringthelibrary”, which was part of the international project “The Europe Challenge”, we were able to reach out to three queer groups in Berlin, who designed various events for our library.

We would like to share our experience and learnings from the collaborations, events, and participant feedback. We also want to create a space to talk about the importance and goals of working with queer communities.

Hosts

Debbie Wallers and Tim Leik

Debbie Wallers (she/her), Librarian and Program Coordinator, Central Berlin Library. During her studies in library and information science and also gender studies, it was the field of public libraries that fascinated her. Now, in her work in the library, it is important to her to make the space accessible to people often underrepresented in libraries.

Tim Leik (he/him), Deputy Head of Program & Project Manager Event Sundays, Central Berlin Library. Tim studied Cultural History and gained extensive project management experience while working for the “Bauhaus Foundation” and on a project, hosted by the German Cultural Foundation, which fostered the advancement of cultural institutions. He also worked on a program, also hosted by the German Cultural Foundation, that supported contemporary music by sending a music train across the country, among other things.