“The Artero Library can become a social space for interaction in the city.”

The purpose of the University of Almería is to contribute to the social, cultural, economic and environmental development of the province, and this is recognized in the third award of the UAL III Social Council Awards. The project “Design and Implementation of the Central Library of the Municipality of José María Artero de Almería”, implemented by Encarna Fuentes Melero, Mila Cascajares Roperez, Carmen Pérez Agudo and Juan Luis Sánchez Martín, has been awarded 3,000 euros, which they will donate to the Asalsido and A Toda associations. Vela.

“The José María Artero Central Library project was created to create a different center, modeled on the most modern libraries in Northern Europe. We didn’t want to reproduce a traditional library, focused solely on studying or reading. This library is the third place, the space where citizens go after home and work, where they enjoy meeting, learning and activity areas, to take advantage of the entire building. The JM Artero Central Library can become a social space for interaction in Almería ».

This concept, explained by the person in charge of the project, Encarna Fuentes, is perfectly reflected in its design: “It was conceived in two parts. Entering to the left we find the area of ​​silence for study and group work. And to the right, an area where books coexist with technology. Here there are areas for publishing Self-taught, self-learning language, “maker”, video games, music … It offers an amazing number of possibilities ». In addition, Encarna Fuentes notes that it is a library for everyone. There are areas dedicated to the elderly, adults and children. It is designed so that ” It can be enjoyed by all people, regardless of their abilities, as it is a comprehensive library. If you look closely, everyone can have their space here. It was a requirement that the city council also insisted on a lot and we paid special attention to this aspect.

Cultural and social agora of the city

Accompanied by other team members, you walk around these bright spaces, while they remember the details of their work. «At that time I was the director of the University Library and the Mayor of Almería at the time, Ramón Fernández Pacheco, entrusted me with the design and commissioning project. From there the administration corresponds to the city council. They have given us a free hand and all facilities to develop it. We did this work in parallel with our work at the university, and it was intense, but very beautiful.” An excellent project awarded by the UAL Social Council for ‘the work of individuals, companies, associations, foundations, foundations, etc.’ which stands out in particular for its contribution to the social, cultural, economic or environmental development of the city and province of Almería.” The €3,000 prize will be donated to the Asalsido and A toda Vela associations.

The project took care of every detail to achieve its goal of becoming a cultural and social agora of the city, from space design, furniture, collections, technology, signage, brand image, adaptation to people with different abilities, etc. ». However, after opening in January 2020, the pandemic came two months later, “and it could not be implemented as originally envisioned. We hope from now on to develop the philosophy with which it was put forward, because it is precious. It can be different from everything In the environment, it is a true center of cultural and social activity.

Finally, Encarna Fuentes thanked the award on behalf of the team. “University of Almería, in addition to teaching and research, has an important transformative role for society and this is recognized by the UAL Social Council with these awards, which is very essential.”

About the Third Social Council Awards

Knowledge is the basis for the sustainable development of society. For this purpose, the Social Council of UAL has created some awards, the University ‘Nobel’, in different categories, with which it wants to publicly acknowledge the contribution of faculty, research, administration, services and students of UAL, as well as companies, to the prosperity of the University and the community of Almeria as a whole. In this context, the President of the Social Council, Mariola Hidalgo Martínez, affirms that “we want to value the talents present in the UAL, and to transfer knowledge to companies for the benefit of the Almeria community”.