Toespraak staatssecretaris Gunay Uslu bij de opening van het World Library and Information Congress

Toespraak | 21-08-2023

[het gesproken woord geldt]

‘The library changed me forever.’ - Murat Isik

‘As a child, when I was going to the library and my mother asked me where I was going, I would always reply: ‘To heaven, mother.’’ - Mano Bouzamour

‘If it weren't for libraries, I'd be a different person.’ - Lale Gül

These are quotes from three well-known Dutch writers. At a young age, they discovered the library. And in those cathedrals of knowledge, they discovered a wealth of stories. Shelves full of books. A view of the world through somebody else’s eyes, just through the simple act of reading.

You could take a tour of the chocolate factory with Charlie, go on an epic adventure with Frodo, Sam and Gollum, or stand alongside the Greek hero Achilles.

At a young age, these three authors – like so many other young people – discovered what libraries have to offer. They expanded their horizons and improved their knowledge of the Dutch language.

Now, in 2023, there are so many things that you can do at your local library. It’s a place where you can lose yourself in a book, watch a movie or a play, take part in a debate or follow a course. You can ask for help filling in a complicated government form, find a quiet corner to study or just stop by for a cup of tea.

Libraries are places where you can grow and develop. Where knowledge, stories and different perspectives are all within easy reach. A library is a society in miniature.

Whether you live in Rotterdam, Paris or Melbourne. At your local library, you will meet people who you might otherwise never encounter. Which makes your world a little bit bigger.

Libraries are for everybody, and that makes them so important today.

These days, we all live inside our own bubble. Mistrust, contradictions and division all make our bubbles smaller and smaller. But at the library, we can find depth and connection. Ways to expand our worldview. To let those bubbles grow and perhaps even break out of them. This facilitates open dialogue and brings people closer together.

Our libraries are places to find knowledge, in whatever form.

A library is also a bit like a hotel lobby. People come and go, and as you’re sitting there it feels a bit like going on a journey. It’s a comfortable environment, but one that also makes you eager to learn about new worlds and new insights, and the lives and cultures of other people.

Library professionals make sure that all library visitors can go on these journeys. You pack their suitcases full of knowledge.

And in my view, people should be able to go anywhere and everywhere. Free to take any path they want. To any destination. A freedom that not everyone is comfortable with. And that is undermined when people would rather see a certain item in the collection go.

They want to cancel that one destination forever, because it doesn’t match their worldview. But it’s so important that people can have access to all those different points of view.

The British writer and Nobel prizewinner Doris Lessing put it so fittingly: ‘With a library you are free, not confined by temporary political climates. It is the most democratic of institutions because no one – but no one at all – can tell you what to read and when and how.’

Everybody deserves that freedom to learn and gain deeper insights. And that begins with a properly resourced and equipped local library.

That’s why we are going to invest more in our Dutch libraries over the next few years, and reopen branches that have been closed. We will also ensure that existing libraries can keep their collections in shape, organize cultural and educational activities and employ more staff. Or get extended opening hours.  

This is how we intend to preserve and strengthen our libraries.

There are plenty of wonderful and versatile libraries in the Netherlands. Just take a look in Amsterdam, Tilburg or Zwolle. Or here, in Rotterdam.

This city is the perfect place to hold this conference.

Because it’s also the birthplace of the humanist scholar Erasmus, who, in the fifteenth century, was already convinced of the power of education. Of learning and discovering. We find his words here in Rotterdam, but also near my office in The Hague.

There, on the side of a flyover, are the words: ‘A life without books is unlivable.’

And I would like to add: ‘A life without libraries is unlivable.’ So please continue to do your valuable work. And make the most of the next few days. Learn from one another, develop yourself further. And help our libraries flourish even more.

Thank you!