On Friday, August 4, at 4:00 PM, the new Gāliņciems Library will open its doors to visitors – a multifunctional centre in Ventspils, at Kuldīgas Street 138, which was built with co-financing from European Union funds and will serve the residents of the area as a cultural and social centre.
The vocal ensemble “Mundus” will perform at the opening concert of the Gāliņciems library. From 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM, visitors will not only be able to see the building but also participate in creative workshops that will allow them to get acquainted with the library’s new services. Children will be able to participate in a small family tree creation workshop. Everyone will be able to try out how a spinning wheel and a spool real works and learn more about the weaver’s profession. At the Ventiņi dialect workshop, it will be possible to test knowledge of the Tāmnieki dialect, and at the Braille writing workshop, visitors will be able to print their name in Braille and view materials used by people with reading disabilities. There will also be an opportunity to get acquainted with the possibilities of artificial intelligence conversationalists.
The library will also be open to visitors on Saturday, August 5, from 10:00 to 16:00.
Gāliņciems is one of the residential areas in Ventspils, on the left bank of the Venta River, which is currently growing – families who build their homes here choose it as their home. The library has been operating in this area since 1954. It was originally founded on the initiative of the writer, then manager of the Ventspils library, and resident of Gāliņciems Herberts Dorbe, so that residents would not have to travel to the city to find books.
Initially, the library was located in the Mācītājmuiža, but when the conditions there became completely unsuitable for work, since 2003 the library has been located in 90 square meters of premises next to the local doctoral school.
The activities of the Gāliņciems library and regularly organized events that attracted more and more visitors, as well as the successful experience of the new Pārventa library, made us think that the time had come to build a new, high-quality, modern building that would offer not only library services, but also serve as the Gāliņciems community centre, a place where concerts, exhibitions, performances would take place, a place where free time could be meaningfully spent. The idea of building the Gāliņciems community centre was supported by the Ventspils City Council in 2013.
The construction of the building began in November 2020 and was completed at the end of 2022. The building was built by SIA “AMATNIEKS” (Ltd.). The building design was developed by SIA “SARMA & NORDE Arhitekti” (Ltd.), which the municipality selected from 14 proposals submitted in a public design competition. In turn, the construction work was supervised by a certified specialist appointed by SIA “Būves un būvsistēmas” (Ltd).
The building is 620 square meters wide. It has a separate hall for events, a spacious room for placing the library collection, a place for open-access computers and a separate area for children and young people. Several scenically expressive common ash trees grow near the building, as well as three hybrid alders, which have already reached the status of a large tree and are considered particularly valuable.
The library will offer visitors six new thematic services related to the preservation of the traditional way of life and its uniqueness. A centre for skills in ancient crafts and a creative space, a group of researchers of natural and cultural history will operate here, literary and writing workshops, folklore and Latvian life events will take place. Family history researchers will also gather and study here regularly, and it will be possible to receive support for the acquisition and application of digital skills and technologies. The new Gāliņciems library will ensure that people with visual impairments can also conveniently use the library services, because since July of this year, the library has integrated the previous collection of the Ventspils branch of the Latvian Library for the Blind. In the section intended for children and young people, there will be an opportunity to use a game console, play board games, read and simply spend time.
The total eligible costs of the project “Establishment of a multifunctional service centre in Gāliņciems” No. 5.5.1.0/19/I/001 are 2.8 million euros, including co-financing from the European Regional Development Fund of 2.38 million euros or 85%, a state budget grant of 84 thousand euros or 3% and municipal budget funds of 337 thousand euros or 12%. The project was implemented by the Ventspils City Municipality Institution Ventspils Libary in cooperation with the municipal SIA “Ventspils nekustamie īpašumi” (Ltd.).
More information:
Kristīne Duļbinska
Ventspils Library
Public Relations Specialist
Mob.: +371 27020754
Kristine.dulbinska@ventspils.lv
(Translated with the help of DeepL Translate)
