I did not have the pleasure of meeting Annette Schlumberger. However, I have read her writings about what she considered a library to be and how she envisioned something groundbreaking for that time: libraries only for children. Libraries that addressed children with respect, with the philosophy that children can learn about everything, and with the ambition to make them citizens with judgment, citizens of the world.
Every welcome of a new child to the Library, every discussion we have in groups after reading a book, every selection of a new book, every activity and event at the Library, every creation of a new program, I feel must be grounded in the aesthetics and values that Schlumberger herself envisioned for her libraries.
The Kifisia Children’s Library SEARCH aspires to be an extension of our children’s rooms. A place where children of different ages, backgrounds and social classes, will function as groups, express themselves as individuals, judge, and take a stand as citizens.
"I don’t know what kind of person I would be if I hadn’t come to the Library," said Ariadne, 17 years old, who has been visiting the Library regularly since she was 9.
"In the Library, it’s always Christmas" said the father of three children who often visits our Library.
I want to believe that Annette Schlumberger would share in the joy of their words with me.
Katerina Frouzaki
When I first came into contact with the ‘world’ of Kifisia Children Library, I felt as though I had stepped into a childhood dream. The space is filled with warmth and color, radiating calm while also creating the right mood for reading. One can find information on art, music, science, and history in books intended for all ages.
At the same time, the educational activities that regurarly take place there, offer children in the most wonderful way unique knowledge and perspectives on the world and on life, that they had never encountered before. In this way, through books, the Library transforms into an endless journey.For me as a new librarian, this is a unique job, first of all because children openly express their emotions and questions, but also because through the stories we read together, I draw strength from their smiles as well. Beyond that, working forand with children is deeply creative. By constantly seeking new ways to inspire them while also offering them knowledge, you discover abilities you never knew you had, and also develop your imagination—something we often forget we possess. And in the end, by working with children, I myself get illuminated too!
Electra Valianou
