Bibliotecas y empoderamiento: servicios innovadores en un entorno de crisis

This article analyses the role of public libraries on the promotion of individual and collective empowerment, according to the action lines of the new Public Library model, based on international recommendations and trend studies. These initiatives promote, among others, the transformation of the library space in a kind of "Agora", or third space, initiatives aimed at the promotion of the creative capabilities and developing new learning models, as well as technological tools for the social and shared economy. The final goal is evaluating the level of implementation of these innovative services in the Spanish Public Library Network, highlighting the most significant initiatives. The study is based on data provided by the people on charge of the organisms. As an instrument for collecting data, a questionnaire was designed ad-hoc, which was later completed by personal interviews and searching on the official web pages. The response rate obtained was 73.3% (41), a sufficiently representative sample that allows a global view of the implementation of services. The study results show that even when public libraries start providing those services that the new social needs demands, like training for job-search and ICT competences, other, more innovative services, as the use of digital manufacturing tools or the transformation of space in collaborative and co-working spaces, are offered in a much smaller proportion.