Administration staff member Martin Mullin of Castleblayney Community Enterprise, along with Photography Tutor Dave Barry, travelled to Prague for a three-day visit as part of the Erasmus+ Job Shadowing Programme.
They travelled to Prague on Sunday, 17th May, and met Eliška from the Municipal Library of Prague on Monday morning to take part in a job-shadowing at the library.
During their visit they received an exclusive tour of the Municipal Library of Prague and received presentations on adult education activities. Both visitors were invited to view the famous Book Tower a cylindrical art installation made from more than 8,000 real books located at the entrance to the library.
The next day they visited the Department of Digitization, a specialised section of the Municipal Library of Prague for a tour. The department was equipped with book scanners used to digitise old books and create electronic copies which are used by Adult Education Learners. These digitised versions serve not only as a backup of paper publications, but also make books in the Czech language more accessible to modern audiences and younger readers through digital platforms and e-books.
During the visit, digitization staff member Rose delivered a presentation explaining why the library is launching new audio and AI-based projects for books. The library is responding to changing trends in how people consume information, with listening becoming increasingly important alongside traditional reading.
The library is currently developing three main AI projects: the AI librarian “Aja”, the AI audiobook project “New Wave”, and an experimental initiative called “Poetry in Rhythm”, which combines poetry, music, and artificial intelligence.
Their visit also included free time to explore Prague, where they visited some of the city’s most famous landmarks, including the Prague Astronomical Clock, Charles Bridge, and Prague Castle.
