Biblo Tøyen: A Kids-Only Library for those ages 10 to 15 in Norway. No Adults allowed!

Visiting Biblo Tøyen, a library specifically designed for young people ages 10–15, was a highlight of my time in Oslo, Norway. Our first night in the city, my better half’s awesome host Richie (@digitalsadhu on Twitter) told me about this library and I was, from then on, on a mission to find and see it during our limited time in the city.

Top left: Ski Gondola — this one is inside the library as a reading nook but a similar one is located outsisde for parents to wait for their children — no adults allowed in this library! ; Top Right: my host, Christian, and me; Bottom left creative cubbies to house kids’ bags and shoes — which must be removed upon entering the library; Bottom right — one of many kid friendly seating/reading areas throughout the library.

My first attempt met with failure, because although I managed to successfully locate the building, I was turned away, since I was not a member of the 10–15 year old age group for which the building was designed. I remembered Richie’s warning from the night before that only kids were allowed in, and that even parents who came to collect them had to wait outside in the repurposed ski gondola set aside for them to wait until the kids came out to meet them. Pretty awesome. Before I left, though, I caught a glimpse of The Coolest Library Ever, and totally played the US-teacher-on-sabbatical card to find a way to return the following Monday for a guided tour in the morning before the children would arrive (after school lets out around 2:00). Score!

As the weekend went on, I was lucky enough to find two contacts who taught in primary schools in Oslo and set up school visits for the following Monday as well, but I was careful to carve out an hour in the middle of the day for my Biblo Tøyen visit, because I was super excited to go back and get a tour of the place. An added bonus was that the employee I spoke with, Christian, happened to be a Costa Rican expat who he was just as excited to find someone to speak in Spanish with as I was!

When I arrived, Christian was ready to show me around and I was immediately in heaven. Never had I seen a space more carefully designed to meet kids where they are developmentally and nurture a love of reading. This article does a better job than I can of summarizing the space’s purpose (to fill a need surrounding where to send students of this age group after school), its concept (to find a niche that meets a need in students’ lives for a “3rd space” between home and school that is free from parents, siblings, etc.) the activities the library provides for youth (everything from cooking classes to mini-concerts), and the technology they incorporate (drones to locate the books! Goodbye dewey decimal system! 😊) So…just go read the article if you’re as much of a reading geek, with a particular soft spot for the YA genre, as I am.

Here are some pictures of this incredible space, which I learned during my visit is not the only library of its kind around the world to be designed specifically for kids, and was inspired by the Trio Tretton library for youth ages 13–16 in Stockholm, Sweden.

I would have LOVED all of these kid-centric reading nooks and crannies when I was younger. The front of the truck has an area to crawl up on and pillows to lean back and read on; the back of the truck is a mini-kitchen fully equipped for cooking classes-see next picture below; the orange stand is for self-directed crafting / makers spacing.

Top: Back of truck kitchenette; Bottom Left: Gaming center (Minecraft is just as popular here as in the U.S!) and lego wall; and Bottom Right: creative and mobile shelving for books on metal tracks that are able to be rolled about as needed to make space for activities hosted in the library. No worries about not finding a book you’re looking for — a specialized drone will fly to your book’s barcode and locate it for you!

Top Left: view of the library from entrance; Middle Left: study/chess/reading nook; Bottom Left: Christian on the stage where they have hosted movie nights, concerts, and maybe someday soon, Skype calls with our after school clubs!; Top Right: Cubbies with crafts & materials for makers space craft stations; Bottom Right: comfy couch facing stage.

Following up on the questions of a librarian colleague of mine, I learned from Christian that Biblo Tøyen has some subscriptions to support students’ academic research but most of those are found at the “adult” library a couple of steps away (which is equally beautiful and awesome — you can see some pictures of it in my first post; I can totally picture a fun afternoon or day of dropping your kids off at Biblo Tøyen while you go on to the adult library for some alone time before picking them up again later). Christian also told me that due to the library’s schedule (opens daily around 2 PM, which is when most school days for this age group end in Norway), teachers are always welcome and encouraged to use the library space during the day and the librarians are more than happy to help teachers plan for projects that utilize the library space and resources during or outside of the traditional school day. I’m a little jealous — if this place was in walking distance of my school I might make it a weekly destination!! ☺️