Solarpunk: Libraries and Creative Classrooms
Julian, CA library
An inherently community-oriented movement, Solarpunk aligns perfectly with the Creative Classroom Research Model as highlighted in Michael Stephens' Library as Classroom. Modern libraries foster community engagement, imagination, maker-spaces, and play—all core principles of Solarpunk. Libraries have become vibrant spaces that actively contribute to creating a future of equality and sustainability, a future that can always be built upon. With the addition of modern technology and training on how to use it, libraries also mirror the futurist mindset embraced by the Solarpunk community.
As Stephens notes, “This could and should define our services for now and in the future. The library as creative classroom means we approach the learning opportunities we create with thought, user-directed planning, and insights from research” (Stephens, 2014).
I grew up in a small town of about 3,000 people. My graduating class had just 27 students. We had one stop sign, no street lights, horse-drawn carriages, and apple pie—but no movie theater, roller rink, or bowling alley. Instead, we had the stars, the mountains, movies in the park during summer, two plays a year, and, most importantly, a library. Originally housed in an old schoolhouse, I vividly remember when the new library building opened. Suddenly, our world expanded: the children’s section grew from a few shelves to an entire wing, we had private study rooms, a teen hangout with bean bags, a used bookstore, a classroom, a puzzle table, and even eight brand-new computers.
My friends and I would spend a lot of time in the library. Far from the cranky librarians who shushed people, the librarians at this small town library encouraged our play. They encouraged us to look up myths and have wild debates on whether fairies and the Loch Ness monster were real. They had classes on origami and painting. The library would bring in a wildlife expert or a comic ventriloquist from the town. It was a community center that had a lunch program during the summer for kids and their families.
This small-town library embodied what it means to be truly community-oriented and user-focused. The librarians cultivated an atmosphere so warm and inviting that it felt more like gathering around a campfire than stepping into a traditional hall of knowledge. They embraced the future, continually upgrading technology and offering hands-on training to ensure everyone could benefit. As the Solarpunk manifesto puts it, “Solarpunk is about youth maker culture, local solutions... It is about loving the world” (The Solarpunk Community, 2014). Libraries, with their modern transformation into creative classrooms, nurture youth maker culture and support local prosperity. They are vital spaces where caring for the world and each other becomes part of everyday learning.
The Solarpunk Community. (2014). A Solarpunk Manifesto. Regenerative Design. https://www.re-des.org/a-solarpunk-manifesto/
Stephens, M. (2014). Library as Classroom. Library Journal, 139(9), 36-n/a. http://search.proquest.com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/trade-journals/library-as-classroom/docview/1522681789/se-2
