This year's "Night of the Libraries" on April 4, 2025 attracted around 200 visitors to the University Libraries in Görlitz and Zittau. The event offered a varied program for young and old - with creative, culinary and literary highlights.

A particular crowd favorite at the Görlitz location was the smoothie bike - a converted bicycle with a blender, where visitors could make their own smoothie by pedaling vigorously. In Zittau, the student-run DeziBar provided food and drinks.

A creative highlight in Görlitz was the screen printing station, where fabric bags could be printed with the official "Night of the Libraries" logo. Many thanks to Rabryka for designing the print template and providing the material.

For the little (and big) craft fans, there was a craft station at both locations with bookmarks, coloring pictures and creative things made from old book pages: Balloons, greeting cards and reading corners. Those who wanted to explore the library in a fun way could take part in an exciting quiz and a library rally - with great prizes for the most successful explorers. Board games for young and old were also provided by the StuRa in Zittau and the city library in Görlitz.

Those who wanted to learn more about artificial intelligence could attend a short workshop in Zittau and test their knowledge of AI with a quiz and a picture puzzle. The library also presented its premises during a guided tour and the historical holdings in the special reading room.

The various readings by members of the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences were a literary highlight. They read from their favorite books or presented their own texts - sometimes exciting, sometimes funny, sometimes emotional - sometimes musical. Both in Zittau and in Görlitz, the readings were met with much delight and admiration from the audience.

The absolute highlight of the Görlitz evening was the reading with Kathi Stayn, an author from Zittau. She presented her first novel "Verborgenes Traja" (Hidden Traja ) and gave personal insights into her journey from the initial idea to the finished book. Her authentic narrative style inspired the audience and made the evening a very special experience.

In Zittau, the evening ended with a party for dancing, chatting and socializing. The University Library was bathed in green light for the occasion.

All in all, the "Night of the Libraries" was a complete success - lively, inspiring and a wonderful demonstration of how diverse libraries can be today.