Rohatyn Central Library
Rohatyn Central Library occupies the historic building of the former town hall in the very centre of Rohatyn. It serves the Rohatyn urban community, home to more than 31 thousand residents.
Within the “Libraries for everyone” programme the library is being transformed into a modern, inclusive space that combines the architectural heritage of a historic building with new opportunities for learning, connection and community development.
The architectural concept is developed by the ABMK team — Nataliia Mashevska, Olena Kutsir, Sofiia Slebych and Tetiana Kharko. Research into residents’ needs and work with the community is led by Viktoriia Kostiuk and Curly Management.
Rohatyn Library is one of the two pilots of the “Libraries for everyone” programme. It is here that a model of the modern library is taking shape — one that brings together historic heritage, barrier-free access, community development and contemporary library services, and that can later be scaled to other communities across Ukraine.
Drag to compare
Project milestones and the current status of the Rohatyn library transformation
The transformation of Rohatyn Central Library began in November 2025, when a memorandum of cooperation was signed by Serhii Nasalyk, head of the Rohatyn urban community, and the PRO PM PROSVITA FUND NGO. That is when the library became one of the two pilots of the national “Libraries for everyone” programme.
In February 2026 the Curly Management team ran a two-day strategic session and a series of focus groups with veterans and their families, young people, teenagers, older residents, people with disabilities, parents, librarians and representatives of the local authorities. The aim was to understand what residents want the library to be today and which barriers keep it from fully serving as a public space.
The research showed that the community sees the library not only as a place of books and knowledge, but as a space for meetings, cultural events, psychological support, education and development. Among the main challenges, residents named the barriers of the building itself, insufficient digitalisation, outdated infrastructure, limited opportunities for young people and the library’s weak presence in public communication.
In parallel, the project team carried out an accessibility audit and a technical survey of the building, and studied Ukrainian and international cases of library transformation. This work became the basis for the methodology of the “Libraries for everyone” programme and for the architectural decisions that followed.
Building on the research, the ABMK team developed the concept of the future library. In June 2026 it was presented to the community at an open presentation, where residents could see the vision for the space and share their suggestions.
International training for the architects in Denmark in August 2026 became another important stage. Visits to contemporary libraries in Copenhagen and Aarhus, Dokk1 among them, helped adapt the best Danish practices to the Ukrainian context and refine decisions on accessibility, zoning and work with the community.
Today the team is working on the detailed design stage, where the concept turns into detailed architectural, structural and engineering solutions.
What has already been done
• a memorandum of cooperation with the community has been signed;
• a two-day strategic session and a series of focus groups have been held;
• the needs of residents and key target groups have been researched;
• an accessibility audit and a technical survey of the building have been carried out;
• Ukrainian and international practices of library transformation have been analysed;
• the methodological approach of the “Libraries for everyone” programme has been shaped;
• the architectural concept has been developed and publicly presented;
• international training for the architects has taken place in Denmark;
• work on the detailed design stage is under way.
The next step is to implement the project.
Rohatyn Library is one of the two pilots of the “Libraries for everyone” programme. It is here that a model of the modern library is taking shape — one that brings together historic heritage, barrier-free access, community development and contemporary library services, and that can later be scaled to other communities across Ukraine.