Public Libraries as Public Sphere Institutionssverigesdepabibliotekochlanecentral.se/wordpress/media/... · Libraries have underpinned the public sphere by - Providing public access

Public Libraries as Public Sphere InstitutionsNordILL 2018 – Libraries without borders, Umeå October 12, 2018

Ragnar Audunson 12.10.18

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ALMPUB – a project financed by the Research Council of Norway –

studies ALM institutions as public sphere institutions.

Libraries have underpinned the public sphere by

- Providing public access to knowledge and culture

- Being agents of enlightenment

- Being meeting places in their communities

- The project has partners in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany,

Switzerland and Hungary

- More than 20 researchers, 2 (3)PhD candidates and one postdoc.

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What is ”The public sphere”

• A space where citizens meet as citizens and where something like a

public opinion can be formed and where norms of rationality prevail

• Alternative: A space/place where one is exposed to strangers, as when

strolling along the main street of a city

• Digitization challenges and transforms the public sphere


The challenge of fragmentation and echo chambers



Legislation and libraries as an infrastructure for the publicsphere

The State authorities shall create conditions that facilitate open and

enlightened public discourse (§100 in the Norwegian constitution).

Libraries shall promote democracy and the free formation of opinion by promoting access to knowledge. (Swedish Library Law, mission statement)

Libraries shall be independent meeting places and arenas for public discourse. (Norwegian library law, mission statement)


Libraries expose the pluralism of values and interests in the world

• According to the Norwegian historian of ideas Trond Berg Eriksen, the

value of traditional newspapers and libraries have been that the

readers/users have to reconcilate themselves with the pluralism of values

and interests in the world


How can libraries contribute in upholding an enlightenedand informed public discourse in a digital age?


Sub-projects

• Analyzing national policies

• Surveys among general population, librarians, local politician in the

partner countries

• Case studies

• Studying user participation and new relationhip between professional and

lay people in evolving digital public spheres


Increased focus on libraries as meeting places


Are librarians running ahead of their public – or policy makers ahead of librarians?


Reasons for using scarce resources for upholding a community library service - survey in six countries

• Providing information people need in their everyday lives

• Providing information people need to be active citizens (Missions statement Swedish law)

• Arenas for public discours (Mission statement Norwegian law

• Meeting places in their communities (Mission statement Norwegian law)

• Arenas for learning

• Equal access to knowledge, culture and literary experiences

• Digital equality

• Promoting contemporary literature of quality

• Promoting creativity and innovation, e.g. makerspace, poetry lab, knitting groups

• Promoting the cultural heritage

• Poviding users with a meaningful leisure time

• Promoting integration


The public’s evaluation: Most important reasons

- Promoting the cultural heritage

- Learning

- Euqual access to knowledge, culture and literary experience

- Meaningful leisure time

• Most important reason related to libraries and the public sphere:

- The Swedish mission statement, i.e. providing information people need to be active citizens

- The ranking is stable in all the six countries – with some minor exceptions


The three least important reasons according to the public

• Promoting innovation and creativity via activities sich as maker space, poetry labs, knitting groups etc. Rank 10.

• Being a community meeting place. Rank 11

• Being an arena for public discourse

- The pattern is stable in all the six countries

- Users and non-users have same raning, but users, especially frequent users, give all reasons a relatively high value – small distance between rank 1 and rank 12.

- Non-users – a much largers distance between the top three and the three at thebottom


The librarians’ evaluation of the twelve reasons for upholding a public library service

• Basically the librarians have the same ranking as the public, with one major exception: Librarians tend to rank the library’s role as a meeting place close to the top: Swedish librarians rank the meeting place role at place 2, the Swedishpublic ran the meeting place role at place 11.

• But librarians agree with the public that the libraries’ role as a meeting place and innovation and creativity – maker space – are the two least important reasons for uholding a library service

• Librarians tend to evaluate maker space particularly low (rank 12 in Norway, Denmark and Sweden) and assign it a low value.


But in real life:

• Library users use the library extensively as a meeting place and as a

public sphere institution

• Librarians regard public meetings and creative activities/maker spaces as

a central part of ther library’s portfolio og services

- 70 – 90 per cent in our six countries regard public meetings as a central

part of their library’s portfolio of services

- 40 – 50 per cent maker speces – creative activities


30 percent of the users have been to organized meetings


43 per cent have accidentally bumped into friends and neighbors


27 per cent have visited the library with friends and colleagues in connection with a joint project or interest


40% have entered into conversation with strangers


27% have entered into conversation with people belongingto a different group than themselves


A majority of users report using the library to accesscitizenship information


Conclusion

• The library do function as a public sphere institution

• A varity of meetings are taking place – related to bonding social capital as

well as bridging social capital

• Thank you for your attention

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Public Libraries as Public Sphere Institutionssverigesdepabibliotekochlanecentral.se/wordpress/media/... · Libraries have underpinned the public sphere by - Providing public access