scholarly journals Vistnok uvurderlig! - folkebibliotekerne i det litterære liv i Danmark

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 42-58
Author(s):  
Niels D. Lund
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Policy ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Sociology Of Literature ◽  
Book Selection ◽  
The Public ◽  
Historical View ◽  
Brief Assessment ◽  
Literary Life

The Danish public library as a new institution and the corresponding new librarian profession were established by law about 1918-20 and soon played an active role within circulation and mediation of literature/fiction. From a view of the sociology of literature and via a brief assessment of the concept of the literary life, the article intends to overview the position and significance of this institution in Denmark during these hundred years, and as for some special subfields more detailed and methodologically to discuss the interplays of the literary life and field. Not focusing on the growth rate of the libraries‘ buying and lending of fiction copies, of educated librarians, or of the increasing importance of the compensating artist royalties to the authors as evident quantitation markers, some other thematic subfields have been selected: buying structure at the book market, librarians as literature specialists, book selection as for function, taste and qualification, the library as self-interest publicity including relations literary periodicals/magazines, and examples of mediation initiatives, and finally a short adding up of today. These subfields are inquired each chronologically, there is no total account, so. Reminding the priority of the public libraries within the Danish cultural policy, there may have been little interest and focus of them by the sociology of literature; unlike this, the discussions of the article with a long historical view substantiate that the significance of the libraries in the Danish literary life has been manifold, strong and not overvalued.

scholarly journals PRACTICAL STEPS FOR RENOVATING THE ARCHITECTURAL AND PLANNING ORGANIZATION OF PUBLIC LIBRARY BUILDINGS

2021 ◽  
pp. 327-347
Author(s):  
Valery Urenev ◽  
Tanya Rumilets ◽  
Nadiia Antonenko
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Policy ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
Lighting Design ◽  
Policy Studies ◽  
The Public ◽  
Alternative Measures ◽  
The University ◽  
Rapid Transformation

The article considers the current process of implementing the concept of four spaces in the Ukrainian libraries, which was developed by experts from the Center for Cultural Policy Studies of the Royal School of Library and Information Sciences at the University of Copenhagen (2006) in terms of architectural and planning reorganization of public libraries. The main results of the project-experimental work, which included the development of project documentation for the pilot project of the renovation of the public library in Odesa and a comparison of the stages of work with the information presented in the manual "Four library spaces: innovative model" (2020). The principles on which any project of renovation of library premises should be based were revealed: 1) libraries are places of professional and social development; 2) libraries should become accessible; 3) libraries are inclusive spaces; 4) libraries should be secure; 5) libraries should become convenient. It was found that the manual has a number of shortcomings and does not provide librarians with enough information to reorganize library spaces without the involvement of an architect, namely: 1) the manual does not pay enough attention to the development of universal examples of architectural and planning solutions; 2) there are no recommendations for providing transformative spaces with structures and furniture; 3) there is no emphasis on the need to implement the principles of universal design and barrier-free library spaces; 4) there are no recommendations for improving the insolation of the premises and the lighting design of individual spaces. A plan of alternative measures that need to be worked out to ensure the rapid transformation of libraries is proposed. An effective methodology should be based on the principles of universality of spaces and combinatorics of room equipment, as well as be flexible and able to scale both quantitatively and qualitatively.

I have to change to stay the same

2016 ◽  
Vol 117 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 22-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joyce Sternheim
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
Continuous Process ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Full Participation ◽  
Big Picture ◽  
Chocolate Factory ◽  
Matching Criteria

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose that to survive and thrive the library needs to aim for a more active role in people’s lives and in the communities that surround them. Public libraries are places of learning. They strive to enrich, empower and inspire people to support their full participation in society. But our fast-changing society (Pink, 2005) requires people to develop new competencies, such as creativity, empathy, collaboration and big-picture thinking. However, current processes of the public library are still primarily aimed at providing and improving access to information produced by others. Although of great importance, these processes are fundamentally passive and do not actively stimulate people to share knowledge and insights or to engage in conversations. It explores how this can be done and what effect this change might have on library space based on the ideas and perspective of the Dutch Ministry of Imagination. Design/methodology/approach – The Ministry, a cooperation between architect Jan David Hanrath and librarians Rob Bruijnzeels and Joyce Sternheim, conducts research and realizes new types of libraries and library architecture. To turn the public library into a more dynamic and active social setting, the Ministry has developed a new work process supported by matching criteria for the layout of library space. Findings – The new concept has been brought into practice in the Chocolate Factory in Gouda, The Netherlands, which since then has become a permanent testing ground for new library work. Originality/value – This paper is a thought piece that will be of interest not only to those concerned with public libraries, but also to everyone who is searching for ways to turn the library into a learning environment in which a continuous process of knowledge creation takes place, through interaction with the collection, but – most importantly – through interaction between people.

Inter-library comparisons: a report on progress, with particular reference to public libraries

1981 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. 271-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Talyor Harrington ◽  
R.M.L. Carruthers ◽  
M. Moffat
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Development Work ◽  
British Library ◽  
Library Management ◽  
The Public ◽  
Brief Assessment ◽  
General Terms ◽  
Statistical Surveys ◽  
General Statistical

This paper describes comparative studies, an aspect of library management in which there is growing interest. The paper is in three Parts. The first outlines in general terms the objectives of 'interfirm' or 'inter-organisation' comparisons for management. It refers to some important features of effective comparisons, and distinguishes between 'true' interfirm comparisons and general statistical surveys. Part 2 describes the programme of work so far undertaken in the development of inter-library comparisons as a man agement tool. The stages of this work (funded by the British Library R & D Department) are described, together with the findings which emerged as the work progressed. Part 2 ends with a brief assessment of the results of the public library 'pilot' comparison, which involved 27 library systems, and describes plans for further action in this field. Reference is also made to the substantial development work undertaken in 1980 relating to comparisons for academic libraries; and to the possibility of future development work relating to special libraries. The third Part describes the scope and con tent of the main ('pilot') comparison so far undertaken for public libraries; examples of the format of the results of that comparison are given in the Appendices.

scholarly journals Public Libraries in Norway and the Covid-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Roswitha Skare
Keyword(s):  
Financial Crisis ◽  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Natural Disasters ◽  
European Country ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Active Role ◽  
The Public

Public libraries have played a central role in natural disasters such as the tornado in the Gulf of Mexico in 2004/2005 and the tsunami in the Tohoku region of Japan in 2011, but also in the financial crisis from 2008. While public libraries in these crises took on a very active role in providing shelter and infrastructure for their citizens, health crises seem to tell a different story. The Covid-19 pandemic that hit Europe and Norway in March 2020 caused a lock-down of public libraries’ buildings for several weeks, as was the case in almost every other European country. This paper investigates the situation for the public library in Tromsø (Norway) in the period from 12 March 2020 and towards a gradual reopening of the library building to the public in April the same year.

Reversing the gaze on race, social justice, and inclusion in public librarianship

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Amber Matthews
Keyword(s):  
Critical Race Theory ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Structural Racism ◽  
The Public ◽  
Race And Class ◽  
The Gaze ◽  
Socially Constructed ◽  
Historical Times ◽  
Diversity Studies

While contemporary revisionist narratives frame the public library as a benevolent and neutral community resource, it has existed for over two centuries and has a deeply shaded past. Particularly, public libraries played key roles in projects tied to the industrialist mission of states and the education of select social groups during key historical times. In no uncertain terms, these were inherently racist and colonial projects in which libraries helped proffer socially constructed and politically motivated ideas of race and class. This work draws on relevant and important work in anti-oppression studies, Black studies, critical diversity studies, and Critical Race Theory (CRT) to trouble contemporary revisionist perspectives in public librarianship to show how they further entrench monocultural normativity and structural racism. It also draws on scholarship in anti-racism studies to reimagine possibilities for public librarianship that genuinely reflect its core values of equity and justice.

The e-book war in Denmark

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-105
Author(s):  
Lisbeth Worsøe-Schmidt
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Public Institutions ◽  
Book Market ◽  
The Public ◽  
Library System ◽  
Commercial Market ◽  
Book World ◽  
Traditional Understanding

The aim is to investigate how digitisation and in particular e-books have changed relations between private players and public institutions within the Danish book world through a case study of eReolen, a private-public partnership functioning as common platform for public libraries’ lending of e-books in Denmark. Traditional and new models of the book world are discussed as the basis of understanding relations between the players. A new way of analysing the field outlined by literary sociologist, Professor Johan Svedjedal, is adopted. The main conclusions are that the lending of e-books has disrupted the traditional understanding and interaction between the public library system and the commercial book market. In addition, the Danish library system through the partnership has taken on a new function in relation to the commercial market, namely acting as the engine in building a market for Danish e-books.

scholarly journals A public library cannot live on books alone: A lesson from history

IFLA Journal ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Șerbănuță
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
System Development ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Communist Regime ◽  
Information Control ◽  
Totalitarian Regime ◽  
The Public ◽  
Library System ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
Archival Documents

For almost half a century Romania was under a totalitarian regime. In times of severe censorship and information control the communist regime promoted public libraries. This paper will present the main phases of the public library system development and discuss how the state’s emphasis on providing large collections of books influenced library services. As part of an oral history project, this paper will use memories of people who worked in public libraries of various sizes in the 1970s and the 1980s, archival documents and secondary sources to contribute to a more nuanced discussion about the recent history of Romanian public libraries. What were the phases of the development of the national library system and how important was the library collection for the institutional survival of the public library? The paper will also discuss the collection development policy and contrast it with the impoverished professional development within the library system.

scholarly journals Unchain my heart and set me free: A new civil society library model.

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Life Experiences ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Dynamic Approach ◽  
New Model ◽  
The Public ◽  
Government Oversight ◽  
Direct Government ◽  
And Control

A new model of the public library is outlined that explicitly links it to its role in support of civil society. The model argues that the ongoing “chaining” of public libraries to direct government oversight and control is deleterious to their ability to actualize their potential. Collateral argument is made that that it is the civil society character rather than the simply free nature of these libraries which needs to be harnessed to help move the conceptualization of the sector away from a reactive model of client service toward a dynamic approach that integrates with the life experiences of clients.

Immaterial labour, public librarians, and third-generation public libraries

2016 ◽  
Vol 117 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 186-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siobhan A Stevenson
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Future ◽  
Public Librarians ◽  
Policy Arena ◽  
Blind Spots

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to draw attention to one specific upper-level government policy document in which a discourse of perpetual innovation and customer service is promoted, and the kinds of questions such discursive interventions raise for the future of work in public libraries; and second, to demonstrate the explanatory potential of the concept of immaterial labour for questions relating to emerging labour processes in libraries. The concepts of “prosumer” and Web 2.0 are included as discursive resources of relevance to any discussion of immaterial labour. Design/methodology/approach – This paper presents a critical discourse analysis of a public policy visioning document for public libraries in Ontario, Canada, with reflections on related literatures. Findings – The concept of immaterial labour provides an additional analytic tool suitable for questions of relevance to public librarians and library scholars. Within the government text under review which deals specifically with the future of the public library to 2020, the identity of the public librarian is alarmingly absent. Conversely, the library patron as a producer and consumer is privileged. Research limitations/implications – Failure to attend to the broader policy arena within which the public library resides creates dangerous blind spots for public library professionals, educators and researchers. Practical implications – This paper demonstrates the value of a discourse analysis for uncovering the ideological dimensions of policy documents, while simultaneously modelling the method using the kind of policy text commonly produced in governments around the world. Social implications – This paper shows how failure to attend to the broader policy arena within which the public library resides creates dangerous blind spots for the public library community. Originality/value – This paper contextualizes the immaterial and volunteer labour of the public library user as producer/consumer in the context of the future of the frontline professional and waged librarian.

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