Public libraries, social capital, and low intensive meeting places

Introduction. This paper presents a research project aiming at eliciting the potential of public libraries in building social capital, and promoting generalized trust in today's multicultural society. Method. Two approaches to research, the societal approach and the institutional approach are identified. The concept of low intensive versus high intensive meeting places is presented. A survey among inhabitants in four different metropolitan communities varying according to demographic characteristics in general, and the percentage of the population with a non-Western background in particular was undertaken. Initial results from a survey on how the public library is taken into use as a meeting place are presented and analysed. Analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the research question. Results. The survey results indicate that the library is a complex meeting place with a range of meetings along a continuum from high intensive to low intensive meetings. Conclusions. The library's potential role as a promoter of social capital by functioning as a low intensive meeting place seems to offer a promising research agenda

How do public libraries function as meeting places?

How are libraries used as meeting places, and by whom? Through survey data, six categories of places are identified: the library as a "square," as a place for meeting diverse people, as a public sphere, as a place for joint activities with friends and colleagues, a metameeting place, and as a place for virtual meetings. Representative samples of the population in three townships in Oslo, each with a markedly different demographic profile, are surveyed. Multivariate regression analyses are performed to analyze why some people use the library for a range of meetings and others do not, as well as to examine variations in the use of the library for different kinds of meetings. Public libraries are shown to be used for a variety of meetings. Community involvement is more important than township and demographic variables in explaining variations in use of the library as a meeting place. Correlations between low income and low education and high use of the library as a meeting place were found, indicating that the library as a meeting place plays a substantial role in equalizing the possibilities of being an active citizen across social and economic differences. The study contributes to understanding the role of the public library in a multicultural context. The public library as a unique and complex meeting place has important implications for future librarianship

Public libraries : a meeting place for immigrant women?

The potential role of the public library in the lives of immigrant women is elicited by in-depth interviews with nine female immigrants to Norway from Iran, Afghanistan, and Kurdistan. The research utilizes social capital theory, the concepts of communities of practice and legitimate peripheral participation, as well as the concepts of high intensive versus low intensive meeting places. The results indicate that the library plays different roles in the different stages in the respondents' experiences as immigrants. It allows for legitimate peripheral participation when the immigrants move from observing at a distance to more active participation. The library functions as a high intensive as well as a low intensive meeting place and seems to contribute to building social capital in a variety of ways

Websites for booklovers as meeting places

Purpose – The study aims to report on a research project that analyzed social websites for booklovers. These sites represent a service that is promising for public libraries in their efforts to find new ways in promoting reading and literature. At the same time the growth of such sites is another example of how technological developments challenge librarianship. Many of these sites are established and run independently from the library field. Design/methodology/approach – This paper reports from a research comparing two such websites – the Norwegian Bokelskere.no and the Hungarian Moly.hu. A questionnaire was published on the two websites in mid September 2010. It was accessible for approximately 20 days. A total of 777 users filled in and returned the questionnaire. Findings – As the typical user of Moly/Bokelskere is a young, ethnic Hungarian or Norwegian, well educated, female from the bigger cities the complexity and pluralism of society is not reflected in the websites in the same way as it is in physical libraries. They are not heavy library users, and they have a relatively low trust concerning libraries in comparison with other sources of information. The sites are mainly used as information sources and not as places where one can meet with others. Although the social dimension of reading appears, it is related mainly to the family or friends and not to strangers. Research limitations/implications – It would be inaccurate to claim that the study gives a comprehensive overview on social sites for booklovers. The relatively high number of respondents from the two analyzed websites provides an extensive, but not comprehensive, sample. Self-recruitment of respondents might cause biases compared with a randomly drawn sample. Practical implications – The study on which the paper is based is a part of the PLACE project, which aims at exploring the role of public libraries as meeting places. The study generates knowledge on the potential and role of virtual meeting places that is relevant for public libraries in their efforts to adapt to a new reality. Social implications – The study generates knowledge that can be of importance for developing libraries and library policies in relation to digital meeting places. Originality/value – There are few studies analyzing literary websites for booklovers and the study contributes in developing a new research field in library and information science

Do libraries matter? Public libraries and the creation of social capital

Purpose – Librarians and the library profession keep repeating that libraries contribute greatly to generating social capital by “building community”. However, little evidence of this has been presented. This paper aims to be a first step towards correcting this situation by asking whether public libraries matter in the creation of generalized trust. Design/methodology/approach – This study used quantitative data in analyzing macro-level data on whether public library expenditure could explain social trust patterns in the OECD countries. Additionally, a few qualitative interviews with public library leaders in the USA and Norway were used to indicate by what mechanisms, or by which processes, libraries generate generalized trust. Findings – The main finding is that public libraries seem the most important factor in creating generalized trust in the OECD area, even more so than efficient/impartial public institutions. However, there is the problem of causal direction. It might be the case that it is high trusting countries that prioritize public libraries. Therefore, times series data are needed as well as qualitative data on the process of trust creation in the library. Interviews with library leaders point towards the fact that they see outreach activities as creating trust and that people trust the library. Replication of these results, however, is crucial. Moreover, the findings appear to indicate that when the library's attention is directed at disadvantaged groups of non-users it is the widespread trust in the public library institution that breeds trust among these groups too. Originality/value – The paper contributes to the understanding/theory of the creation of generalized trust in general and to the role of the public library in this process.This paper was written as part of the research project “PLACE: Public Libraries – Arenas for Citizenship” lead by Professor Ragnar A. Audunson, Oslo University College, and financed by the Research Council of Norway. The authors would like to thank members of the PLACE research group, master students in the class on information and cultural policy (fall semester 2007) within the LIS program at Oslo University College, and two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments. They would also like to thank Professor Susan Clarke and the Center to Advance Research and Teaching in the Social Sciences (CARTSS) at the University of Colorado at Boulder for having provided an excellent work environment

Korean Immigrants’ Perceptions of Library Services and Library Multicultural Programs for Asian Communities Before and During COVID-19

This study explored 141 Korean immigrant parents’ use of local libraries to enhance their families’ social and cultural capital and adjust to the host country. We searched resources in Korean, and multicultural programs planned for the public and immigrants, Asian immigrants in particular, at two libraries before and during COVID-19. Parents reported dissatisfaction with library services because of language barriers (38%) and the lack of Korean resources (38%) and cultural programs (25%). Except for 18 books and 24 e-resources, no library resources in Korean were published after 2008. Before COVID-19, one multicultural program was offered for children. At Branches B and C, the number of adult programs related to Asian culture decreased to 0% from 6% and increased to 3% from 0%, respectively, during COVID-19, when hate crimes against Asians increased by 77%. The respondents’ concerns about the lack of programs supporting their adjustment and fostering multicultural dialogue were validated

Public libraries: places creating social capital?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to show why studies of public libraries, regarding their possible contribution in creating social capital, are important for social capital research in general, and are important for library practice in particular. Design/methodology/approach – Building on the latest theoretical developments and empirical findings of social capital research, the role of the public library as a potential creator of social capital is discussed. Findings from both quantitative and qualitative empirical research are discussed, and also the need for further studies is presented. Findings – The paper reports quantitative macro-level results concerning whether public library expenditure can contribute in explaining social trust patterns in the OECD countries. However, to be able to ascertain this, numerous qualitative studies revealing the mechanisms actually generating generalized trust are needed. Preliminary qualitative interviews suggest that this approach can prove fruitful. Research limitations/implications – The implications for further research into public libraries and the building of generalized trust are twofold: one the one hand, more specific research questions on the role libraries can be asked regarding accommodating diversity and increasing trust among diverse groups, e.g. immigrants. On the other hand, the suitability of the public library for investigating these questions makes the results relevant for social capital research in general. Practical implications – The library profession points to the importance of libraries for social capital and maintain that libraries have been overlooked in this matter. Strong sentiments like this should be ideal for implementation of research based library policies, strategies and activities for creating social capital. Originality/value – What is new in this research is that studies of public libraries may contribute in resolving the impasse within contemporary social capital research where neither institutional nor societal perspectives seem to be able to verify how social capital is create