Biblioteket som motor i å skape lokalsamfunn med sammenhengskraft i en flerkulturell storbykontekst

Er bibliotekfeltets nye ideer om bibliotekene som møteplasser i lokalsamfunnet og motorer for integrasjon og bygging av lokalsamfunn med sammenhengskraft i samsvar eller i konflikt med holdninger i omgivelsene? Med utgangspunkt i ett case, en flerkulturell bydel i Oslo, søker artikkelen å avdekke hvordan interessentene i et biblioteks lokalmiljø-politikere, forvaltning, skoler, barnehager, frivillige organisasjoner og den alminnelige borger - ser på bibliotekets rolle som møteplass og lokalsamfunns-utvikler. Forskningsdesignet var sammensatt, med vekt på fokusgruppeintervjuer med nøkkelaktører i lokalmiljøet samt representanter for beboerne, både bibliotekbrukere og ikke-brukere. Funnene viser at alle informantgruppene, inklusive beboere som nå ikke bruker lokalbiblioteket, hadde et sammensatt og variert syn på hvilken rolle biblioteket kan spille lokalsamfunnet, og forskjellene mellom dem var små. De la vekt på rollen som lavintensiv møteplass som fremmer samhørighet, som integrasjonsarena og flerkulturell møteplass og som stedsutvikler (place-maker) som kan bidra til å utvikle lokal identitet - langt på vei i tråd med bibliotekfeltets ideer

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

From collections to connections: building a revised platform for library and information science

Introduction. The paper discusses the often-repeated assertion that digitization makes libraries and librarians redundant by giving everyone access to the information they need without having to rely upon librarians as information middlemen. Method. Relevant articles both from research literature and from discussions in the public sphere preoccupied with the relationship between digitization and librarianship are summarised and discussed. Analysis. The essence of librarianship is discussed and we propose the following generic definition: librarians are professionals who, on the basis of organized collections of documents, initiate and stimulate social processes related to knowledge sharing, knowledge creation, learning and cultural experiences. The processes represent the mission, the collections the tool. Based on this definition the relevancy of librarianship in a digital world is discussed. Results. We suggest that, based on the generic understanding of librarianship, librarians will still be needed. The social processes implied in the discussion presupposes places in which those processes may unfold and these places might be called libraries. Conclusion.Librarians and libraries are not redundant, but they will have to change in order to stay relevant. One important change is to focus upon the mission instead of the tool

A közkönyvtárak mint demokratikus terek

A tanulmány elsősorban a könyvtárak megváltozott szerepét és lehetőségeit vizsgálja a 21. század kihívásai közepette. Megállapítást nyer, hogy a digitális globalizálódott világ újra életre hívja a közkönyvtárak egyik küldetését – mégpedig azt, hogy segítően közreműködjenek abban, amit a demokratikus köztér biztosításának nevezünk. Ezeknek a fenntartható demokratikus tereknek adnak helyet a mai kor könyvtárai, és működtetésükkel a könyvtárak társadalmi szerepe nem hogy nem csökken, hanem létfontosságúvá válik. A tanulmány egy pontján érdekes megállapítást vesz át egy szakirodalomból, miszerint nem létezik olyan, hogy digitális bennszülött

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

Perceived outcomes of public libraries in Finland, Norway and the Netherlands

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to compare the perceived benefits of public libraries and their structure in the major areas of life between Finland, Norway and the Netherlands. Design/methodology/approach – The data were based on representative samples of Finnish, Norwegian and Dutch adult library users. In Finland a mail survey was used and in Norway and the Netherlands web surveys were used for data collection. The distribution of the proportion of those benefiting from the library in various areas of life at least sometimes was compared across countries. The structure of benefits was compared across countries by factor analysis. Findings – The results showed that the level of the nineteen benefits observed was considerably higher, and the range of benefits remarkably broader in Finland compared to Norway and the Netherlands. It is likely that the greater supply of library services in Finland compared to the other two countries explains the differences in benefits derived from the public library. The study validated the measurement instrument for the perceived overall outcomes of public libraries. Research limitations/implications – Comparing only three countries is too limited for producing valid results on the relations between the supply of library services and their use and the benefits derived from that use. Analyzing these associations in a larger sample of countries would create reliable results also for policy making. Practical implications – The policy implications of these findings are discussed. Originality/value – This is the first across-country comparison observing perceived benefits of public libraries across major areas of life

Det nyfødte barnet og forebygging av hypotermi prehospitalt

Sammendrag Bakgrunn: Fra den prehospitale konteksten finnes det lite forskning når det kommer til hypotermi hos nyfødte. Ambulansetjenesten i Norge har de siste årene gjennomgått en kompetanseutvikling og tjenesten er i kontinuerlig utvikling. Basert på lite forskning rundt forebygging av hypotermi ved fødsel prehospitalt er dette et moment som gjenstår når det kommer til kompetanseutviklingen. Hypotermi er direkte relatert til økt dødelighet og det er derfor viktig å forebygge. Hensikt: Hensikten med denne oppgaven er å undersøke om hypotermi er utbredt ved fødsel prehospitalt, og hvordan ambulansepersonell effektivt kan forebygge hypotermi, samtidig som vi gjennomfører sikker transport. Oppgaven skal føre til bedre forståelse av hypotermi som faktor ved fødsel utenfor sykehus. Metode: Oppgaven er skrevet som et litteraturstudium, basert på et litteratursøk som ble gjennomført i Medline. Vi har også benyttet oss av pensumlitteratur fra bachelorutdanningen Paramedisin ved UiS og annen relevant litteratur for å belyse problemstillingen. Resultat: Fire forskningsartikler ble inkludert i litteraturstudien. Artiklene er kvantitative og tar for seg forskning fra Frankrike, England og Australia. Disse omhandler nyfødte prehospitalt og tar for seg blant annet predisponerende faktorer til hypotermi, vitale parameter hos nyfødte ved ambulansetransport, sammenligning av oppvarmingsmetoder hos nyfødte og faktorer som fører til sykdom og dødelighet. Konklusjon: Alle artiklene kom i likhet frem til at hypotermi er et problem hos nyfødte født prehospitalt. Det er også enighet om at hypotermi er viktig å forebygge da det øker risikoen for sykdom og dødelighet hos nyfødte betraktelig. Kuvøse er den mest effektive måten å forebygge hypotermi hos nyfødte