Samfunnsoppdrag under press Erfaringer og vurderinger i norske bibliotek under Covid-19

Siden mars 2020 har Covid-19-pandemien rammet det norske samfunnet på ulike måter. Foruten de helsemessige ringvirkningene, har privat og offentlig sektor vært nødt til å tilpasse seg den pågående krisen. De første inngripende smitteverntiltakene i Norge ble innført 12. mars. Sentrale myndigheter ga beskjed om at skoler og barnehager skulle stenge –sammen med blant annet kultur-og idrettsarrangement, frisører og treningssentre. Universitet og høgskoler gikk samtidig over til digital undervisning. Dette førte til at også bibliotekene stengte sine lokaler. Selv om det umiddelbart hersket en gjengs oppfatning om at bibliotekene måtte stenge fantes det aldri et direkte pålegg om å lukke dørene (Rognerød, 2020). I ettertid har kritiske røster har hevdet at stengte lokalerførte til at bibliotekene sviktet sitt samfunnsoppdrag (Audunson, 2020). Vi har selv påpekt at norske bibliotek for eksempel kunne inntatt en mer fremtredende rolle i formidlingen av kvalitetssikret helseinformasjon (Bøyum et al., 2021).As the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world and Norway in 2020, libraries were among the institutions that were impacted. The social mission of libraries to stay open and offer services, cultural experiences and reliable information was put under pressure. In this article we depart from a survey of 843 library workers across public, academic, special, and school libraries in Norway. The survey was conducted in June-August 2020 and contains quantitative and qualitative data on how library workers experienced lockdown and the responses from libraries. The article addresses how the Covid-19 crisis impacted libraries’ social missions and what circumstances contribute to crisis management in Norwegian libraries. We use institutional theories on isomorphism and institutional pressures, as well as general theories on crisis management, to analyse the material. We conclude that the pandemic has shown the potential of digital library services, but also find that closed library premises strongly influenced how libraries were able to fulfil their social missions. Our findings also indicate the need for a sectorial leadership in times of crisis. In our discussion, we describe a situation where structures and plans to manage situations of crises are lacking. For libraries to be part of society’s democratic infrastructure, their roles and social missions need to be considered in crisis management plans

The image of an institution: Politicians and the urban library project

In terms of political perceptions, library building projects appear to be similar across different contexts. Qualitative interviews with local politicians were employed to examine attitudes towards public libraries and library development in three cities building new central libraries: Aarhus, Denmark; Birmingham, UK; and Oslo, Norway. Applying an institutional perspective, the analysis focuses on norms, legitimization, and organizational change. Findings show shared views on the role and mission of the library. The informants primarily pointed to citizens' democratic rights and their country's democratic tradition when legitimizing public funding for libraries in general. However, argumentation for local library building projects was connected to city development and the desire to portray a city as oriented towards knowledge and culture

Building bridges: The role of the Relational Librarian

Building bridges: the role of the relational librarian The link between interpersonal trust, participation, social capital and democracy is evident through scholarly work in different research areas (see for example Sullivan & Transue 1999). These concepts are also relevant to discuss in relation to “improved communities”, not least in connection to the recent “social turn” of public libraries, which encompasses an understanding of the library as “a locus and an enabler of social processes in the interpersonal sense” (Nolin & Söderholm 2015). Both public library practice and research has sought to discover how libraries contribute to community-building activities, which in turn can foster social and democratic sustainability (see for example Audunson et al 2019). But what does this entail for library professionals? David Lankes’ refers to librarians as potential “change agents” (2016). Mary Ghikas of the American Library Association encouraged librarians to turn outward (2019), in order to support belonging and cocreation in local communities. Thus, the role of the librarian needs to be related to building trust and relations – within the library, in the neighborhood and in the community: building bridges. To build knowledge about what librarians contribute to building relations, I propose an exploration of their contribution to community building, highlighting their “relational competence”. Questions for discussion: How do librarians work with building trust and fostering connection in diverse communities? In what way is “relational competence” part of librarians’ professional role? This “relational competence” includes skills, abilities, attitudes and knowledge connected to establishing, developing and maintaining relations between people. To what extent are these concepts considered to be part of librarianship? I also want to include a discussion of “relational competence” in terms of LIS education. In his article “Never neutral never alone” (2020), David Lankes argues that there is a need to reconsider the elements in the LIS education programs. The image of the neutral information professional does not comply with the newer ideal of the librarian as an activist, a knowledge professional seeking to improve communities. The result will be a conceptualization of the relational librarian, and a discussion of how fostering connection can be a goal-oriented approach for librarians to engage in community building. References Audunson, R., Aabø, S., Blomgren, R., Evjen, S., Jochumsen, H., Larsen, H., ... & Koizumi, M. (2019). Public libraries as an infrastructure for a sustainable public sphere: A comprehensive review of research. Journal of Documentation. Ghikas, M. (2019). Listening to your community: How to create a structure of belonging. https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2019/11/01/listening-to-your-community/ Lankes, R. D. (2016). The new librarianship field guide. Cambridge: MIT Press. Lankes, R. D. (2020). Never Neutral, Never Alone. Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, 61(3), 383-388. Söderholm, J., & Nolin, J. (2015). Collections redux: the public library as a place of community borrowing. The Library Quarterly, 85(3), 244-260. Sullivan, J. L., & Transue, J. E. (1999). The psychological underpinnings of democracy: A selective review of research on political tolerance, interpersonal trust, and social capital. Annual review of psychology, 50(1), 625-650

Being, learning, doing: A palace for the children? A Tween’s Library Seen from the User’s Perspectives

In this chapter we investigate the library’s empowering aspects within the context of Biblo Tøyen, a library designed and open only for children between ten and fifteen. It is unique in a Norwegian context, but inspired by TioTretton in Stockholm, and the Library of 100 talents in Holland. Both these libraries have been designed and developed with the involvement of users – the children themselves (Mosch and Bertrams 2009; Bayliss 2015). Most libraries put a special emphasis on creating services for children, but traditionally these have been centered around books and reading. At Biblo, the goal is to create a third place (Oldenburg 1989) for children and make them active contributors and participants in the library. Learning, knowledge, and culture still take center stage, but literature does not underpin the activities in the library. Cooking, playing games, or creating things are the most visible activities at Biblo

How children find their way: access, adaptability and aesthetics in the organisation and design of a new children's library.

The organization and presentation of books and media is a central part of accessibility in libraries, and a central part of the libraries’ presentation of itself. Traditionally, this is based on specific classification schemes, categorization, and alphabetization, performed by trained librarians. This paper investigates a different approach in a children’s l ibrary, where the children themselves have decided how books should be organized and displayed within the library, and try to identify what messages about childhood the organization, space and design convey. Our initial research suggests that the library’s organization promotes serendipity as guiding principle. Giving control to the users signals a desire to empower children, and creating a sense of ownership. The space itself signals fun, but also a homeliness that support multifaceted use

"It's all about relations" - an investigation into the youth librarian’s role and proficiency

Developing library services for children and youth is a challenge for the library community. Statistics show that while younger children are avid library users, their usage often wanes as they grow older. Norwegian children between the ages 9 and 15 visited the library half as much in 2017 as they did in 1991 (SSB 2017). One exception is Biblo Tøyen, Norway’s only library dedicated to children between the ages 10-15. Recently named Library of the Year, the library provides a very popular space for its target group. Based on a qualitative study consisting of participant observation and interviews with members of the library staff, who are not trained librarians, this paper highlights the staff’s varied contributions to establishing Biblo as a third place and developing the participatory elements of the library. We look at what guides the staff in facilitating specialized programming for the users and how they perceive their own their role as library staff by exploring in what ways they have interacted with, learnt from, guided and “policed” the target group in developing a participatory, third-space atmosphere.Our findings suggest that the staffs’ relational capacity is vital for creating a successful library space for this age group. From our study, we propose that the multi-aspect role of the youth librarian as teacher, confidante, inspirer, parent, and guardian needs to be taken into serious account in the future education of librarians and for the development of future youth libraries

"It's all about relations" - an investigation into the youth librarian’s role and proficiency

Developing library services for children and youth is a challenge for the library community. Statistics show that while younger children are avid library users, their usage often wanes as they grow older. Norwegian children between the ages 9 and 15 visited the library half as much in 2017 as they did in 1991 (SSB 2017). One exception is Biblo Tøyen, Norway’s only library dedicated to children between the ages 10-15. Recently named Library of the Year, the library provides a very popular space for its target group. Based on a qualitative study consisting of participant observation and interviews with members of the library staff, who are not trained librarians, this paper highlights the staff’s varied contributions to establishing Biblo as a third place and developing the participatory elements of the library. We look at what guides the staff in facilitating specialized programming for the users and how they perceive their own their role as library staff by exploring in what ways they have interacted with, learnt from, guided and “policed” the target group in developing a participatory, third-space atmosphere.Our findings suggest that the staffs’ relational capacity is vital for creating a successful library space for this age group. From our study, we propose that the multi-aspect role of the youth librarian as teacher, confidante, inspirer, parent, and guardian needs to be taken into serious account in the future education of librarians and for the development of future youth libraries