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Public libraries continually struggle to define their social value, and economic or educational rationales are commonly submitted to this end. In contrast to these approaches, public sphere theory emphasizes the political and social justice aspects of public libraries. Existing library literature has established strong associations between public s...
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Design/methodology/approach
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Citations
... However, the results show that the professionals also considered it important to host public meetings and thereby serve as an arena for public debate (Larsen et al., 2023, p. 371) Widdersheim and Koizumi (2016) created a conceptual model of the relationship between public libraries and the public sphere to provide a foundation of public library legitimacy grounded by Habermas's (1989) public sphere theory. Widdersheim (2015) explained that "The legitimation dimension of the public sphere in public libraries is the communicative arena where public opinion is mobilized by the library system in times of crisis or need" (p. 241) and illustrated a model of the public sphere in public libraries through governance, commons, and legitimation dimensions (Widdersheim, 2023). ...
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to comprehensively describe the legitimacy of the public library in the 21st century.
Design/methodology/approach
The research involved a comprehensive literature review using the Library and Information Science Abstracts (LISA) database with keywords “Library” and “Legitimacy”, combined with citation searches and additional collections. In total, we analysed 159 research articles primarily from the 21st century, with some comparative analysis of pre-2,000 works. The final phase of the research investigated libraries’ legitimisation efforts across various dimensions, examining how they employ rhetoric and theories to maintain legitimacy amidst challenging circumstances.
Findings
Through this research process, five dimensions of public library legitimacy emerged; (1) Democracy, (2) Culture and History, (3) Communication and Education, (4) Economy and (5) Librarianship, with the most diverse literature being related to democracy, and its subsections intellectual freedom, neutrality, the public sphere, social justice and social capital.
Originality/value
The outcome of our results indicates that the evolving legitimacy of the public library in the 21st century has become multifaceted, compared to the elements of legitimacy in the 20th century. Contemporary public libraries can continue to utilise the dimensions of legitimacy identified in this study and can reconstruct their legitimacy accordingly.
... Although not an exhaustive list, some of the more well-known of these initiatives can be viewed as falling into the following categories: public sphere theory, economic development calculation, building of social capital, and knowledge creation. Widdersheim (2015) advocates for the use of public sphere theory as a framework to guide public library practice and research. He sees public sphere theory as offering a fresh way to conceptualize the political and social justice elements that he sees as core to the purpose of public libraries. ...
Historically libraries have struggled to communicate their value in ways meaningful to both policy-makers and the general public. Traditional measures like collection and circulation counts, while useful, fail to capture libraries’ full impact on the lives of their users. The recent dominance of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as the prevailing metric for policy and decision-making frames library value in exclusively economic terms. However, it is overreliance on economic measures like GDP in library assessment that leads to their undue underfunding. Meanwhile a tool like the Canadian Index of Wellbeing (CIW) is a credible alternative metric that shifts the focus from the purely economic toward additional facets of life. Developed through a broad cross-Canada consultation process, the CIW uses eight domains affecting wellbeing: community vitality, democratic engagement, education, environment, healthy populations, leisure and culture, living standards, and time use. Compared with the narrow economic focus of GDP, the CIW is a powerful tool to communicate the true value of public libraries and the impact they have on their users.
... . While several general conceptual models have been proposed (Jochumsen, Rasmussen, and Skot-Hansen 2012;Widdersheim 2015;Widdersheim and Koizumi 2017;Skot-Hansen 2001), there is a need for more nuanced descriptions that recognize regional differences. Though Larsen (2018), expanding on Engelstad, Larsen, and Rogstad (2017), proposes a distinctively Nordic model of the public sphere as it relates to public libraries (as well as academic libraries, archives and museums), there is still a need for additional systematic comparisons between public spheres and public libraries internationally. ...
... The analysis applies a governance-legitimation-commons framework as a basis for comparison. This framework has been developed in previous publications (Widdersheim 2015;Widdersheim and Koizumi 2016), and will be given a short presentation in the following sections. Results of this study provide a fuller understanding of the relationship between the public sphere, public libraries, and cultural policy. ...
... Studies of the public sphere and public libraries may be classed according to themes, methods, and research foundations. Widdersheim and Koizumi (2016) and Widdersheim (2015) apply a governance-legitimation-commons typology, where governance literature examines public sphere discourse directed toward the library regarding library services, legitimation literature examines discourse directed to decision-making bodies regarding library support, and commons literature examines the public library as public sphere infrastructure. Audunson et al. (2018) analyze relevant literature according to methods and themes. ...
This study compares cultural policy, public libraries, and the public sphere in Norway, the United States, and Japan. Results of the comparison indicate that Norway emphasizes physical meeting spaces and the public sphere. In Japan, there is more emphasis on the literary public sphere. Norway and Japan have strong centralized governance structures, which influence how public libraries function in the public sphere. In the US, cultural policy administration is more diffuse and local. There is not an explicit national cultural policy related to public libraries. In the US, legitimation of public libraries in the public sphere is strong and occurs locally. Public libraries in the US are used less as public sphere infrastructure and more for educational and recreation purposes. The results of this comparison are significant for understanding public libraries and the public sphere from an international cultural policy perspective.
Free full text:
https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/CNYZXAMEBGSWE9SMQTSD/full?target=10.1080/10286632.2020.1751142
... The perhaps most profound theoretical work on public libraries and the public sphere has been undertaken by Michael Widdersheim and Masanori Koizumi. In a series of articles from 2015 to 2017, they develop and discuss a model of public libraries as public sphere institutions (Widdersheim and Koizumi, 2015Widdersheim, 2015Widdersheim, , 2017. In developing the model, they use the public sphere theory based on Habermas and an empirical analysis of annual reports from the public library of Pittsburgh, USA. ...
... The identified research can be divided in two: theoretical and conceptual contributions. Buschman (2003Buschman ( , 2005, Widdersheim (2015Widdersheim ( , 2017, Koizumi (2015, 2016) and Larsen (2018) are examples here; and contributions related to political and social challenges, for example, social inclusion, freedom of expression, libraries as places promoting participation and communication across social and cultural belongings and the effect of digitization on democracy and communication between authorities and citizens. A larger number of researchers are active here compared to the primarily theoretical and conceptual contributions. ...
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the shaping of public libraries as an infrastructure for a sustainable public sphere through a comprehensive literature review.
Design/methodology/approach
In order to capture the whole picture of this research field, we utilize comprehensive review methodology. The major research questions are: first, to what extent have research topics regarding libraries as public sphere institutions expanded and diversified? Which theoretical perspectives inform research? Second, which challenges and topics does the research focus upon, such as: social inclusion and equal access to information; digital inequalities; censorship and freedom of expression; and access to places and spaces with a democratic potential and the role of libraries in that respect? Third, what influence has social media exerted on libraries in the context of the expanding digital world?
Findings
The authors identified mainly four themes regarding the public library and public sphere, such as: the importance of public libraries by using Habermas’s theory; the function of meeting places within the public library and setting those places in the center of the library in order to enhance and encourage democracy; the relationship between social inclusion and public libraries and its functions in current society such as diminishing the digital divide; and the emerging electronic resources and arena of SNS in public libraries and utilizing them to reach citizens.
Originality/value
Capturing the recent history of this research field through comprehensive review is valuable.
Full text is available here:
https://oda.oslomet.no/oda-xmlui/bitstream/handle/10642/8585/JDoc_2019_Audunson%20et%20al%20proof_hi.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
... Por otra parte, se puede relacionar el concepto de tercer lugar con el de esfera pública de Jürgen Habermas, pues la biblioteca puede ser ese espacio de discusión político que eran anteriormente salones o cafés. Widdersheim (2015) afirma que eso permite aportar una finalidad a la biblioteca, que ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? v. 13. eISSN: 2564-8837 "La realidad de la biblioteca como ágora o punto de encuentro comunitario afecta a la forma física de la biblioteca y reforzaría sus posibilidades de servicio y, con ello, de futuro" sería un espacio de encuentro e intercambio político-cultural, "enfatizando su naturaleza política inherente y enfocándola hacia la justicia social". No obstante, el mismo autor duda al decir que en las bibliotecas públicas quizás no siempre se dan al mismo tiempo las tres condiciones para que se hable de un espacio de esfera pública: estar abietos a todos (esto claramente sí), preocupación común y debate. ...
... Against the backdrop of public expenditure cuts in the cultural sphere, public libraries need to justify their existence and re-define their value as cultural and educational institutions. In an article on the challenges of modern libraries, Michael M. Widdersheim (2015) formulated this question as the 'problem of purpose': public libraries find themselves under increasing pressure to explain why they should be financed by public funds and what their social value for society should be. The reform process of Moscow's city libraries thus needs to be understood in the context of a global trend in which libraries respond to the challenges of modern times, e.g. ...
... The concept of the public sphere refers both to an embodied public of private people and to the communicative interactions between them (Murphy 2005). According to Habermas, public sphere communication has to meet the criteria of openness, debate and common concern (Widdersheim 2015). This means that, ideally, all members of society take part in the public debate, abstract from their own personal situations and search for solutions that are in everyone's best interest. ...
... According to Widdersheim (2015), a conceptual framework based on public sphere theory needs to take into account three interrelated dimensions: (1) governance, (2) legitimation and (3) commons. This approach allows for understanding the interrelation between the public sphere, public library systems and state authority. ...
This article aims to explore the link between civil society and the public sphere in present-day Russia by studying a recent library reform project in Moscow. In 2013, a comprehensive reconstruction of Moscow's network of 448 public libraries was initiated by a group of intellectuals, architects and urbanists. The project team aimed at modernizing Moscow's city libraries by making them more accessible and appealing to the public. The reconstruction gained support from the city administration that sought to strengthen the function of public libraries as cultural and educational institutions and, at the same time, improve the city's image in the eyes of its citizens. The article poses the question of whether this reform has been successful in making Moscow's city libraries more open, accessible and inviting for the public, and whether the reform has contributed to the development of a public sphere in the city by providing new spaces for participation and civic engagement. The article explores the reform process based on interviews with key informants and document analysis. It looks into the project objectives, its implementation process and its legacy. The analysis of the library reform project revealed contradictory results, as the reform did not develop beyond the pilot phase, but was stopped due to fading support from the city administration. Overall, the library reform thus remained an unfinished process. For developing the public sphere, the legacy of the reform project is ambivalent. On the one hand, the project has proved that creating new public spaces in Moscow is possible. On the other hand, it showed that the public sphere remains limited in today's Russia, as civic initiatives cannot develop beyond a cultural niche project. Due to a lack of political support for societal pluralism, a true autonomous public sphere remains beyond reach in present-day Russia.
... Another way to say this is that public libraries have three public sphere dimensions. The first and most commonly cited dimension is what might be called the commons (McCook, 2004;Widdersheim, 2015;Widdersheim andKoizumi, 2015, 2016). It is in this dimension that the public library acts as infrastructure to connect civil society actors to a larger public sphere network (Vestheim, 1997). ...
... Another way to say this is that public libraries have three public sphere dimensions. The first and most commonly cited dimension is what might be called the commons (McCook, 2004;Widdersheim, 2015;Widdersheim andKoizumi, 2015, 2016). It is in this dimension that the public library acts as infrastructure to connect civil society actors to a larger public sphere network (Vestheim, 1997). ...
... In return, the public sphere advocates for the library to the political system and to the wider community. The third and perhaps most relevant dimension to a shared value framework is governance (Widdersheim andKoizumi, 2015, 2016). It is in this dimension that a library system converses with and responds to its community environment. ...
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to compare the characteristics of the public sphere with those of a shared value approach and better understand the value that public libraries can offer to management theory.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses two methods. First, this study uses a systematic literature review to identify sources relevant to shared value and the public sphere in public libraries. Next, this study uses comparative theoretical analysis using data gathered from the systematic review to analyse the two theories.
Findings
This study successfully describes the similarities and differences between “shared value” and the “public sphere in public libraries”.
Originality/value
This study elucidates public library innovation from the perspectives of library management and the public sphere concept.
O objetivo desta pesquisa foi organizar uma bibliografia seletiva a respeito de justiça social em Biblioteconomia e Ciência da Informação, entre 1960 a 2020. Para tanto, foi realizada uma pesquisa bibliográfica, descritiva e qualiquantitativa. Foram adotados os conceitos de Dias e Pires (2005) para classificação de bibliografias e uma busca de documentos em bases de dados nacionais e internacionais visando localizar documentos que versassem sobre o tema justiça social em Biblioteconomia e Ciência da Informação. Após refinamento dos dados, os resultados foram apresentados em uma bibliografia, na forma de lista seletiva de documentos, de apresentação sinalética, de abrangência internacional, de assunto especializado, retrospectiva, de arranjo alfabético e sistemático, em três categorias: formação para justiça social, bibliotecas para justiça social e atuação bibliotecária para a justiça social.
Purpose
In this information age, demonstrating the significance of physical libraries is increasingly important. The roles and functions of libraries have been discussed using the concept of the library as place in interdisciplinary perspectives. However, the overall structure of the concept is inadequate because there are multifaceted arguments; how the concept has changed is not clear either. The purpose of this study is to clarify the whole picture of the roles and functions of the library as place in public libraries and to show the transition of the roles and functions.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative content analysis and time-series analysis were conducted using 175 related articles that mentioned the roles and functions of the library as a place.
Findings
An overall of 2,966 codes about library as a place was extracted and organised into a conceptual model, comprising 3 symbolic infrastructures (Wisdom, Heritage and Community), 11 categories (Intelligence, Creativity, Novelty, Culture and History, Neutrality, Equality, Empowerment, Publicness, Privacy, Sociability and Friendliness) and 30 subcategories. The study found that concepts of the library as place have developed rapidly since the 1990s, and roles have diversified from traditional ones.
Originality/value
The conceptual model of the library as place in this study, which integrates diverse perspectives such as physical spaces, activities and symbols, is the first of model's kind.
Research attention has been focused on the public sphere and librarianship recently, generating disagreement, even controversy. This reflects long-running debates in LIS and related fields. This is not a stale rehash: how we think about the public sphere and libraries is an indicator of libraries in democratic societies and how we position them. A compact account of affinity groupings around this research in LIS will precede an account of the controversy suggesting the question, are there still actually existing public spheres as Habermas deployed the term? The answer clarifies the controversy, and the paper will explore and draw conclusions from it.
