PUBLIC LIBRARIES AS IMPARTIAL SPACES IN THE

21ST CENTURY:POSSIBLE, PLAUSIBLE,

DESIRABLE?

Christine Rooney-Browne, PhD ResearcherDavid McMenemy, Course DirectorUniversity of Strathclyde, Glasgow

IFLA 2009Satellite MeetingTorino, August 2009

To discuss...

The public library as a public space

Adopting retail models Exploiting revenue streams Public libraries in virtual spaces Impartiality: romance or reality?

The public library as a public space...

The public sphere...

Photographer: Wolfram Huke

“... Access is guaranteed to all citizens...They...behave neither like business or professional people

transacting private affairs, nor like members of the constitutional order subject to the constraints of a

state bureaucracy. Citizens behave as a public body when they confer in an unrestricted fashion – that is, with the guarantee of freedom of assembly and

association and the freedom to express and publish their opinions - about matters of general interest “ *

*(Habermas, 1964, p.49).

The public library as a public sphere...

Real world: branch libraries

Virtual world: online libraries

* **

*(Photo courtesy of Edinburgh’s City Libraries); **(Darien Library)

‘Back in the day...’

The Public Libraries Act 1850*(Images courtesy of Cartoonstock.com)

*

The Times They are a-Changin’*...

*(Dylan, B, 1964).

Adopting retail models...

Bookstores: better at delivering the ‘library experience’...?

“Part bookstore, part library, part living room...” *

*(Kotler and Armstrong, 2001, p.494).

“If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em...”

A match made in Heaven...?

?

“In a true public library the user is a citizen rather than a customer. The commercial sector is not concerned with citizenship. Customers and

consumers are viewed differently from citizens”**

(*Image courtesy of iStockimages.com) ** (Usherwood, 2007, p.47).

Rise of the Citizen-consumer...?

(Usherwood, 2007, p.120 - 121); **Clarke et al 2007. p. 9).

Exploiting revenue streams...

Commercial partnerships...

*(Gazette, 2008).

Sponsorship...*

**

*(Aye Write Festival, Glasgow, 2009); **Library of Congress Book Festival, 2009)).

Affiliation schemes...at the click of a button

*

*(Milton Keynes Library, England 2009)

A step too far...?

“civic society’s unique space for free

communication and critical reflection in

contrast to the market’s commercialisation of

experiences” **

*Staffordshire County Council, England; **(Skot-Hansen, 2002).

*

Impartiality in virtual spaces...

Users expect the (virtual) world...?

*

* (Maness, 2006); Darien Public Library, 2009).

‘Free’ web 2.0 services…

...but at what cost?

*

*Facebook ad page, 2009

Impartiality: romance or reality...?

A bleak future...?

*(Getz, 1989, pp. 4-5).

“the strength, diversity and growth of our library community is a consequence of the affluence of our economy... libraries – along with the rest of society –

have to ride the waves of macroeconomic activity”*

Conclusions...

Values for sale...?

*

*Word cloud created using wordle.net

CONTACT ME:

E-MAIL: christine.rooney-browne@cis.strath.ac.ukBLOG: www.libraryofdigress.co.ukTwitter: crooneybrowne

OPEN UP THE DEBATE