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Bibliotek för alla? : En studie om tillgänglighet och delaktighet i folkbiblioteksplaner

Engström, Lisa LU orcid (2021) In Nordic Journal of Library and Information Studies 2(2). p.1-18
Abstract
The Swedish Library Act states that “Library activities shall be available to everyone” and other policy documents in Sweden promote the public library as a place making information and culture accessible to all. The Library Acts of Denmark, Finland and Norway include similar statements, as well as the core values of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. However, the concept of accessibility is seldom defined or discussed. During recent years, the concept of participation is widely used in the context of accessibility in cultural policies, including policies related to public libraries. Even so, this concept also lacks a clear meaning. Accessibility and participation are closely related to democracy; by... (More)
The Swedish Library Act states that “Library activities shall be available to everyone” and other policy documents in Sweden promote the public library as a place making information and culture accessible to all. The Library Acts of Denmark, Finland and Norway include similar statements, as well as the core values of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. However, the concept of accessibility is seldom defined or discussed. During recent years, the concept of participation is widely used in the context of accessibility in cultural policies, including policies related to public libraries. Even so, this concept also lacks a clear meaning. Accessibility and participation are closely related to democracy; by making information accessible and by enabling participation libraries are considered as promoters of democracy. Thus, when the meaning of accessibility and participation changes, the understanding of democracy is affected. In this article, I explore the meaning of the concepts accessibility and participation in Swedish library policies. Eleven library policies are analyzed utilizing Arnsteins “ladder of participation” and Fraser’s critique of Habermas notion of the public sphere. The article also discusses how the notion of democracy is affected by the different meanings accessibility and participation hold in the respective policies. (Less)
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author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Folkbibliotek, Tillgänglighet, Delaktighet, Demokrati, Public library, Policy analysis, Accessiblity, Participation, Democracy
in
Nordic Journal of Library and Information Studies
volume
2
issue
2
pages
18 pages
ISSN
2597-0593
DOI
10.7146/njlis.v2i2.127562
project
Delaktighet i folkbibliotek: krav eller möjlighet?
Lund Critical Library Studies
language
Swedish
LU publication?
yes
id
6d10a1e4-adc6-4131-9a71-761aa994ab55
date added to LUP
2021-12-15 08:37:18
date last changed
2022-06-16 14:23:24
@article{6d10a1e4-adc6-4131-9a71-761aa994ab55,
  abstract     = {{The Swedish Library Act states that “Library activities shall be available to everyone” and other policy documents in Sweden promote the public library as a place making information and culture accessible to all. The Library Acts of Denmark, Finland and Norway include similar statements, as well as the core values of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. However, the concept of accessibility is seldom defined or discussed. During recent years, the concept of participation is widely used in the context of accessibility in cultural policies, including policies related to public libraries. Even so, this concept also lacks a clear meaning. Accessibility and participation are closely related to democracy; by making information accessible and by enabling participation libraries are considered as promoters of democracy. Thus, when the meaning of accessibility and participation changes, the understanding of democracy is affected. In this article, I explore the meaning of the concepts accessibility and participation in Swedish library policies. Eleven library policies are analyzed utilizing Arnsteins “ladder of participation” and Fraser’s critique of Habermas notion of the public sphere. The article also discusses how the notion of democracy is affected by the different meanings accessibility and participation hold in the respective policies.}},
  author       = {{Engström, Lisa}},
  issn         = {{2597-0593}},
  keywords     = {{Folkbibliotek; Tillgänglighet; Delaktighet; Demokrati; Public library; Policy analysis; Accessiblity; Participation; Democracy}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  month        = {{12}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{1--18}},
  series       = {{Nordic Journal of Library and Information Studies}},
  title        = {{Bibliotek för alla? : En studie om tillgänglighet och delaktighet i folkbiblioteksplaner}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.7146/njlis.v2i2.127562}},
  doi          = {{10.7146/njlis.v2i2.127562}},
  volume       = {{2}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}