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LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Ett bibliotek blir till : En kvalitativ fallstudie av förväntningar och förhandlingar i etableringen av ett områdesbibliotek

Ayyad, Fatimah LU (2026) ABMM54 20261
Division of ALM, Digital Cultures and Publishing Studies
Abstract
This study examines the establishment of a new local public library in Planteringen,
Helsingborg, as a process of institutional becoming. The aim is to examine how expectations
of the library's role are articulated and negotiated by actors in the local network surrounding
the new library during an early phase when organisational structures and practices are not yet
stabilised. The study addresses a research gap by focusing on role construction and legitimacy
work during formation rather than in already established library operations.
An exploratory qualitative case study design is adopted, based on seven semi-structured
interviews with eight interviewees from different organisations connected to the
neighbourhood in which the... (More)
This study examines the establishment of a new local public library in Planteringen,
Helsingborg, as a process of institutional becoming. The aim is to examine how expectations
of the library's role are articulated and negotiated by actors in the local network surrounding
the new library during an early phase when organisational structures and practices are not yet
stabilised. The study addresses a research gap by focusing on role construction and legitimacy
work during formation rather than in already established library operations.
An exploratory qualitative case study design is adopted, based on seven semi-structured
interviews with eight interviewees from different organisations connected to the
neighbourhood in which the library is to be established. Institutional theory provides the
primary analytical lens, enabling examination of how actors mobilise and relate different
institutional logics. Carol Bacchi's What's the Problem Represented to Be?-approach is used to
analyse how expectations are articulated through problem representations that organise
responsibility, collaboration, and participation.
The analysis identifies three dominant problem representations through which the library is
constructed as a solution: as a meeting place, as a knowledge institution and as a compensatory
resource. These representations rest on different institutional logics and construct different
subject positions for the neighbourhood in which the library is to be established and its
residents. The analysis of collaboration further identifies four conditions that simultaneously
enable and complicate the library's establishment: a normative ideal of complementarity rather
than competition, the institutionalisation of place, the projectification of welfare work and the
person-bound character of relational labour in the field.
The study contributes empirically by documenting early-stage institutional formation in public
libraries and analytically by clarifying how collaboration and democratic ideals are negotiated
across multiple institutional logics. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Ayyad, Fatimah LU
supervisor
organization
alternative title
Becoming a library : A qualitative case study of expectations and negotiations during the establishment of a branch library
course
ABMM54 20261
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Library and Information science, public library, library establishment, branch library, neo- institutional theory, problem representation, legitimacy, institutional becoming, poststructural interview analysis
language
Swedish
id
9228799
date added to LUP
2026-06-16 09:30:43
date last changed
2026-06-16 09:30:43
@misc{9228799,
  abstract     = {{This study examines the establishment of a new local public library in Planteringen,
Helsingborg, as a process of institutional becoming. The aim is to examine how expectations
of the library's role are articulated and negotiated by actors in the local network surrounding
the new library during an early phase when organisational structures and practices are not yet
stabilised. The study addresses a research gap by focusing on role construction and legitimacy
work during formation rather than in already established library operations.
An exploratory qualitative case study design is adopted, based on seven semi-structured
interviews with eight interviewees from different organisations connected to the
neighbourhood in which the library is to be established. Institutional theory provides the
primary analytical lens, enabling examination of how actors mobilise and relate different
institutional logics. Carol Bacchi's What's the Problem Represented to Be?-approach is used to
analyse how expectations are articulated through problem representations that organise
responsibility, collaboration, and participation.
The analysis identifies three dominant problem representations through which the library is
constructed as a solution: as a meeting place, as a knowledge institution and as a compensatory
resource. These representations rest on different institutional logics and construct different
subject positions for the neighbourhood in which the library is to be established and its
residents. The analysis of collaboration further identifies four conditions that simultaneously
enable and complicate the library's establishment: a normative ideal of complementarity rather
than competition, the institutionalisation of place, the projectification of welfare work and the
person-bound character of relational labour in the field.
The study contributes empirically by documenting early-stage institutional formation in public
libraries and analytically by clarifying how collaboration and democratic ideals are negotiated
across multiple institutional logics.}},
  author       = {{Ayyad, Fatimah}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Ett bibliotek blir till : En kvalitativ fallstudie av förväntningar och förhandlingar i etableringen av ett områdesbibliotek}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}