Rethink the Public Library

Rolf Hapel, Citizens' Services and Libraries, Aarhus, Denmark
CILIP and LAI, Belfast, April 2015
Rethinking
the Public Library

1 Library in Society
2 The Digital Library
3 Library as Space
4 Partnerships and User
Involvement

New citizens
The “new elderly"
Demography

Demography
30 % fewer
young people..
..than when I was young!

The social excluded
Polarisation?
40 % of the labour force
has no vocational education
20 % of youth does not get
education beyond
secondary school
15 – 20 % of population
are illiterate = 1 mio people
Larger gap between
information strong and
information weak citizens?

Citizen = consumer?
 Increasing
individualization
 The political consumer
 Self-reliant
 Demand for quality
 Leisure time is a
limited resource

0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
More than 60 % decrease in number
of service points in Denmark since
1980!
Fewer libraries..
.

Urbanization..

Mobility..
Hyper connectivity

A well known innovation strategy
in the public sector..
But the public sector is in
a state of permanent
crisis, and the fight on
resources is intense..
Send
more
money..

Reinvent the library
new ways of professionalism
new products
new alliances
new ways of funding

A new library model
for the knowledge
society
Danish Digital
Library
The ’Open Library’
Partnerships

A new model for the
contemporary public
library
A vision for the Danish
Digital Library
Recommendations on
the ’Open Library’
Partnerships as
development tools

The modern library
D. Skot-Hansen et. al.
Royal School of Library and
Information Science
Cognition/information
Engagement
Innovation Empower-
ment

Infrastrucure for
digital objects
+ Collaboration on
purchasing
+ Promotion and
mediation
Danish Digital Library
All Danish municipalities has joined!

Idea
 Liberate data and information
 Create relations between data
 Make the users knowledge visible and
useful
 Place information in a meaningful
context for the users
..by using open source software and
forming communities for development

User transactions
Application layer
Concept
O
Sources
O
m
Presentation
Harvesting
and
indexing
Shared
Library
automa-
tion
system
The well
(data repository)
The well
(data repository)
The well
(data repository)
The well
(data repository)
User transactions
Application layer

Started spring 2000
Editor based in Aarhus,
production distributed
Cooperation with nationwide
public service TV and radio
broadcast

Watch movies
with your borrowers
card on filmstriben.dk

eBook shelf

Multiple platforms

Started October 2011
Co-op with +130 publishers
Build on TING
Technical integration to Fiction
Literature portal
Integration to OPAC’s
Library ebook-service

Integrated e-content
My loans/account
New media/
services
Recommen-
dations
News from the library
Events
Search
General info
Reservations - SMS services

Others
who have
borrowed..

Film and movies
E-sound books
E-music
E-books
E-content from
the library:
E-books
E-sound books
Music
Film..
..in
Websites
from e.g.
educational
institutions

City and media Mob portals

Self serviced on-line borrower registration

Responsive design

Only digital content

From
Information searchable
anywhere
To
What is only possible to
experience in the library
Space for media The space as a media
On-line On-site
Information Meaning and significance
Facts Reliability
Encounter with information Encounter with people
Well informed Eksperimental
Visitor Resource
Neutrality Sensuous
Serious Playful
Programme Events
The library as a space
Ivar Moltke, Create

From Space for Media to Space for People
Libraries are low intensive
meeting places and
creators of social capital
and trust..
Ragnar Audunson, Oslo University college, Dept. of
Journalism, Library and Information Studies, Oslo,
Norway

Scan point
Remember this
book
Others have
also borrowed..
Titles by same
author

 All Danish public libraries participate
 Universe – basic figures and
changing themes – also in the
physical libraries
Palle’s Gift Shop

Interaction
Distance
Short term Long termSponsorships
Short duration
Donations, gifts
Volunteers as consultants
Advocacy campains
Co-production
R & D
Business development projects
Branding
Sponsorships
Long duration
Networks, clubs
Innovation in hybrid organisations
Dialogue on services
Partnership strategy

Therefore partnerships..
New resources and skills in the library
Knowledge and inspiration from others
Increased network
Increased diversity and quality in
service production
Enhanced communication and
marketing
Legitimization
New ambassadors

A British idea: The Mash-up library
LOCAL ARCHIVE
ARKIV
Archive
YOUTH
MEETING
ROOMS
ANALOGUE MEDIA
SELF SERVICE
LEARNING CENTER
SMS BUSINESS
SERVICE
HOME-
WORK
HELP
COMMUNITY
CENTER
CAFÉ
STUDY SUPPORTJOB CORNER
LIBRARY SHOP
REFERENCE
CONSUMER INFO
NATURE GUIDE
EXHIBITIONS
FAMILIES
Partner
activities
Q AND A
HEALTH
COUNCELLING
LEISURE INFO
NEWS LOUNGE
QUIET
AREA
TODDLERS/CHILDREN
REA-
DING
TRAI-
NING

Citizens’ Services
Now all Danish public libraries offer
some sort of Citizens Services

Hackerspaces
Makerspaces
Fablabs
Share premises,
tools, knowledge
Create projects,
ideas, network

Urban performance depends not only on the
city’s hard infrastructure, - physical capital,
but also, and increasingly so, on the
availability and quality of knowledge,
communication and social infrastructure,
- human and social capital.
”Smart Cities in Europe”, Caragliu, m.fl., Amsterdam Free University, 2009

LESSONS LEARNED
Make partnerships
Co-create and co-produce
Integrate user generated knowledge in services
Liberate the library from analog media - gradually!!!
Think value chains, formats and ”universes” in service
production

LESSONS LEARNED
Make space for prototyping in the physical library
Increase ties between other public sector activities and
libraries
Think ’relations’ rather than ’transactions’
Advocate and campain
Be where the users are

A question for you..
To which problems in society is
your library the answer?

Rolf Hapel, Borgerservice og
Biblioteker, Aarhus Kommune
A space for co-operation
A place for dialogue, knowledge, ideas and inspiration
An open and informal learning space
A unique place for children
The Vision

Visionen

Rethink the Public Library

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