Open AccessFrom means to an end to ends in themselves
Author(s) -
Mia Høj Mathiasson
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
nordic journal of library and information studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2597-0593
DOI - 10.7146/njlis.v1i2.121806
Subject(s) - publicity , variety (cybernetics) , empirical research , function (biology) , public relations , period (music) , political science , relation (database) , library science , business , computer science , marketing , philosophy , physics , epistemology , artificial intelligence , evolutionary biology , acoustics , biology , database
Offering a variety of activities and events is considered a central part of many public libraries today. Under the term public library programmes, this article presents the findings from an empirical study of the development of publicly available and publicly announced activities and events offered within or in relation to Danish public libraries over a sixty-year period. The aim of the study was to enrich our understanding of these library services from a historical perspective focussing on describing development. Inspired by Historical Case Study (HCS), the study was designed as a diachronic analysis of a broad variety of empirical source materials collected from two case libraries, documenting programmes offered between 1960 and 2020, including interviews with programming librarians. From analysing the source materials, a development is described which shows that while the different types of programmes offered throughout the period have been somewhat consistent, their format and content have expanded in parallel with the expansion of the public library, its collections and services. At the same time, the reasoning behind offering programmes can be described as a development from programmes considered as a means to an end (e.g. education, publicity or community building) to programmes also considered as ends in themselves. By supporting and enriching the knowledge on programmes as services, this study provides an empirical foundation for discussions and debates about the role and function of public library programmes as part of the public library in the future as well as rich empirical examples for further research.