Rethinking the Public Library, Rolf Hapel - CILIP Ireland/ LAI Joint Conference 2015

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



Pop-up surveys

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 term Sponsorships 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 SUPPORT JOB CORNER

LIBRARY SHOP

REFERENCE

CONSUMER INFO

NATURE GUIDE E

XH

IBIT

ION

S

FAMILIES

Partner activities

Q AND A

HEALTH

COUNCELLING

LEISURE INFO

NEWS LOUNGE

QUIET AREA

TO

DD

LE

RS

/C

HIL

DR

EN

REA-DINGTRAI-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





Presentations & Public Speaking

Rethinking the Public Library, Rolf Hapel - CILIP Ireland/ LAI Joint Conference 2015