Public libraries in a changing political landscape: results from a survey on political influence and pressure on public libraries in Southern Sweden

Abstract

When the definition of democracy and the meaning of a democratic society is renegotiated and reinterpreted, the mission of the public library is placed in a new context. This paper reports findings from an ongoing research project focused on library managers’ and librarians’ lived experiences of recent political developments in Sweden. Methodologically, the research project applies the perspective of institutional ethnography and combines a longitudinal survey study with interviews, focus-group interviews, and document studies. This paper reports findings from the first stage of a library manager survey. Results indicate that the interplay between libraries and the local political level is experienced as mostly well-functioning, although notable exceptions exist, and that the correspondence between national cultural- and library policies and politics of the participating municipalities is perceived as high. However, the Library Act paragraph, stipulating that particular attention should be devoted to national minorities and persons with a native language other than Swedish, causes notable opposition between local and national political levels. Illegitimate political pressure is uncommon, but when it occurs, it is often connected to issues pursued by radical right-wing parties. The study indicates a need to further investigate the intersection of (national) policies and (local) politics.

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