Overview

This short paper (written in April 2018) provides an overview of my research in progress, setting out the research problem and questions, followed by a reflection on the proposed methodology. My research, as you are now familiar, is an exploration of the ‘public’ space of the public library. While the empirical ‘case’ is the public library, I aim to contribute more broadly to knowledge on the significant of public institutions and their contribution to civil society and ‘community’ (in the widest sense).

The problem

Civil society is considered as the ‘space’ of social life between the private realm of the family and the state, encompassing a thick network of organisations, everyday sociabilities, and associations. Carnegie Trust UK (2010) describe civil society as having three dimensions: a goal (a ‘good’ society), a means to achieve it (associational life), and an arena for debate, deliberation and collaboration about what the goals of a ‘good’ society should be (the public sphere). This normative understanding of how civil society ‘ought’ to operate sits alongside scholarly studies concerned with problematising the values of civil society, and the state’s involvement in its identity. For Hearn (2002) the relationship between civil society and state is active and context specific. McCrone (2007) states it is precisely this dialectic which gives civil society its analytic value, since it provides a frame through which to explore the complex relationship between state, civil society and the processes of power. Others have focused on the shifting boundaries between state and civil society organisations, and the legitimation of civil society as a ‘governable terrain’ (Carmel & Harlock, 2008).

The dialectical relationship between state and civil society is revealing in the UK context. Within Westminster civil society has been deployed in centre right politics, first in its association with New Labour communitarianism, and latterly the ‘Big Society’ ideology of the Conservative and Liberal Democratic parties. More recently the political attractiveness of the civil society project has been in enabling the retraction of state investment in public services during austerity. This contrasts to the historically distinctive civil society recognised in Scotland, where civil society organisations have been called upon as a counterweight to Westminster politics and means of challenging perceived democratic deficiencies.

I am suggesting that public libraries provide a unique, yet under-researched, lens through which to explore these processes. Traditionally the function of public libraries has been thought of in relation to their role in informal education, the acquisition of information and knowledge and access to culture, leisure and recreational materials. However, as Brophy (2001) suggests public libraries represent more than the physical buildings in which they are located and the resources they contain. Pedagogically, they are one of the few (the only?) civil society institutions in the UK freely accessible to all and, in their local form, provide a public sphere for civil engagement; from being a social arena for people who do not otherwise have contact in daily life, to providing opportunities for the collective engagement in public affairs. Brophy (2001:3) has described public libraries as community hubs that “exist to serve the needs of people, to help them live, learn and develop and to act as part of the social glue which holds communities together”. Alsted and Curry (2003:2) note that public libraries impact on civil society, through their support of “the self-education of the citizenry in order that they may become fully participating members in a democratic society”. Others (Goulding, 2004; Johnson, 2010; Varheim, 2007) have highlighted public libraries role in the creation of social capital. Public libraries have also been identified as “public spheres” in which reliable and adequate information can be accessed to inform opinion and debate (Webster, 2014) and, in turn, develop citizenship within communities.

Arguably the economic and political context is making public libraries even more valuable to civil society. Over the last two decades, they have encountered significant challenges to their purpose and value, including advances in technology, the introduction of digital services, and the resultant changing needs, demands and expectations of users. The context of austerity has meant that, along with other state-funded services, their arms-length relationship is strained and under negotiation. Between 2010 and 2016 the number of UK public libraries decreased by 14% (BBC, 2016). Budget cuts have resulted in many libraries operating on limited opening hours, depleted stocks, reduced staff and a growing reliance on volunteers (CIPFA, 2014). Others are fighting, or have succumb to, closure. There are also multiple examples of public libraries actively responding to these pressures. Digital initiatives have been matched by civil society activities aimed at re-establishing libraries’ social and geographical ‘place’ within neighbourhoods (e.g. partnerships with cancer care nurses for outreach services; ‘dementia friendly’ services; hosting food banks; the transformation of libraries into local ‘community hubs’; and public libraries run by communities).

Notably, libraries active response to service cuts have been supported (sometimes driven) by the state, which is giving increased recognition to the strategic role that public libraries can play in addressing the social consequences of recession and welfare cuts. Located at the heart of the neighbourhoods they serve, public libraries are conceptualised as well-placed to build “strong” and “vibrant” communities (Department for Culture Media and Sport, 2003, Scottish Government, 2010). While policy discourse allots public libraries a social capital role in providing a “connecting layer of society, bridging social structures” (Jaeger et al., 2014:1), these demands are made in a context of diminishing resources, and limited opportunity for influencing political and social processes. Both local and national strategic documents discuss public libraries are being ‘of value’ to the communities that they serve, and that local communities ‘value’ their local libraries.

As I have discussed in our previous sessions, I am interested in the ways public libraries are at a micro level engaging with, and constructing forms of civil society, and importantly, are engaging with the disenfranchised; for example, by working with young people excluded from other public leisure spaces (Davidson, 2013) and homeless persons seeking safety and shelter (Johnsen & Davidson, forthcoming). These emerging findings also found that in the associative context of the library there are different social groups, and therefore differing (and sometimes conflicting) perspectives on civility and civil society. Moreover, there is an identified ‘value-action’ gap in relation to public libraries. Thus, in the example of Scotland, a recent survey by Carnegie Trust found that 77% of people in Scotland say that public libraries are important for their communities, half identify themselves as library users, and 37% say libraries are personally important to them. Those in the lowest socio-economic classification, and those over 55s, were most likely to use, and value their local library. This raises the important question; if public libraries are contributing to civil society, who is included and excluded? To what extent is the ‘public’ library space inclusionary, or are their barriers to accessing its benefits? On the other hand, to what extent is the public library valued by a proportion of the population – are others able to exercise economic capital to access networks, relationships and everyday sociabilities elsewhere? Does that matter, or is this another example of social inequalities?

Research aims

The public library, it is suggested then, is a perfect microcosm of debates about the contemporary value of civil society.  The public library can be used as a ‘diagnostic window’ through which to understand how civic engagement occurs and provide insight into the way contemporary public libraries, as an example of a civil society organisation, are (not) managing their shifting social and pedagogical identity. It will do this by asking the following questions:

1. In what ways is the public library functioning as a connecting layer of society, and what are the different forms of civil society emerging in this context? What ‘fit’ does this have with the strategic vision for civil society more broadly?
2. How do groups excluded from, or unable to engage in processes of civic and community participation, engage and interact with services in their public library (if at all)?
3. How is austerity impacting on public libraries and their ability to engage in, and deploy, civil society?
4. In what ways can the contemporary public library be used to strengthen our understanding of the micro and macro impact of austerity on civil society organisations and their engagement in civil society?

Development in thinking

In our last session, I used the space to discuss some of my initial theoretical ideas, emphasising my interest in the public libraries distinct place within, and contribution to, the public sphere. The conversation was useful in (re)thinking some of the assumptions relating to imagining public libraries as principally spaces for communality and sociality. I suggested that the ways in which individuals might relate to other individuals in a library space are not characterised by dense linkages (in the way that intimate relations, such as family, kin, lovers and friends would). Yet libraries can provide the physical space, and the social conditions, to bring people together. Simplistically, connections with library staff or fellow users might be classed as good manners or civility, like a welcoming smile, hello, or nod of the head. Or they could come in the form of low level help and support, such as help finding a book, support accessing a computer, or a friendly chat. Such small scale acts also provide the basis upon which relationships can develop (i.e. the teenager visiting the library with a friend might join the lego club, then become a volunteer; or the librarian might encourage an older person visiting the library to join the weekly Book Group). The emphasis on communality and social activities might in themselves support the creation of richer social interactions– in Bookbug Sessions, for example, (song and rhythm groups for parents and children) librarians learn the names of the parents and children attending, while parents and children form social bonds which can extend outside the library. Organised groups can therefore be the conduit through which deeper friendships are forged over common / shared interests.

However, public libraries may be changing their identity in a way that increasingly incorporates associational life into their service delivery, but this is not necessary how all service users see the library. Indeed, my previous research has emphasised the important role that the public library has a place of quiet, peace and anonymity:

“I can go into the library and just be normal, be part of a crowd” (homeless library user)

Likewise, young people I have spoken to talked about their public library as a “sanctuary”. Several young people individually told me that their public library was a space were they could “get away” from a group of young people they were being threatened by. When the public library in question began to work actively with this group of young people, individual young people expressed anger:

“I have to deal with them at school, disrupting things, and then run away from them on the street. And now they are here. This is my space” (young library users)

Another example of a library user experiencing barriers to access was a young mum, attending a song and rhyme session for the first time:

“The leader was nice, but my experience is that the group is very cliquey. The time I went I was made to feel really unwelcome. I have spoken to my friends about this and they felt the same way. The group all huddle together and you are left sitting by yourself. I’m just sitting thinking this isn’t why I came today. And it is always the young mums that are left sitting alone. I just know that I don’t feel like part of them. I don’t plan to go back.”

The point being made is that the public library, like any public space, is also a point of possible contestation, dispute and contested. So, while libraries have the potential to create the conditions for communality and sociality, this is not simple to deliver: attempts to be a neutral space which is ‘all things to all people’ can produce contested social and spatial boundaries (for example, a public space trying to manage noisy teenagers playing games and older people seeking a quiet space to read the paper) or the exclusion or marginalisation of particular groups or individuals (some of whom, by virtue of class, status, education, experience and knowledge, are less willing or able to access library services).

How do I research these issues?

So, this brings me to my question – how do I actually go about researching this? As present, public libraries do very little to collect data on the qualitative ‘value’ of their service – thus, they look at footfall, books borrowed, number of people accessing digital services or attending class. Many ask those participating in classes to complete ‘feedback forms’, but this is sporadic. Others have provided examples of customer surveys – but they survey those already using libraries. Knowledge of barriers to access is limited, as is information on non-users more generally.

My intention is to employ an ethnographic methodology, which includes, but moves beyond participant observation. This approach mirrors calls for public sociology (Burawoy, 2009), by explicitly emphasising collaboration. A multi-voiced approach, it seeks commentary from different stakeholder groups and integrates this into data collection and analysis. The project is multi-sited, with case studies in four public libraries. These will be selected from Scotland and represent different social, economic and operational settings. At least one library using volunteer staff and one service threatened with closure will be included. While the research will investigate the everyday social worlds and interactions in libraries, I aim to give on groups less able, excluded or disenfranchised, from local processes of participation and for whom the library might offer a source of ‘community’ or inclusion: teenagers, homeless people and young parents.

The case studies will mobilise a range of practical methods to answer the research questions: observations of who uses the library, when and how; participation in activities run in library spaces; cultural probes (e.g. maps, postcards, cameras, diaries) recording specific events, feelings or interactions of library users; and in-depth interviews and group discussions. These study will seek to involve professionals working in, and with, the library and service users. Non-users, and those using services virtually or infrequently, will be recruited through alternative routes such as youth clubs and other community services. The research process will mobilise an advisory group involved in reviewing the emerging case study findings. A digital and local exhibition of the findings will be held, and where possible, participants will be invited to participate in this process.

In writing this sounds sensible – but I am currently in the process of reflection about the planned approach:

• Are four public libraries enough to satisfactorily evidence the diverse nature of the public library estate in Scotland?
• If I do more cases, how will this affect the intended collaborative nature of the project – and does that matter? Should the focus be on producing the most meaningful knowledge and new insight?
• How can I actually / practically reach non-users, especially given the characteristics of non-users are potentially so varied?
• What about understanding at the local authority level? One case in a local authority cannot represent the diversity of the sector in an area.
• The intention is for an applied piece of research which those working in, and for public libraries can use. The ‘value’ of public libraries is generally presented in economic terms. The ‘value’ I am considering is about everyday sociabilities and acts of kindness, the impact that new learning and new relationships can have on who we are, the intangible, unmeasurable things that make lives liveable. These are things which cannot be measured quantitatively. Some argue this is precisely the reason why public libraries are under such pressure. How do I best collect, analyse and report on this type of data, how do I represent public libraries, as an institution, accurately?

A space for all, a space between: the ‘public’ space of the public library / A New Page? by blogadmin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 3.0