Urban public libraries in a rapidly changing environment: Environmental and professional changes as reflected in library plans and the perceptions of library leaders

The purpose of this article is to discuss how current library planning in urban public libraries perceive (i) their role as promotors of literature and reading in an age dominated by screens, digital consumption of information and culture and a reduced interest in reading and (ii) how the library as a public sphere institution is perceived in an age of increased conflicts and tensions. It is a case study, comparing the public libraries in Budapest and Oslo – the capital cities in two countries both firmly anchored in the European Union/the European Economic Area, but with important differences regarding some of today’s central conflict issues. What is the role of institutionalised professional norms versus external political influences in shaping the ways libraries respond and adapt? The analysis of planning documents is supplemented with qualitative analysis with librarians from the two case libraries. One major finding is that the traditional role of libraries as institutions promoting literature and enlightenment, and traditional norms of neutrality dominate in the planning documents and in the responses from the persons interviewed. One major conclusion is that although the plans reflect the complex and manifold role of today’s urban public libraries, the traditional role of libraries as agents for literature and enlightenment still plays a defining role. The interviews also indicate that the norm of neutrality, giving access to all sides and perspectives, is strong, although first and foremost by librarianships’ obligation to truth and science and also by political trends and tendencies, which vary somewhat between the two countries.