The Portrayal of Public Libraries in Contemporary Australian News Media

The coverage of public libraries by the mainstream Australian news media over a three-month period was examined through a qualitative content analysis to identify which aspects of public libraries and their services are being emphasised. The sample of 92 articles came from all eight states and territories, with about half of the articles from national or statewide outlets and the remainder from local newspapers. A wide range of aspects of the libraries and their offerings were covered: some of these aspects were of a more general in nature (e.g. that the libraries were free of charge, inclusive and enabled social connection), whilst others constituted a particular program, resource or spatial feature, often unique to the sample. The reporting was generally positive and typically promotional in nature, if also brief, and coverage broadly reflected the various facets of the wide-ranging mission of Australian public libraries. A library’s programming was the most common subject of the articles, but there were also many that noted collection resources or aspects of the physical spaces, quite often underlining the range of offerings for one or more user groups.