Promoting public libraries as democratic spaces through governmental and municipal library strategies: Norwegian library strategies post 2014 law changes

Introduction

The first Norwegian law on public libraries and school libraries dates back to 1935, with revisions being made in 1947 and 1955. In 1971, this was replaced by a second law on public libraries and school libraries, and in 1986 Norway got its first law dedicated solely to public libraries, with school libraries then being regulated through laws on primary and secondary education (Frisvold, 2021, p. 178). The Norwegian Law on Public Libraries (Folkebibliotekloven, 1986) has been amended several times, and a proper revision of the law took place in 2013. Regarding the amendments, in 1987, Article 15 was repealed with the implementation of the Library Remuneration Act (Bibliotekvederlagsloven, 1987). In 1993, the act on amendments to special legislation for municipalities and county municipalities, Article 4, 7, 8, 11, and 12 were applied mild modification or repeal (Lov om endringer i lovgivningen for kommuner mv, 1993). In 2003, when the Norwegian Archive, Library and Museum Authority (ABM-utvikling/LAM- Development) was established to strengthen cooperation and integration for the LAM-sector, Article 13 was added, and Article 4 and 8 were modified. The LAM-Development launched Library Reform 2014 that planned to create a digital library, reorganise libraries, and enhance the ability of the library sector to provide ‘equal access to cultural and knowledge sources regardless of economic ability, place of residence, workplace or affiliation with an educational institution (ABM-utvikling, 2006, p.16)’. They further stated that:

The libraries give the entire population access to knowledge and culture, and they are important institutions for strengthening democracy and freedom of speech. Libraries must safeguard cultural diversity, social inclusion and universal design. (ABM- utvikling, 2006, p.16).

However, LAM-Development was suspended after that (see Hylland 2019; Vårheim et al. 2020), and it was suggested that the library tasks of LAM-Development could be delegated to the National Library, with archival and museum tasks to be handled by the Arts Council (St.meld. nr. 23 (2008-2009)). The white paper Libraries: Knowledge Commons, Meeting Place and Cultural Arena in a Digital Age also insisted on the necessity of a revision of the Public Library Act. In 2013, all Articles were thoroughly revised and enforced as the revised Public Library Act in 2014 (Prop. 135L (2012-2013)). Now, public libraries were broadly recognised as active dissemination hubs, meeting places, and arenas for public debate. This large-scale law change affects the national strategy for libraries as well as local public libraries. Koizumi and Larsen (2022) studied the effect of library laws on library policy, management, and users in Nordic public libraries, and found that policy has a great impact not only on public libraries but also on local communities. However, it is essential to elucidate from a policy perspective what specific policies have been established regarding the increasingly important place function of public libraries in the 21st century.

Literature review

Regarding recent library policies in Norway, there are only a few studies. Sveum and Tveter (2012) have analysed how government library strategies impact local public libraries by focusing on state budgetary proposals, in relation to the government reports Libraries: Knowledge Commons, Meeting place and Cultural Arena in a Digital Age (St.meld. nr. 23 (2008-2009)) and National Strategy for Digital Preservation and Dissemination of Cultural Heritage (St.meld. nr. 24 (2008–2009)). Larsen and Solheim (2020) have studied how notions of a digital public sphere are reflected in recent culture- and library policies. And as part of the ALMPUB research project, several researchers have studied library policies as part of LAM-policies: Rydbeck and Johnston (2020) analysed the laws and statistical information to survey current LAM institutions’ situation in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Poland, Germany, Switzerland and Hungary, Tóth (2020) analysed how the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia implemented in national cultural policies the European Commission’s recommendations related to organisation and funding of digitalisation and digital preservation, and Stokstad (2020) analysed how Norwegian LAM-institutions implemented national policies on LAM-digitalisation. On the grounds of empirical analysis, Henningsen and Larsen (2020a; 2020b) and Blomgren (2020) discussed why digitalisation had become such a pressing issue in Norwegian and Swedish cultural policies. Blomgren pointed to difficulties in implementing such policies as they tend to be quite abstract and operate at a societal rather than an organisational level, while Henningsen and Larsen explained this by pointing to digitalisation being imperative in 21st- century cultural policies, due to digital technology being mystified (2020a) and treated as sacred (2020b) in the policy discourse. Larsen and Solheim (2020) also concluded that there is a lack of concrete recommendations on how libraries should best tackle the challenges of digitalisation for democracy in national policies on culture and libraries.

Widdersheim et al. (2021) have conducted a comparative analysis of cultural policy and public libraries in Norway, the U.S., and Japan, and Pacios (2007) conducted a comparative analysis of the strategic plans of 73 American libraries and showed their library priorities. Similar to our study, Golten (2019) has also considered how the roles of an independent meeting place and arena for public discussion and debate added by the Public Library Act in 2014, can contribute to the legitimation of the library as a space and a place. She focused on the turning point of a complete revision of the Library Act and discussed the characteristics of policies, but the scope of the research is limited, and few studies examine subsequent library policies in detail. In addition, although government policies affect local library operations, few studies have examined the linkages between them. One recent exception is Yamagishi et al.’s (2022) study of New York library policy, which demonstrated the dynamic interconnectedness of federal, state, and local policies.

Research purposes

This study focuses on the library strategies in Norway since the amendment of the Public Libraries Act in 2014. We aim to clarify what kind of strategies have been planned regarding the role of public libraries as places, and how these have changed over time. By considering t/hese from two perspectives: (a) government strategies and (b) municipality plans and management, we aim to clarify the roles and functions of public libraries as places in contemporary Norway. As for the aspect of (b) municipality plans and management, we take the city of Oslo as our case. As Norway’s capital and largest city, it is expected to be able to live up to the governmental cultural policy goals, which might be harder for small libraries in rural areas. The Deichman Library of Oslo consists of the newly opened main library, Deichman Bjørvika (2020), and 21 branch libraries.

In this study, we are researching the following research questions:

• RQ1: What characterises library policy in Norway and Oslo since the 2014 law change?
• RQ2: What were the government’s specific plans for the roles and functions of public libraries as places in Norway, seen as part of the 2014 law change?
• RQ3: What were Oslo’s specific plans for the roles and functions of Deichman as a public place, since the 2014 law change?
• RQ4: What kinds of roles and functions of Deichman are reported in their annual reports?

As services to users are evolving beyond the handling of materials and information, it is essential to view libraries not as one-way service providers to users, but as interactive places for librarians, users, and the community. Library as Place points to theoretical conceptualisations of libraries as places and spaces, as well as to the design of concrete library buildings (Jochumsen et al., 2012; Aabø and Audunson, 2012; Aabø et al., 2010). Policy documents contain descriptions of libraries as places and present their roles in both abstract and concrete terms. Therefore, by analysing these documents we can clarify the required roles and functions of modern libraries as places. In order to also say something about the current status of the library’s operation, and whether libraries operate following the policies, we have also included the Deichman annual reports from recent years. We can then study how the library reports on its function as a public place.

Method

We have conducted a document study of changes in the Public Library Act, national strategies concerning public libraries, library management plans in Oslo, and how Deichman reports on its activities. Peters (1996) explained that ‘public policy is the sum of government activities, whether pursued directly or through agents, as those activities have influence on the lives of citizens’ (Peters, 1996, p. 4), and Jenkins (1978) specified public policy as the following:

a set of interrelated decisions taken by a political actor or group of actors concerning the selection of goals and the means of achieving them within a specified situation where those decisions should, in principle, be within the power of those actors to achieve. (Jenkins, 1978, p. 15).

In this study, we have analysed documents produced by the national and local governments, like laws on public libraries, national library strategies, and municipality library plans. Target literature was policy documents on public library management produced by the Norwegian government, Oslo Municipality, and Deichman. The scope of the literature was from 2014 to 2021. We have studied the following documents (all of which are available online):

1. Literature by government
   • The Public Libraries Act (Web page)
   • National strategy for libraries 2015–2018: The central government’s tasks and responsibilities regarding the development of the public libraries (31p)
   • Kulturens kraft: Kulturpolitikk for framtida (Meld. St. 8, 2018-2019) (99p)
   • A space for democracy and self-cultivation: National strategy for libraries 2020–2023 (36p)
2. Literature by the Oslo municipality or Deichman
   • Bibliotekplan for Oslo kommune i perioden 2014 til 2018 (28p)
   • Bibliotekplan for Oslo kommune 2019-2022 (25p)
   • Byrådets forslag til budsjett 2020 og økonomiplan 2020–2023 (557p)
   • Byrådets forslag til budsjett 2021 og økonomiplan 2021–2024 (563p)
   • Årsberetning 2018. Deichman (34 p)
   • Årsberetning 2019. Deichman (35p)
   • Årsberetning 2020. Deichman (38p)

First, we read the subject literature carefully and organised the overall development of library policy post 2014 law changes. Next, we focused on how libraries are referred to with regard to their function as places. We then explored descriptions of abstract or concrete strategies and specific plans for providing the place function of the library. Through our analysis of the annual reports of Deichman, we also examined examples of concrete library activities related to the library as place.

Results

The mission of public libraries according to the law on public libraries

The mission of the public library, as stated in the Public Library Act of 2014, is as follows: public libraries spread (1) information, (2) education, and (3) cultural activities, and are to be (4) independent meeting places and (5) arenas for public discussions and debates, based on the premises of active dissemination and free availability of books and other media for all inhabitants of Norway. In addition, the statement that each library shall ‘place emphasis on quality, versatility and topical relevance in its services’ (Folkebibliotekloven, 1986) has not changed since 1986. In the following, we will look into what specific plans are being made by the government and Oslo municipality for public libraries to work as places with these five functions.

Summary of library policies since the amendment of the Public Library Act in 2014

National strategy for libraries 2015–2018: The central government’s tasks and responsibilities regarding the development of the public libraries (2015-18 strategy) is a document that summarises the government’s contribution to accomplishing policy goals concerning public libraries, made by the Ministry of Culture. This strategy is divided into four areas: The National Library of Norway’s role as a developer; Library development with project and development funding; Digital content in public libraries; Joint infrastructure (Ministry of Culture, 2015). It is stated that most of the measures will be implemented by the National Library of Norway. A space for democracy and self-cultivation: National strategy for libraries 2020–2023 (2020-23 strategy) is a strategy made by the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education and Research. To further develop libraries as important intellectual institutions contributing to public enlightenment and self-cultivation, this strategy showed specific policies in three key areas: Dissemination; Cooperation and development; Infrastructure (Ministry of Culture & Ministry of Education and Research, 2019).

Bibliotekplan for Oslo kommune i perioden 2014 til 2018 (2014-18 plan) set five goals: (1) The library shall be relevant and adapted to the citizens’ needs; (2) The library shall be a threshold- free meeting place and an important knowledge centre that stimulates citizens to active participation in society; (3) The library shall actively disseminate content; (4) The library shall have a central role as a learning and knowledge arena for children and young people; (5) The library must disseminate literature as an art form (Oslo kommune, 2014). Bibliotekplan for Oslo kommune 2019-2022 (2019-22 plan) set four goals: (1) The library shall be a threshold-free meeting place that stimulates the inhabitants to active participation in society; (2) The library will offer and disseminate relevant knowledge, literature and cultural experiences; (3) The library will reach more people, especially children and young people; (4) The library shall cooperate locally and centrally to meet the needs of the inhabitants (Oslo kommune, 2018).

Active dissemination of information

The official Norwegian report on cultural policy 2014, which assessed local and national cultural life from 2004 to 2014, saw slow progress of joint national digital solutions and e-book lending at public libraries as problems (NOU 2013:4). In response, the necessity for the National Library to develop infrastructure was emphasised. The central government wanted to financially support digital services and infrastructure development. In the 2015-18 governmental library strategy, it was established that the National Library negotiates for rights regarding its own collection (their holdings), proposes a model for e-book buying and lending through discussion with the Norwegian Publishers Association and other relevant parties, creates Library Search as a function to joint libraries and users, etc.

In the 2020-23 national library strategy, it is stated that the National Library provides funding ‘to attract new library users, get more people to read and increase lending’ (Ministry of Culture & Ministry of Education and Research, 2019, p. 16) and ‘for public libraries to gain experience and expertise and to test new distribution methods, which in the long term can form part of the libraries’ daily operations’ (Ministry of Culture & Ministry of Education and Research, 2019, p. 16). Public and county libraries could apply for this.

As examples of information to be disseminated, public libraries were required to provide information on the activities of the Norwegian Library of Talking Books and Braille, in order for the service to reach more people. In the 2020-23 strategy, the government required research and special libraries to provide research-based information for general users and stated the need for close cooperation with other libraries, such as public libraries.

On the other hand, the 2014-18 plan for Oslo municipality sets specific goals such as to further develop the Deichman’s homepage (www.deichman.no) and being dissemination-centres for current information on Oslo. Digitising the collection and services have been kept as a goal in the 2019-22 plan. In addition, this plan also emphasised that Deichman should reflect the demographic composition of the city in its media collection. It is shown that the libraries in Oslo aim to develop their offerings according to the citizens’ needs. The use of digital materials has been expanded at Deichman: The lending numbers for e-books in 2020 doubled from the previous year, due in part to the pandemic. The new central library in Bjørvika sets big information screens on each floor to present floor- and event information because they also emphasise providing information about the library itself. All the branch libraries also use posters and digital screens for the simple and clear dissemination of information.

Active promotion of education

In the 2015-18 government strategy, the function of public libraries as learning arenas was emphasised. The strategy refers to the fact that Statistics Norway’s library survey showed that library use by young people between 16 and 24 had declined, and that the Norwegian Storting (parliament) requested to prioritise the promotion of local cooperation between public libraries and schools. It was also stated that ‘>one of the priority areas for development funding in 2015 is the public library as a learning arena’ (Ministry of Culture, 2015, p. 21). It should be noted, although Clause 2 Article 9 of the Education Act provides that ‘the pupils must have access to a school library’ (Opplæringslova, 1998), having school libraries are not mandatory, and public libraries can play this role if a school cannot provide the services by their own.

The 2020-23 strategy emphasises such values as public enlightenment and self-cultivation, related to libraries’ contribution to democratic societies. In terms of specific content, there was little suggestion that public libraries provide any kind of education directly to users. Rather, educational policies for public libraries were aimed at distributing educational content, and clarifying how public libraries, school libraries and libraries of institutions of higher education can benefit from increased cooperation, with support from the government and the National Library.

One of the goals of the 2014-18 plan for Oslo municipality was that ‘the library shall have a central role as a learning and knowledge arena for children and young people’. Also, the municipality aimed at developing libraries as learning arenas. There were specific goals concerning education, like ‘further develop offers such as youth café, homework assistance, game nights, reading circles etc. for young people’ (p. 14) and ‘in order for the Municipality to strengthen reading and language skills among children, collaborations between libraries, health stations, kindergartens and schools should be developed further’ (p. 13). Cooperation between public libraries and school libraries plays an essential role in literacy for children. The assessment of the project Give room for reading! reported that schools had systematic cooperation with public libraries to accomplish positive results in reading skills. Deichman and the Education Agency in Oslo report on considering a pilot case about a cooperation model between public and school libraries. Deichman would initially manage school libraries. However, it was clarified that managing the school library by the school is better for satisfying the needs of the school through the pilot case. It was also reported that digital library services need to be developed centrally, rather than as part of the cooperation between public and school libraries.

Active dissemination of cultural activities

The government’s strategies have emphasised the role of libraries in promoting reading and other cultural activities. In the 2015-18 government strategy, The Ministry of Culture declared that:

public libraries are the largest and most important disseminators of fiction and reading, both for children and adults. This role is underlined and strengthened with the new Public Libraries Act, and is a key to the library of the future (Ministry of Culture, 2015, p. 165).

The government, via the National Library, will support public libraries financially when seeking to hold events in their local communities. In particular, it was insisted on the necessity of activities attracting young people, as library statistics showed a drop in their attendance at public libraries. The 2020-23 strategy aimed to create a common platform for streaming events hosted by the National Library, as well as other libraries. The platform is assumed to be particularly helpful for school children.

In the 2014-18 plan of Oslo, two of the main goals for the library sector are related to dissemination: It is stated that ‘the library shall actively disseminate content’, and that ‘the library must disseminate literature as an art form’ (p. 8). In fact, we identified that there were many plans to disseminate literature as part of cultural activities. There was a need not only to conduct literature and author events but also that Deichman through the Friby-project should host persecuted authors (p. 15). The city council of Oslo municipality set as one of the goals for the culture, sports and volunteering sector that ‘children and young people must be offered good cultural experiences and be inspired to self-initiated cultural activities’ (Oslo kommune, 2019, chapter 11, p. 5). In response, Deichman focused on services for children and young people. For example, Deichman has collaborated with kindergartens and/or elementary schools to implement programmes such as Reading Seeds and the Cultural Rucksack for promoting reading and fostering a desire to read among children (Oslo kommune, 2014, p. 13-14; Deichman, 2020, p. 5). Deichman also has reading promotion programmes such as Camp Deichman, a mobile library that moves around the city in order to expand literary and cultural public spheres beyond libraries, providing opportunities for people to enjoy reading books or listening to lectures. For example, on 26 May 2019, Camp Deichman provided courses for those who wanted to learn to cultivate their own food on their balconies, windowsills, or garden spots (Deichman, 2020, p. 44-45).

Independent meeting places

Public libraries have the role of being a threshold-free meeting place for all (e.g. Audunson et al. 2019), which means not only targeting people who want to use library materials. The government has strongly emphasised providing a place with a high degree of openness, as can be seen in this description: ‘reading activities, literature and the library itself should be available in arenas where it is possible to reach the groups that do not read or use the library’s services’ (Ministry of Culture & Ministry of Education and Research, 2019, p. 16).

This role was also emphasised by Oslo municipality. One of the goals of the culture, sports and volunteering sector was that ‘the library shall be a threshold-free meeting place for literature, debate and cultural experiences’ (Oslo kommune, 2019, chapter 11, p. 5). In addition, both the 2014-18 plan and the 2019-22 plan mentioned that public libraries should function as meeting places. To be a threshold-free meeting place for all, Deichman focused on improving physical accessibility. For example, the number of days and times that the library is open has been increased, library cards are no longer required to visit some branches (as one can use the Oslo Key app instead), and the branch libraries are open after hours for patrons who have registered for such access. Furthermore, the buildings have been designed for universal use. Deichman is also active in sending newsletters to registered users. They have made efforts to become familiar facilities for people.

The city council stated that the library is a place to meet people of different ages and backgrounds, and that it can serve as a good example on how to break down prejudice and distance. One of these policies was to build a new central library. Furthermore, in recent years the library spaces have been improved in several of the branch libraries, with the renovation of the libraries at Lambertseter, Grünerløkka and Torshov. Deichman also reported that the total number of participants in events had increased rapidly in recent years (except during the time libraries were closed due to COVID19-restrictions): 112 173 in 2016, 148 818 in 2017, 174 617 in 2018, 202 546 in 2019 (Deichman, 2019, 2020, 2021). These numbers indicate that the various Deichman libraries function as meeting places in their local communities within the city of Oslo.

The municipality also pointed out that public libraries are meeting places for children and young people (Oslo kommune, 2014, p. 13). For example, Biblo Tøyen, a branch that opened in 2016, is only open for children between the ages of 10 and 15. In the 2020-23 government strategy, this was introduced as ‘a meeting place, a place to relax, hang out, surf, fix things, read, learn and borrow books’ (Ministry of Culture & Ministry of Education and Research, 2019, p. 21). Deichman focuses on holding events for children and young people, following the city council’s guidelines.

Arenas for public discussions and debates

The white paper The Power of Culture stated the following:

a democratic society with an open and enlightened public conversation requires that people have knowledge about and an understanding of the society they are part of. The information society of today makes great demands on people’s ability for critical reasoning and expansion of their horizons of understanding, in order to be able to evaluate sources, examine what is true and false, and make independent decisions (Meld.St., nr. 8(2018-2019), p. 38).

Furthermore, the white paper pointed out that ‘the cultural sector has a responsibility to include children and young people and to facilitate their participation in society’ (Meld.St., nr. 8(2018- 2019), p. 79). Libraries were regarded as essential institutions for democracy to function sufficiently, and their roles as places promoting this function were shown in the 2015-18 and the 2020-23 government strategies. In particular, the title of the 2020-23 strategy is a space for democracy and self-cultivation and it sets out with the following statement: “libraries are houses of democracy: from the National Library of Norway to public libraries, school libraries, special libraries and research libraries. Together, they constitute an important part of the democratic infrastructure and are one of the cornerstones of democracy” (Ministry of Culture & Ministry of Education and Research, 2019, p. 3).

Oslo municipality also shows that it is aware of the need to promote democracy. For example, the 2019-22 plan stated that ‘the library is a counterweight to polarization and facilitates local democracy, commitment, inclusion and voluntary participation in the local community’ (Oslo kommune, 2018, p. 9). The budget plan for 2020 in Oslo said that:

the library’s main mission is to promote knowledge, point out contexts and encourage critical reflection. The library is a cultural institution that creates events for the public, a debate arena that develops and expands democracy, and a learning arena that spreads and shares knowledge (Oslo kommune, 2019, chapter 11, p. 5).

In the Annual Report for 2019, Deichman mentions that it took part in hosting the TellUs-festival, where high school pupils met with decision-makers to discuss issues related to the environment and a sustainable future. Also, the libraries were used as venues for debates during the local elections. In other words, Deichman is hosting discussion events related to contemporary political issues and is as such functioning as a political public sphere for the inhabitants of Oslo (see also Koizumi and Larsen, 2022).

Discussion & Conclusion

In this study, we have analysed specific library policies since the amendment of the Norwegian Public Library Act in 2014, from both the aspects of the government and the municipality of Oslo. We found that the strategies of the Norwegian government and Oslo municipality intended for libraries to help strengthen democratic society. The policies and strategies included diverse activities for inviting non-users, such as providing governmental grants for creating new dissemination methods, reforming Deichman buildings to become new and attractive, and providing services like Camp Deichman for users beyond libraries. By focusing on non-users, libraries aim to become more familiar places also for people not using library collections. Through creating common spaces where people with different backgrounds can meet, libraries can help strengthen the democratic infrastructure in society (Aabø et al., 2010; Aabø and Audunson, 2012; Audunson et al., 2019; Jochumsen et al., 2012; Klinenberg, 2018).

The role of the library as a place is nothing new, as public libraries have always been meeting places (Frisvold, 2021; Wiegand, 2015). However, Norwegian public libraries have intensified their roles as democratic spaces over the last years, as expressed in governmental and municipal plans for cultivating democracy post Library Act of 2014. The government and Oslo municipality highly prioritised the role of public libraries as independent meeting places for citizens, especially children and young people. Prior to 2014, the development of the library as a space was well underway (Aabø et al., 2010).

As each municipality has developed various library policies, there have been few specific strategies from the government related to programmes, services, and events as part of the libraries’ missions as arenas for public discussions and debates. Deichman nevertheless has many events and activities related to the place function of public libraries. For example, we have identified that Deichman’s main library and branch libraries provided democratic places to discuss local issues during the local election (see also Koizumi and Larsen, 2022), which can partly be seen as a response to the law changes and government library strategies. A detailed plan of action for fostering democracy in the community is left to each library. Deichman conducted diverse educational and cultural programmes, in addition to literature events and programs. As Golten (2019) stated, public libraries have held workshops, courses, lectures, and cultural events on various topics in order to fulfil the needs of a diverse citizenry. Language education is important for immigrants to take part in democratic life, and language cafés, book clubs, and shared readings help develop the language literacy of immigrants and serve as meeting places between individuals from minority groups and the majority (Johnston and Audunson, 2017; Koizumi and Larsen, 2022).

Libraries contribute information, education, and cultural activities to society and serve as hubs of active dissemination activities, both physically and virtually. By setting up future-oriented policies following the Library Act, public libraries can take a leading role in promoting a cultural life that meets the needs of a diverse citizenry.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Numbers JP20H04479.

About the authors

Marika Kawamoto is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Human Sciences and Cultural Studies, Yamanashi Eiwa College, 888 Yokonemachi, Kofu, Yamanashi 400-8555, Japan. She received her master’s degree in 2018. Her research focuses on the concept of Library as Place, library services, and library policies. She can be contacted at: marika@yamanashi-eiwa.ac.jp
Motoko Yamagishi is a master’s student at the Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-2 Kasuga, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8550, Japan. She has written extensively on topics related to cultural policy, public libraries, and library spaces and architecture. She can be reached at: s1711578@klis.tsukuba.ac.jp
Håkon Larsen is a sociologist and a professor of library and information science at the Department of Archivistics, Library and Information Science, Oslo Metropolitan University, Pilestredet 48, Oslo 0167, Norway. He has written extensively on topics related to cultural policy, the Nordic Model, the public sphere and legitimation. He can be reached at: haklar@oslomet.no.
Masanori Koizumi is an associate professor at the Faculty of Library, Information and Media Science at the University of Tsukuba, 1-2 Kasuga, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8550, Japan. He has written extensively on topics related to library strategy, information specialists and the public sphere. Institution of highest degree, PhD. Keio University, Library and Information Science in 2013. He can be reached at: koizumi@slis.tsukuba.ac.jp.

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