Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate what democratic challenges the digitisation of the public libraries in Denmark has entailed. Using the concepts from a national library professional strategy from 2012, an analysis of 9 librarians’ experiences with digital dissemination in practice is conducted. Design/methodology/approach The paper is a part of a larger research project called “If digitisation is the answer, then what was the question?”. This sub study builds on the semi-structured interviews with library staff members, case-descriptions of two central providers of digital public library materials, as well as literature studies of missions, vision and strategies from different public library policy institutions. To frame the study, a literature review has been conducted. Findings The author detects the presence of several incompatible conditions in digital dissemination. These conditions are predominantly of an organisational nature, potentially containing major consequences for citizens’ free and equal access to information, knowledge and culture. Among other things, the Danish public libraries risk substantiating an already existing and problematic polarisation between technologically capable and incapacitated groups of people. Originality/value The digital transformation of society has only just begun. Therefore, it is important to examine the consequences of the transition to digital media types for central cultural institution such as the public libraries. The present study is an early and minor contribution to the illumination of a process requiring many more and large-scale studies.

In 2015, the United Nations adopted a program of principles, Agenda 2030, to create a more sustainable world and better the living conditions for people. In this ambition, culture plays a crucial role. As such, the world goals seem to be an obvious topic for Danish public libraries, but this has not been the case until recently. This study is based on a mixed-method approach including document studies, semi-structured interviews, and participation in a practitioners’ conference. It finds that Danish librarians strive to make the world goals comprehensible and articulate the parent institution as local communicators. Libraries are shown to be correctives to current commercial structures, but apart from this display great variation in how far the various libraries are advanced in their sustainable transformation. The study concludes that public libraries inform citizens about the ambition of the world goals as a starting point for adjustments in the citizens’ actions. Public libraries have ventured into unknown territory, where previous practices do not hold much status. Many library professionals lack this awareness, which is necessary for our understanding of the United Nations world goals as a library policy task.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate what con`sequences the digitisation of public libraries’ knowledge dissemination and the transition to online services has, for library staff members’ perception of their skills. This discussion is interesting because library staff members, by politicians, stakeholders, and other opinion makers, have been appointed as key facilitators of citizens’ continued attachment to civil society and the labour market. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on interviews with library staff members at Danish public libraries. Empirical data were collected through semi-structured e-mail interviews, based on an interview formula, and via follow-up telephone conversations. Library professional rapports and research literature were identified and applied as a theoretical framework in the creation of the analytical apparatus. Findings There were several different explanatory models available when respondents had to articulate their current challenges. The first model regarded the library staff members’ lack of skills as a political-organisational issue, occurring because of a lack of invest in their continuing education. Continuing education had therefore become a personal matter. The second model highlighted the library staff members’ lack of skills as an individual, library professional problem, where the responsibility for solving the problem lay with the individual employee. Originality/value Several studies have been conducted on library staff members’ skills and how they change, due to the transition to digital forms of dissemination. The present study strives to give employees a voice, which is why the respondents’ experiences are the starting point for the analytical work. Such studies are essential to understanding the extent and nature of the problem.

Dette pilotstudies ambition er at undersøge, hvordan og hvorfor narrative elementer lejlighedsvist aktiveres af aktører i deres kontakt med bibliotekarer i folkebiblioteker. Ved hjælp af en kulturanalytisk tilgang studeres forskellige aktørers narrative udvidelser af referenceinterviewet. Teoretisk bygger pilotstudiet på Anthony Giddens karakteristik af senmoderne ekspertsystemer som funktionelt uddifferentierede og på Reijo Savolainens teori om informationssøgning som udgangspunkt for aktørers forskellige måder at håndtere livsudfoldelse på, i bestræbelserne på at opretholde det gode liv.