Trust and the role of the public library in the integration of refugees: The case of a Northern Norwegian city

Abstract

This article discusses how public libraries contribute to the generation of social capital and social trust among refugees participating in library programmes while enrolled in a compulsory government introductory programme to Norwegian language and society. The students' experiences with the library have made them more trusting toward the institution of the public library and library patrons in general.Complementing earlier studies, the paper shows that library programmes for immigrants can contribute to the creation of social trust. Library programmes can play an important part in facilitating and speeding up trust-creating processes, making integration less traumatic, although trust in unknown people (generalized trust) remains low, before, during, and after the completion of the programmes.

Researching fractured (information) landscapes

“…The contributions of public libraries in building social capital have been explored by Vårheim, (2011Vårheim, ( , 2014 who is interested in improving low social capital in newly arrived groups. This research has highlighted how public institutions such as libraries build generalised trust and social capital in populations who, through past experience are often distrustful of governments and their institutions.…”

Public libraries as public sphere institutions

“…(Aabø, Audunson & Vårheim, 2010;Audunson. Essmat & Aabø, 2011;Aabø and Audunson, 2012;Johnston & Audunson, 2017;Vårheim, 2007;Vårheim, Steinmo & Ide, 2008;Vårheim, 2011;Vårheim 2014a;Vårheim 2014b;Vårheim 2017). The PLACE research referred to above together with the research of Catherine Johnson (Johnson, 2010; indicate that libraries might play a role in generating trust and social capital, usually seen as a precondition for a sustainable democracy.…”

Reflection on: “On Becoming Citizens: Examining Social Inclusion from an Information Perspective”

“…Topics 1 have included refugee experience of transition and resettlement (Johnson, 2016;Lloyd, Kennan, Thompson, & Qayyum, 2013;Quirke, 2012); refugee use of social media and mobile technologies (Andrade & Doolin, 2016) and working with refugee youth (Fisher, Yefimova, & Bishop, 2016). The role of the public library has also featured in a number of studies since the time of the original publication (Audunson, Essmat, & Aabø, 2011;Vårheim, 2014).…”