Free and for all? A comparative study of programs with user fees in North American and Danish public libraries
ISSN: 0143-5124
Article publication date: 9 March 2020
Issue publication date: 9 March 2020
Abstract
Purpose
As a research topic within the field of LIS, programs in public libraries are underexplored, and the question of user fees for programs has not previously been addressed.
Design/methodology/approach
This article compares data collected from two individually conducted studies of public library programs in North America and Denmark to enrich our understanding of user fees in relation to programs.
Findings
The comparative analysis shows both similarities and deviations regarding the levying of fees for library programs. While paying a fee to attend a program is rather normal in Denmark, it is more of a fringe idea in North America.
Research limitations/implications
By exploring a previously understudied facet of contemporary public librarianship, this article opens up new avenues for inquiry regarding how the relative accessibility and availability of programs relate to theoretical discussions about programs as public library services.
Practical implications
This article provides library managers with needed information about how to conceptualize the roles of programs as public library services.
Social implications
As programming surges to the fore in contemporary public librarianship, the levying of user fees has social implications in terms of social equity and the public library ethos of free and equal access for all.
Originality/value
This article is the first study of user fees for public library programs, as well as among the first cross-national comparisons of programming as a dimension of public librarianship.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The Danish data used in this article has been collected as part of a PhD project within the international research project The ALM-field, Digitalization and the Public Sphere (ALMPUB), founded by the Norwegian Research Council. Thanks to the Augustinus Foundation and to Christian and Ottilia Brorsons Travel Grant for providing founding which made a research stay in the US possible. A special thanks to the Department of Library and Information Science, University of North Carolina at Greensboro for being a great host during Spring 2019.
Citation
Lenstra, N. and Mathiasson, M.H. (2020), "Free and for all? A comparative study of programs with user fees in North American and Danish public libraries", Library Management, Vol. 41 No. 2/3, pp. 103-115. https://doi.org/10.1108/LM-08-2019-0053
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited