News clippings from the net and library journals

While SPLQ mostly offers in-depth
stories on different aspects of public
library policy and development, in this
column you will get a glimpse of recent
innovative projects and best practices
in Scandinavian public libraries. The
municipal restructuring and library
reforms are still hot topics in library
journals, but there are plenty of smaller
everyday reforms, revolutions and influential
development going on at grass
root level. This selection of news clippings
has been picked from Scandinavian
library journals and library web
portals.

DENMARK

Supporting lifelong learning

In the municipality of Fredericia the
school and public libraries have since
August 2006 had a joint Department of
Pedagogical Development situated at
the main public library. Cooperation
between the two library systems is
nothing new, but the new organisational
structure where the development
department is part of the public library
offers even greater synergy advantages
and flexibility than before e.g. in supporting
lifelong learning. By investing
in children, focusing on the joy of
learning and cultural experiences the
municipality is striving to become
“Denmark’s best town for children” in
2012. (Bibliotekspressen 2 : 2007)

‘One-stop-library’

The public and university libraries in
Roskilde have not resorted to the most
usual forms of cooperation even if
joint competence development programs
and job rotation are on the
agenda. In addition, the libraries have
together organised cultural events such
as concerts and exhibitions at both
libraries, and the university library has
invited local day-care centres and preschools
to watch films at the library.
The concept of ‘one-stop-library’
means that users can request materials
from either library system at both
libraries. It also means that should a
student need information on e.g.
fiction or a public library user information
on a more academic or specialised
matter, they can contact a librarian
at the appropriate library by a
webcam connection. The libraries received
a grant from the Danish National
Library Authority in 2006 and are
planning to continue the successful
cooperation. (Bibliotekspressen 1 :
2007)

FINLAND

Mobile libraries are essential

Despite their diminishing number,
mobile libraries still play an essential
role in the public library network in
Finland. Last year there were around
180 book buses in the country. Nine
mobile libraries were partly financed
by the state in 2006 and 13 the previous
year.

A few of the larger towns have two
different mobile libraries: one for
adults, another for children. In the city
of Oulu, the latest acquisition is a ‘normal’
bus, but a few years back the
library also bought a smaller mobile
library which houses 1,500-2,000 items
and serves mostly children, the elderly
and other special target groups. It
operates according to the same principle
as the Danish mobile library of
Brønderselv and Dronninglund: As it
has no set schedule outside the 70 daycare
centres which it visits every three
weeks, it can flexibly be booked to
schools, homes of the elderly or bus
stops in the suburbs. The circulation
from the two mobile libraries in Oulu
was nearly 130,000 in 2005.

Another slowly, but surely growing
trend are mobile libraries acquired and
managed jointly by two municipalities.
(Kirjastolehti 2006 : 6) (The National
Public Library Portal www.libraries.fi http://
www.kirjastot.fi/kirjastoautot/uu
sia_kirjastoautoja/)

The public library in the bilingual
municipality of Pietarsaari is not only
offering its users the possibility of
downloading e-books on their home
computers or mobile phones through
the Swedish Elib service. The library
users also have access to the works of
local authors on the library website.
The ‘Listen to Your Author’ project
started in late 2006 and will include the
texts as mp3 files in both Finnish and
Swedish. (Bibban 2006 : 3)

NORWAY

Who are the non-users?

In a three-year project in Stavanger the
public library is trying to ‘chase the
non-users’, to identify who they are, to
find out what the library could do for
them and to discover new channels for
reaching new users, near and far. The
project does not have its roots in any
kind of crises, but is simply a development
project.
Cooperation with the nearby patient
hotel next to the university hospital is
already under way. The library provides
the patient hotel with a book collection
and offers the in-patients or relatives
staying there the chance to take part in
literary events at the library, possibly
with transport.

In spring 2007 the results of a market
research will be available. The library
hopes to be able to recognize different
user segments, also amongst non-users.
A new group of users could be the
Norwegian workers at oil company
Statoil who are stationed abroad in
London, Baku or Lagos. (Statoil’s head
office is in Stavanger.) The library also
organises exhibitions on the same
themes as the art museum of Rogaland
and gains visibility among the visitors
of the museum by presenting its collection
and services there. (Bibliotekaren
2006 :12)

Mobile library celebration

The oldest intermunicipal mobile
library in Norway celebrated its 20th
anniversary. What started as a project
as early as 1986 in Veterålen has since
2000 been a service managed and
financed by five municipalities. Even if
schools have been closed in the area in
recent years, the number of users is
more or less the same as before. As is
the case with many mobile libraries in
Scandinavia, school pupils are the
biggest user group. (Bok og Bibliotek
2006 : 7)

SWEDEN

Book a librarian

All library users know how to reserve
material at their library, and some may
know that even mobile libraries can be
booked, but few people know you can
also book a librarian; at least you can
in Gothenburg. 17 of the City Library’s
50 librarians can be booked for an
hour, five days a week. As “librarians as
a profession are anonymous” this is not
only good and personal service but also
a great way to market the skills of information
professionals. The intimate
one-hour contact provides valuable
feed-back for the library, too.
The hour can be used in the way the
user sees fit: The librarians instruct
users in information retrieval, either in
general or on a particular subject. Some
users need hands-on help in using
mp3 files or downloading e-books. The
librarians can help users start their
own e-mail accounts and show how a
mobile phone works. After all, when
libraries offer mobile services, this becomes
their territory. Even tours of the
closed-access stores can be arranged.

From the users’ comments it is easy to
see that the service works at several
levels: It is personal and less stressful
for all involved than queuing at the
information desk, it markets the skills
of the library staff, promotes the
services offered by the library and
provides the library with feed-back.
(DIK forum 2007 : 1)

Games at Malmö City Library

The media and users alike appreciate
the newly acquired collection of console
games at Malmö City Library. In
September last year, the library had 500
games for three different platforms,
and although the games can only be
borrowed by adults (over 16 years of
age) the circulation for the first seven
months of the project was 11,000.

One of the biggest obstacles so far is
the provision of new games. The libraries
have to wait several months before
the companies release the library rights
for the latest games. By the time the
library is free to buy the game, it could
well be sold out. The new platforms
also pose a challenge.

The reception has been so good,
though, that what started out as a
project can be deemed a success and
the provision of console games continues,
at least this year. (Biblioteksbladet
2006 : 9)

Scandinavian Shortcuts is selected by
Päivi Jokitalo
Senior Officer, Library Services
State Provincial Office of Western Finland

Translated by Päivi Jokitalo