Digital Divides according to the Public Library. A case study of the discursive conceptualisation of digital divides

Abstract

A relatively new phenomenon in Sweden today is library-run projects with the stated aim to reduce the issue of Digital Divides. The extent of the presence of the concept in the public library sphere and how the concept is interpreted within the different projects has however not been examined before. Within the frames of a case study a document study of Swedish public library plan is firstly carried out. Secondly, a discourse analysis is conducted of documents created within two different library projects. The results of the discourse analysis are then projected against a backdrop of previous research focused on the identity of the Swedish public library. In the search for the presence and conceptualisation of Digital Divides on a wider national level, the study finds only a third of the examined Swedish public library plans discusses the issue. The vast majority of these do so without mentioning digital information, or without broadening the discussion to encompass the issues of the second-level digital divide. The study further finds that the interpretations made of the digital divide in the two examined projects both share the same foundation, derived from a national political context. Both projects attempt to establish the library possible contribution to the integration of non-IT users into society. The study however sees that the different strategies for reducing digital divides that are put forward on in the projects, ca be linked to different and conflicting discourses regarding the possible identity of the public library in its community. The discourse analysis only examines two library projects and, by the qualitative nature of the study, this limits the extent to which the results study can be used for generalization. Here, more and broader studies would prove a valuable complement. The paper is of interest for any LIS practitioner, student or scholar with an interest in the issues connected with how libraries interpret, or don’t interpret, the concept of Digital Divides and how it is related to the library’s practice. The study further illuminates how the practice of the public library relates to its self-perceived function in society and is thus of interest for practitioners or scholars interested in this issue.