1. Researching public libraries and the public sphere: A mapping of questions, methods, theories, and findings
LIDA 2018

2. The ALM-Field, Digitalization, and the Public Sphere (ALMPUB)
financed by the Research Council of Norway
investigates the changing role of public libraries, archives, and museums as institutions underpinning and sustaining the public sphere
administered by the Department of Archivistics, Library, and Information Science, at Oslo Metropolitan University (OsloMet) in Norway

3. Research Questions
RQ1: What themes and topics are most frequently addressed on the relationship between public libraries and public sphere?
RQ2: What kind of studies can be identified?
RQ3: What are the methods and theories employed?
RQ4: What are the future research possibilities pointed out by the research? What research gaps can be identified?

4. Scope and Procedure Systematic search 2-stage Screening processes
Scopus, Web of science, LISA, LISTA, Google Scholar, DOAJ
librar* AND «public sphere*» in the abstract, title, and keyword fields in the databases
2-stage Screening processes
Titles and abstracts
Full-texts
Coding
Data extraction
QDAS – NVivo 12

6. Empirical Theoretical Interview Survey Participant observation
Document analysis/qualitative content analysis
Theoretical
Habermas’ concept of the public sphere
Habermas in combination with other theories
New conceptual model
Literature review

7. inclusion/exclusion (minority groups)
Meeting place; infrastructure
civic skills
community building
inclusion/exclusion (minority groups)
Digitization
access
digital divide
digital literacy
self-service
censorship; surveillance
History and roles
user expectation
staff attitudes
service duties
Decline of the public sphere
neo-liberal government
new public management
funding
rhetorics
consumer, citizen, patron, user
Theoretical perspectives in Library and Information Science
knowledge organization

8. Research Gaps/Future Research
public libraries and the literary public sphere
public libraries and the digital public sphere
public library’s presence on social media
relationship between digital and physical meeting places in terms of participation and reaching out to groups usually not using the public library
the intersection between private sphere and public sphere in public libraries
more case studies to compare findings from different countries and different areas (urban – rural; homogeneous – heterogeneous)