Danish Library Association

Public Library Advocacy

Hellen Niegaard – Chief Consultant/Editor-in-chief

hn@dbf.dk

Welcome to Denmark

DLA Ultra Short

Today’s Public Library & Challenges

Facts about DLA/the way we work

Facts about the Public Library Landscape

Our 2016 Main Focus

DLA Ultra Short DLA (Danish Library Association) has a special

association structure including both library professionals as well as local politicians.

The President is always a politician and local politicians always constitute the majority of the council.

President Vagn Ytte Larsen

President of the Danish Library Association Steen B. Andersen

Chairman of th Culture Committee. Municipality Aarhus

DLA Vision

DLA sets the public library agenda,

highlighting the value of

culture, learning and education

DLA is the driving force, the

spokesman and the advisory body

when libraries develop a framework

of democracy for the local community

The modern library

Is more than just books

- a house of identity

being developed together with users

contributing to the knowledge society

creating community benefits and social

capital

Today’s Common Library

Challenges

•

Photos: Colourbox

Who are the DLA members?

Danish municipalities, represented by their politicians

Library decision makers and professionals as well as library associations and – institutions

Other cultural associations

Students of the Royal School of Library and Information Science

What kind of

political influence

With 78 municipalities as members

DLA represents approximately 85%

of the Danish population (5,7 mio.)

Personal Members 298

Institutional Members 36

Students app. 50

DLA Organisation

General Assembly Elect the President and Vice

President

Politicians 35 members

(active politicians, members of their

municipalities)

Library Professionals 17 members

Council 52 members

Executive Board

10 members

Digitizing committee Cultural committee Learning committee

How does DLA work I

Lobbying towards all relevant decision makers

Raising awareness and debate on relevant matters

DB Annual Meeting – the meeting place for politicians and the public library sector

National and regional library conferences on hot topics

Carrying out, initiating and participating in library projects and surveys

Participating in official hearings/central committees nationally and internationally

How does DLA work II

International participation

Danish Think Tank:

Libraries of the Future

The public currently pay

DKK 2.5 bn via taxes and

the study demonstrate

a total value of DKK 6bn.

484 Library Units (2014) Of those 283+ are “Open Libraries” - See next slide. In total a 50% reduction since 1980, also reflecting a 2007-Government Reform. Including the 106 new ”pick up service points” in stores etc. = 590 in total

Public libraries 1996-2014

Main Libraries

Buses

Branch Libr

Pick up places

295 “Open Libraries”

with differentiated service

in Denmark (April 2016)

Citizen Services

(Borgerservice)

A majority of

municipalities

offers Citizen

Services –

Borgerservice -

at the public

library.

36 Million Visits in the library

• Kilde: Danmarks Statistik

E-books and Physical Book Loans

e-book

book

Number of Public Library Events - 2014

Learning with the Library –

9.100 class hours (2014)

2016 DLA Focus &

Main Challenges

Support transformation of Yesterday’s Library to The 21st Century LIBRARY (physical and digital)

Create a new narrative We have to explain what the modern library is, if we want politicians to understand and support the modern public library

Update Library Law (2000) Debate on the law compared to Library Services version 2016

Rethinking Overall-DLA-Strategy

Extended Partnerships

New ways of political campaigning

Photo: Chicago Public Library