Negotiating digital public spaces: context, purpose and audiences
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-04-2022-0079 |
| Published date | 07 October 2022 |
| Date | 07 October 2022 |
| Pages | 703-717 |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Records management & preservation,Document management,Classification & cataloguing,Information behaviour & retrieval,Collection building & management,Scholarly communications/publishing,Information & knowledge management,Information management & governance,Information management,Information & communications technology,Internet |
| Author | Rhiannon Stephanie Bettivia,Elizabeth Stainforth |
Negotiating digital public spaces:
context, purpose and audiences
Rhiannon Stephanie Bettivia
School of Library and Information Science, Simmons University, Boston,
Massachusetts, USA, and
Elizabeth Stainforth
Faculty of Arts Humanities and Cultures, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose ofthis article is to investigatedigital public spaces andaudiences and to explore the
relationship of digital public spaces to both idea s of nationhood and physical public institutions.
Design/methodology/approach –The article investigates tensions arising from the conjuncture of public
spaces anddigital culture throughthe lens of the Digital Public Library ofAmerica (DPLA). This research uses
qualitativecontent analysis of a range of datasources including semi-structured interviews, primarytexts and
secondarytexts.
Findings –The construction of the public library space as a digital entity does not attract anticipated
audiences. Additionally, the national framing of the DPLA is not compatible with how audiences engage with
digital public spaces.
Originality/value –Drawing on original, qualitative data, this article engages with the prevalent but
undertheorized concept of digital public spaces. The article addresses unreflexive uses of the digital public and
the assumptions connected to the imagined audiences for platforms like the DPLA.
Keywords Digital libraries, Public libraries, Public goods, Audiences, Public space,
Digital public library of America, Digital public space
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
In July 2018, Forbes published an editorial by Long Island University economist Panos
Mourdoukoutas, titled “Amazon Should Replace Local Libraries to Save Taxpayers Money.”
The core message was that “Amazon has provided something better than a local library
without the tax fees,”with its new initiative Amazon Go combining “a library with a
Starbucks”(Mourdoukoutas, 2018). Within hours, the piece received over 200,000 views and
was met with backlash on the news site and on Twitter, prompting a retraction from Forbes.
The responses on Twitter are telling. Many people referred to their usage of public libraries
and their experiences as personal beneficiaries of these spaces. A number of respondents also
stressed the value of libraries, in terms of the community and cultural life they engender, as
worthwhile tax expenditure. Finally, social media comments emphasized free access and the
democratic principles of libraries as opposed to monopolistic for-profit corporations like
Amazon (see Nadler and Cicillinie, 2020).
The outpouring of support following the publication of the editorial is revealing of the
values and agendas inscribed in public library discourse, particularly in the context of the
USA. As Mattern comments, “One key misperception of those who proclaim the library’s
obsolescence is that its function as a knowledge institution can be reduced to its technical
services and information offerings”(2014). In contrast, Twitter comments foregrounded
benefits that are harder to quantify, notably libraries’contributions to community,
democracy and the equitable distribution of knowledge and resources (e.g. music and
ebooks). The fact that they provide free Internet usage, enabling online participation in
services relating to health care access, housing, voting and job searching, also highlights the
significant role of libraries as a public good.
Digital public
spaces
703
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/0022-0418.htm
Received 8 April 2022
Revised 12 September 2022
Accepted 21 September 2022
Journal of Documentation
Vol. 79 No. 3, 2023
pp. 703-717
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0022-0418
DOI 10.1108/JD-04-2022-0079
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