Öppna dörrar, öppna tankar : En litteraturstudie av biblioteksrummet som en del i det offentliga samtalet

Libraries have become increasingly important meeting places within a changing urban landscape for our senses and as a physical expression of the city's collective values, all gathered in a single building. This thesis explores the concept of the library as a place within the broader context of fostering creativity and innovation. The study aims to investigate the dynamic interplay between space and the library, and how this relationship can promote active creative output and exchange of ideas. Grounded in theories of space and place as factors that generate and prescribe meaning, the research focuses on how library operations engage with their spatiality and how both the physical and psychological spaces impact library users. By examining libraries as spaces that reflect our prejudices and expectations of what a library should be and look like to function effectively, this thesis questions how these perceptions influence the future of libraries as our expectations evolve. The study is guided by the following research questions: Can the public library space be defined as part of the public sphere, where communicative action is practiced through the free exchange of ideas? What role does the librarian play within the library space to ensure its functionality? What is the role of the library as a place when users do not need to visit the building to access its services and resources? What makes the library's functions identifiable? Employing the theories of Jürgen Habermas, Henri Lefebvre, and Yi-Fu Tuan, the thesis examines the library space as a democratic meeting place in alignment with Swedish library law. It analyzes the library as part of the public sphere and its potential to become a "third space" for social interaction. The study delves into Lefebvre's concept of social space, exploring how physical presence influences spatial experiences and how space is reproduced through use. Additionally, it considers how the arrangement and valuation of materials within t