Tolerants versus traditionalists: making sense of online conversations on the new Finnish flagship library Oodi
Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: Public libraries play a unique role in preserving, maintaining, and distributing cultural capital freely. Currently, public libraries are said to be undergoing a change: from public spheres offering culture selected and curated by legitimated experts, libraries are seen to have shifted more towards social hubs. However, little is known about how potential library users perceive these alleged changes. In this article, we explore which topics emerge in online conversations about Oodi, Helsinki’s new central library, and what kinds of symbolic boundaries are drawn in them. Our data consist of tweets and comments on newspaper articles (N = 2,342). Using structural topic modelling and a qualitative thematic analysis, we identify eight different topics that appear to be highly polarised. We interpret the online conversations on Oodi as negotiations of the ownership of publicly funded culture and cultural capital. These negotiations are organised around two opposing poles: tolerant, cosmopolitan views versus traditional, conservative attitudes.
Authors: Riie Heikkilä, Ossi Sirkka
Institutions: Tampere University, University of Tampere
Language: English
Subfield: Library and Information Sciences
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Funder: Horizon 2020 Framework Programme
Award: G2046326417
OpenAlex ID: W4388627900