If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -This article aims to identify threats perceived by Swedish public library directors as the most prominent. Design/methodology/approach -A web questionnaire was sent to public library directors in all of the Swedish municipalities. The data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Findings -The findings reveal that the main threat was considered to be the tension between the current activities of the public library and the expectations of the public, or of local decision makers. One reason for the lack of correspondence between activities and expectations is that public library managers regard the expectations on the public library as unrealistic. Another reason is that lack of resources prevent public library staff from meeting many of these expectations. Public libraries are thus prevented by both ideological and practical barriers in fulfilling expectations. Originality/value -A central issue in current public library research concerns how change in Western society affects public libraries. Many of these studies are either theoretical or based on interviews with politicians. Few researchers investigate how public library directors perceive the situation of public libraries today. Therefore, this article identifies perceptions made by public library directors.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study how Swedish local politicians perceive the impact of public library digital services on public libraries and to discuss how this can affect the sustainable development of public libraries. Design/methodology/approach – Empirical data were collected through semi-structured interviews with local politicians from 19 different Swedish municipalities. Data were treated to qualitative content analysis and discussed based on the concept of sustainable organization. Findings – According to local politicians, public library digital services may affect public libraries through changes to libraries’ physical spaces, librarians’ tasks and competencies and libraries’ economic situations. Based on these findings, public library digital services can both strengthen and weaken public library sustainability through, for example, increased access and expenditures, the latter of which may threaten public library sustainability. Research limitations/implications – Interviews did not focus specifically on the politicians’ views on public library digital services but dealt generally with their views on public libraries. To identify reasons for variations in views on this topic, follow-up interviews should be done. Data on views from public library managers would also be of use to determine the degree to which they are shared with local politicians. Originality/value – When sustainability and public libraries are discussed, the focus is generally on the library’s contribution to a sustainable society. Here, the focus is instead on the sustainability of the public library itself.

Purpose – Public library issues are often described as being of low political priority. Yet circumstances differ for different communities; public library issues may receive varying political attention. The purpose of this paper is to study how Swedish public library managers describe local politicians’ attention to public library issues and to identify which municipal circumstances, such as political organization, population, and finances, seem to matter for how local politicians’ attention is described. Design/methodology/approach – The empirical data were collected through a web-based questionnaire sent to all public library managers in Sweden. To identify the described political attention, a content analysis was done. A multinominal logistic regression analysis was performed to analyze the municipal circumstances that seem to matter for how political attention is described. Findings – A small majority of public library managers described the local political attention as strong or quite strong. Three factors seem to matter for how the attention is described: political organization, existence of a library plan, and population size. In the discussion personal factors, such as the politicians’ personal interest and public library managers’ experience, are brought up as possibly being of considerable importance. Originality/value – Several studies have been conducted on how politicians perceive public libraries; in these studies, the politicians are mainly treated as a unified group. This paper shows that the political approach to public library issues is described as different in different municipal circumstances.

2014),"Digital collection development for unique users: a veterinary medicine library's approach", Interlending & Document Supply, Vol. 42 Iss 4 pp. 171-175 http://dx.If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The purpose of this article is to study how public libraries argue for the inclusion of non-traditional library collections and to identify public library objectives related to these collections. Design/methodology/approach -The data was collected through a Web survey which was sent to public library managers in all Swedish municipalities. Data were analyzed using a model in which public library practices are divided into three categories relating to the public library's goals, activities and tools. Findings -Three different main arguments are used to support the introduction of non-traditional collections: as a contribution to public library goals or activities to attract non-users and as the result of external requests or needs. Through analysis of the survey results, the public library's common goal, a socially sustainable society, was identified. Other library goals identified were an environmentally sustainable society and an improved library. Practical implications -The results may inspire practitioners to reflect upon how non-traditional collections are related to library goals and activities and what consequences their inclusion may have for the library. For example, if non-traditional collections are used only to attract new users, there is a risk of creating expectations that the library cannot live up to. Originality/value -Today, focus is placed on the conditions for public libraries in the digital world. It is easy to overlook the importance of non-traditional library collections, and the role they fulfill. This article draws attention to these collections and their possible consequences for public libraries.

The use of audiobooks has risen significantly during the last few years in Sweden, a trend reflected in increasing demands for public libraries to provide their users with these books. Digital books are by no means a new phenomenon in public libraries, but the marked interest in borrowing audiobooks and new ways of distributing have led to changes in public libraries’ digital services and a redistribution of media budgets. This article describes who the audiobook users are and which other media they use. Building on this information, the article asks what challenges the demographic data of audiobook users – such as gender, age, and level of education – may pose for public libraries. Based on a quantitative analysis of survey data from Sweden, it is concluded that audiobook use is more common among young, well-educated people with a high level of digital literacy. Subscription services appear to be more popular among audiobook users, as their sale numbers are higher than lending numbers at public libraries. Nevertheless, the conclusions are that audiobooks have a place in public libraries, as they increase the service to communities and have the potential to reach new users. However, it is unclear if public libraries are reaching new groups by offering audiobooks; although the use of digital public library services is increasing, these services are mainly used by people who are already library visitors, and the public library seems to be primarily associated with the printed book.