Role of cultural activities in public libraries: vision of professionals in the Region of Murcia (Spain)

Abstract

Any analysis of public libraries shows the large number of cultural activities that are carried out in them, which is confirmed by official statistics. Cultural activities have been part of the functions of public libraries since the Anglo-Saxon model of public libraries became established. This presence has been endorsed by the professional literature and even by professional regulations and manifestos, but it is often carried out in a somewhat uncritical way. The aim of this work is to approach the subject from the point of view of the professionals themselves. The aim is to find out the value given to cultural activities from the point of view of public library professionals, together with other aspects such as the modalities of development and evaluation of these activities or the criteria for configuring cultural programming. The methodology used to obtain the results is based on a survey carried out during the months of January and February 2024 on a sample of 67 professionals in the Region of Murcia, whose situation can be considered prototypical of the situation in Spain. For the analysis, a process of reflection and criticism is applied on the basis of a theoretical basis on cultural activities in libraries. The results corroborate the profusion of cultural activities, but also that they are not always carried out solely with the desire for social improvement that would be expected, but also taking into consideration the impact of the visibility of the library or the existing budgetary limitations, which lead to programming the lowest cost activities. In conclusion: there is a strong will for the public library to play a relevant role as a cultural center of the community, to which professionals dedicate themselves with a strong determination, perhaps in part to compensate for the reduced impact of other services such as lending, and the budget reduction to undertake other more ambitious projects. We consider that this programming effort must be connected in a more planned way with community needs, since, even if the intended presence or social impact of libraries is achieved, it does not have full meaning if it is not linked to the rest of the mission and public library functions.