Bettivia, RS and Stainforth, E (2022) Negotiating digital public spaces: context, purpose and audiences. Journal of Documentation. ISSN 0022-0418
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to investigate digital public spaces and audiences and to explore the relationship of digital public spaces to both ideas of nationhood and physical public institutions.
Design/methodology/approach
The article investigates tensions arising from the conjuncture of public spaces and digital culture through the lens of the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA). This research uses qualitative content analysis of a range of data sources including semi-structured interviews, primary texts and secondary texts.
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.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited. This is an author produced version of an article published in Journal of Documentation. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Audiences; Digital libraries; Digital public library of America; Digital public space; Public goods; Public libraries; Public space |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures (Leeds) > Fine Art, History of Art & Cultural Studies (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 13 Oct 2022 12:00 |
Last Modified: | 28 Oct 2022 10:12 |
Status: | Published online |
Publisher: | Emerald |
Identification Number: | 10.1108/jd-04-2022-0079 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:191881 |