Public libraries, archives, and museums (LAMs) have historically played a pivotal role in the establishment and support of European liberal democracies (Rasmussen, Rydbeck, and Larsen 2023). Ideally, they serve as promoters of democracy, offering reliable information accessible to all, regardless of factors like gender, sexuality, ethnicity, race, age, disabilities, political beliefs, or faith. In an ideal scenario, LAMs encourage engaged, well-informed citizens, contributing to a vibrant civil society. However, contemporary Europe faces significant challenges to the underpinnings of deliberative democracy. The region witnesses the growth of anti-globalist movements, widening divides between urban and rural populations, regional conflicts, and nationalism, often driven by populist ideologies disregarding fundamental democratic norms. These factors result in new social and cultural divisions, complicating values of openness, pluralism, tolerance, and non-discrimination. Currently, the existing conceptual tools are insufficient to comprehensively grasp LAMs’ role in these developments.

The panel consists of members from the core group of a recently formed network Libraries, archives, and museums as key pillars of modern European democratic societies. A key ambition of this network is to develop a conceptual model for discussing local LAMs’ role in democracy. The local perspective is critical because previous research on LAMs’ political or social roles typically focuses on large national and pan-national LAM initiatives. The model focuses on democracy as an area of problematization for local LAMs and describes the entanglements and assemblages of resources, processes, and activities as they produce democratic legitimization. We rely on theories of democracy, cultural policy, and legitimacy in the cultural sphere, (e.g. Mouffe 2000; Boltanski and Chiapello 2005; Larsen 2016), and build the model on an agency-oriented approach.

The panel introduces the first iteration of the model based on our research in Sweden and Denmark. We invite our audience to an interactive session in critiquing and refining the conceptual model that addresses the issue of how local LAMs contribute to democracy. We take an iterative and abductive approach, moving between theory and empirical evidence. The model is a work in progress and is part of a creative and experimental method where we invite the audience to think about democracy and LAMs with us. We invite the audience to contribute with global perspectives on the issue.

By developing the model, we aim to get a richer understanding of the expectations and responsibilities that are ascribed to libraries, archives, and museums in relation to political transformation, and the roles they themselves take on. We will also provide knowledge on processes of legitimization and responsibilization in cultural policies in Sweden and Denmark.