The Perception of Effective Community Engagement: A Case Study in a New Zealand Public Library

Abstract

Research Problem: Rhetoric relating to the concept of community engagement (CE) is well established internationally within the public libraries sector and has become common-place within New Zealand public libraries. Despite this there is no New Zealand framework for best practice or consideration of how existing international frameworks would be appropriate within a local, bicultural context. Furthermore, there is little understanding of how practitioners in New Zealand perceive effective CE. The implications of this is that the concept is vulnerable to inconsistencies in its application which has an impact on the way public libraries support participatory citizenship.

Methodology: A qualitative case-study was employed drawing on symbolic interactionism. A large New Zealand Library organisation was selected as the ‘case’ and data was collected through eight semi-structured interviews with Team Leaders and documentary analysis of internal strategic documents. Data was analysed using inductive thematic analysis.

Results: Team Leaders possessed an intuitive conceptual understanding of the essential elements of effective CE. However, predictably without a shared vision, the practical application of CE was problematic with the provision and consumption of library services being attributed to community participation, indistinct from initiatives involving true community partnership. A high proportion of the CE undertaken by the organisation therefore supported the citizen-consumer model of citizenship rather than emphasising the public citizen model.

Implications: This study supports the view that a shared vision is instrumental in achieving a consistent approach to CE. It makes a strong case for the creation of a local, New Zealand model of CE that takes into account the discourse related to the public sphere, demonstrating the overall impact and principal benefactors of CE work. Further research should include how the community and in particular, Māori perceived effective participation and partnership with libraries.