• BEYOND THE BOOK: Public Libraries as Social Prescription Hubs: A case study of a London Public Library

    Author(s):
    Falilat Olu Alabi (see profile)
    Date:
    2020
    Group(s):
    CityLIS, Library & Information Science, Open Educational Resources
    Subject(s):
    Communities, Creative ability, Information science, Public health, Public libraries, Equality
    Item Type:
    Dissertation
    Institution:
    City, University of London
    Tag(s):
    health, library activities, Lifestyle, social prescribing, wellbeing, Community, Creativity, Social inequality
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/qq8q-zp82
    Abstract:
    Purpose: - The aim of this dissertation is to investigate the impact of public library activities on the health and wellbeing of library users. Concentrating on five library activities; knit and knit, rhyme time, learn my way, reading group and adult craft and calming colouring. It seeks to examine the implementation of the joint action path formed by the UK government and Libraries Taskforce in 2016 (DCMS, 2018). Methodology: - Using a mixed-method approach comprising of a case study of a public library in London and a survey, a literature review of the previous and current debate was carried out together with five semi-structured interviews with stakeholders. Findings and recommendations: - The findings from this research show that most of the previous researchers focused on the value of public libraries rather than the impact of the library on individual library user. Anecdotal evidence shows that participating in library activity has a great impact on the health and wellbeing of both the attendees and the facilitators. This dissertation recommends that future research should focus more on individual library users and adequate training should be provided for staff to accommodate their changing roles in the face of the digital age. Value: - This dissertation would be of value to library and information professionals and current students of LIS. Another crucial value of the study is evidence that demonstrates the significance of libraries to justify their purpose within the community.
    Notes:
    Dissertation submitted for the award of MSc in Information Science.
    Metadata:
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    3 years ago
    License:
    Attribution-NonCommercial
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