BORGARBÓKASAFNIÐ
We asked Jamie Johnston, a professor of Library and Information Science at the University of Iceland to tell us about her work, relationship with libraries and the role they play in modern society. Jamie Johnston has experience working in both libraries and higher education across the Nordic region, her work focuses on how libraries and cultural institutions can support reading and learning, strengthen communities, promote digital literacy, and create opportunities for people to participate more fully in society.
When did you start being interested in libraries and the role they play in modern society?
I have many fond memories of going to the library as a child, and I connect that strongly to my love of reading and continued use of libraries. However, my interest in libraries and their broader role began later in my youth. My grandmother was a librarian at a community college, and I remember visiting her at work and learning about the many ways libraries support people beyond traditional book lending and reference services. Hearing about how she supported international students by helping them practice speaking, prepare CVs, navigate job interviews, and succeed academically through research and writing left a particularly strong impression on me. Through our conversations about her work, I began to understand that libraries often affect people’s lives in ways we do not always see, helping create opportunities that shape both people and the communities around them.
Later, when I moved to Iceland, I experienced this more personally. Like many newcomers, I was trying to culturally adapt and understand how to become part of a new community, and I found myself turning to the library both to explore Icelandic literature, find resources for learning the language, especially children’s books, and as a place where I found connection and community, especially after my first child was born. Since that first move to Iceland, I have lived in three other countries, and throughout every move libraries have remained a constant for both me and my family. Over the years, libraries have helped me and my family learn new languages, introduced us to new cultures, supported our education, and provided places where we could connect with the communities around us. At the same time, I also witnessed how libraries created similar opportunities for many others, serving as spaces of learning, connection, and participation within community life. These experiences continue to inspire and shape my research and how I think about both the role libraries play and their broader potential in society.
How does your work as a teacher at the University of Iceland tie into the work of the Reykjavik City Libraries?
I see Reykjavik City Library, along with Iceland’s other libraries, as important partners in education and research. As a professor of library and information science, my work centers on teaching and research, and I believe that universities and professional practice should exist in close dialogue with one another. As my former doctoral advisor once said, professions such as medicine advance through the close relationship between research and clinical practice. I believe libraries are no different. Library education benefits from strong partnerships with institutions that work directly with communities and library users every day.
Research helps us better understand how libraries are evolving, the impact library services have on communities, and how best practices can strengthen the profession. Equally important, library professionals bring essential expertise through their understanding of community needs, service development, and the realities of everyday practice. Ultimately, this is about building knowledge together and strengthening the profession in ways that help shape policy and broader conversations about the future role of libraries in society.
This thinking has strongly shaped my work at the University of Iceland, where we have been rethinking aspects of our Master of Information Science (MIS) program to better reflect the evolving and increasingly important role libraries now play in society. This fall, we are introducing a new Foundations of Library, Archive, and Information Professions course and launching a redesigned Organization of Knowledge course as part of that ongoing development. Our aim is to work closely with library professionals and actively involve them in teaching, both to bring their expertise directly into the classroom and to create opportunities for students and practicing professionals to meet, exchange ideas, and learn from one another. I see this as an important way of strengthening our professional community, while also creating space for us to explore new possibilities together and continue expanding the boundaries of what our field can become.
Any library services or projects you find particularly important to nurture?
I am particularly interested in services and programs that bring people together and create opportunities for participation and exchange. Research shows that these kinds of socially oriented services can make a real difference by strengthening inclusion, reducing isolation, and helping people develop a stronger sense of belonging within their communities. I think it is equally important, however, that libraries continue investing in their longstanding role in supporting reading, literacy, and access to knowledge. As misinformation, growing information complexity, and declining reading habits present significant societal challenges, libraries remain one of the few institutions uniquely positioned to respond.
What excites me most is seeing libraries experiment with new ways of bringing these roles together, whether through co-creative initiatives, shared reading programs, or other dialogue-based approaches that help realize the knowledge contained within collections while bringing diverse perspectives into conversation. I see a great deal of experimentation with this here in Iceland, both within this library system and across many others. There is a great deal of creative and innovative work happening, particularly in how libraries are rethinking space and exploring how physical environments can better support community-centered learning and participation.
What I find particularly encouraging is that Icelandic libraries are very much part of these broader developments within the library sector and are increasingly well positioned not only to contribute to Nordic and international conversations, but also to help shape them. What especially excites me about being back in Iceland is the opportunity to work closely with libraries and library professionals, to explore new possibilities together, and to think collectively about where the profession can go next. I also look forward to helping bring greater international visibility to this work through collaborative research, publications, and conferences.
How can libraries best evolve to meet the demands of our fast-changing world?
Looking back at the history of libraries, I think one thing becomes very clear: libraries have always evolved alongside society, and that ability to adapt is one of their greatest strengths. Throughout history, libraries have reflected the information environments and technologies of their time, from manuscripts and print culture to the internet, and now increasingly artificial intelligence. In many ways, change and reinvention have always been part of what libraries do.
I think one of the defining challenges of our time is that people must navigate increasingly complex information environments while living in societies that are becoming more fragmented, polarized, and socially disconnected. Libraries are uniquely positioned to respond to these challenges by serving as trusted points of orientation, acting as beacons in uncertain times where people can access reliable knowledge, develop critical understanding, and find connection.
I also think it is important to remember that libraries remain some of the few truly public spaces where people can encounter one another, exchange knowledge and perspectives, and develop new understandings. At a time when social tensions, and in some cases unrest, are growing globally, libraries help strengthen community resilience and provide an important counterbalance by fostering connection, tolerance, and informed decision-making. If we want strong communities and robust democracies, then we need strong libraries.
For me, this also reinforces that researchers, educators, library professionals, and policymakers all have an important role to play in continuing to demonstrate the value libraries bring and ensuring they remain central institutions within our communities.
What services do you imagine the library of the future should have?
I think the libraries of the future will, in many ways, continue doing what well-functioning libraries have always done, but in ways that respond to an increasingly complex and rapidly changing world. They have always been inherently forward-looking institutions, continuously evolving alongside society while helping people navigate change and prepare for what comes next.
At their core, libraries provide people with the means to move forward. They offer access to knowledge, resources, and spaces that help us learn, adapt, and better understand the world around us. Equally important, libraries create opportunities for people to encounter new perspectives and participate in the kinds of conversations that help communities grow, while also strengthening the dialogue and informed participation on which healthy democracies depend.
In many ways, this is what makes libraries so enduringly relevant. They do not simply preserve knowledge from the past; they help individuals and communities imagine and build the futures they hope to create. I believe that will remain true moving forward. If anything, libraries will become even more important because they remain among the institutions that help move us toward the futures we hope to build, both individually and collectively.