The core concepts of the Hyperlinked Library include participation and fostering human connections, and the early modules in this course emphasize collaboration between libraries and their communities to provide meaningful library services. One model that provides a lens to examine the types of services libraries can provide is the four-space model developed by Danish researchers Dorte Skot-Hansen, Casper Hvenegaard Rasmussen, and Henrik Jochumsen. These researchers have shared their model at library conferences all over the world, influencing library visions such as that of the DOKK1 library in Denmark, and encouraging collaboration with other disciplines such as architecture and urban planning (University of Copenhagen, 2017). I was intrigued after reading the impact case of this model in Module 3 and wanted to explore it further in Assignment X.
What is the four-space model?
The model provides a framework to support the goals of the library, which the researchers identified as: experience, involvement, empowerment, and innovation (Jochumsen et al., 2017, p. 40). To achieve these goals, the library has four different spaces:
Inspiration Space:
This space is for meaningful experiences that transform perceptions. Examples of such a space include the art gallery in my nearby library showcasing inspiring works of art from local artists and the DOK Delft library’s Heritage Browser allowing its users to share photographs and stories.
Learning Space:
This space provides a place for exploration and discovery, allowing for people to expand their knowledge through access to information. Examples of learning spaces in the library that come to my mind are Project Read, an adult literacy learning program, and library children’s play areas that offer children opportunities to learn in interactive play environments.
Meeting Space:
This space is where people can come together and interact with one another through both accidental meetings and planned meetups. Library meeting spaces provide a safe space where people from diverse cultural backgrounds can meet and engage with one another. For this, I think of patrons at my local library who have become friends and converse with each other when they both visit the library, as well as students who use the library meeting rooms for study groups.
Performative Space:
This space offers users the ability to create and innovate. What first comes to mind as an example of performative spaces in the library is makerspaces. At my local library, the makerspace provides equipment such as 3D-printers, sewing machines, Cricut machines, and more tools for patrons to bring to life their imagination and creativity. As shared previously on this course website, the UCF Hitt Maker Podcast Studio allows its users to create their own podcasts.
One initial curiosity I had was whether this Danish model could be applied to US public library systems in the same way. The impact case answers this as the researchers developed the model based on visiting libraries and interviewing library managers across multiple countries, including Denmark, Norway, and the United States, before synthesizing what they found.
As a bookworm myself, I love borrowing books from the library and am grateful for the book repositories that exist in libraries. As a future library professional, however, I want to go beyond book collections in my library practice. To me, the four-space model is a way to view library services and evaluate what they bring to community members. With these spaces, libraries can connect communities in ways that inspire, empower, and encourage innovation and experience. I plan to incorporate these guiding principles into my own library values.
References:
Jochumsen, H., Skot-Hansen, D., & Hvenegaard Rasmussen, C. (2017). The four spaces of the public library. In D. Baker & W. Evans (Eds.), The end of wisdom? The future of libraries in a digital age (pp. 39–44). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-100142-4.00002-6
University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Humanities (2017, August). Library development: From collection to connection. In Impact of humanities research: 24 case studies. https://287.hyperlib.sjsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/4-Spaces-Model-from-Univ-Copoenhagen.pdf
I also thought that this model was intriguing and how the library in Denmark was able to bring it to life in their space. My own library, I feel, is incredibly small and I don’t know if I could re-create the space to give it due justice. The ability of libraries to allow for these difference spaces has opened up the possibilities of what could be experienced at a library in addition to finding an excellent book to read. Innovative and creative spaces have led to so much learning and have provided safe spaces for people to explore things they hadn’t dared to dream about before. I like that you plan to incorporate this model into your future plans as a library professional and I wish you only the best!