Editorial: Vers une bibliothèque contemporaine – Bibliotheken als Mikrokosmos eines zeitgemässen Verhältnisses zwischen Staat und Zivilgesellschaft.

The article "Editorial: Towards a contemporary library - Libraries as a microcosm of a modern relationship between the state and civil society" discusses the relationship between libraries and their users. It is noted that this relationship is often characterized by rule development and enforcement, rather than sufficient user orientation. The concept of the Open Library is given as an example, where users are given more responsibility and therefore less control is required from the staff. Another example concerns the amount of fines for late returns of media, where lower penalties are considered sufficient. It is suggested that an activity monitoring system could be used instead of fines to monitor timely renewals. The article emphasizes the importance of providing electronic resources and additional services such as free book scanners to reduce stress and conflicts. It is also pointed out that a better mutual understanding between library staff and users is necessary. The article suggests that a culture of welcome and open communication can promote changes and improvements in libraries. [Extracted from the article]