Concept of Membership in BIH Libraries: From Self-Management Towards Participation

The aim of this paper is to examine the possibilities and scope of the participatory model of BIH libraries in the period of self-governing socialism for the purpose of rethinking the way of doing business and relations with library users through a new, participatory approach. Participatory activities in pre-war BIH libraries and theoretical assumptions of participatory librarianship can serve as a starting point for considering the current model of involving library users in their capacity as its members. The results of this paper will try to show that the participatory library model always depends on certain socio-political aspects of government, starting from different methodologies and ways of cooperation, but also that certain type of understanding of participation further implies wider civic engagement or verification of the existing social situation. The importance of this analysis is in a better understanding of the two types of participatory approaches in libraries that, due to redefining relationships with users, can lead to different forms of social action and management.