When Wife Meets Mother: Norwegian School Libraries

Abstract

This article explores various reasons for the lack of school library services in Norwegian primary schools. The basic thesis is that libraries and primary schools have developed differently despite sharing common origins from the European Age of Enlightenment. Libraries and library work can be seen as belonging to a masculine metaphor, primary schools and teaching can be seen as belonging to a feminine metaphor. These metaphors reflect traditions and attitudes that affect everything from basic democratic ideologies to ways in which we relate to classroom space and library space, as well as the ways in which teachers and librarians organize and advocate for working conditions. This causes conflicts in defining the role of the teacher-librarian and the school library in Norwegian primary schools.