Toward to the Concept of Community Library: Searching for Meaning and Application

Summary: Although the community library is a term mentioned in the strategic documents of the Czech librarianship, systematic attention has not been paid to it, especially in connection with the results of community research. In the following conceptual paper, the authors focus on defining the concept of community, an overview of important findings in the field of community studies, setting the basic boundaries and orientation of the community library resulting from these investigations. The following is a description of the related phenomenon of social innovations in which the authors see the developmental potential of the community library. On the basis of relevant literature analysis, a conceptual framework model is proposed that addresses the intersection of concepts of the community library, the community and the perspectives of social innovation. The study highlights the need for library service design for marginalized and non-administered communities, including library non-users and the importance of social innovation to adequately meet their needs. The main contribution of the paper lies in the classification of communities and the introduction of the framework model of social innovation in adequately conceived community services.