En demokratiserende kraft i vår urolige tid

Abstract

This editorial situates the VIRAK 2025 conference and this special issue of NORIL within a landscape marked by political tension, economic strain, and rapid technological change. Although democracy was a central theme at the conference, it is largely absent from the articles in this issue. The editorial therefore reintroduces this perspective and underscores the library’s democratic ethos of openness, empowerment, and shared knowledge. It concludes that libraries remain a stabilizing and democratizing force in turbulent times, and that everyday library practices thereby actively contribute to shaping the future.