“Great freedom within a given frame” : A study of trust-based management and coordination in Swedish public libraries

Trust-based management has become increasingly widespread in Sweden in the past few years, and an increasing number of municipalities are adopting trust-based methods. Previous research and pilot projects have centered heavily on health, education, social care and welfare, areas that are in many ways profoundly different from public libraries. The aim of this thesis is to explore the challenges and possibilities associated with public libraries’ adoption of trust-based management. A survey with open-ended questions was sent out to library staff and managers in nine Swedish municipalities, and a total of 39 surveys were completed. The questions were based on the seven principles of trust that the government-appointed “Tillitsdelegationen” (the “Trust Delegation”) formulated. The study found that both library staff and managers feel like their immediate superiors show them a high level of trust, manifested in a sense of considerable freedom in how they perform their work. However, the study also shows that trust is highly contextual and that there are a number of areas where trust is problematic, not least in terms of how the library relates to the public. One of the biggest challenges for public libraries when adapting trust-based management is that different members of staff understand the libraries’ mission in different ways, which complicates the core principle of trust-based management of structuring work based on the citizen’s needs.