«Third Place» as a Strategy for the Development of Public Libraries in Ukraine in War Conditions

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to show that the public library as a “third place” in wartime conditions plays a strategic role both in the formation of new vectors of library development and in preserving the socio-cultural fabric of Ukrainian society. The research methodology is based on an interdisciplinary approach that combines library science, socio-cultural, and spatial-communicative analysis. Methods of theoretical analysis and generalization of scientific sources on the concept of the library as a “third place” were applied; to understand the transformations of the socio-cultural role of libraries, a systematic approach was used, which allows considering the library as an element of the local community and the infrastructure of socio-cultural resilience. Scientific novelty of the study. For the first time, the concept of the “third place” was applied to the analysis of the activities of public libraries in the context of war challenges and crisis transformations; the content of the concept of “library as a third place” was clarified, taking into account the functions of security, psychological support, and socio-cultural resilience. Conclusions. The concept of the library as a “third place” in wartime conditions acquires a qualitatively new meaning and goes beyond traditional ideas about the socio-cultural functions of libraries. The war context transforms the public library from a predominantly information institution into a multidimensional public space capable of responding to humanitarian, psychosocial and cultural challenges. The implementation of the “third place” model provides public libraries with increased adaptability and resilience in crisis conditions, contributing to the preservation of social cohesion, support of local communities and the formation of trust. Libraries act as important elements of the infrastructure of cultural and information security, combining the preservation of cultural heritage with active participation in the processes of social interaction and identification. Through the integration of humanitarian, communicative and cultural-identification practices, public libraries play a significant role in supporting the socio-cultural resilience of Ukrainian society. Their activities contribute to the restoration of a sense of stability and normality of everyday life even in the face of prolonged war.