Post-neutrality in Libraries, Archives and Museums

Work package 1 Strategies and practices in LAMs

This WP examines the organizational dimension of post-neutrality.
RQ: What characterizes post-neutral strategies and practices in LAMs?
Expected outcome: Three international peer reviewed articles + one PhD dissertation
Anne Folke Henningsen (WP-leader), Nanna Kann-Rasmussen & PhD student Anna Arendse Thorsen

Work package 2 Societal relevance of libraries and museums

This WP examines the societal dimension of post-neutrality
RQ: How does post-neutrality affect the perceived relevance of libraries and museums within the broader societal context (the public)?
Expected outcome: Three international peer reviewed articles
Hans Dam Christensen (WP-leader) & Postdoc Tilde Strandbygaard Jessen

Work package 3 Implications for funding in LAMs

This WP examines the financial dimension of post-neutrality.
RQ: How do public and private funding sources respond to post-neutrality in LAMs, and how might this impact financial support for their initiatives?
Expected outcome: Three international peer reviewed articles
Nanna Kann-Rasmussen (WP-leader) & Postdoc Jakob Westergren

Work package 4 Establishing a framework for redefining the role and legitimacy of LAMs in the era of post-neutrality

This WP examines the institutional dimension of post-neutrality.
RQ: What does post-neutrality entail for the changing relationships between LAMs and society
Nanna Kann-Rasmussen (WP-leader), Hans Dam Christensen, Anne Folke Henningsen

• Trine Bille, Professor in cultural economics and cultural policy at Copenhagen Business School
• Lluís Bonet, Professor and Director of the Cultural Management Program of the University of Barcelona
• Andrew Flinn, Reader in Archival Studies, and Deputy Vice-Dean for Research at the University College London (UCL)
• Håkon Larsen, Professor of Library and Information Science at Oslo Metropolitan University

• Line Esbjørn, Frederiksberg Museerne
• Mie Frandsen, Pligtaflevering, Det Kgl. Bibliotek
• Louise K Henriksen, Vikingeskibsmuseet
• Bente Jensen, Aalborg Stadsarkiv
• Anders Klindt Myrvoll, Netarkivet, Kgl. Bibliotek
• Ditte Laursen, seniorforsker, Kgl. Bibliotek
• Lilian Matthes, Museum Sønderjylland
• Eva Schelke Rosendal Jensen, Brøndby Bibliotekerne
• Karl Weis-Fogh, AU Library, Kgl. Bibliotek

• 19 March 2025: The project hosted the second workshop of the emerging Nordic network Cultural Institutions and the Culture War (CICUW), where we discussed concepts of neutrality, social justice, tolerance, and democracy within the LAM institutions.

• In April 2025, we established a Practice Advisory Board through an open call, consisting of 9 professionals from the archive, library, and museum sectors. The board will contribute with their professional expertise from the field and offer informed perspectives on the project's research questions. The first workshop will be on 24 June 2025 in Copenhagen.

• 2 June 2025: Research group members Nanna Kann-Rasmussen and Hans Dam-Christensen co-authored a Danish commentary that uses recent developments in U.S. cultural policy as a lens to reflect on how ideals of neutrality and institutional independence are defined in a Scandinavian context: Trumps angreb på kulturinstitutioner bør få os til at værne mere om uafhængigheden herhjemme.

• 3-5 June 2025: Project leader Nanna Kann-Ramussen participated in the COLIS conference in Glasgow, where she participated in a panel discussion titled "The Question of Neutrality in Library and Information Studies." Together with PhD and Associate Professor Casper Hvenegaard Rasmussen, she also presented the paper Neutrality vs. social justice: a democratic perspective, Information Research an International Electronic Journal, 30(CoLIS), 271–277.

• 21 July: PhD fellow Anna Arendse Thorsen was interviewed by Kristeligt Dagblad about the cultural-political positions in the Danish TV series Danefæ: Fortjener Harald Blåtand eller dronning Thyra mest opmærksomhed? Tv-serie afspejler en tendens i kulturbranchen | Kristeligt Dagblad.

• 20 November 2025: Nanna Kann-Rasmussen delivered a keynote at the research seminar Transparens at the Royal Danish Library. The seminar examined how transparency shapes archival practice. Her keynote drew on the project Post-neutrality in Libraries, Archives, and Museums, outlining how LAM institutions engage with societal agendas. She traced scholarly critiques of neutrality in archival studies and discussed post-neutrality as a continuation of Danish cultural policy, as activism, and as a new form of institutional responsibility driven by expectations of relevance.

• 25 November 2025: Postdoc Tilde Strandbygaard Jessen took part in a panel debate on The Museum of the Future in the context of environmental crises. The debate concluded the Green Network Day at the annual meeting of the Association of Danish Museums.

• 26 November 2025: PhD fellow Anna Arendse Thorsen participated in a network meeting on culture wars in Scandinavian libraries at Oslo Metropolitan University together with researchers from Denmark, Norway and Sweden

• 26 November 2025: Nanna Kann-Rasmussen gave a talk at the Danish Archivists’ Association titled Post-neutralitet i arkiver, biblioteker og museer: Gammel vin på nye flasker, aktivisme eller en ny ansvarliggørelse? The presentation explored conceptual and practical implications of post-neutrality across the LAM sector, with a focus on archives.

• 29 November 2025: Nanna Kann-Rasmussen delivered a keynote at the international conference Diversity and Discourse: Engaging Museum Visitors in the 21st Century, hosted by the Leibniz Centre of Excellence for Museum Education in Berlin. Her keynote, Post-neutrality in Museums: Cultural Communication Between Expertise, Activism, and Public Value, examined how museums navigate professional authority and societal engagement in contemporary communication practices.