About
I have a PhD in sociology from the University of Oslo (2011) and have been employed as a Professor of Library and Information Science at Oslo Metropolitan University since 2019. My main areas of interest are cultural policy, cultural sociology, and public libraries. I take a special interest in issues related to the democratic misson and legitimacy of cultural organizations. I teach and supervise within these areas at all levels (BA, MA, PhD). I am leader of the research group Information, Culture and Society. I teach the course Culture- and Knowledge Policies at the BA-level, and the courses Archives, Libraries and Democracy, and Sociology of Culture and Literature at the MA-level.
Field of study
Sociology of culture Cultural policy Sociological theory Museum Public service broadcasting Public libraries
Research groups
Research projects
Completed research projects
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Political Dynamics of the Cultural Sector (POLYCUL)
This project depart from the hypothesis that explanations for developments in cultural policy, and in particular its failure to realize programmatic goals, are found in the dynamics of interest-based politics that at work in the cultural sector.
Publications and research
Scientific publications
Larsen, Håkon
(2025).
“The painting is colonial”: cancel culture and a heated media debate in Norway.
Cultural Trends.
https://doi.org/10.1080/09548963.2025.2452526
Yamagishi, Motoko; Koizumi, Masanori;
Larsen, Håkon
(2025).
Shaping public library legitimacy: case analysis of the New York Public Library.
Libri.
https://doi.org/10.1515/libri-2024-0192
Rasmussen, Casper Hvenegaard;
Larsen, Håkon
(2025).
Democracy as a contested concept in public library research: an overview.
Library quarterly.
https://doi.org/10.1086/735800
Larsen, Håkon
;
Henningsen, Erik
(2025).
The perpetual crisis of cultural policy – or how better to understand cultural policy legitimacy.
Nordisk kulturpolitisk tidsskrift (NKT).
Vol. 28.
https://doi.org/https://www.scup.com/doi/10.18261/
Yamagishi, Motoko; Koizumi, Masanori;
Larsen, Håkon
(2024).
Evolving legitimacy of the public library in the 21st century.
Journal of Documentation.
https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-02-2024-0028
Berg, Ida Uppstrøm
;
Larsen, Håkon
(2024).
Public art and private wealth: the controversial collaboration between the National Museum in Norway and Fredriksen Family Art Company Ltd.
Museum Management and Curatorship.
https://doi.org/10.1080/09647775.2024.2312576
Colbjørnsen, Terje
;
Larsen, Håkon
;
Tallerås, Kim
; Liguzinski, Maciej
(2024).
Extending the media welfare state: The role of libraries in the Nordic countries.
Jakobsson, Peter; Lindell, Johan; Stiernstedt, Fredrik (Ed.).
The future of the Nordic media model : A digital media welfare state?. p. 299-316.
Nordicom.
https://doi.org/10.48335/9789188855893-14
Larsen, Håkon
(2023).
Managing Norwegian public libraries as civil public spheres: recent controversies.
Journal of Documentation.
https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-02-2023-0036
Larsen, Håkon
; Kann-Rasmussen, Nanna; Rydbeck, Kerstin
(2023).
The legitimacy of Scandinavian libraries, archives and museums as public spheres: Views from the professionals.
IFLA Journal.
https://doi.org/10.1177/03400352221147549
khademizadeh, Shahnaz; Albudaiwi, Dalal Y.;
Larsen, Håkon
; Mohammadi, Zeinab; Farajpahlou, Abdul Hossein
(2022).
Public libraries and crisis management: Iranian public libraries and the dust crisis.
Journal of Librarianship and Information Science.
https://doi.org/10.1177/09610006221116898
