About
I recieved my PhD from the former Royal School of Library and Informations Science, Denmark (no Copernhagen University) in 2012. Since the, I my research have been focused on topics related to library development, library policy making, and the library profession.
My research interests are coloured by my background as a librarian. I have worked in school libraries, public libraries and academic libraries, and my primary goal as a researcher is to shed light on issues relevant for the library sector. In recent years I have researched and written about the library as place and space, the relational dimensions of librarianship, as well as cultural and library policy issues. Current projects include reading and reading engagement, library services for refugees and immigrants, as well as library development in local communities.
Field of study
Research groups
Research projects
Ongoing research projects
-
Public libraries for immigrants and refugees (PubLIB)
This project consists of an international research group dedicated to studying how public libraries address the needs of recently arrived refugees and immigrants.
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.
-
The big city library survey 2025
How are libraries actually used and what needs do the users have?
Publications and research
Scientific publications
Evjen, Sunniva
;
Audunson, Ragnar Andreas
; Eskola, Eeva-Liisa
(2025).
Libraries in urban cultural politics.
Journal of Documentation.
https://doi.org/10.1108/jd-03-2025-0078
Vårheim, Andreas; Johnston, Jamie; Eskola, Eeva-Liisa; Jochumsen, Henrik; Kisilowska-Szurmińska, Małgorzata; Pálsdóttir, Ágústa; Rydbeck, Kerstin; Toth, Mate; Wimmer, Ulla; Khosrowjerdi, Mahmood; Mierzecka, Anna;
Evjen, Sunniva
; Skare, Roswitha
(2025).
Public library services for migrants in national government policies across eight European countries: a comparative analysis.
Information Research: An international electronic journal.
Vol. 30.
https://doi.org/10.47989/ir30CoLIS52282
Evjen, Sunniva
(2025).
The relational dimension of librarianship.
Information Research: An international electronic journal.
Vol. 30.
https://doi.org/10.47989/ir30CoLIS52255
Audunson, Ragnar Andreas
; Eskola, Eeva-Liisa;
Evjen, Sunniva
(2024).
Location, Location, Location. The media debates on the New Central Libraries in Oslo and Helsinki.
Nordisk kulturpolitisk tidsskrift (NKT).
Vol. 27.
https://doi.org/10.18261/nkt.27.1.3
Evjen, Sunniva
(2023).
Pusterommet. Romlige og sosiale kvaliteter ved skolebiblioteket.
Bøyum, Idunn; Tveit, Åse Kristine (Ed.).
Rom for lesing og utforsking:Skolebibliotekets muligheter.
ABM-media AS.
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3590384
Evjen, Sunniva
;
Colbjørnsen, Terje
;
Bøyum, Idunn
;
Tallerås, Kim
;
Olsen, Heidi Kristin
(2021).
Samfunnsoppdrag under press Erfaringer og vurderinger i norske bibliotek under Covid-19.
Nordic Journal of Library and Information Studies.
Vol. 2.
https://doi.org/10.7146/njlis.v2i1.125251
Johnston, Jamie; Pálsdóttir, Ágústa; Mierzecka, Anna;
Audunson, Ragnar Andreas
; Hobohm, Hans-Christoph; Rydbeck, Kerstin; Toth, Mate; Rasmussen, Casper Hvenegaard; Jochumsen, Henrik; Khosrowjerdi, Mahmood;
Evjen, Sunniva
(2021).
Public librarians' perception of their professional role and the library's role in supporting the public sphere: a multi-country comparison.
Journal of Documentation.
https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-09-2021-0178
Evjen, Sunniva
;
Olsen, Heidi Kristin
;
Tveit, Åse Kristine
(2020).
Rød mix: Ragnar Audunson som forsker og nettverksbygger.
ISBN: 9788293298182.
324 p.
ABM-media AS.
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/4657387
Vold, Tonje;
Evjen, Sunniva
(2020).
Being, learning, doing: A palace for the children? A Tween’s Library Seen from the User’s Perspectives.
Audunson, Ragnar Andreas; Andresen, Herbjørn; Fagerlid, Cicilie; Henningsen, Erik; Hobohm, Hans-Christoph; Jochumsen, Henrik (Ed.).
Libraries, Archives and Museums as Democratic Public Spaces in a Digital Age. p. 305-324.
De Gruyter Saur.
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110636628-015
Audunson, Ragnar Andreas
; Aabø, Svanhild; Blomgren, Roger;
Evjen, Sunniva
; Jochumsen, Henrik;
Larsen, Håkon
; Rasmussen, Casper Havnegaard; Vårheim, Andreas; Johnston, Jamie; Koizumi, Masanori
(2019).
Public libraries as an infrastructure for a sustainable public sphere: A comprehensive review of research.
Journal of Documentation.
Vol. 75.
https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-10-2018-0157
