Staffless or open libraries

Abstract

Staffless libraries appeared in the Far East in Taiwan, Singapore, Japan and China in the early years of the 21st century. In Europe, few years later unstaffed, prolonged opening hours have become more common in the Scandinavian countries and in Ireland. Based
on surveys and analyses conducted in various countries, the initial fears expressed by librarians and users have mostly not been confirmed. The introduction of unstaffed hours did not cause librarians to lose their jobs, and libraries did not become victims
of vandalism, but the model radically improved the accessibility of collections and reading spaces, which contributed to the more effective fulfilment of the historical mission of libraries.