Democracy: a modern definition for the library field

Purpose Due to contemporary threats to democracy, the topic is highly prominent in news and social discourse. The Library and Information Science (LIS) field writes about democracy frequently and it is a core concept underwriting many common library practices, but it lacks a working definition of modern democracy. This article supplies a minimal definition of democracy specifically for LIS, and expands the concept to encompass a more empirically accurate concept of library roles in democratic societies that includes the sociology of democracy where libraries arguable play a more significant role. Design/methodology/approach There is an unpacking of library assumptions about operating in democratic societies, an empirical survey of the conditions of modern democracy, and a baseline theoretical description of democratic functioning as it currently exists. Findings A minimal definition of modern democracy situates library practices – and in some ways minimizes them. However, the role of culture – the sociology that democracy presumes – comes to prominence when the civil society role of libraries and the conditions of successful democratic functioning are examined. Originality/value There is now a minimal definition of democracy for LIS with this effort, but it needs expansion. In that sense, LIS is a leading example of the undertheorized role of the sociology that democracy presumes.