Public libraries as new community hubs for remote workers?

During the COVID-19 pandemic, new trends of remote workers have been observed between metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas and changes to the ways of working from different angles. In this context, people have increasingly used public libraries as new working spaces. However, recent research has investigated this growing phenomenon in metropolitan areas, while the peripheral urban and rural areas have not yet been explored. First, the paper focuses on the evolving concept of public libraries in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas. Second, it reviews the current policies on public libraries (e.g., European, Norwegian and Italian) and the cases of Norway and Italy, which present new strategies and use of multifunctional libraries before and during the pandemic. Third, the study discusses the relevance and need for new peripheral hubs for working purposes. Implementing public libraries as new hybrid spaces should consider the differences among socio-economic and planning contexts and local policies.