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Purpose of the PULMAN guidelines (Page 2)
The Social and Economic Policy Environment (Page 2)
e-Europe (Page 2)
Social Exclusion (Page 3)
Digital Literacy (Page 4)
Lifelong Learning (Page 4)
eLearning (Page 4)

Public libraries: at the digital crossroads

Europe’s public libraries currently stand at a crossroads of opportunity brought about by a confluence of:

• social challenges, represented by a high level European social agenda; 
• and the other hand the potential offered by developments in Information Society Technologies (IST) which have increasingly becoming available to implement new services. 

In response, public libraries are changing fast: but they need to change even faster. Indeed the demand for some well-established public library services such as lending fiction to adults is evidently in decline in some parts of Europe
http://www.audit-commission.gov.uk/publications/lfair_libraries.shtml. 

It is likely that this is a response to a variety of phenomena including access to information via the Internet, an ever-expanding quantity of cultural media forms and content (digital TV, computer-based activities etc) and an increase in the number of people who buy rather than borrow a high proportion of the books which they read. 

However, public libraries retain an important role in ensuring a literate information society. Support for reading and maintaining awareness of the printed literature remains a crucial goal: the power of IST and the World Wide Web can be harnessed to this end. This is perhaps especially important for children when so many competing stimuli are available, but where the richness and scope of what is available in printed form is not yet available online. In those parts of Europe which are still in economic transition, the provision of by public libraries of affordable access to reading in its original form remains vital… but this exists alongside the need to provide access to the Internet and online services. Public libraries in these countries therefore face both problems at once, but often with very limited resources.

It seems probable that the increased availability of remotely-provided information services and Internet use for information-seeking will lead to a decline in the number of physical visits to public libraries. Yet, there remains an enormous need for friendly on-line services which meet user needs and which are accessible to all. Public libraries are well-placed to play an important role in their development and provision. Many of Europe’s children are now growing up with a well-developed and intuitive knowledge of the Internet and IST use. But there remain many excluded adults and children who have neither access nor skills to make use of these services. Public libraries may need to focus more intensively on the needs of such specific groups. 

The context for partnership between public libraries and other local cultural institutions, such as museums and archives, is also gradually becoming clearer. There is a clear need to unlock, disclose and make accessible local digital content, currently held by archives and museums, which can support a sense of localisation in an increasingly globalised world. With this in mind, the cultural workplan of the European IST Sixth Framework Programme includes as a priority to cut the cost of digitisation by 50% through automated techniques.

Interoperability and seamless access to this content, building on that already being made available by public libraries as community information and in their role as learning centres, may bear additional fruit in future. One goal is the need to provide online services which enhance citizens’ ability to link the satisfaction of their present needs with an awareness of their historical context, whether in an environment of education, e-government, recreational, domestic life or work. This seems important to the development of a healthy and balanced society throughout Europe.

Inevitably the resolution of these issues will over the next decade raise questions about the scope of the public library network, its nature as physical plant and its presence in the virtual environment, and the type of staff and skills needed to fulfil this developing role. The new IFLA Guidelines for Public Libraries, published in 2001, cover all the topics currently facing public libraries.

The 122 million registered users of public libraries in 29 countries of Europe (LibEcon) attest to the importance and impact of public libraries in society. To realise their full potential in the digital era, public libraries must be prepared to offer new and innovative digital services that empower citizens to successfully achieve their personal goals in a changing world and to contribute to a cohesive society and a successful knowledge-based economy in Europe. 

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