Home | E-Government and Citizenship (Summary)
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SCOPE

Issues dealt with in this guideline include: 
Combating non-participation
Democracy and citizenship 
Key access
Community Information and content creation
Community building
Promoting access to public services

POLICY ISSUES

There is abundant evidence of citizens' sense of remoteness from the decision-making process, particularly at EU level. This can manifest itself in apathy, confusion about governments, their institutions and policies at European and national level. Throughout Europe, there is concern regarding the falling numbers of people who vote in local, national and European elections. Much of this apparent lack of interest is found among the young and lower socio-economic groups in society. This issue is visible in most European states.

The non-participation of a growing group within society presents a clear challenge. There is widespread recognition of the need to offer alternative ways in which citizens may contribute positively to governance and government and to see the benefits of doing so. The need for more relevant and inclusive governance and for greater political participation is articulated strongly in the European Commission's White Paper on Governance and the Laeken Declaration of December 2001. The eEurope Action plan also places emphasis on using IST to deliver better and more representative forms of governance.

• Information can be defined as a one-way relationship in which government delivers information to citizens. Current trends show that the scope of information has increased greatly and that its provision now forms a shared objective for all EU countries. All member countries provide government information on-line (e.g. via websites, portals) and some have policy targets and guidelines. But the quantity, quality and range of information provided varies greatly and there is little effort to evaluate the quality of web sites or the information provided.

• Consultation is a two-way relationship in which citizens provide feedback on issues defined by government. It is on the rise but at a slower rate and large differences remain between European countries. Few legislatures make full use of the Internet when consulting civil society and citizens.

• Active participation is a partnership in which citizens actively shape policy options, but where government retains the responsibility for final decisions. Efforts to engage citizens in policy-making are rare and examples are confined to only a very few countries such as Estonia. 

A first appraisal of public services in the Member States presented in the e-Europe Benchmarking Report indicates little interactivity of on-line services and still, in several cases, a lack of easily understandable Citizens' sites.

IST have the potential to lower barriers such as cost, time and distance but this depends upon citizen access to IST (i.e. bridging the digital divide) and the capacity of governments to use IST effectively in policy-making. Public libraries have a vital role in ensuring supported access and e-Literacy.

At local and national level, there are examples of new forms of social partnership and consultation in areas such as employment, social inclusion, education and government in general which seek to ensure more participation of excluded groups in the process of governance. In some cases statutory reform and recognition of the need to share experiences and contributions, has invigorated government at local level, supporting community involvement with local authorities in a more participative local democracy. Public libraries have an important role to play in this process.

The reduction of administrative distance and avoidance of searching for and queuing in public buildings is particularly important for people who are restricted in their mobility - like persons concerned with child-care, the elderly, or disabled people.

Public libraries have been identified as being key facilities in civic governance in reports such as Now We Have a Basis for Library Strategy in Europe by Mirja Ryynänen MEP, and E-government & Public Libraries: furthering local & National Agendas by Rob Froud and Christine Mackenzie (Bertelsmann Foundation, 2001). The resolution adopted by the European Parliament on the basis of the Ryynänen report included important references to citizenship. The PubliCA Copenhagen Declaration in October 1999 also identified libraries as having a key role in democracy and citizenship. 

Public libraries recognise their responsibility to equip citizens to play a role in their communities through learning new IT skills, accessing expert opinion in different formats or having somewhere to meet and organise. This will lead to positive and important contributions to governance. There is a need to ensure that this role is clearly established, articulated and manifested in new digital services and that they can secure the resources to carry out the role which their knowledge and experience merit. 

Public libraries, as key access institutions, can and should be centrally involved in local social partnerships and initiatives to develop and deliver new services in support of democratic participation. They have always played a key role in the development of an information-literate populace that can participate as informed citizens in a democratic society. Libraries also uphold and champion intellectual freedom and the right of free access to information. 

In their everyday work, libraries are already extending themselves beyond their traditional role. The concept of libraries being community centres as well as repositories of community memory is a reality in many countries.

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