Home | E-Government and Citizenship (Summary)
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FUTURE AGENDA

• Marketing - Libraries, museums and archives are often perceived as being static and unresponsive. Marketing in the past has often been local and focused on individual activities. In future, it should emphasise the positive role libraries have to play in delivering governance to citizens. National governments should consider how they can assist in this marketing to give the professions greater credibility in developing this agenda with local authority and other paymasters.

• Expertise - Democracy projects are often approached from the government's point-of-view without considering adequately what is actually required by the citizen. Libraries could help avoid this by drawing on their vast experience and their closeness to their customers and by sharing this with other agencies at the design-stage of services.

• Effectiveness - New ways of interacting with centres of authority must be shown to be effective. If it is perceived that increased opportunities to participate do not lead to change, then citizens may lose faith and interest. Librarians must demonstrate to officials and the public just how libraries make a difference. They need to prove how libraries can contribute to civil society and engage citizens in the life of their communities. One relevant way they can do this is by conducting library, museums and archives transactions electronically to illustrate the benefits and advantages to users. This can include not only the usual things like reservations and renewals, payment of fines etc, but also conducting of surveys, interactive reading groups, voting for “good reads”, etc. 

• Personalisation - In future online access will be personalised and organised according to demand profiles, rather than according to service supply structures. Public libraries will need to respond to this agenda by assisting in the development of IST-based systems for personalised access within the overall framework of local government.

LINKS

The following examples illustrate current practice in public libraries in EU member and candidate countries. In assessing such examples, it is important to understand that the responsibilities and powers of local authorities can vary from state to state and that library systems are at different stages of development. 

Regional
Network Library Program, CEE & former USSR
The Network Library Program (NLP) helps transform libraries in newly democratic countries into true public, service-oriented centres. See also the Information Program.
http://www.osi.hu/nlp/

IFLA Committee on Free Access to Information and Freedom of Expression (FAIFE) 
IFLA/FAIFE is an initiative within IFLA (International Federation of Library Association and Institutions) to defend and promote the basic human rights.
http://www.ifla.org/faife/faife/presen.htm

Bulgaria
Motivation for choice: Information Centre of the Central Library of Sofia (Bulgaria)
The Project Mission is to create new services for citizens relevant to information society technologies.
http://libsofia.pip.digsys.bg/ 

Croatia
Zadar City Library
'Library as Community Centre' project – provides meeting places, notably for youth groups, and includes a guide to the city.
http://www.gkzd.hr/new/en/html/users/lcc.html

Also provides a link to GONG , an organisation which encourages citizens to take an active part in the democratic process.
http://www.gong.hr/eng/

Estonia
Information Centre of the Estonian Parliament
Information on legislation, work, functions and history of the parliament. Provides public service also via the e-mail (teabekeskus@riigikogu.ee). The Estonian Parliament has also approved the Estonian Civil Society Development Concept (“Eesti kodanikuühiskonna arengu kontseptsioon” http://www.ngonet.ee/cfpbaltic/civilsociety/estonia.html)

Finland
Tampere Public Library
The eTampere programs include Infocity.
http://www.etampere.fi/infocity/programme/egovernment.html
The Library is responsible for Netti-Nysse, the Internet bus that provides access and training to the people of Tampere. There are 10 PCs on the bus, which uses microwave technology for connection to the Internet. Four library staff provide the training programs offered. The bus sits 10 - 15 people, and is used at festivals and special events, as well as at a regular timetable of stops. 
http://www.tampere.fi/kirjasto/nettinysse/

Germany
Bremen Online-Services, Germany
Bremen public library is taking part in a federally-funded project involving the Bremen State administration - BOS (Bremen Online-Services). The public library has acted as an access point for the service as well as a distribution point for the security chip-cards need for the transactions.
http://www.bos-bremen.de/english/index.html

Zentral- und Landesbibliothek, Berlin 
has a moderated mailing list for discussion of hot political issues. http://www.zlb.de/generaldirektion/schloss.htm

Home | E-Government and Citizenship (Summary)
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