Home | Social Inclusion (Summary)
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SCOPE

Issues dealt with in this guideline include: 
Risk factors of social exclusion
Excluded groups
Use of IST to combat social exclusion 
Mobile services

POLICY ISSUES

Severe risk factors that increase the danger of poverty and social exclusion include: long-term unemployment; living long-term on low-income, low quality employment; poor qualifications and leaving school early; growing up in a family vulnerable to social exclusion; disability; poor health; drug abuse and alcoholism; living in an area of multiple disadvantage; homelessness; and sexual and racial discrimination.

By providing access to IST and encouraging library buildings to be used as neutral meeting places for residents, public library authorities can contribute significantly to community regeneration. By taking the initiative to reach out to poorly connected and poorly informed residents in their locality, public libraries can strengthen the social cohesiveness of their area or region.

Many European countries do not yet have national strategies which establish the role of public libraries in promoting social inclusion, and which are strategically linked to the European Convention on Human Rights (http://www.hri.org/docs/ECHR50.html) or the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html). A challenge for libraries is to pull together the disparate strands of legislation, influential reports and initiatives that highlight issues of equality and inclusion and integrate them into their services, including IST-based services.

There is also a need for cultural change within libraries, museums and archives to adopt positive measures for social inclusion. This involves adapting and extending the range of services provided, forming new links and partnerships with the community, and challenging some of their more traditional values and practices. Such a process requires the active support of skilled and motivated staff. 

The social inclusion activities of library services should not be considered in isolation. They must be integrated within wider local government strategies for social inclusion and connected effectively with other local services such as archives and museums, NGOs and education authorities at national and local level to provide services to all groups of citizens.

GOOD PRACTICE GUIDELINES

Many of the these are equally applicable to Archives and Museums, and there is much scope for co-operation among all three services. 
Public libraries in Europe already provide services for the following groups, although provision is by no means consistent geographically or by service type or quality:

• Disabled people 

• Children and young people at risk of social exclusion – see risk factors

• Older people at risk of social exclusion – see risk factors

• Unemployed people

• Drug addicts 

• Homeless persons

• Refugees

• Prisoners

• Immigrants 

• Ethnic and cultural minorities 

• Persons who left school early 

• People seeking information on citizens’ rights 

• Lifelong learners 

• Rural populations

• Poor people

Public libraries, museums and archives can further help combat social exclusion by:

• mainstreaming social inclusion as a policy priority within all library and information services;

• consulting and involving socially excluded groups in order to ascertain their needs and aspirations, and positively targeting these;

• locating services wherever there is a demand, but building upon existing facilities and services wherever possible;

• considering the possibilities of co-locating their facilities with other services provided by the local authority;

• providing mobile libraries to reach people in all outlying areas, staging exhibitions in the community, arranging travelling exhibitions;

• adopting more flexible opening hours, not necessarily increased opening hours, but tailored to reflect the needs and interests of the community;

• forming partnerships with other NGOs and learning organisations to develop and deliver services;

• providing services for people in institutions e.g. residential accommodation, hospitals and prisons;

• redefining the role of staff to include a more socially responsive and educational role;

• changing the image of public libraries, museums and record offices to make them more welcoming to socially excluded groups, but without alienating traditional users;

• using IST to combat social exclusion.

Home | Social Inclusion (Summary)
Full Text: Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4
View Complete Document: Pages 1 - 4