Public libraries, public access computing, FOSS and CI: There are alternatives to private philanthropy

First Monday ◽  
2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siobhan Stevenson
Keyword(s):  
Digital Divide ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Problem Definition ◽  
Public Access ◽  
The Public ◽  
Bill Gates ◽  
Gates Foundation ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Technology Grant

In January 2007, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) announced its second multi–year technology grant program for America’s public libraries. The purpose of Phase II, Keeping communities connected: The next step is to help public libraries sustain the public access computing infrastructure laid down during Phase I. Now, as then, the goal of the program is to bridge the digital divide. But it is a digital divide as defined by Bill Gates and not the public library community. Situating Gates’ philanthropy within a critical policy frame, this paper considers two alternatives to Gates’ problem definition of the digital divide, and how knowledge of these might benefit those communities served by public access computing (PAC) services as found in public libraries. The two specific alternatives considered come from the Free Software Foundation (FSF), and Community Informatics (CI). Significantly, both social movements promote the potential of free and open software as an important part of any solution. Finally, the public library literature is reviewed for patterns in the community’s use of FOSS, and the argument is made for its use in the delivery of PAC services.

scholarly journals Kulturformidlingens transformation - folkebibliotekernes formidling i en digital tid

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-32
Author(s):  
Bo Skøtt
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Cultural Activity ◽  
Digital Conversion ◽  
The Public ◽  
Digital Documents ◽  
Usage Frequency ◽  
Use Of Technology ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Definition Of

The aim of this article is to investigate how the digital conversion that currently takes place in public libraries in Denmark, affects the perception of those cultural dissemination activities that result from the work with documents. My starting point is that the digital conversion means an increase in digital documents and that the characteristics of these documents differ so significantly from analog documents that it potentially means changes in both the practical handling and the conceptual universe associated with the designation, identification, and definition of practice. The study is conducted as a literature survey, where Johan Fjord Jensen (1988), Dag Solhjell (2001) and Jens Gudiksen (2005) constitute the theoretical framework and where eight public libraries’ digital strategies from region Midtjylland are analyzed on the basis of a heuristic approach to the discourse concept. The conclusion is that the eight digital strategies do not explicitly refer to concepts that traditionally denote the cultural activities of the public library (e.g. 'enlightenment' and 'cultural activity') but that these concepts are thematized and understood in new and more transmissive terms such as 'accessibility' 'usage frequency' and as 'need', 'consumption' and 'demand'. This happens because the eight strategies consider technology and the use of technology superior to content, which makes the strategies more part of the public libraries' legitimization work and less a part of the facilitation of people’s common actions in late modernity.

scholarly journals Lietuvos viešųjų bibliotekų įtaka informacinių technologijų sklaidai visuomenėje

2009 ◽  
Vol 50 ◽  
pp. 51-56
Author(s):  
Ugnė Rutkauskienė
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
Cultural Preservation ◽  
Public Access ◽  
Civic Life ◽  
Income Generation ◽  
Educational Levels ◽  
The Public ◽  
Diffusion Of Information ◽  
Public Resources ◽  
Gates Foundation

Siekiant paspartinti informacinių technologijų (IT) sklaidą visuomenėje, per pastarąjį penkmetį Lietuvoje buvo itin aktyviai plėtojamas viešos interneto prieigos (VIP) tinklas. Nors sudėtinga tiksliai įvardyti VIP diegimo investicijas, jos siekia daugiau nei 100 mln. litų. Beveik 90 % VIP veikia viešosiose bibliotekose (VB) – įvairiomis iniciatyvomis jose buvo sukurtas vienas tankiausių VIP tinklų Europoje. Kita vertus, beveik neturime informacijos apie šių prieigų naudojimą ir juo labiau vartotojams ir visuomenei daromą įtaką. Skaidrūs ir reprezentatyvūs duomenys apie VB teikiamos VIP socialinę ir ekonominę naudą ir jos mastą sprendimų priėmėjams neabejotinai padėtų spręsti šios paslaugos tęstinumo klausimus. Straipsnio tikslas – remiantis atlikto reprezentatyvaus kompleksinio poveikio vertinimo tyrimo duomenimis, atskleisti Lietuvos VB įtaką IT sklaidai visuomenėje. Daroma išvada, jog VB didelei visuomenės daliai yra labai svarbios kaip prieigos prie IT teikėjos, o jų sudaroma galimybė naudotis kompiuteriais ir internetu vartotojams teikia akivaizdžią socialinę ir ekonominę naudą.Impact of Public Libraries of Lithuania on Diffusion of Information Technolgies in SocietyUgnė Rutkauskienė Summary To foster a diffusion of ICT’s in society Lithuania has been intensively developing the network of public internet access points. Almost 90 percent of them were established at public libraries. The sustainability of this initiative will require a lot of public resources and funding so it becomes vital to prove the benefi ts users gain from the interaction the public access computing in libraries. The purpose of the paper is to share the methodology and practice of impact focused and outcomes based research into public access computing in Lithuania. The paper presents a methodology of measuring the outcomes of public access computing as well as acquaints with main results of study conducted within the project “Libraries for Innovation”, supported by Global Libraries program of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The study is exploring both positive and negative downstream impacts in the areas of employment and income generation; educational levels; civic life and engagement; government transparency and democracy; cultural preservation and improved health. Findings show the benefi ts that users can gain from using PAC in public libraries including access to ICT, technology training and assistance, expanded employment opportunities, conducting commercial transactions, access to and assistance with local, state and federal government electronic services, support to learning, communication and personal identity.

Reversing the gaze on race, social justice, and inclusion in public librarianship

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Amber Matthews
Keyword(s):  
Critical Race Theory ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Structural Racism ◽  
The Public ◽  
Race And Class ◽  
The Gaze ◽  
Socially Constructed ◽  
Historical Times ◽  
Diversity Studies

While contemporary revisionist narratives frame the public library as a benevolent and neutral community resource, it has existed for over two centuries and has a deeply shaded past. Particularly, public libraries played key roles in projects tied to the industrialist mission of states and the education of select social groups during key historical times. In no uncertain terms, these were inherently racist and colonial projects in which libraries helped proffer socially constructed and politically motivated ideas of race and class. This work draws on relevant and important work in anti-oppression studies, Black studies, critical diversity studies, and Critical Race Theory (CRT) to trouble contemporary revisionist perspectives in public librarianship to show how they further entrench monocultural normativity and structural racism. It also draws on scholarship in anti-racism studies to reimagine possibilities for public librarianship that genuinely reflect its core values of equity and justice.

The e-book war in Denmark

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-105
Author(s):  
Lisbeth Worsøe-Schmidt
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Public Institutions ◽  
Book Market ◽  
The Public ◽  
Library System ◽  
Commercial Market ◽  
Book World ◽  
Traditional Understanding

The aim is to investigate how digitisation and in particular e-books have changed relations between private players and public institutions within the Danish book world through a case study of eReolen, a private-public partnership functioning as common platform for public libraries’ lending of e-books in Denmark. Traditional and new models of the book world are discussed as the basis of understanding relations between the players. A new way of analysing the field outlined by literary sociologist, Professor Johan Svedjedal, is adopted. The main conclusions are that the lending of e-books has disrupted the traditional understanding and interaction between the public library system and the commercial book market. In addition, the Danish library system through the partnership has taken on a new function in relation to the commercial market, namely acting as the engine in building a market for Danish e-books.

scholarly journals A public library cannot live on books alone: A lesson from history

IFLA Journal ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Șerbănuță
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
System Development ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Communist Regime ◽  
Information Control ◽  
Totalitarian Regime ◽  
The Public ◽  
Library System ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
Archival Documents

For almost half a century Romania was under a totalitarian regime. In times of severe censorship and information control the communist regime promoted public libraries. This paper will present the main phases of the public library system development and discuss how the state’s emphasis on providing large collections of books influenced library services. As part of an oral history project, this paper will use memories of people who worked in public libraries of various sizes in the 1970s and the 1980s, archival documents and secondary sources to contribute to a more nuanced discussion about the recent history of Romanian public libraries. What were the phases of the development of the national library system and how important was the library collection for the institutional survival of the public library? The paper will also discuss the collection development policy and contrast it with the impoverished professional development within the library system.

scholarly journals Assessing Sufficiency and Quality of Bandwidth for Public Libraries

2007 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Carlo Bertot ◽  
Charles R. McClure
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Access ◽  
The Internet ◽  
The Public ◽  
Internet Study ◽  
Telecommunications Services ◽  
Access Services ◽  
Networked Services

Based on data collected as part of the 2006 Public Libraries and the Internet study, the authors assess the degree to which public libraries provide sufficient and quality bandwidth to support the library’s networked services and resources. The topic is complex due to the arbitrary assignment of a number of kilobytes per second (kbps) used to define bandwidth. Such arbitrary definitions to describe bandwidth sufficiency and quality are not useful. Public libraries are indeed connected to the Internet and do provide public-access services and resources. It is, however, time to move beyond connectivity type and speed questions and consider issues of bandwidth sufficiency, quality, and the range of networked services that should be available to the public from public libraries. A secondary, but important issue is the extent to which libraries, particularly in rural areas, have access to broadband telecommunications services.

scholarly journals Unchain my heart and set me free: A new civil society library model.

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Life Experiences ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Dynamic Approach ◽  
New Model ◽  
The Public ◽  
Government Oversight ◽  
Direct Government ◽  
And Control

A new model of the public library is outlined that explicitly links it to its role in support of civil society. The model argues that the ongoing “chaining” of public libraries to direct government oversight and control is deleterious to their ability to actualize their potential. Collateral argument is made that that it is the civil society character rather than the simply free nature of these libraries which needs to be harnessed to help move the conceptualization of the sector away from a reactive model of client service toward a dynamic approach that integrates with the life experiences of clients.

Immaterial labour, public librarians, and third-generation public libraries

2016 ◽  
Vol 117 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 186-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siobhan A Stevenson
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Future ◽  
Public Librarians ◽  
Policy Arena ◽  
Blind Spots

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to draw attention to one specific upper-level government policy document in which a discourse of perpetual innovation and customer service is promoted, and the kinds of questions such discursive interventions raise for the future of work in public libraries; and second, to demonstrate the explanatory potential of the concept of immaterial labour for questions relating to emerging labour processes in libraries. The concepts of “prosumer” and Web 2.0 are included as discursive resources of relevance to any discussion of immaterial labour. Design/methodology/approach – This paper presents a critical discourse analysis of a public policy visioning document for public libraries in Ontario, Canada, with reflections on related literatures. Findings – The concept of immaterial labour provides an additional analytic tool suitable for questions of relevance to public librarians and library scholars. Within the government text under review which deals specifically with the future of the public library to 2020, the identity of the public librarian is alarmingly absent. Conversely, the library patron as a producer and consumer is privileged. Research limitations/implications – Failure to attend to the broader policy arena within which the public library resides creates dangerous blind spots for public library professionals, educators and researchers. Practical implications – This paper demonstrates the value of a discourse analysis for uncovering the ideological dimensions of policy documents, while simultaneously modelling the method using the kind of policy text commonly produced in governments around the world. Social implications – This paper shows how failure to attend to the broader policy arena within which the public library resides creates dangerous blind spots for the public library community. Originality/value – This paper contextualizes the immaterial and volunteer labour of the public library user as producer/consumer in the context of the future of the frontline professional and waged librarian.

Democracy, digitisation and public libraries

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Skøtt
Keyword(s):  
Digital Media ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
National Library ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Media Types

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate what democratic challenges the digitisation of the public libraries in Denmark has entailed. Using the concepts from a national library professional strategy from 2012, an analysis of 9 librarians’ experiences with digital dissemination in practice is conducted. Design/methodology/approach The paper is a part of a larger research project called “If digitisation is the answer, then what was the question?”. This sub study builds on the semi-structured interviews with library staff members, case-descriptions of two central providers of digital public library materials, as well as literature studies of missions, vision and strategies from different public library policy institutions. To frame the study, a literature review has been conducted. Findings The author detects the presence of several incompatible conditions in digital dissemination. These conditions are predominantly of an organisational nature, potentially containing major consequences for citizens’ free and equal access to information, knowledge and culture. Among other things, the Danish public libraries risk substantiating an already existing and problematic polarisation between technologically capable and incapacitated groups of people. Originality/value The digital transformation of society has only just begun. Therefore, it is important to examine the consequences of the transition to digital media types for central cultural institution such as the public libraries. The present study is an early and minor contribution to the illumination of a process requiring many more and large-scale studies.

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