‘It is unbelievable how many come to us’:

In advanced, digitalized democratic communities the demands for literacy are a prerequisite for engagement and inclusion, at the same time different forms of divides are omnipresent. By providing access and qualified support to all citizens, public libraries play a central function in the building of democratic and inclusive local communities, being increasingly relied upon by governments to deliver access and support for e-services. Based on a case study of community library services in Sweden, Östergötland, this paper aims to study digital inclusion as reflected in daily practices through the perspective of librarians. In this paper we argue that while advancing digitalisation involves opening of new access and engagement opportunities through empowering digital tools and Internet, it also involves different challenges of exclusion for those who cannot use, choose not to use or have other needs

Library-faculty collaboration using Wikipedia for learning and civic engagement

Wikipedia uses collaborative models of content creation and fosters a culture of collaboration. Understanding how it works and mastering editing skills often calls for partnerships between different members of the university community. Library-faculty Wikipedia-centered collaboration can open new opportunities to develop information and media literacy, student agency, and civic participation. This chapter shares faculty and librarians’ experience with using Wikipedia as a teaching tool as part of an initial pilot project aimed at using open educational resources. The library-faculty team from the American University of Central Asia worked together to use Wikipedia as a tool for collaborative learning and civic participation among students in sociology classes.

The Sustainability of Community Library and Literacy Culture

Community library is an institution that aims to improve the culture of literacy. It is held by several member of the society. However, community library faces several problems that hinder development, including regeneration problems in the organizational management. The library is generally located in the house of a resident, so its accessibility is very dependent on the existence of the homeowner. The homeowner is also the manager of the library. Therefore, regeneration in management is very important. The lack of awareness of community members causes the problem in the regeneration. This paper discusses the problem on sustainability of the community library. The data was taken from one of the community library in Bantul Regency, namely Widuri Pandan. The results of observations and interviews indicate that: 1) collaboration is needed with various parties to be able to develop the community, not only through donations, but also collaboration activities; 2) it is necessary to design forms of routine activities that can stimulate public interest in literacy; 3) sustainability in the human resources development faces some obstacles, so that regeneration and formation of the literacy team need to be formed.

INSIGHTS ON TEACHING CHESS TO ELDERLY CITIZENS

The purpose of this study was to explore how elderly citizens react to chess instruction. Underlying this inquiry was the belief that chess training could be useful in the care of older people by helping to maintain the cognitive vitality of seniors and reducing the likelihood of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. Certain findings emerged from a pilot study of a chess training intervention with elderly citizens as participants. There were 12 participants in the study. All participants were at least 65 years of age. There were seven male participants and five female participants. The chess training intervention lasted approximately three months. The intervention occurred either in a community senior center or in a community library. The intervention sessions were weekly with each session being 90 minutes in length with some lasting 2 hours. The training made extensive use of chess-related websites available on the Internet such as chess.com and lichess.org. The instruction involved the projection of a chess-related website projected onto a large classroom screen with the use of an instructor’s computer connected to a projector that projected the computer-based image onto the screen. The chess training involved instruction in chess on topics such as tactics and basic checkmates. The chess activity that the students enjoyed the most was a group activity pitting the seniors as a group against an artificial opponent available on chess.com. The seniors tended to learn at a slower pace than undergraduates whom I have taught. Also, some of the seniors were quite timid, seemingly fearful of making a mistake. Overall, the seniors enjoyed the chess training and looked forward to the training activity.

TAMAN BACA DI BANJARBARU

Reading is one of the basic skills that must be mastered by everyone. However, the reading rate of people in Indonesia is very low. In fact, literacy conditions in Indonesia are now in crisis, which is also called a literacy emergency. Increasing interest in reading in the younger generation in Indonesia today is really important amidst so many technologies that are very rapidly developing. Therefore, Indonesia is currently so active at making movements to increase interest in reading. The purpose of this Community Library is to increase the reading interest of Indonesian people while providing adequate facilities for reading for the community. The design of Community Library uses architectural programming method. The process of this method is divided into two stages consisting of preparing a program that is an activity of analyzing data that led to architectural problems and designing designs that can solve problems. The digitalization of books can be used as a way to increase the children and adults interest in reading again. However, that still feels lacking, because it requires a more efficient steps that can further influence the interest in reading and attract the attention of the public to e interested in reading. One way to attract the reading interest of public to be interested in reading is to turn the library into a creative reading place. This is what underlies the thought of the Community Library. Creating a Community Library with the concept of Recreation Space is expected to help change people's view of reading which was boring to be fun. The design is a comfortable, varied, and fun reading space with complete facilities.

Rendering a Comprehensive School and Community Library Service to Remote Rural Communities in South Africa by Forging Partnerships

Substantial backlogs in public and school library services in South Africa, especially in the previously disadvantaged, remote rural areas, compel library authorities to explore alternative, more cost-effective ways of library service delivery. This paper describes a South African study which investigated the variants of the school-community library model worldwide, with the aim of defining a South African prototype, which would satisfy the needs of a rural, tribal community. The paper also discusses how this prototype is currently being piloted in a rural, tribal area in the Mpumalanga province by forging partnerships with various stakeholders.

Integrating a Community Library into the Teaching and Learning Programme of Local Schools

According to estimates by Statistics South Africa, only 33% of learners in the Limpopo Province (one of the nine Provinces in South Africa) have access to a functional school library or media centre. This has been regarded as one of the main factors which have contributed to the Province consistently producing one of the lowest pass rates in comparison to its counterparts. While there was enthusiasm amongst some teachers that the establishment of Seshego Community Library would bring some relief to educators starved of a functional library service in their schools, some teachers and learners were not as enthusiastic and receptive to the Community Library. This paper explores some of the barriers inherent in introducing a library to a community which was not previously exposed to, and accustomed to making use of its services, and making it an integral part of the teaching and learning programme. Issues of resistance to the community library’s outreach programme, largely emanating from lack of motivation and a low morale amongst some teachers and principals alike, as well as an erosion in the culture of teaching and learning, are explored. There is a need to break down the existing barriers to encourage teachers and learners to make use of the Community Library’s services and facilities to add value to their teaching and learning endeavours.