Public Libraries as Platforms for Civic Engagement

May 4, 2021

What role should the world’s public libraries have in civic engagement? In recent years, traditional media have weakened, the civic space has become increasingly divisive, and society has become ever more divided socially, economically and politically, yet public libraries have stood strong. They have long fulfilled a vital need for communal spaces where people can…

Public Libraries and Development Across Sub-Saharan Africa: Overcoming a Problem of Perception

April 29, 2021

Public libraries and development organizations share many common goals that make them strong potential partners in the Global South. In spite of these commonalities, libraries are often overlooked as development partners. This is unfortunate because these partnerships could allow librarians to more fully and effectively participate in the development of their communities. This paper explores…

Building Digital Communities: A Framework for Action

Digital inclusion is the ability of individuals and groups to access and use information and communication technologies. Not all members of a community benefit equally, and some communities have been left out altogether. <em>Building Digital Communities: A framework for action</em> is a resource for fostering digital inclusion throughout the United States so that everyone can…

From access to information to access to each other: Why libraries should develop innovation spaces

We will argue that libraries, in optimizing how they deploy computer and internet technology for people to meet their information needs, have unknowingly overlooked and even inhibited the use of computers for the purposes of creativity and innovation. Specifically, we suggest that there is a vast and unmet demand for physical environments, built around the…

Connecting people for development: Why public access ICTs matter

Libraries, telecenters, and cybercafés play a critical role in extending the benefits of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to a diverse range of people worldwide. However, their ability to contribute to development agendas has come into question in recent times. The Global Impact Study was designed to address this debate by generating evidence about the…

Mobile Information Literacy: Building Digital and Information Literacy Skills for Mobile-first and Mobile-centric Populations through Public Libraries

For billions of people coming online around the world – many in Africa – mobile phones (and increasingly smartphones) is their point of entry to the internet. This is true in both developed and developing countries. However, the user experience on a smartphone is very different from that on a PC or a feature phone….

Using Open Data to Inform Public Library Branch Services

November 9, 2020

This article describes the curation and use of open demographic data to inform public library services. A case study of census data curated for the Seattle Public Library (SPL) system is described. To understand the information needs of library branches, a set of SPL regional managers were interviewed, a set of use cases were created,…

The Role of Libraries in Misinformation Programming: A Research Agenda

October 27, 2020

Misinformation, or fake news, has exploded across social media platforms and communities over the past few years, with serious social and political implications. Many library practitioners and organizations have argued that libraries can and should play a central role in educating the public about this emerging issue. However, serious gaps exist in understanding how libraries…

Connecting African libraries and development organizations: Perceptions and possibilities

October 21, 2020

While perceptions of African libraries as development partners remain low and limited by development organizations, it is possible to change these perceptions. Quantitative data are necessary but insufficient in demonstrating library development value. Possible development partnership roles for African libraries are as community-embedded institutions, and development resource hubs.