Strategic issues

Access

The Internet is becoming an increasingly vital tool in our information society. More 

people are going online to conduct such day to day activities as business transactions,

personal correspondence, research and information gathering, and shopping. Each year,

digital connection becomes ever more critical to economic, educational, and social

advancement. Now that a large number of people regularly use the Internet to conduct

daily activities, people who lack access to those tools are at a growing disadvantage.

The raison d'etre of public libraries is free provision of information. Libraries have

long prided themselves on being accessible to everyone. They need to be aware of their

responsibilities in the digital age to help shrink the divide between the information rich

and the information poor. The provision of public Internet terminals in libraries has

done more for their image than almost anything else. Nowadays many people through 

out the world expect free or cheap Internet access at the local public library. Public

awareness of these facilities is also very high. 

The concept of a digital divide is being used to describe disparities across different

social groups as to the access, use and required training of the Internet and new 

telecommunication services.

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Recent studies indicate that the digital divide has more to

do with socio economic status than geography. However, the library's role does not stop

at providing people with computers, it also has a part to play in making people feel

comfortable with the Information Age. Internet training that libraries provide assists in

this task. It is necessary for public librarians to understand the impact of new 

technologies on people's lives and to help them achieve a level of comfort and use so

they are not disadvantaged. Particular target areas for libraries are older people and

those who cannot afford to have this technology in their homes.

Accessibility to information   including government information   for people with

disabilities is being helped by technology. Large print screens, voice recognition soft 

ware and other new technology make access to information much easier for people with

sight impairment and other disabilities. 

Libraries are open institutions. They address digital divide issues in the same way

they provide access to materials and information. The philanthropic activities of

Andrew Carnegie in the last century are matched by those of Bill and Melinda Gates in

the 21st century. Both have seen that infrastructure investment is important to provide

access for people who would otherwise be denied it. Raising the level of digital inclusion

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