Press Information: 11th November 1996

Libraries and Technology - The Current Situation

Public libraries have been using computer technology since the 1960's. Their use of data processing was pioneering, well ahead of developments that only came to the retail trade some years later, along with bank transfers, cash machines and automated catalogues. They have also consistently spearheaded the provision of direct information technology (IT) services to the public. Viewdata, open access catalogues and microcomputers, software loans and community databases, and latterly multimedia information systems, have all been introduced to improve service.

Today, there are few library services that do not rely heavily on IT, with the vast majority having automated their processes and catalogues. However, it is still possible to find little or no sign of technology in many small libraries. In these cases, users are prevented from enjoying the many benefits that IT can bring in accessing remote resources and services.

Internet developments

There has been some take up of Internet use in public libraries over the last year or so. However, a survey of Internet access in public libraries in the UK, commissioned by the Library and Information Commission and conducted in December 1995, showed that less than one per cent of library service points provided public access to the Internet. The research showed that the dominant form of connection is via a slow and expensive dial-up link which limits the types of service that can be provided. There is evidence of preliminary and tentative exploration of Internet by libraries - but rarely for public use.

More recent research gathered as part of the Millennium Bid reveals that, although there are some plans for development, there is no framework for a coordinated and collaborative approach which will act as a catalyst to bring libraries into the 21st Century and the Information Age. In contrast, the supply of unique and valuable information delivered electronically increases every day, with major national initiatives planned in the statutory and voluntary sectors to deliver up-to-date information directly to people as they need it.

It is clear that, left to present funding mechanisms, Internet provision to the public, free at the point of access, will be extremely patchy and at a low level. Certainly, the opportunities for marketing the service, raising standards, and training will not be available, nor will public libraries be able to take advantage of the prime opportunity they can offer to information providers on a national scale.

ENDS

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