Public Libraries enabling varying paths to learning Tuula Haavisto, Dir. of Libraries City of Tampere 26 June 2008

Information Society: Intensified usage of information the roles of all information & memory institutions are under re-defining and re-consideration the basic reason: more intensive use of contents of all kinds, more business and other activities around them information and culture institutions important when the development is dependent on what happens between our ears…

Libraries vs. schools and media schools, education: to learn the basics of using information and other intellectual resources media: to follow the day-to-day history, get background information and reasons libraries answer to peoples’ own questions, information & cultural needs; they also offer intellectual, emotional and recreational surprises Library systems are built up in long-sight to help people find what they themselves need school and media portions are ready-made, libraries support self-service

Data, Information, Knowledge concepts of different abstraction levels One more higher level: Wisdom The difference in competence: Google works with data and information Libraries work mainly on information and knowledge Libraries can also contribute to wisdom

Libraries supporting learning enabling is the key word reading promotion – our main tradition, however, libraries exist not only for this purpose! self-learning help and guidance in finding information courses and lectures community work, exhibitions and information group working

Reading promotion Reading is one of the basics of all learning Libraries worldwide – independent of their resources – support literacy and reading Books available Information and recommendations about books to read available Reading programs and campaigns Co-operation with schools – e.g. Reading Diploma Storytelling (in Tampere also in Russian) Booktalk Etc.

Self-learning via their plain existence, libraries support learners who want to work independently Collection, the availability of the variety of content The larger variety, the better… Encourages critical thinking: choose yourself, find different opinions and compare by yourself Georges Soros also found this out and supports strongly libraries  libraries are important supporters of democracy Space, a place to read and learn, very much needed in many neighbourghoods in many kinds of countries and cities

Help and guidance in finding information Libraries have a (worldwide) system to register, storage and disseminate information and knowledge Library professionals are educated to help in finding information Catalogues – a systematic way to tell where one can find the information needed Compared with the Internet search machines like Google, libraries have advantages e.g. in these situations: The question is of wide scale or not very exact (what is the meaning of life?) The question concerns a field/topic not known to the person needing information The question/information needed is such a general word/term/name (e.g. Sao Paulo) that it produces too many hits via google

Libraries connect media and users Libraries with all their resources: - staff collection catalogues secondary sources cataloguing, classificaton, indexing interlending system ther forms of networking etc. Users/readers with their different information and cultural needs with their varying ability to find and use information and culture Media variety of forms exponentially growing amount

Courses and lectures Libraries organize lectures on variety of topics Libraries run also educational and training courses Liverpool: English-speaking courses for non-English speakers to practice their talking skills Tampere: ICT courses on two net squares and in one Internet bus Mexico: health information courses Chisinau, Moldavia: law information courses for ordinary people For many, the non-formal atmosphere of the library courses and lectures is the crucial point some want to progress on their own pace some dislike anything reminding them of their school times…

Community work, exhibitions and information a meeting point for the surrounding community community rooms, a standard in library architecture in many countries (e.g. USA) or a library can be a part of a larger learning/culture center, supporting its work for example in the Sao Paulo and Guadalajara suburbs answering the information needs of the communities Health information, consumer information, training and education information

Community work, exhibitions and information, cont. book exhibitions on different themes virtual exhibitions on different themes virtual or physical information boards of the community information produced by the city administration and/or other city units special information (leaflets etc., even booths) aids information (e.g. in Namibia, even in school libraries) information on events

Group working free space for free groups to meet and study and learn school children use this opportunity actively literature groups

Cost-effective service a well-resourced library is worth of the resources invested on it well-resourced libraries form an important part of the intellectual capital of their community in a city like Tampere, in the year 2007, the share of the library costs in the city budget was 0,53% ca. 80% of the citizens in Tampere use the library The model in this case: the city offers good resources  services, the citizens react by using the library heavily  the city benefits, readers are active citizens in many respects

The economical value of libraries Traditionally, a very difficult matter to testify. Since 1990, several studies have been done in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom and Norway about the economical value of libraries  more detailed and justified argumentation is now available an investment of one dollar/euro/pound to libraries brings 4-6 money units back; this concerns all types of libraries

Brains grow in libraries, say the Dutch …and the Dutch have it correct! Thank you for your attention!