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

2. 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…

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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.

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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…

11. 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

12. 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

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

14. 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

15. 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

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