Library economics

Long live free books!

“States must invest in public libraries to ensure that the most disadvantaged in society have access to information. New technologies are fantastic, but they’re not necessarily democratic,” states Prof. Réjean Savard of the École de bibliothéconomie et des sciences de l'information at the Université de Montréal.

Last November, Prof. Savard represented Canada at the International Federation of Librarians and Archivists (IFLA) during a historic meeting in Egypt’s new library in Alexandria. The gathering adopted the Alexandria Manifesto on Libraries, the Information Society in Action (see http://www.ifla.org/III/wsis/AlexandriaManifesto.html). A few months later, this manifesto was presented at the World Summit on the Information Society, in Tunisia. While this UN summit focussed primarily on the Internet, IFLA members insisted that libraries not be overlooked.

IFLA states that libraries should be seen as cooperatives where knowledge is shared with all members of the community and where the most disadvantaged can have access to information. “The return on investment in libraries is four to six times the initial investment. This is pretty economical and the benefits are significant,” states Prof. Savard. Some economists argue that State investment in library infrastructure, material and personnel generates positive spin-offs for society, particularly with respect to work efficiency. Indeed, students and other library users save a lot of time and money once they know how to quickly locate information, thanks to training provided by librarians.

In addition to recommending investment in libraries and information services, the Manifesto calls on governments and international organizations to support unlimited and unimpeded access to information as well as freedom of expression. The role of public libraries has diversified significantly over time and they now possess digital collections as well as printed material. The 2.5 billion members of libraries around the world peruse 15,000 km of bookshelves and borrow 1.5 trillion documents a year. “In the beginning, libraries were really designed as archival centres where ancient documents could be stored,” explains Prof. Savard. “Their mission to disseminate information came later, and they strove to make their information accessible. Today, the library’s role is more focused on training users so that they can use information more effectively.”

This vocation has become all the more relevant as modern societies become submerged in a veritable sea of information. In fact, well before the emergence of the Internet, specialists were observing this phenomenon. The term “infobesity” has been coined to describe this situation. Who better than librarians to help citizens navigate this sea and quickly find the information they need?