Page 109 - DLIS001_FOUNDATION_OF_LIBRARY_AND_INFORMATION_SCIENCE

Foundation of Library and Information Science

Notes 3. The constitution of India envisages a democratic society but we are with democratic
traditions.
4. The RRRLF’s program of assistance is most helpful to the cause of public library services
in the countryside.

6.2 Purpose of Public Library in India

The UNESCO, in its public library manifesto, for the first time spelled out the key objectives
which relate to information, literacy, education and culture and should be at the core of public
library services:

creating and strengthening reading skills and habits in children from an early age;
supporting both individual and self-conducted education as well as formal education;
providing opportunities for personal creative development;

stimulating the imagination and creativity of children and young people;
promoting awareness of cultural heritage, appreciation of the arts, scientific achievements
and innovations;

providing access to cultural expressions of all performing arts;
fostering inter-cultural dialogue and favouring cultural diversity;
supporting the oral tradition;

ensuring access for citizens to all sorts of community information;
providing adequate information services to local enterprises, associations and interest
groups;

facilitating the development of information and computer literacy skills;
supporting and participating, in literacy activities and programmes for all age groups,
and initiating such activities, if necessary.
With these key missions, the public libraries will enable the development of well-informed
citizens capable of exercising their democratic rights and play responsive role in the changing
society. This will generally depend on a free flow of unlimited access to public libraries.

Did u know? Public libraries have been slow to figure out that the 21st Century customer
does not need 20th Century library services. School, academic and special libraries have
been dealing with the new Millennial Customer for several years.
Apart from above purposes, there are other purposes of Public Library which are as follows:
1. Securing the Funding and Future of the Library as Purpose: An appropriate mission is
important to secure funding for and insure that the library continues in the future. This
need to secure funding and insure the continuance of the library relates to the bureaucratic
structures and tendencies of the library. Bureaucrats are self-maximizing and work to
forward their own interests—job security and the further existence and growth of their
institution or agency. The library initiated an integrated effort to learn what customers
valued, to connect to those values, and to communicate the value the library delivers with
frequency and consistency.

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