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Unit 3: Place of Library in Dissemination of Information

administrator, the industrial and business manager, the artisan, the entrepreneur, the farmer, Notes
the worker in the factory and the field, all need information to equip, themselves better for the
fruitful pursuit of their respective vocations. The basic information role of the library is to
collect material containing information through appropriate methods. It is primarily in this
sense that a library is described as an information centre. But a library also has an information
role in the sense of providing information relating to the socio-economic needs of the people.
Similarly, well-produced “how-to-do-it” type of books would be helpful in providing guidance
to youngsters wanting to start some enterprise. In short, a library should be so equipped and
organised that it will be able to serve its community with all types of information that may be
in actual or potential demand. The purpose of this unit is to enable the students to comprehend
basic expressions. At the end of this unit, you should be able to understand the changing role of
library in socio-economic development along with the role of education and recreation in
dissemination the information in library.

3.1 Library and the Changing Society

In this section, we shall study the expanding dimensions of libraries due to unprecedented
transformation of the society. Several factors are responsible for these changes. Consequently
libraries also are undergoing a very drastic transformation in all aspects of their growth.

3.1.1 Dimensions of Change

The changes that are occurring in different facets of human life in modern society can be seen in
the following aspects:
Pressures exerted by the population explosion, particularly in India, produce societal
pressures through increasing urbanization, mobility of population, group dynamics, etc.
Socio-economic changes affect occupational patterns, incomes, prices, value, inflation,
growth dynamics, and economic developments at the macro and micro levels.

Political changes affect political structures and systems, political parties, their growths,
the activities of members of parliament and state assemblies, power structures, etc.

Educational changes affect learning and teaching processes at all levels of education,
learning and teaching materials, educational technologies, etc.

Research and development in the scientific and technological fields, the social sciences,
and the humanities, lead to the creation of new knowledge, innovation, diffusion,
dissemination, distribution and use, etc.
Industry and business are affected by changes in production and distribution, technology
transfer, assessment and application, marketing and sales, etc.
In trade and commerce, import and export, international trade and commerce,
multinational trade impact, etc., are affected.
Government and administration are affected through changes in planning, policy-making,
governance, execution and management, etc.
Cultural changes take place in the fine arts and music, in the show business, in films,
satellite TV, etc.

The above facets of contemporary human life are merely to illustrate some of the more
conspicuous factors that have brought about rapid changes in society.

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