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Marian Koren

1. INTRODUCTION

The chapter outlines the developments of public libraries in Europe. Some historic aspects and current issues are addressed. The purpose of this chapter is to give an overview of public library services as developed in European countries and to present joint efforts at the European level. In addressing this topic, the chapter treats the following sub-questions:

1. What are the basic concepts underlying public libraries in Europe? 2. What role do public libraries play in national and European development? 3. How are public libraries cooperating at the European level? 4. What currents trends and future challenges are public libraries in Europe facing? 5. In addition to these introductory remarks, this paper has five other sections exploring these questions.

2. EXPLORING THE EUROPEAN PUBLIC LIBRARY LANDSCAPE

A European history of public libraries has not yet been written. Even a recent thorough overview is missing. (Danset 2003; Pors 2002; Poulain 1992) This is quite understandable as public libraries in Europe are closely related to public governance of each nation state with its own history and culture, and follow the enormous variety and intricate structures of administration and initiatives of citizens. In the meantime, public libraries started about 100-200 years ago, as centers for reading and information for middle class members and for the working class. Libraries were the places that especially the poor and the poorly educated could come to. Public libraries focused on what we now term as lifelong learning, and provided a variety of ways in which people could improve the quality of their lives. As ‘street corner universities’ they gradually became the place for everyone and included all members of the society, from the new born babies to the newcomers from other countries, within or outside Europe. What strikes every travel- ing observer is the enormous diversity in the spread and shape of public libraries throughout Europe. They can be a tiny local library on the outskirts of Ireland with an exhibition on education in the Irish language, or a glass palace in Malmö, Swe- den. They can have the atmosphere of professional fairy tale telling in Portugal or intensive youth and Europe information corners in Slovenia. But all these public 312 Marian Koren libraries have much in common; they form a unity in diversity – as is the character of Europe. In the present state of the art of public libraries in Europe, some fundamental characteristics unite them: basic trust, credibility, democracy, information, education, culture, communication, all related to developed and acknowledged human rights. Public libraries form part of the European civilizations, reflect the human values and the human rights based upon them. Ultimately, the national state is responsible for guaranteeing freedom of expression and free access to information, the cornerstones of public library services. Library services are based on trust: libraries trust their users that they will care for the books and other materials they are borrowing or consulting. Users trust their libraries, that they will provide materials from a variety of sources, unbiased in its choice of materials. Public libraries are acknowledged as basic public service and trusted by politicians (from all par- ties) to perform their tasks professionally. Libraries have to work on continuous credibility, when it comes to providing digital library services. Living in a diversi- fied Europe, with a multitude of languages, cultures and customs, libraries reflect the European tradition of critical reflection, doubts about its identity and achieve- ments, and a critical notion of Europe’s role in the world. Creating awareness and understanding of the riches of ideas, concepts and views on human life and its ex- pressions in literature, art, monuments, etc., as developed in Europe, is part of the library’s task to preserve relevant documents and facilitate education about their content. Preserved national heritage should be made available Europe-wide, to increase mutual access and understanding: intercultural dialogue.

3. THE ROLE OF PUBLIC LIBRARIES IN NATIONAL AND EUROPEAN DEVELOPMENT

3.1 National development Initiatives of community groups, churches and liberal or charity institutions have played a substantive role in building up the social-democratic welfare states in many European countries. Public libraries were set up by these groups and gradually received funding from the state and local government. In most countries public libraries are a responsibility of the local government with some incentives at the national level. In France and Germany for example, public libraries are part of local government; in The Netherlands (16 million inhabitants), public libraries still are mainly private non-profit foundations and receive local subsidies. Dutch public libraries have maintained the roots of a readers’ association including a subscrip- tion fee, at least for adults. Nevertheless, a large network of public libraries has been established, nowadays with around 4 million members, and counting 90 million visits a year. Here, after World War II, provincial library centers (PBCs) were created as service organizations for setting up public libraries in rural areas. In Europe: Public Libraries 313 other countries, such as Sweden, the region is just an administrative and not a po- litically elected level of government: the regional library services (länsbibliotek) include mainly consultancy, training, innovation and promotion. In France, the Bibliothèques Departementales de Prêts (BDP) deliver practical services (collections, mobiles, reading and cultural programs) to smaller libraries. In some countries the regional services are provided by a larger city library or county library, e.g. in the United Kingdom. In order to understand the public library system, one has to know the system of political responsibilities and the public administration. Public libraries mainly follow the set-up of the public administrative system: uni- tary (e.g. Czech Republic) or federal (e.g. Belgium, Germany); centralized or more decentralized. The variety of administrative structures, sometimes with each having its own level of libraries, e.g. in France, make comparison between public library systems within Europe a difficult undertaking. Various attempts to make a typology of some sort, or based on geographic proximity of public library systems in Europe, have failed, due to the enormous diversity and differences in stages of development, structures and approaches to public library service. Consolidation of the first public library establishments in legislation or other regulation took place first in the United Kingdom and Ireland (1840, 1855); in the 1920s followed by the Czech Republic, Denmark, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Lat- via, Estonia and Finland. Between 1995 and 2000 most countries have updated their library legislation, which does not exist in Austria, Germany, Luxemburg, Malta and Spain. Changes were necessary because of decentralization of responsibilities for public libraries to local governments, local authority reforms, upcoming new information technology and infrastructure, consolidating of the public domain, and library professionalism. In the Netherlands, in the late nineties, a concentration of local government (economy of scale) was undertaken resulting in a smaller number of local authorities. After this local government reform, a decentralization of national responsibility for public libraries took place and has effected quite some differences in library services all over the country: differences in access, user fees, quality and variety of services and facilities. In the early new millennium, a process of restructuring the library organizations into larger units to provide the necessary scale for the new information infrastructure and a strong innovation policy and program have supported improved professionalism and specialization. Similar processes (merging of municipalities, merging of library organizations, review of division of tasks and infrastructure) are taking place in other countries at different paces. To provide an example of a public library structure: based on these developments, the Public Library system in the Netherlands consists of three layers of library services related to three levels of government serving the population of which 10-20 % inhabitants have an immigrant background. At the local level about 1,100 public libraries are financially supported by local authorities, in aver-

314 Marian Koren age up to 80%. In addition, 15% of the income is obtained through users (membership and overdue fees) and 5% through other paid activities like room rent, courses and lectures. Most of the communities operate a library or mobile service (60 buses in total). Local libraries can have a service contract with a provincial library service organization. There are 12 provinces (ranging from 400,000 to 2.5 million inhabitants). At the provincial level, the provincial government subsidizes regional library infrastructure, programs and projects executed through provincial service organizations and some libraries with regional tasks. At the national level, the state (Ministry of Education, Culture and Science) subsidizes the Netherlands Public Library Association as a sector institute (in other countries this is a national agency for (public) libraries, such as in Belgium (Flanders), Denmark, Ireland, Norway and Portugal) for maintaining and improving the public library network, including tasks for professional quality, innovation, IT, promotion of reading and maintenance of a central lending collection facility for foreign languages. A major task has been added in 2007: cooperation with services for the visually impaired is included. The Association receives membership income from all public libraries. Other income is received through national grants for major IT projects, especially so as to build further on the digital library: www.bibliotheek.nl. Central library supply services are offered by NBD/Biblion Ltd (a merger of a former department of the Association and Netherlands Library Service, NBD), a partly non-profit library-supply foundation established by public libraries, book- sellers and publishers in 1970. Through the set up of a central/national library supplier a high quality of presenting – library-fit materials; bindings lasting at least 12 years – has been achieved even for smaller libraries. The quick introduction of RFIDs in Dutch public libraries was made possible because NBD/Biblion inserted the new chips in all items, regardless of whether a library had decided to start self- service yet. Similar (profit) supplier services are active in the Nordic countries and in the German-speaking countries (Germany, Switzerland and Aus- tria).

3.2 European development There are over 40,000 public libraries in Europe. The main roles of public libraries are the following: giving access to published information, to offer lifelong learning opportunities, to safeguard cultural identity in a changing world and to ensure that citizens can cope with information technology and have access to the equipment and systems they need. Prolongation of the traditional, democratic values for public libraries, enlightenment, learning and access are the basis, according to the Public Libraries in the Information Society-study (PLIS-study 1996), which also discusses and analyses the future roles of public libraries. One of the needs of public library development in Europe is to provide an overview and have access to good-quality statistics. Unfortunately, because of lack of European funds, the LibEcon-database could not be continued. Its last Newsletter issued in 2004 ranked the 10 best performing library countries in the following or- Europe: Public Libraries 315 der: Finland, Denmark, Estonia, Iceland, UK, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden, Lithua- nia, Ireland/Netherlands (based on 2001 data). In the meantime significant changes have taken place, especially for the better in the Baltic States and a number of East European countries and Spain. The results of a questionnaire-based survey performed by the NAPLE Forum (National Authorities on Public Libraries in Europe) in 2001 revealed a similar distribution on the part of public library organizations. Findings showed that Finland is on top regarding user reach (60%), followed by other Nordic countries (50+%) and Estonia and the Netherlands (29%). In the Netherlands this percentage refers to memberships, not to users without a library card (40-50%). Finland also tops the loan per capita list (20 items), followed by the other Nordic countries (except Norway), Estonia and the Netherlands (9-15 items per capita) with lower levels for the Baltic states and even lower for Southern Europe (Pors 2002). Around the year 2000 public libraries in a number of countries worked hard to become included in a national strategy for the Knowledge Society demanding that the state and its agencies express commitment to the role of the public library system in relation to digital services for the citizens. This commitment is demon- strated in reports and visions for the future and may also include real financial support. According to Pors (2002) strong support and visions were presented in Belgium (Flanders), Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden; with some state support and vision found in Austria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia; and a low degree of commitment in Germany, Luxemburg and Malta. In the meantime, especially Germany is on the move to develop visions at least at the regional level (Bundesländer), and the East European countries have very dedicated policies for the transformation of society. In most countries, the general policy is e.g. that public libraries have to provide Internet access to the users. This positive picture is a major step forward (within just five years) compared to the state-of-the- art as presented in the PLIS study (1996). The implications of the active public library role in the information society are realized step by step: a broader range of Internet services; a faster digital infrastructure; coordination in acquisition of digital content (consortia and licensing) and delivery of services; and increasing staff competencies. In most countries, rather impressive efforts have been made in relation to staff upgrading and the establishment of systems of continuing education. Especially the Baltic States have implemented sound structures within a very short time. Equal access to information is the driving force to work for a complete network and adapted services for all citizens.

3.3 Lifelong learning When the European Commission launched the concept of Lifelong Learning, and stressed the need for local learning centers, librarians were skeptical because of

316 Marian Koren the strong stress laid on the economic motives and because the EC was apparently forgetting that libraries have always been centers for non-formal and informal learning. As is shown in Portuguese research (Calixto 1999), libraries can fulfill roles, which for citizens in a European context will lead up to a European CV and more mobility1; visibility of learning opportunities and possibilities to learn in other countries. Libraries throughout Europe have responded to the Lifelong learning paradigm, creating “second chances” to update basic skills and also offering learning opportunities at more advanced levels. Formal systems of library provision need to become much more open and flexible so that they are tailored to the needs of the learner. These services, especially distant learning, have been well developed in the United Kingdom and Ireland. In the Netherlands, libraries are very visible in the Week of Learning, the Learning Festival; national and local partnerships with the regional educational centers (ROC) and “folk universities.”

3.4 On public library buildings in Europe On the occasion of the Netherlands presidency of the Council of Europe, a conference named “Creating Public Paradise” and focusing on the building of public libraries in the 21st century was organised in The Hague in March 2004. One of the few European surveys on public library buildings was undertaken in preparation of this conference (Koren 2004). In Greece and East European countries purpose- built libraries do hardly exist or date from a long time ago. A funding scheme and (inter)national standards are lacking. There are, however, examples of modern public libraries in these countries and more library construction projects can be expected in the years to come. During the last decade improvements have been made in e.g. Spain and Slovenia. In most European countries, public library buildings can be qualified as ‘traditional’ or ‘lending’ libraries, but this picture is rap- idly changing already demonstrating more modern, qualitative ideas or concepts in almost every country. Libraries are no longer mere book-lending institutions but have translated cultural, educational and/or communal functions into their archi- tecture. Buildings are developed according to these functions. The concept of the library as a community and information center, providing materials and working places for lifelong learning, makes libraries restyle and design for presenting combined media collections, internet-access and working places. Meeting, inter- acting and communicating are literally gaining ground with some examples to be mentioned here: the Public Library of Amsterdam (opened 2007) or Kolding, Denmark (opened 2006). Partnerships are expressed in the combined or collocated library: libraries share one roof with other cultural, educational or communal institutions like theatres, museums, schools or university libraries. Examples: Viiki in Finland, Härnosand sambiblioteket in Sweden, CODA, Apeldoorn in the Nether- lands. Also, there are many examples of libraries being located in shopping cen-

1 EU standardized format for presenting one’s CV and applicable throughout Europe, see: http:// myeurocv.com/ Europe: Public Libraries 317 ters and malls, which serves to increase their accessibility and visibility to many citizens. A number of states upgrading the level of public library services make use of references to the IFLA Public Library Manifesto to set up a scheme and create guidelines for public library construction; this is, for instance, the case of Portugal. The state institute co-funds 50% of the initial investment, and this covers the following areas: the project studies, construction, furniture and equipment, collections (print and multimedia) and services automation. Especially the children’s departments are equipped with spaces for storytelling and art workshops. More re- cently, some libraries have started offering community information and self- learning services and implemented information and communication technologies; access to the Internet is free as are the rest of the services available. Examples of new/restyled public libraries can be found in cities like Santa Maria da Feira, Oporto, Loures, Sintra, Cascais and Albufeira. Attempts to set up a database with library buildings in Europe are made. In the meantime DOK Delft (Netherlands) may serve as an example of library innovation through redesign of building and services. Being the most modern library of the world is the mission and challenge the public library in Delft (95,000 inhabitants) wants to take up – and it is already listed among the 25 Most Modern Libraries in the World (Laun 2008). The special merging with an art center (DOK) and a disco center has created an innovative and inviting space to explore and live a modern lifestyle. DOK Library Concept Center is the bold title at the entrance of the glass 4-store façade. It offers access to a world of information, inspiration and enter- tainment in a dynamic communication and surprising environment. The large building from the seventies has radically been rebuilt and redesigned by architect Aat Vos of Aequo Architects and Liesbeth van der Pol of Dok Architecten trans- forming it into a multicultural center of 4,300 m2.

3.5 Public Libraries on the Internet The challenge for libraries is whether they will successfully not only apply, but also successfully integrate new technology into their services. A number of Euro- pean countries have developed national strategies to work for one coherent library service. People’s Network is a well-known example from England for the basic infrastructure. The strategies, often following a general National Action Plan, aim to bring the nation to the top in the global competitive economy. In a decentralized situation, library associations taking the initiative for new services have to balance between local initiatives and practices and the need for a nationwide scale to im- plement and fund digital infrastructure, coordination and services. In most Euro- pean countries, a national library portal has been designed or is under construction (e.g. in Slovenia). Sometimes it is an extensive portal also including the digital school library and the virtual children’s library, completed with request and order services, solely organized by the public libraries (in the Netherlands: Biblio-

318 Marian Koren theek.nl). In other cases the similar name of the portal (bibliotek.dk in Denmark) started mainly as a request and order facility and is extended with other services like Ask a librarian. In the longstanding tradition of working for efficiency through cooperation and networking, such as interlibrary loan, which also includes international services, new facilities have been developed to serve the interests of the user communities. The national library portal for accessing the virtual public library of a country is the product of the joint efforts of public libraries coordinated by the Library Asso- ciation (Netherlands), the Norwegian Archive, Library and Museum Authority (Norway) or the National Library (Slovenia) acting on behalf of the Ministry. It provides access to a user-friendly, digital library collection. The information can be geared to individual user requirements by means of user profiles (my library). In this way, for instance bibliotheek.nl combines not only the know-how and ex- pertise of many Dutch public libraries, but also that of a number of selected part- ners. Public libraries also join forces by purchasing of digital content, such as newspaper and historic archive material, consumer information, databases on literature information, etc. The virtual network of librarians working in teams and groups to propose and select content (such as health, history, literature, economy, Europe), to answer queries on advanced levels (Al@din, virtual reference service), assists in the editing of various parts of the library portal. Aquabrowser is the spe- cially designed convenient browsing applied in the Dutch digital library (and now also used in for instance the USA.). It is based on associative connections and fre- quency of search terms. Another service is the Seek&Book service, a request and delivery service, executed in the Netherlands and in Denmark (bibliotek.dk). Dedicated sites often correspond with larger (library) policies such as lifelong learning, cultural diversity, social inclusion, services to visually impaired and print handicapped, or simply: another area such as health or music. Public libraries are cooperating with education centers to create attractive learning offers. In cooperation with educational television and professional educational institutions libraries are organizing information and support for people looking for a(nother) job. They can, supported by TV sessions, get local advice by a coach and group training and a special infopoint (WerkPlek, Workplace) in the library, which is supplemented by a dedicated website (Werkzat). Since many modern courses make use of digital programs, people can test and improve their competences in a special public e- learning course presented by the public libraries. Newcomers to many European countries are supported by dedicated services to learn the main language and understand the new country’s culture. Such national services have practical information organized around major subjects, with which immigrants are confronted: housing, finances, education, health, legislation etc. and they can be found in the Netherlands and in the Nordic countries following the example of Finfo in Den- mark: multilingual information for ethnic minorities. Europe: Public Libraries 319

3.6 Providing information about Europe One special task for public libraries is related to the provision of information about Europe, not only about its institutions, the European Parliamentarians etc, but also about new EU-directives, upcoming policies in the field of employability, agricul- ture etc. Public libraries presented themselves as the basic network for European information in the same way as they provide citizens with national government information. Some subjects include: general public information (through EU- Information relays: Europe Direct and Documentations Centers); Youth information on exchange, studies, travel, subsidies; Employability, Mobility of people, students, workers, professionals (including legal and other aspects) as well as Elections and Enlargement (about daily life and the culture of ‘new’ EU-member states.) The European Commission never fully acknowledged the role of public libraries in these services, and continued its own individualized contract model. But the public library network in Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Germany (some), the Netherlands, Slovenia and Sweden performs a major task for the EU citizens’ information service. The European Parliament wishes to extend the rights related to citizenship of the European Union. For informed European citizens an adequate information service is necessary.

4. HOW ARE PUBLIC LIBRARIES COOPERATING AT THE EUROPEAN LEVEL?

In the preceding paragraphs we discussed public libraries in Europe and European public libraries. There is a third dimension: the European level of public library policies, strategies, and structures. If we speak about policy making, does it then mean: all that is done at a national level is also executed at the European level or does it mean that public libraries develop policies at the European level, which cannot be formulated at the national level? What is the “extra” that the European context and perspective offer (Dittrich 2003)? One of the earliest specific studies on public libraries in Europe was devoted to the implementation of new technologies and a paradigm shift in services: the updated library. The Telematics/PLIS study (1996) already indicated the need for actions at the European level: actions within areas such as concerted actions and studies on policies and planning, initiatives to improve skills and competence (training and distance learning for librarians); studies on organizational structures, charges, service levels, and solutions for small libraries) and projects developing new tools such as user instruction as well as digital reference services and marketing. According to the report generated by the Telematics/PLIS study ‘A European source for funding is highly desirable and would be helpful in accelerating change

320 Marian Koren in public libraries.’ (Public Libraries and the Information Society: a study. Telematics for Libraries ARCHIVE, 1997)

4.1 European projects With the advent of new information technology and the information society, the European Commission, especially DGXIII, initiated a dedicated public libraries programme in the nineties and sponsored related cultural and heritage projects to which libraries also applied. At a later stage this public library-centered funding initiative was integrated with the more general EU Framework Programs (FP). In general, public libraries are more locally orientated than e.g. national libraries and therefore experienced more difficulties in fulfilling EU project requirements (e.g. cooperation with libraries in at least three countries) and international project management. But they managed very well in projects such as exploring multimedia for children (CHILIAS) or information skills for young people (VERITY) along with a number of projects on telematics, distant learning and service to people with a handicap. Real cooperation at the European level started when a number of public library directors (cooperating in the PUBLICA project) exchanged experience on new technology-driven services and discussed the need for larger investments, which were to be achieved through strategic action (the Leuven Communique). Other public library projects followed such as PULMAN and CALIMERA, which pro- duced manuals and guidelines for policy making and implementation of new technology in traditional and new public library services, management, target groups and other aspects of the libraries in the information society. In the same way as public libraries attempted to acquire a place in the national formulation of the information society, they also had to demonstrate their role in the development of the European society. The Copenhagen Declaration (1999), the outcome of a high level European conference stated: We support the following roles for public libraries, highlighted in the Leuven Communique: Democracy and citizenship – Public libraries have a strategic opportunity to increase quality of life and democratic possibilities for citizens of the Information Societies by providing free and equal access to high-quality information. Economic and social development – Public libraries support the growth of communities through the provision of information services designed to meet local needs. They are important tools for reducing disparity between the information rich and the information poor citizens of Europe. Lifelong learning – Public libraries provide, through their widespread distribution across Europe, a cost-effective infrastructure for lifelong learning and easy access to the content of the virtual networks. They also support students at all levels of formal education. Europe: Public Libraries 321

Cultural and linguistic diversity – Public libraries are cultural institutions in ac- cordance with the cultural dimension of the EU Treaty with a great responsibility for cultural heritage, literature and literacy. The Declaration was founded on and referred to the one and only Report on ‘the Role of Libraries in the Modern World’ of the Committee on Culture, Youth, Edu- cation and the Media of the European Parliament (the Ryynänen Report) – a major study commissioned by the European Commission on Public Libraries and the In- formation Society (PLIS study) – and a Council of Europe Cultural Committee report on Library Legislation and Policy in Europe. With these building bricks, a common basis for national and European policies regarding public libraries was formed on which action by the European Commission was requested to stress the key role of public libraries in the emerging Information Society and the need for a European level information policy. National and federal governments were requested to prepare a national information policy recognizing the vital and unique role of public libraries as access points for the majority of citizens and supported by suitable library legislation. Further- more, a suitable networking infrastructure was required, drawing together all information creating agencies and traditional memory institutions (libraries, museums and archives) so as to encourage information and resource sharing and practical co-operation between public libraries. The main request was a development program for public libraries to ensure minimum standards of access to every citi- zen, including new facilities, and placing public libraries high on the social agenda defending an equitable copyright. It was clear that action was necessary for public libraries covering the following issues: re-assessment of roles to respond to changing social needs; long-term cooperation and partnerships for cultural and community education; and effective marketing of services to all sectors of the community.

4.2 Advocacy When EBLIDA, the European Library Lobby Bureau, was set up (1992), it was clear that resources would be limited and focus on advocacy, especially in the field of copyright and related issues, would be its first and foremost rationale. Other policies of the European Union and developments in Europe are considered less threatening and therefore mainly monitored, with incidental actions: information policy, lifelong learning, cultural heritage, professional mobility and trade agreements. The EBLIDA actions in the field of copyright, public lending right, public information access and its information and training support in Eastern Europe have proved that this focus as successful, but not enough for all national association members. A newly elected Executive Committee and President (2007) may try other strategies thus moving towards more development policies, e.g. digital libraries and culture. Another focus on advocacy and development is com-

322 Marian Koren ing from NAPLE, a forum of national authorities responsible for public library policies and development in Europe. Sometimes this responsible authority is found in the ministry (Finland) or located in a separate agency (Denmark) or in a hybrid organization as with the Netherlands Public Library Association, which is both a national association and an agency for performing national library tasks. The variety of national structures makes it difficult to create a coherent group, but the felt need to create a forum for supporting national public library policy making and have a say in European library developments, e.g. the European Digital Library, is easily understood. In general, one has to note, that the executive powers of all these organizations are very limited. An office with 1-2 paid staff members at the most. In fact, this is a situation in which national associations very often find themselves. For the professional development, IFLA remains the main association, also for European librarians. The good plans and projects libraries have been able to undertake in a European setting have been funded and encouraged mainly through the European Union’s Information Society Programme. A number of libraries has also discovered the Grundtvig programme, which is an easily accessible programme for professional projects and exchanges, e.g. on evaluation of library involvement in National Learning Weeks. To conclude on this part: European advocacy and cooperation is still in the making. A Europe of libraries is still hard to find. The scattered activities of individual librarians, libraries and associations need to be backed up by more coherence and focus. Professional associations are gradually changing strategy and focus, turning professional development issues into effective advocacy.

5. CURRENT PUBLIC LIBRARY TRENDS AND FUTURE CHALLENGES IN EUROPE

The European Union has formulated its ambitions in the Lisbon Declaration: becoming the most competitive knowledge region in the world by 2010. And so the Netherlands government has agreed to it and is working on it, partly with the help of libraries. In fact, this is true for many European countries. Nevertheless, The European Union has not formulated a library policy, apart from the report by Mir- jam Ryynanen, the Finnish Member of the European Parliament. But libraries are affected by EU regulations, especially in the field of copyright and lending right. Furthermore, they can profit from ICT programs, although for the most part only national and research libraries have staff to develop EU projects.

5.1 Public library trends In general, libraries boast a strong tradition in Europe with stronger accents on social democracy and self-learning in the northern hemisphere. A number of tenden- cies which public libraries face in most European countries can be discerned: in the field of legislation/policies: decentralization. The process of decentralization Europe: Public Libraries 323 brings policy making on a level closer to the community, but at the same time this process involves the risk of loosing the coherence of a public library network that is especially necessary for major IT investments. Furthermore, the acquired knowledge on the identity and role of public libraries might not be present to the same extent on a local level. Another issue is the struggle for maintaining the public domain: an increasing number of (digital) sources are not published in the traditional sense. Closed networks and expensive licenses form a threat to publicly available information. In the same sense, some information created with public funds is privatized, without any exception for libraries to make public information available for citizens. Rights of right holders may form a threat and should be bal- anced with users’ rights in the public domain. Libraries collaborate in EU lobby- ing through EBLIDA, the European Bureau for Library, Information and Docu- mentation Associations (www.eblida.org) (based in the Netherlands, in the prem- ises of the Netherlands Public Library Association). A European Library Agenda is a basis for development policy and lobby. One can easily add other issues to the EBLIDA work, where the EU increasingly takes a position and library associations all over Europe should cooperate to play their part in it: World Summit on the Information Society, Cultural Diversity, Open Access, Anti Terrorist legislation, World Trade Agreements, etc. Most libraries are struggling for getting necessary investments covering such areas as IT, buildings, media and staff. No service or business can survive or flour- ish without necessary investments. Libraries need to be restyled, and new technology requires allocations of funds but also continuous investments to meet the needs of demanding users. Most countries like the United Kingdom (Peoples Net- work) and Netherlands (National Action Plan) have formulated IT investment plans for libraries, but this is not enough for restructuring the whole sector. In a number of European countries, library networks are reorganized to find a better economy of scale and division of (national) tasks. The regional level seems to be the crucial factor in keeping the network and maintaining its strength by facilitating and adding value to local developments. For example, Denmark and the Neth- erlands exhibit substantial changes in the library landscape. Another difficult issue is the recruitment of future-oriented staff (from various backgrounds). A number of European countries are faced with the challenge of having a percentage of older staff members, who will leave their jobs in the coming years. New staff must meet different requirements that are not always addressed by the current Library and In- formation Science education courses. Increased focus is placed on the effects and added value (performance measurement). The credibility of libraries takes a new shape in the need for describing library results in other terms than just the number of loans. Qualitative research tries to present a variety of outcomes from library activities. Many countries are working on benchmarking of libraries, e.g. the United Kingdom, Denmark, and the Netherlands. A number of these issues are

324 Marian Koren discussed at the European conference organized by the Forum of National Public Library Authorities: NAPLE (www.naple.info).

5.2 TRANSFORMATION OF THE LIBRARIES: SERVING CITIZENS OF EUROPE

The shift of paradigm from lending libraries to hybrid libraries due to the presence and impact of new media, new user groups, and new demands in communities is the major incentive for library transformations. But user-orientation and marketing are paramount. In fact, the users are directing the new services into guided facilities. One of the main questions to be confronted by public libraries in Europe is whether they can see themselves as forming one network serving the citizens in Europe by common efforts. Part of the libraries’ common tasks is:

1. Recognizing the needs of immigrants, as immigrants of various nationalities and languages spread over Europe, libraries must make efforts to provide materials in those languages. Cooperation should improve these services. 2. Accessibility of public information services. The strongest feature of public libraries remains their basic information service. Efforts have to be made to integrate digital services in order to make public services transparent and accessible to all citizens. 3. Facilitating cultural orientation and mobility. An increasing number of people live in a culture, which is not their traditional culture. Others see a grow- ing number of “minority cultures.” Libraries can help to give background information and create a setting for orientation, getting to know the diversity of the modern communities and creating a place for understanding different customs. A recent example is the Human Library where citizens can have a chat with a member of a minority or other group in society with whom they are not familiar and might have prejudices about: refugee, handicapped, homosexual, Muslim, student, politician. A mobile library stops near a festival and offers human sources to learn from. 4. Cross-border services; in an increasingly united Europe, library service need not be restricted by national borders. Services can be extended to neighbor- ing communities, which often form an extended cultural community. Learn- ing languages and literature from various European countries can form part of library services and be included in training for librarians.

5.3 Strengthening the European library network: learning from each other Public libraries have not yet clearly initiated a strategy of becoming more visible in Europe. They need a strong legislative framework. They can strengthen their networks by various means: especially the exchange and development of concepts Europe: Public Libraries 325 and knowledge; views and policies; research and staff training programs. To give an example of the benefit of exchanging concepts: Dutch librarians visited Sweden and Finland in 1986 and discovered the concept of Kulturhus (a combination of library, museum, music school, local archive etc.). They also appreciated the UK services of Community Information and the shop in the shop formula of various info-points in the library. Now, the first Dutch versions of the Kulturhus have been introduced, in which possible profit services as banking, health insurance and office hours for the notary, social services etc. are included under the same roof. Another example is the application of the Children’s Book Jury, a reading promotion concept, in which children are invited to read and list their personal Top Five and send their votes to be counted nationally thus resulting in a big national TV- covered Children’s Jury Award program. This Dutch invention is now applied in Sweden and Iceland and it also works similarly in Austria.

5.4 European agenda setting Public libraries can be instrumental in a number of European policies, but they are also unique institutions and public services with intrinsic value. Their basic identity is closely related to democracy and access to information makes them different from schools, museums, theatres and community centers. This basic feature should be acknowledged and form part of a European Library Agenda and policy making entity. The development part of Public Libraries should build on the Ry- ynänen report (Ryynänen, 1998), which gives an excellent description of basic element of libraries and a necessary policy to support libraries as the most important networks that organize access to knowledge. After the appearance of this report the European Commission has been silent about libraries, but the Commission turns up in many projects (e.g. training), services and even consultations. The German Library Association responded to the European Communication: Chal- lenges for the European Information Society beyond 2005. Here one finds argu- ments for the role of libraries as a support structure for the digital knowledge based society in Europe: political and social benefits in the form of high-quality information, information literacy and media competence, lifelong learning, informed citizenry, democratic access and evaluation of media, cultural promotion and education, etc. “European libraries have much potential. When provided with a clear mission, a supportive framework and sufficient funding, they can multiply their contribution to the necessary achievement oriented education infrastructure” (Ruppelt 2005:2). The European Library is a test case in many respects. The cooperation between the network of public libraries and the national library (and academic libraries) is a delicate issue. In some southern and central European countries the national library is at the same time a university library (Croatia, Denmark, Estonia and Slo- venia), but the relationship to public libraries is often weak. In other countries,

326 Marian Koren such as Belgium, Netherlands, Portugal and some of the Scandinavian countries, national libraries mainly operate on their own with public libraries constituting a separate network. This traditional division of types of libraries is no longer adequate in a knowledge society. The idea of a European Library is bringing together or collecting sources of European heritage (from libraries, museums and archives) and offering digital access to them. So the name has been changed into Euro- peana. Launched June 2007, 6 million works should be digitised between 2007 and 2012. A separate foundation (EDL Foundation) has been set up (2007) to encourage all types of institutions to become members and share their sources. Some national and European organizations are advocating for a stronger focus on the relationship with public libraries and through them with the larger European public. Cultural heritage in digital form will only be successful if included in cultural and reading programs inviting to active participation and experience – such as public libraries are used to organise.

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Websites CALIMERA archive: www.calimera.org EBLIDA: European Bureau of Library, Information and Documentation Asso- ciations: www.eblida.org EUROPEAN LIBRARY: Www.theeuropeanlibrary.org and www.europeana.eu LIBECON: International Library Economics Research: www.libecon.org NAPLE FORUM: National Authorities on Public Libraries in Europe: www.naple. info PUBLICA archive: www.cordis.lu/libraries/en/publica.html UNESCO Library Portal, Public Libraries in Europe: http://www.unesco.org/ webworld/portal_bib/pages/Libraries/Public/Europe/index.shtml

About Regional Editor/author: Dr. Marian Koren is Head of Research and International Affairs at the Nether- lands Public Library Association, and secretary of FOBID Netherlands Library Forum, The Hague, The Netherlands