Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to show that the demise of quality in the press, possibly due to short‐sighted financial practices, and the decline in some uses of the public library are both effects of the tide of electronicification of information and knowledge. However, this new force can be re‐formed and used as a reinforcement of the democratic roots of society by integrating the public library as a centre of certified and validated culture and information and as the new public function of civil journalism.Design/methodology/approach – The paper starts with a description of developments in the library world in which the Dutch case is taken as a typical example. Subsequently, the decline of the quality newspaper is discussed, its societal role and its increasing dependency on stock market value. Hereafter, the central role of the civic stakeholders is revisited to and the crucial position that free quality information has for a democratic society.Findings – The analysis clearly shows that both ...
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