The Public Library, Social Exclusion and the Information Society in the United Kingdom

Abstract

The digital divide is now a commonly recognised feature of information society. This article explores recent developments in the United Kingdom (UK) which attempt to address this issue, and examines national and local information policy, community networking, and public library policy. It assesses the claim, common in the UK public library community, that the wiring up of the public libraries will have a significant impact on disadvantage, poverty and social exclusion. In particular, it analyses the process of public library networking as it has unfolded since 1997, drawing upon the empirical findings of Open to All? The Public Library and Social Exclusion (Muddiman et al. 2000), a research project funded by the UK Library and Information Commission (now Resource). This research suggests that despite a rhetorical commitment to social inclusion, the technological transformation of UK public library services will result in little more than a modernisation of current services, with little change in overall strategy or user focus. Consequently, it is argued that if public libraries are to reach out to the excluded of the information society, they will need to move beyond a passive preoccupation with access and use technological change as a means towards more active engagement with local communities and disadvantaged users so that the public library will indeed be open to all.