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Role Of Public Libraries In Society Education Essay
Introduction
A
public library is a non-profit library, which is maintained for public use and
funded by the government or the public sources. Unlike other libraries, public
library satisfies general public information needs by providing all kinds of
knowledge and information available to all segments of the community regardless
of race, nationality, age, gender, religion, language, disability, economic and
employment status. It may also provide other services to their communities such
as, storytelling for children, after-school programs, language learning,
seminars, workshops and other community services.
Public
libraries were initiated back in ancient times. They were known and used by
Greeks, Romans, North Africa and Middle East. However they did not arise in
Europe and America until 18th and 19th century.
In
USA and Europe, public libraries started with a donation from many private
philanthropists like Andrew Carnegie and Benjamin Franklin. Like other
philanthropist, both Benjamin Franklin and Andrew Carnegie realized that books,
and the knowledge they provide, should not be for just richness but for serving
the public and for anyone who wanted to learn. Because of this belief, they
made books and money available to the general public through their
philanthropy.
Role of public libraries
Public
library plays an important role in people's lives as a source of accessing
information and a place for knowledge creation. It has shown that public
libraries are important informational, educational, cultural, and social
institutions.
Public
library and Education
One
of the public libraries' significant and fundamental roles is education. Public
libraries provide books and other materials for people to read and use. These
materials are educational and lead to self-improvement and develop basic
literacy skills.
Public
Libraries have always seen as an educational resource for all people. The
educative role of public libraries has expanded to include supporting both formal
and informal education.
A.
Public library and literacy
Literacy
is the ability to read and write. In libraries culture, this concept is
expanded to include the knowledge or education in one or several fields
required to develop individual and communities' skills.
Learning
today is not a luxury limited only to selected group, but it is essential for
survival. Expansion of literacy needs reading and writing material.
(Wijentunge, 2000)
The
public library is the local center for providing a wealth of information
through learning facilities and materials to support literacy to the general
public. Literacy is also achieved by providing literacy programs and activities
for different groups and ages.
Public
libraries continue to play a major role in fostering literacy in communities
and societies, particularly among those groups of the populations that need
special assistance in developing literacy skills, such as preschool and
elementary school children.
Children
literacy is one of the educative roles of public libraries. Public libraries
concern in providing children and exposing them to high-quality reading
materials and rich language experiences during the crucial preschool and
elementary school years. (Celano, 2001)
Pennsylvania
public libraries are among the libraries, which keen in enhancing the children
literacy skills by proving them high quality materials and involving them in
summer reading programs, story hours, arts and crafts activities.
A
study was done in Pennsylvania public libraries using qualitative and
quantitative methods to examine how library preschool and summer reading
programs contribute to children's reading skills.
Surveys
were sent to every third library outlet listed in the directory of Pennsylvania
libraries (227 surveys).
The
study reveals that children who participate in summer reading programs gain
more literacy skills. They also found that preschool and summer reading
programs encourage children to spend more time with books. Moreover,
Observations and interviews show that library programs encourage parents to
play greater roles in their children's literacy development ( Celano, 2001).
B.
Public library and Non-formal Education
Non-formal
education is an unsystematic form of learning and educational activity that
occurs outside of traditional organization or institution. Unlike the formal
education, non-formal education is non-structured educational system. Examples
of non-formal education include after-school programs, community-based
organizations, museums, libraries, or at home. The aims of both formal and
non-formal education are similar but they are different in approach. (Abraham,
2010). Both learning focus on gaining knowledge and skills however, the way of
gaining learning is different.
Non-formal
educational practices are reinforced due to the challenges of modern
information society.
Abraham
(2010) states that rural people suffer from lack of proper education. He points
out that formal education is time bound, rigid and difficult to such people
therefore, non-formal education is much suitable to rural people in order to
satisfy their needs and fit their environmental conditions.
He
describes the public library as "welfare center, which provides useful
services to the community by fostering education, promoting culture, recreation
and dissemination of information to all sections of the society". Abraham
(2010) looked at the public libraries as the most appropriate centers through
which non-formal education can be achieved. He found that some public libraries
in rural areas in India (Kerala) play an important role in supporting
non-formal education by organizing night schools, constructive discussions,
seminars and symposia to fight illiteracy and proliferation reading habit.
A
study was conducted in one of the Kerala districts (Abraham, 2010) to gather an
overview of the role of public libraries in promoting non-formal education.
Questioners were distributed among 20 women laborers. It was found that 30% of
them could continue their education and are attempting to achieve minimum
qualification through utilizing rural libraries in their own home areas. 60%
could read and write and 10% stopped their education due to various personnel
reasons.
C.
Public library and Life long learning
Lifelong
learning is the process of continues and on going learning throughout person
life in order to enhance continuous development and improvement of the
individual's' knowledge and skills. Life long learning cannot be achieved
without literacy because reading and writing is essential for learning.
Due
to the complex and rapid change environment, people need to acquire a variety
of skills and knowledge irrespective of their age, social, political or
economic status.
Wijetunge
(2000) states that public libraries contribute to the lifelong learning by
supporting the learners to identify and locate the reading materials relevant
to the needs of the community.
Karunawathie
(1998) gave an example of how the Negombo Public Library has contributed to the
community in which it exists. The public library has assisted the fishing
community in Negombo in changing the process of their fishing technology by
providing the community with good and rich materials related to finishing
industry.
2.
Public library and Economic development
Public
libraries do not only have educational roles and functions but also contribute
to nations' economies.
There
is a significant shift in the role of libraries; from recreational reading and
educational institutions to active economic development agents."
Due
to economic development and globalization, public libraries started to concern
in supporting business and economic development through providing effective
business services, resources and literacy programs to their business
communities.
Economic
and education researchers have been studying how educational levels are related
to countries' economic growth and economic productivity. They believe that more
educated and skilled workers are more productive. (Liu, 2004 )
A
research study (Liu, 2004) was done to examine the relationship between public
libraries and school libraries and how they are related to nations' literacy
levels, which in turn contribute to nations' overall economic productivity.
This empirical study developed a path analysis model. Cross- country statistics
were gathered from a number of sources including the Statistical Abstract of
the World and Unesco's Statistical Yearbook. It is demonstrated from this study
that public libraries have a significant impact on economic productivity
through providing various business resources and literacy programs.
Other
studies done confirming the same indication. A research done by the institute
for public and Business Research on behalf of the Kansas State Library (Glass
etc., 2000). The purpose of the study was to determine how Kansas public
libraries could play a more active roll in supporting business and economic
development in their communities. The research applied three main tools:
(1)
Focus groups with librarians and businesses,
(2)
Case studies of four local libraries,
(3)
Surveys of public libraries, businesses, Chambers of Commerce, and Small
Business Development Centers.
The
study shows that nearly a third of successful businesses and economic
organizations in all parts of the state use public libraries as a resource.
3.Public
libraries and democratic governance
Public
libraries are one of the most successful information centers for increasing the
quality of life and democratic chances for citizens by providing free and equal
access to high-quality information.
Information
is important to civic participation and its development, which become one of
the basic functions of public libraries. (Arko-Cobbah, 2005)
According
to Arko-Cobbah (2005), Public libraries can assist civil society to implement
democratic culture through the following:
Free and fair elections
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Public
libraries provide civic societies with education programs and necessary
information to develop an informed electorate. Through an open access Internet
facilities, public libraries can help with voter registration and even serve as
polling stations in some areas. They also can be used to reach out to
politically unmotivated citizens and publicize party positions, solicit
feedback, new ideas and new members (Drake, 2001).
Citizen participation in decision-making
Through
the provision of Internet facilities, public libraries provide and exchange the
information needed for dialogue that the public needs to make decisions about
common concerns and ensure accountability from the government.
Human rights
In
accordance with the principle of human rights, public libraries play
significant role in ensuring that materials and resources are available to meet
the needs and interests of all segments of the community including national
minorities.
Information Access
Free
access to information is a vital element of the human rights issue that
promotes the concept of democracy. Intellectual freedom is a basic human right.
Deprivation of this right leads to autocratic governance. Public libraries play
an important role in providing free access to information, which is a necessary
condition for good governance.
Conclusion
According
to the literature review, public libraries play fundamental roles in the
society. They are educational institutions. They provide educational programs,
such as children's and adult literacy programs, to improve the literacy levels
of users. They also support life long learning education. Public libraries also
play a role in providing business resources and collections in their
institutions in order to respond to the world economic challenges. They are
also essential to the functioning of a democratic society by providing free and
equal access to high-quality information.
Despite
of all these critical roles for public libraries in society, these roles are
not recognized in Kuwait society. Public libraries in Kuwait focus only on
supporting formal education. The library still remains visited by students who
perform research on assignments and projects.
It
is recommended that public libraries expand their roles to more significant one
as discussed in the literature review. That required more efforts in providing
and diversity in the resources, collections, technology facilities, activities
and educational programs in the libraries, which can support different roles.
Also it is recommended increasing the awareness of public library roles among
users. Media also could have a significant role in pointing out the importance
of public libraries in Kuwait
من محمد رضا خداپرست کارشناسی ارشد علم اطلاعات و دانش شناسی هستم