“The public library, the local gateway to
knowledge, provides a basic condition for
lifelong learning, independent decisionmaking
and cultural development of the
individual and social groups.” The UNESCO
Public Library Manifesto proclaims
UNESCO’s belief in the public library as a
living force for education, culture and information.
By creating a model library the public
library of Ljusdal in Sweden has taken
a more active role in the library development
together with public libraries
in Estonia, Portugal, Spain, Zimbabwe,
Canada, Chile and Malaysia. The libraries
exist under quite different conditions,
from Mzilikazi Memorial Library
in Bulawayo in Zimbabwe to
Brantford Public Library in Canada,
but they all work in the spirit of the
UNESCO Manifesto and form a network
– UNET.
The UNET work includes, among
other things:
- testing new media
- playing a more active role in the
educational society
- further developing the library as a
cultural centre
- developing the library as a local
information centre and defining its
role in the information society
- becoming part of a global network.
The annual meetings are an essential
part of the work to change ideas and to
report the steps taken within the
UNET project. This year’s meeting
took place in Brantford Public Library,
Canada, one of the UNESCO libraries.
The overall theme of the meeting was
Lifelong Learning – one of the goals of
the Manifesto.
Brantford Public Library, near Lake
Ontario has included a commitment to
the principles of the Manifesto in the
Libraries’s new Strategic Plan. According
to a survey of community perceptions
of public library service in Brantford,
the library is heavily used and
enjoys high public regard. It also lives
up to the demands of the ‘digital age’
and places great importance on services
to children and lifelong learning in
the community. More about Brantford
Public Library as a member of the
UNET:
http://www.brantford.library.on.ca/unesco.shtml
The ongoing evaluation, reported at
the meeting, tries to estimate if and
how the UNET libraries have fulfilled
the intentions of the UNESCO Public
Library Manifesto.
The UNET libraries see the model library
network as a collaboration process
with an exchange of experiences
and ideas, with the UNESCO Public Library
Manifesto as the cornerstone.
They can also support, encourage and
stimulate each other in the development
of library operations.
