The electronic community centre
Over the past three years, Jelling Public
Library in Denmark has been developing
an electronic community centre
which has enhanced the library partly
as centre in a local information network,
partly as a place for formal as
well as informal learning.
In a virtual and a physical space the
project has been testing the possibilities
and needs of a small library in relation
to information technology. Jelling municipality
has 5,680 inhabitants and
one library with four employees and
opening hours of 26 per week.
The basis concept of the project has
been that information technology is
the primary tool in the mediation o f
local information to the municipality’s
citizens. The development has taken
place in close co-operation with the information
carriers, typically associations
and institutions, but also individuals
and firms. The electronic community
centre has 22 active homepages of
associations, and about 30% of the business
firms in the area also have a homepage
here. The average number of
visitors in the vir tual space is 1,900 a
month, and the number of visitors in
the physical space has increased by approx.
10%.
It is mainly users with no access to
electronic equipment elsewhere who
use the physical space where the library
has set up an IT workshop with courses
and support during opening hours.
The users typically fall into three
groups – children and young adults,
pensioners and residents from a nearby
asylum centre, but also other citizens,
students and associations have used the
workshop. A side benefit of the IT
workshop is the contact that is established
across user groups, so that for example
the elderly get a helping hand
from the young, and a group of boys
have started a film club and arranged
net parties. In this way a true and vibrant
community centre for the entire
local population has emerged.
Inger Frydendal
Translated by Vibeke Cranfield
Broadband in Norwegian public libraries
A recent report from the Norwegian
Directorate for Public Libraries shows
that 25% of the public libraries in
Norway do have access by broadband
today. This means that the users may
access 13,771 “hours of broadband”at
the libraries each week - or 10 minutes
per inhabitant per year. In total 75% of
the public libraries either have access
by broadband or are planning broadband
connection by the end of 2003.
There is no correlation between number
of inhabitants in a municipality
and the fact of them having broadband
access or not.
The last two years (2001 and 2002) the
Norwegian government has granted 20
mil.NOK (2 641 485 EUR) to broadband
in the public libraries. This may
partly explain the numbers above. This
special grant will not be continued in
2003. In all 41 projects have received
public funding. Having access to parts
of the Norwegian Broadcasting's
archives or a large database o f Norwegian
music at your local public
library are two results of the projects.
For more information on broadband
in Norwegian public libraries:
http://www.bibtils.no/bredband/index.htm
(only in Norwegian).
