Volume 54, Issue 3

Communities in the more remote parts of areas which themselves are considered to be peripheral may feel doubly isolated. Access to information can help reduce negative effects of living and working in such communities, but, in turn, this peripherality creates barriers to information access. The purpose of this PhD research is to gain a greater understanding of the relationship between access to information and the effects of peripherality; using four remote communities in each of Shetland and The Western Isles of Scotland as case studies. To this end, interviews were conducted with representatives of just over a hundred businesses, community and voluntary groups from these peripheral communities, and with information providers serving them. The research was not concerned with a particular type of information, such as business, market or community information; but with all types of information need from within the target communities. This paper examines some of the findings, which point to a strong interdependency between geographical peripherality and exclusion from information, in remote communities where accessing information is described as being both more difficult and more necessary. These findings were presented at the “Europe at the Margins: EU Regional Policy, Peripherality and Rurality”, Regional Studies Association Conference, at Angers, France in April 2004.

This paper examines the digital presence of two national libraries, the British Library and the Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru (National Library of Wales), and the means by which the perceptions of national identity and heritage can be seen to influence the choices made regarding the digitization of specific collections. It begins with an examination of the constructed nature of national identity and heritage. Then a brief study is made of the histories of the two nations in question, Britain and Wales, and the connections and struggles between the two that have influenced formations of identity. Using this historical background, a study is made as to the digital holdings of each institution, including a comparison of the type, amounts and means by which items have been digitized, as well as the stated aims of the institutions as to their own understanding of their mission and remit in terms of the audience they perceive they serve. Finally, a comparison is made of the two institutions, and conclusions reached as to the ways in which the historically constructed myths of national identity can be seen as reflected in the individual choices made regarding the preservation and digitization of their collections.

Providing all citizens with free and equal access to information allows democracy to flourish. Integral to democratic governments, public libraries have both social and political responsibilities. South Africa's 1994 shift from apartheid to a democratic republic makes it an ideal nation through which to investigate the struggles and issues faced as a public library system adapts to a new political structure. South Africa's public libraries did not automatically receive the assumed benefits of the shift from apartheid's oppressive regime of segregation and inequality to a democratic government. Rather, it is a work in progress. South African libraries face social, political, and economic issues such as: unfair allocation of resources, severe social conditions and problems with support from the government including problematic rhetoric within the New Constitution. LIASA (Library & Information Association of South Africa) has admirably begun to fulfill an important role in library development in South Africa. With appropriate funding and support from all levels of government and from local, national, and international library organizations, the public libraries in South Africa can become the beacons of democracy that they are intended to be.

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), guided by the interests of UNESCO in assisting libraries to improve their services, continues to develop statements on standards for public libraries. The most recent statement was adopted in 2001. IFLA, while working tirelessly at the international level to develop standards, also recognizes the importance of national, regional and local standards. The diffusion world wide of knowledge and information about library standards development has been useful in the preparation of standards at the regional and national levels. This paper summarizes and compares the components of the current IFLA standards for public libraries, adopted in 2001, and the new standards for provincial public libraries in China, adopted in 2003. The comparison attests to the similarities in the evaluation of library services around the world. The continuing work on library standards at the international level is very important as it identifies the critical variables needed in evaluation of library services. While setting the general direction for such standards work, it also enables the important issue of values, and the consideration of those values in the evaluation of library services, to be made at the local, regional, and national levels.

This study is an attempt to isolate and describe the field of knowledge management in terms of its relevance for library and information science professionals. In addition to readings, several interviews were completed with people who are working in the knowledge management field. This study is intended to be an overview to assist LIS professionals in grasping the essence of this subject and to suggest ways in which knowledge management may continue to affect the LIS field in the near future. First, a brief overview of the origins of the field and some suggestions of why it persists in the face of numerous challenges will be provided. Following that will be an attempt to deconstruct the terminology surrounding knowledge management and give shape to its basic components. Next, the aforementioned numerous challenges will be considered, and finally the role of the LIS professional will be discussed.

Using content analysis, this study explores information context as expressed in medical and consumer articles, and the role of the literature in influencing the innovation-decision process. Changing practices related to hormone therapy for menopausal and postmenopausal women, and the expression of biomedical and normal life transition models within published literature provided context for the study; ‘diffusion of innovations’ theory provided the theoretical framework that informed the investigation. Findings suggest that both medical and consumer health literature is dominated by the biomedical model; that context may influence the presentation of information, thus impacting innovation decision-making; and that published literature not only provides information and reinforces knowledge, but, through information context, it also produces and shapes meaning, and creates belief. Librarians and information professionals are encouraged to recognize the influence of context within published literature; to facilitate access by both professionals and consumers to the diversity of information that informs human knowledge; and to enhance appreciation for the contribution of diverse theoretical perspectives and research methods.