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Library Policy for the Municipality of Aarhus 2006-2009
Adopted by the City Council 22th June 2005
1. The Libraries´ Tasks Fixed by Law
The preamble of the public libraries act states that “The objective of the public libraries is to promote knowledge, education and cultural activity by making available books, periodicals, talking books and other appropriate materials such as music materials and electronic information resources, including Internet and multimedia.”
Furthermore, the library legislation shows that the public libraries must endeavour to make video and DVD available.
It appears from the public libraries act that the objective of the public libraries is attained through quality, diversity and topicality in the selection of the material, which is made available. Upon selection only these criteria, not the religious, moral or political viewpoints contained in the material, must be decisive.
The public libraries act states that the public libraries disseminate municipal and state information and information about social conditions in general.
Loan of materials from the public library and service at the library are free of charge for the user. The municipality may, however, charge a fee for special services of a more far-reaching character than on site use, loan of materials and general guidance.
The Municipality of Aarhus has drawn up specific regulations for the sale of special services.
2. Library Political Objectives
To expand and supplement the tasks which are laid down in the library legislation, the Aarhus City Council adopts a number of library political objectives. Acknowledging the challenges facing the Municipality of Aarhus, the intention is to chart the course of the libraries´ future work.
The libraries must impart knowledge and experiences through the media of the day
The libraries must present culture which imparts knowledge and experiences. Cultural dissemination improves the users´ adaptability, communication skills, ability to participate in social life and it develops both personality and independence.
People have different ways of orientating themselves. Some prefer the audible; others are oriented towards images and films, while others yet are oriented towards texts. Furthermore, it is often an enrichment to combine various types of media; e.g. to acquire a foreign language both through text, talking books and images. Consequently, the main issue is the content of the media, and not whether we are taking about books, music, films or the Internet. This is why the libraries must contain all types of media.
Furthermore, both fictional media and non-fictional media must be represented.
By making a broad spectre of different genres and types of fiction and music available, the libraries contribute to the consolidation of cultural diversity and dissemination.
The effects of the libraries´ non-fictional media are individual competence development, learning, formal and informal education, personal development and enlightenment.
It is a library task to help the individual user reach the exact book, piece of music, film or Internet reference, which the user in question is in need of, but also to provide what the user does not realize that she is in need of. Information researchers use the term ‘serendipity’ to cover the phenomenon of users being inspired or having met an unconscious need for knowledge.
Events and programmes supporting the use of media, such as author nights or debates on current social problems, have their natural place in the libraries.
Action: To insure the availability of the types of materials, which the population make use of; the libraries must purchase and obtain a license for a broad spectre of printed, digital and net supported media. The financial foundation must be strengthened in the long term, and aims for the internal contract between Aarhus Municipality and Aarhus Public Libraries regarding this field are to be drawn up.
The libraries must support the lifelong learning of the individual
Lifelong learning is a key concept in a world, which is undergoing changes at a staggering pace. It is no longer possible to receive an education and do work based on the same knowledge throughout life. It is vital – and will be even more so in the future – that each individual on a permanent basis renews his or her knowledge and strengthens his or her innovation skills. Lifelong learning relates to both the professional and the personal development of the individual. From a social point of view there is a need for a high level of education and strong innovation skills when competing with other countries.
The libraries must support lifelong learning – the professional and the personal development alike. They must assist both students attending educational courses and anyone who independently wishes to become more educated. This could involve supporting public information activities, individual, personal interests or inspiration to learning.
A special competence area is the development of reading skills. To be able to read is a core skill for citizens of a knowledge society. It is estimated that up to 500,000 Danish adults suffer from reading and writing difficulties, which present daily challenges. Research indicates that the functional reading ability has been impaired in the course of recent years.
The libraries must obtain closer contact with and co-operate with educational institutions, research environments and businesses to promote and strengthen the synergistic effect between the business community, research and students.
Action: To consider the users´ need of available use of media, learning, absorption and identification, the libraries must develop their physical settings into learning environments. A concept for an open learning centre, which can enter into the projecting of the Multi Media House, must be developed. Furthermore, the aims of the internal contract between Aarhus Municipality and Aarhus Public Libraries in the areas of reading disabilities and co-operation between research, the business community and educational institutions are to be drawn up. The libraries must contribute to the remedy of functional dyslexia by making relevant media and reading aids available and by entering into relevant programmes in co-operation with other organizations.
The Libraries must strengthen the democracy by securing free and equal access to information
One of the most fundamental democratic principles is the individuals´ right to equal and free access to information and knowledge. The idea of enquiring and enlightened citizens being a prerequisite for a well-functioning democracy goes back a long way.
According to the public libraries act, public libraries disseminate municipal and state information as well as information on social conditions in general. It is an objective for the Municipality of Aarhus to involve citizens in local political decisions – also going beyond what legislation requires in relation with hearings etc.
The libraries must serve as a part of the contact and communication between Aarhus Municipality and the citizens of Aarhus. In this connection, digital services must be employed to promote political debate and definition of position. The libraries can be linked up with public service centres, in a way where any public service centres in the Municipality of Aarhus are founded at or in attachment to the libraries.
To insure that the free and equal access to knowledge and cultural experiences also includes citizens who for various reasons – such as different forms of physical or mental disabilities, mental disorders, social phobias, dyslexia, lack of knowledge based competences or other restraints – may find it difficult to reach the resources, the libraries must work with determination to facilitate the access to knowledge both through the design of physical libraries and expedient planning of the knowledge and informational products offered. The libraries have an obligation to be accessible to and assist the informationally weak and socially marginalized citizens alike; to provide them with the ability to make use of their democratic rights and citizenship.
Furthermore, the libraries must offer guidance and competence development in the field of search for information and knowledge; here a special effort must be made in connection to people with a short formal education.
Action: To facilitate access to the physical libraries and access to the virtual library services for groups of users, who on account of physical or mental disabilities or social reasons cannot make use of the traditional services, the libraries must actively counteract any obstacles by drawing up tangible aims in the internal contract.
To make a special effort for people with a short formal education, the libraries must offer guidance and competence development in the field of search for information and knowledge. An upgrade of the effort in this area calls for a staff increase. Thus the financial foundation must be strengthened in the long term.
Aims for the internal contract between the Municipality of Aarhus and Aarhus Public Libraries regarding this field are to be drawn up.
The libraries must contribute to the preservation and dissemination of the cultural heritage, including the Danish language
The global cultural heritage contains a richness of works with universal themes, which people find relevant at all times. To be able to understand one’s age and oneself – and to be able to prepare oneself for the future – it is vital to be familiar with the past. Furthermore, it is essential for the sense of identity to be acquainted with one’s cultural heritage. Acquiring knowledge of other cultures, traditions and ways of thinking and acting is important to be able to throw one’s own culture into relief.
Thus the libraries must disseminate knowledge of culture, art, science, technology, politics and social conditions from all over the world.
The libraries must cooperate with museums and archives to ensure that the cultural heritage is preserved and passed on to future generations. Work must be done on also developing digital options, such as photos and films of local history, which the users can watch free of charge via the Internet.
Action: to strengthen the work on dissemination of local history in Aarhus, the libraries must together with archives and museums take part in interdisciplinary cultural cooperation about task accomplishment regarding the development of new joint integrated methods for dissemination of the cultural heritage by means of various IT tools. There is a need for collecting and coordinating our strength in connection with the statutory and non-statutory archives. Thus work will be done towards establishing an actual post as town archivist. This archivist will be assigned to coordinating the sporadic archive work being done in the area of private archives with the municipal statutory archive work, in this way utilizing the joint effort to the benefit of the users. A plan of action is to be drawn up and financial drafts are to be forwarded to budget negotiations in the field.
The libraries must strengthen the integration of refugees and immigrants
The social cohesion is considered to be one of the greatest assets of Danish society, but globalization, network economy, change in methods of production, rapid technological development and lack of a common set of norms cause our society to in certain ways appear increasingly non-homogeneous and fragmented compared to earlier days. This development in addition to the growing number of Aarhus citizens with a foreign ethnic and cultural background has brought on a pressure on the social cohesion and the traditional shared core values.
The libraries are a natural place for refugees and immigrants to get to know the Danish language and culture and at the same time maintain their mother tongue and cultural background through various uses of media and services. Since the core values of the libraries embody free and equal access for everyone, they are seen as a neutral retreat by many refugees and immigrants.
The libraries must contribute to the integration of refugees end immigrants.
Action: In order to contribute to the integration of refugees and immigrants, the libraries must provide relevant activities and programmes, e.g. IT courses for immigrant women and read-aloud programmes for children. A strengthening of the effort in this field calls for an enhanced financial foundation. Aims for the internal contract between the Municipality of Aarhus and Aarhus Public Libraries regarding this field are to be drawn up.
The libraries must take part in the development and support of the subject knowledge and personal development of children
The libraries must contribute to supporting children in developing and expressing themselves on their own terms. Their imagination, creative urge and body awareness must be challenged. The basis is to teach children to create something on their own, to allow them to work with their imagination and to provide them with a fundamental sense of security in life.
Work of cultural dissemination takes place at the libraries through a wide range of services. These include children’s literature and picture books, children’s theatre performances, storytelling workshops and theme displays (pirates, dinosaurs, the Middle Ages etc.). Via the Internet a number of relevant services for children have been established in cooperation between libraries.
The children’s library of the future should still contain physical media, books and others, but the physical rooms are to be developed towards presenting opportunities for a further experimenting and playful approach to information and knowledge, just as IT components must be incorporated in the physical areas to promote interactivity, learning and creativity.
The libraries must provide attractive services for children, both in the form of places to be and media.
Action: To promote children’s cultural experiences, education, reading skills and acquisition of literature, the libraries must provide attractive services for children, both in the form of places to be and media. In connection with the development of the Multi Media House, Aarhus Public Libraries work in close cooperation with external partners, including the IT City of Katrinebjerg, on the development of a concept for “The Interactive Children’s Library”.
A concept for the children’s library of the future, which can enter into the projecting of the Multi Media House, must be developed.
The libraries must enter into partnerships with other institutions and organizations
The libraries must to the greatest possible extend create networks and co operations with other parties e.g. within the spheres of culture, education and public service; partly to provide the library users with better services, partly to achieve an improved use of resources.
Aarhus Public Libraries must continuously focus on its core services – i.e. the dissemination of knowledge, education and cultural activity, bearing in mind that the quality may be impaired if the libraries extend themselves over too many activities. However, it can be very rewarding to cooperate with others.
A good example of the synergistic effect of amalgamating different services is the joint facilities libraries, where the pedagogical service centre of the school (the former school library) and a public library amalgamates into a joint facility library.
Similarly, one could envision local centres integrating a number of cultural and municipal services sharing the same building. As an example several of the following functions could be accessible in the same building: tax consultancy, social counselling, municipal information, public information, athletic association, parochial church council, senior citizen centre, kindergarten, school, youth centre, environmental group, association, health service, local psychiatry and community centre.
A different kind of dynamism is attached to cooperation with the private sector. In the development area Aarhus Public Libraries cooperate with the IT City of Katrinebjerg and the Alexandra Institute on several projects containing business components. Other partners of current developmental projects include adult education associations, public and research libraries, educational and research institutions.
The libraries can enter into various partnerships, e.g. with publishers of books or music or with libraries situated in other municipalities.
Action: To insure appropriate use of resources and knowledge management, the libraries can be linked up with public service centres in a way where any public service centres in the Municipality of Aarhus are founded at or in attachment to the libraries. Service descriptions insuring a close coordination between library activities and public service centre functions are to be drawn up.
The libraries must develop library services based on the latest IT
In a number of fields, the development of technology and media has taken place at a very rapid pace over the last 20 years, and there is every indication that the rate of progression will continue to rise.
Increased transmission speeds at lower prices, wireless and mobile Internet access, “IT in everything”, flexible/mobile screens of high resolution and chrominance, simplified operation, computers with speech recognition instead of keyboard and chip technology are technologies which already exist and will experience a major break through in the years to come.
Work and leisure time will be merged even more in the future and physical workplaces are being replaced by more flexible methods of working. Quick and free access to relevant knowledge is essential. The position of the tradition mass media is already threatened by this development. Television loses its significance, while new media cultures are promoted by mobile technologies.
Within the measurable future, information and knowledge channels will be available everywhere. This is why the cultural political problem will not attach very much to access to information channels, but rather to the access to content of quality and relevance through these channels.
A need exists for the libraries to work on ensuring the quality of the information from the Internet as well.
The libraries can serve as focus in a technological process of development and in the mental process of development which results from this. The libraries must be a physical place of experience, where testing and playing with different types of media and forms of learning can take place in a way which supports the citizens´ innovation skills and desire for change.
The libraries must support citizens´ use of self-serviced digital e-solutions and in cooperation with any future public service centres assist groups which are unaccustomed with technology.
Plan of action: To insure that Aarhus Public Libraries permanently keeps up with the technological development, an IT strategy for the future library services must be drawn up. The objectives of this strategy will be included in budget and contract objectives of the libraries.
The libraries must insure the quality, topicality and diversity of their services
The objective of the libraries – to promote knowledge, education and cultural activity –is attained through the criteria of quality, diversity and topicality in the selection of the material, which is made available. According to the public libraries act only these criteria, not the religious, moral or political viewpoints contained in the material, must be decisive upon selection.
Being establishments of ‘public service’, the libraries are under an obligation to ensure both depth and width in the selection of the knowledge and media, which they make available. There must be room for both literatures appealing to a minority of users and the more rare cultural films and recorded music, as well as the broad offers appealing to most people. The libraries must perform a thorough quality appraisal within all types of media.
In addition to quality, diversity is a criterion. There must be a wide range of offers available within all spheres of media. The libraries must attempt to accommodate the diversity of different groups. Young people, elderly people, children, new Danish people, students, pensioners, people with a long or a short formal education present different wants and needs.
Finally, the selection of material - both in connection with physical materials, E-texts, music and virtual references - must be characterized by topicality. The user´s need for the latest knowledge and cultural experience is great, and naturally this must be reflected in the services of the libraries.
Action: To insure that the libraries live up to a public service demand in keeping with the times, Aarhus Public Libraries must draw up a policy for the selection of material to be submitted to the alderman for his approval.
The libraries must be sustainable, open and accessible
There must be attractive, well-situated libraries in the Municipality of Aarhus. The placement of the libraries must be planned according to concentrations of ethnic and social groups, town development and transport structures, as well as the access to and the interior of the individual libraries must be organized with consideration for the disabled.
The libraries must be of a size, which attracts people and complies with the increasing demands of the modern citizen. Furthermore, they must be of a size which in the long term will sustain guidance on an acceptable professional level.
The libraries must be open at the times, when citizens have a chance to use them, e.g. on Sundays. At hours when the libraries are not open, it must be possible to return borrowed materials, and in the same way the libraries´ web services must be running twenty-four hours a day. Moreover, opening hours must be arranged according to user needs.
In small local communities the physical libraries must where possible be linked up with other relevant citizen directed activities such as culture and activity centres, local archives, multi centres or pedagogical service centres (joint facilities libraries).
The libraries must be interconnected by an organized transport of library materials. Furthermore, an electronic library service supplementing the physical libraries must exist. This service must contain both facilities for ordering of physical media plus digital media and services.
Action: To provide an optimum service structure taking economy into account, a proposal for a structure plan for Aarhus Public Libraries must be drawn up. The plan proposal must contain a description of library models for diverse local communities specifying size and use of resources, possible placement plus specification of operating and construction costs and financing.
The structure plan proposal must be based on the current resolutions of the City Council, including the founding of the Multi Media House at the waterfront in 2012. The proposal for a structure plan is to be submitted to the City Council for debate in the autumn of 2006. |
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