http://repositorio.febab.org.br/files/original/20/2021/cbbd1979_doc84.pdf 3cd2e69340891bfc76529d27a20b72fa PDF Text Text 1083 NON-USE OF PUBLIC LIBRARIES Annette Skov Professor de Biblioteconomia da Royal School of Librarianship, Copenhagen, Dinamarca. Cursos; Biblioteconomia pela Royal School of Cursos: Librariartship, Copenhagen em 1972; Librarianship, Põs-Graduação na Louahborough University of Pós-Graduação Technology Technologv Inglaterra de 1975 a 1976. Paper presented at the lOth 10th Brazilian Congress Congresson on Librarianship and Oocumentation Documentation held at Curitiba, Paraná, 22nd — 27th July, 1979. By Annette Skov, lecturer. lecturer, The Royal School of Librarianship, Copenhagen, Denmark. According to the programme, programme. l'm I'm to speak about Oanish Danish public libraries, but in view of the fact that I have only 15 min. or so to my disposal, I shall concentrate on one particular problem facing the public libraries in most countries— countries — including Denmark — : the problem of non-use. The reason why I have chosen this aspect is that I believe beKeve that Brazilian public libraries have an opportunity to avoid some of the pitfalls that public libraries in countries with a longstanding library tradition have fallen into. In fact I think that many public libraries fall fali short of what they ought to be. I see two reasons for this — and they are interrelated — the marked middie-class middle-class bias of the users and the attitudes of the profession. In various statements and manifestos, the public library has been heralded as "a bastion of democracy" — but the question is: does the public library in fact promote pronrxite denrocracy? derrrocracy? Personally, I dont think so. The relatíonship relationship between public library use arxf and ocio-economic characteristics has been pointed out in every major study of public library use since sirKe 1950. The figures vary a little littie from country to country, but the trend is quite clear: clear; between 80% and 62% of the population do not use I public libraries. This fact is neither new, nor startiing, startling, nor has it been a matter of much genuine ^- concern until very recently. recentiy. There seerrts seems to be a seríous serious contradiction between our ideais ideals and our practice: we know that study after study confirm that the resource-poor groups do not use our libraries and yet we call them democratic. denrKx:ratic. By serving servíng the well-off sections of the population, we are instrumental in increasing the information gap; this is not a particularly democratic activity. It is a well-established fact that social sodal class affects educational attainment, which largely determines social class an thus library use: a vicious circle, circie, which the library is doirrg doing next to nothing to break down. In an important British report on library effectiveness, the so-called Hillingdon report 1) — and I refer to this study, because I think that its findings are relevant to all countries, it was revealed —-- not surprisingly — that the two most common comirxjn reasons for non-use given by workirrg working class respondents were "IMo "No time" and "Not interested in reading". The reasons are propably more communities there Tsis a strong oral tradition which does not encourage complex than that; in many communitiès any inclination to read about how to prevent oneself from getting evicted ot how to claim social security; reading is likely Hkely to be límited limited to sports pages of daijy daily newspaper or fairly undemarKfing undemanding reading, such as popular magazines. It is quite obvious that occupations that involve long hours, shift Work, work, difficult conditions, wili will all work against people fincüng findirtg time, ènergy energy or mothration motivation tosearch to search for information, educacion or recreation through reading. The book may welt well be irrelevant; the TV instructions may well be the only graphic input to register. credits or cooking ínstructions However, the fact resource-pour groups do not use libraries is not by implication some sort of natural law; it has so happened happerred because of largely irrelevant and non-responsive non-responsK/e services. Services. The authors of ol the Hillingdon report have defined library effectiveness as the relationship between outputs, i.e. the services Services and the products Products of the library — and needs. In catering only for the needs of an elite, the public library has assumed a restricted purpose; this point is worth elaborating a bit by referring to two important concepts — that of supplier-oriented suppiier-oriented services; Services; and user-oriented services; the former is deriving from the people who supply Services; suppiy library services Services an therefore as usually resulting in the supplier's own educational and cultural goals being ímposed imposed on the Service; service; it is one where needs have a pre-determined boundary. The latter resuits results in a Service service based purely on needs of ^ the community. It has been suggested that most Services ^the services are largely suppiier-oriented, supplier-oriented, quite unwittlingy, as when planners simply do not realize how far from their public they are — or how far they are ímposing imposing themselves on their Services. services. The situation of a suppiier supplier of a suppiier-effective, supplier-effective, user-ineffective Service service is comrrwn. comrrxrn. No doubt, public libraries or at least many of them-are busier user-ineflective cm Digitalizado gentilmente por: �1084 than ever, circulatíon circulation is increasing, reference departments are swamped by enquires, but this is not an indícatíon indication of effectiveness, i.e. of the satisfaction satisfactíon of all relevand needs. Libraries, whether public, publíc, school or academíc, academic, inevitably favour those groups of the population best abie able to respond to what is offered — the young, the well-educated, the more affluent — and fail to address the just-as-real needs of those whose response is less easy to elicit". elicit”. 21 2) The system sustains itself: the suppliers suppiiers and the users goals and values are in harmony with each other. In this very limited sense, the service Service is effective; as a middie-class líbrary has been quite middle-class institution serving middie-class middle-class needs, the public library successful; but at the same time it is preserving social differences and advantages. I think that the successfui; suppiier-oriented supplier-oriented service is the major barrier to public library líbrary use; hence, it is a preconditíon precondition that this public library is to venture on the provision of relevant and approach is departed from if the publíc responsive Services services to the communíty, community. Other important barriers are factors such as attitudes, beliefs, knowledge, expectations and library experience; the findings of studies of public library use offer no room for complacency. They all reveal that "the average person does not hold strong views about libraries other than (usually) having havíng a vague feeling that "they are a good thing", thíng", that the public publíc library "is an institution about wich many are ignorant, if not indifferent" and that "specific criticism of them are made by non-members and members os such a kind as to throw serious doubts on their adequacy". The authors of the Hillíngdon Hillingdon report make a final comment that is a warning to a public library system which is facing decay: "Public librariesj)perate. libraries operate pn on a minimum levei level of user satisfaction, surviving largely on the good will, satisfactíon, wili, low lò^expectation expectation and relatively easy demands of the majority of users. Public libraries do not promote prompte themselves theinselves adequately and they dismiss dísmiss unmet needs as either already aiready satisfied satísfied or not capable of being beíng satísfied satisfied all too easily. There are considerable discrepancies between suppiiers suppliers and users conceptions of what Services services are offered, how they are being used. It is not suppliers beíng suppiiers beliefs that matters: matters; it is not even necessarily the truth that matters: what counts is the library Service service that the publíc public believe they have. 3) I think this is true of many public publíc library services Services throughouth the world and the point is of paramount; it is not enough that we as librarians believe that we are able abIe to provide provjde an effective Service; service; we have.to have to convince.the convince the pubHcjtoo; public too; ouMmage our image is not an asset. It has been said that libraries are powerfui powerful instruments of social change, but librarians have been very slow to realize this, sometimes we are even in trouble when have to justify the service. Let's face it: public libraries are not considered very important either by politicians, Let’s politicíans, planners or the public. This situation should give rise to some moments of professional introspection. Personally, I publíc. quickly and realise that we are not custodians of books, think that if we don't don’t change our attitude quíckly function as active mediators between society and a vast and complex mass of but serving a crucial functíon information, ithen (then we can never expect to betaken be taken seriou seriousiy sly::fortoo for too long we have been occupied occupíed with means instead of ends: cataloguing, forms, automation automatíon procedures are important things — fair enough — but they are only means. In "Library Power" Thompson has remarked that "The focal point of the traditional library is the stock; and the stock of a library how varied and well-displayed distinctly passive. The resuf resuH is that the back-door of the library, through which books it may be, is distinctiy and other materiales arrive, aiways always takes precedence over the frontdoor, f rontdoor, trought wich the users come, and from which, metaphorically speaking, the librarian herself should emerge to offer her contribution to the world". 4) Another writer has made a good point when he expressed regret that our profession has library — rather than to the activity of been named in a way that relates to an institution — the líbrary information transfer. Rather as if the profession of medicine had placed greater emphasis on the needs of the hospital as an institution than on its concern with health and curing curíng people and had called its practitioners hospitalitarians rather than doctors. I think we have reached a point where we have to re-establish priorities; resources are certainly certaíniy not limited and it is questionable whether we can justify to maintain maíntain a service which is being beíng used by less than one half of the population. I believe the public libraries are entering into a period of transition or to push it to extremes, it is facin',a facini.a crisis of identity expressed by the question: Librarianship Líbrarianshíp or information management? Fortuüately Fortunately some answers seem to be forthcoming. A significant feature of the last few years has been a growing awareness of the need to re-orientate the services Services towards new goals closer related to communities needs. The American library educator Guy Garrison has stated that library, we have a social agency that is in danger of allowing Its its historie historic success as a "In the public publíc líbrary, purveyor of general books and reading to the public publíc in an era of scarce information resources to become a handicap in an era of plentífui plentiful information resources. Libraries are in the information business. They are not in the business of distríbutíng distributing books. Public libraries have allowed themselves to become complacent and to focus their attention on one form of information instead of moving beyond print to see the public library as the keystone agency in a complete information system. I maintain that the role most emphasized now by the public library, i.e. service Service to the middle middie level levei Digitalizado gentilmente por: �1085 reader with current interests, should yield place to the role of Information information and intelligence System system for the community, gathering, peckaging) packaging, producing and disseminating Information". information", 5) may not be inclined to read Many people who have difficulties in coping with daily life mey "good booksT', books^', but they are ere likely to need information Information and end help to support private survival and to participate in public policy. I know you have ea system participata System of femily family ellowanoes, allowances, sickness benefits, social and do they actuelly actually get security benefits, pensions and so on — do people know about them? end what they ere are entitied entitled to? Do people krKiw whet know about the workings of government govemment and end how to pursue their Interasts interests In in public policy? Should the public librery library essist assist people in finding out? I think it should by providing ea rxrmmunity community information Information service Service relevant relevam to tha the community's communitVs needs. In doing so the public library has some elternetives alternatives open to it which I don't have time enough to outiine, outline, I view of the fact, however, ^t fhat this audiencejs audience is composed by public and school librarians, librarlans, I Shell shall briefly touch upon one Issue^InstitrctidhTrrTnformation-use. issue: instruction in informationuse. L< . Knowing how to find things out for oneself, gives gíí^ access to one of the means meens to chenge chartge lives: if society is to be educated and educated not rtot just to know how to use the library, but to information from those sources in adequate quantity to take decisions identify sources and obtain Information then throughout the educational educetional process informatiorvuse should be inculcated. I think this is an limmensely immensely Importem important point, point. There ere are vast emounts anwunts of Information information which people need in order to teke take effective decisions when confronted with daily problems, but most children who wili will not proceed to further education ere are equipped neither to formulate the problem hor to find Information. information. I do believe that if society is to become en an informed society, instruction in informationnjse information-use and knowledge of rights and entitlements entitiements should begin at et shool level; levei; I see here scope for co-operation between public end aitd school librarians librarlans in creating educational educationel programmes to be used in the schools; instruction in In the right and need-to-know need-to-krK>w principie principle could make ea crudel crucial differerrce. differetKe. is ellocating allocating resources to build up sopNsticeted sopNsticated documentation centres I know that Brazil Is and services. Services. I don't question the retional rational character of that; it seems ea sensible thing to do for en an emerging country; ixruntry; but on the other hand, this activity ectivity mey may be instrumental in increasing gaps and the uninformed poor. Establishing community information services between ea sophisticated elite end Information Services in order to keep the ordinary Citizen citizen Informed informed is a long term investment, tha the benefit of which wilI will hopefully be derived in 20 years yeers time. But I believe it will wili prove worthwhile. 2 3 Digitalizado gentilmente por; 4 ♦ � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource CBBD - Edição: 10 - Ano: 1979 (Curitiba/PR) Subject The topic of the resource Biblioteconomia Documentação Ciência da Informação Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available FEBAB Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1979 Language A language of the resource Português Type The nature or genre of the resource Evento Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Curitiriba (Paraná) Event A non-persistent, time-based occurrence. Metadata for an event provides descriptive information that is the basis for discovery of the purpose, location, duration, and responsible agents associated with an event. Examples include an exhibition, webcast, conference, workshop, open day, performance, battle, trial, wedding, tea party, conflagration. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Non-use of public libraries Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Skov, Annette Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Curitiba Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available FEBAB & Associação Bibliotecária do Paraná Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1979 Type The nature or genre of the resource Evento Subject The topic of the resource Bibliotecas Públicas Description An account of the resource The relationship between public library use arxf ocio-economic characteristics has been pointed out in every major study of public library use since 1950. The figures vary a little from country to country, but the trend is quite clear; between 80% and 62% of the population do not use I public libraries. This fact is neither new, nor startling, nor has it been a matter of much genuine - concern until very recently. There seems to be a serious contradiction between our ideals and our practice: we know that study after study confirm that the resource-poor groups do not use our libraries and yet we call them democratic. By serving the well-off sections of the population, we are instrumental in increasing the information gap; this is not a particularly democratic activity. Language A language of the resource en