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Cultural Ministers Council - The Libraries Working Group

Recognising that rapid changes to information technology and high speed communications are collapsing traditional barriers to information movement, the Cultural Ministers Council set up the Libraries Working Group in 1993 to examine the implications this will have to the way Australia's State and public libraries operate.

The working group's terms of reference were to:

• explore the opportunities for the most effective contribution by the national, State and public library sectors in meeting the information and cultural needs of Australians. Issues include their place in the overall library/information infrastructure and their relationship with other key information providers, especially within the education sector and with other collecting institutions;
• establish patterns of information seeking behaviour and recreational reading by library users and non-users, through surveys and other means, which will inform future planning;
• examine the use of State and public libraries by all types of students;
• determine the benefits to the community generally of:

  (a) the State libraries, and
  (b) the respective public library networks;

• examine the future impact of information technology on service delivery;
• consider the need for governments to establish a minimum level of service on a national basis in the interests of social justice and equity;
• evaluate the extent to which State and public libraries can generate funding from sources other than State and local government.

Since 1993, the working group's research program has generated four reports:

Bushtrack to Superhighway (1995) - which proposes a national network infrastructure to ensure a minimum level of access by all Australians to the internet. (Now out of print.)

Navigating the Economy of Knowledge (1995) - reports on the first ever national market research into the use and non-use of Australia's State and public libraries. (Now out of print.)

State of the Nation: Australia's Public Libraries - provides a snapshot of the policy and organisational framework of Australia's national public library system. (Now out of print.)

2020 Vision - Towards the Future Library: a Strategic Agenda and Policy Framework for Australia's State and Public Libraries - which outlines a vision and change agenda for Australia's State and public libraries. (Now out of print.)

The working group had a three year timeframe to complete its research program and submitted its final report to the December 1996 meeting of Council. The working group completed their extended term in June 1997.

For more information on the Libraries Working Group contact:

Document ID: 78267 | Last modified: 5 February 2008, 8:32pm