Public Libraries and the Thresholds of the Twenty-First Century

Abstract

This article examines the position of public libraries and information centers at the beginning of the twenty-first century in light of the transformations produced by information technology, communication networks, and the accelerating flow of knowledge. It starts from the need to redefine the elements of information service in terms of the kinds of information provided, the competence of personnel, the supporting technical means, and the organizational and legal relationships governing access to information services. The article also relates the situation of public libraries in the United Arab Emirates to the need for coordination, modernization of traditional functions, and improvement of services in ways that respond to technological and social change.

The article argues that the public library is no longer merely a place for general reading, but has become a space for education, the encouragement of reading, the supply of accurate and up-to-date information, and the connection of users to local and global sources of information. It calls for unified institutional efforts, training, financial support, and the creation of information networks linking information centers within and beyond the state, in order to ensure faster access to knowledge, lower costs, and better service quality. The article thus offers a professional transitional vision that places public libraries at a new threshold requiring the reconstruction of roles, services, and human capacities.