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The purpose of this research is to show how librarians today need to be cultural entrepreneurs in order to create and maintain thriving libraries in the Internet age.

The “creative class” theory developed by Richard Florida (2002) has been widely and rapidly embraced by many policy makers around the world.

Cultural entrepreneurship in libraries is in line with a new and dominant trend seen in many countries in which cities promote themselves as centres of creativity. It is creativity, not the traditional values of trading in goods and services, that is now seen to be the force behind economic growth, especially in metropolitan areas. Growth is mainly determined by the ability to attract creative people, develop a creative atmosphere and build creative clusters.

This creativity development and the interest of local authorities in the creative industry are both opportunities for librarians to promote their libraries and demonstrate their ability to act as cultural entrepreneurs.

What are possible successful strategies for libraries and which competences do librarians need to be successful cultural entrepreneurs?

The purpose of this paper is to emphasise the importance for libraries to address the issue of media literacy in the internet age. The library must claim its key expert role in the field of literacy. The library can function as a platform and playground for consuming and producing media content.

Research has been carried out on theory, policy and practice in the field of media literacy. The paper provides an overview of ideas on new skills and competences that should be taught to make people media‐literate.

The paper shows that attention on the issue of media literacy is increasing. Academics and political institutions alike stress the importance of media literacy for participation in society and full citizenship. Libraries must claim their expert position in this field as various organisations outside the library have initiated projects and products on media literacy in recent years.

Library management should develop policies on media literacy and personnel should be trained in essential media literacy skills. Collaboration and knowledge sharing in media literacy between libraries and other organisations are essential.

The paper provides a brief overview of theory and policy on media literacy.

The purpose of this paper is to show that the demise of quality in the press, possibly due to short‐sighted financial practices, and the decline in some uses of the public library are both effects of the tide of electronicification of information and knowledge. However, this new force can be re‐formed and used as a reinforcement of the democratic roots of society by integrating the public library as a centre of certified and validated culture and information and as the new public function of civil journalism.

The paper starts with a description of developments in the library world in which the Dutch case is taken as a typical example. Subsequently, the decline of the quality newspaper is discussed, its societal role and its increasing dependency on stock market value. Hereafter, the central role of the civic stakeholders is revisited to and the crucial position that free quality information has for a democratic society.

The analysis clearly shows that both institutions, the library and the press, face the same damage as a result of the rapid changes due to the electronic revolution in the media. However, going back to the societal functions of these institutions, the new media can also be used as an engine for change and for development of a novel integration of quality information creation and storage.

The paper defends the need for a concerted and conscious policy to turn the public library into a workspace for civil journalism and a centre not only of high culture, social cohesion and a quality information repository, but also as an integrated public space for democratic self‐publishing and news reporting.

To communicate anonymously is a basic constitutional right. It is an integral part of the freedom of speech. However, anonymity on the Internet is increasingly not self‐evident. Anonymity is one of the characteristics of the Internet. Is misconduct overemphasized or is improper Internet usage on the rise in the last couple of years? Many governments and lobby groups are of this opinion and want more control over the Internet to prevent misconduct and misuse. Pleas for digital passports and other forms of (self)regulation and legislation are increasing or in some countries legislation is already being put into place to limit the freedom of expression on the Internet. It looks as if anonymity on the Internet will soon be something of the past. The Patriot Act in the USA is an example of the far reaching powers of authorities to limit freedom of speech. It does not only threaten freedom of movement on the Internet, it also affects the business of Internet service providers (ISPs), Internet cafes and libraries. The implications for Internet users and institutions, like libraries, are discussed. It is clarified with some examples from the USA and elsewhere.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss learning experiences, mutual benefits and possible drawbacks from collaborative writing and presentation of scientific papers at Bobcatsss international library conferences.

A web‐based questionnaire was sent to participants who co‐authored and presented papers at the Bobcatsss 2012 conference. The results are measured against the viewpoints and experiences of five Norwegian students, who have collaborated with the author of this paper, at four Bobcatsss conferences, in 2006, 2009, 2010 and 2012.

Responses from the survey and the student interviews indicate that collaborative writing is a superior strategy for learning LIS subjects. None of the interviewees and few of the respondents had attended a writing course to improve their writing skills. Many had not read literature of the type: “How to write a scientific paper”.

The study may be useful for future LIS students who arrange Bobcatsss conferences and for those who plan to write and present a scientific paper. Contributors could benefit from a study that highlights the theoretical, didactic and practical problems in the field of collaborative writing.

While the data are exclusively from Bobcatsss, the findings may be more widely relevant. There are few studies on Bobcatsss, except for the annual reports. This paper explores the educational rewards, the complexity and difficulties of collaborative writing.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the main contents of the 18th BOBCATSSS Symposium, held in Parma, Italy in January 2010, dedicated to the main theme “Bridging the digital divide: libraries providing access for all?”

The report provides a concise presentation of the main themes discussed during the conference.

The topics presented focused mainly on the fields of access and delivery, community support and collections, with some others focusing on leadership and management.

This symposium is one of the few conferences in the world where students are the main characters and participate as organisers, reviewers and presenters of the contributions. Reports on such conferences are of interest to both students and to teachers and professionals.