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This conceptual chapter explores communicating with transparency and secrecy in public affairs activities in Norway. The tension between transparency and secrecy is particularly interesting with regard to the question of impact of strategic communication on political policymaking processes. As a theoretical framework, we use a double lens to hold the concepts of both transparency and secrets in focus. First, we draw on Fung’s (2013) principles of democratic transparency: availability, proportionality, accessibility and actionability. Second, we use Horn’s (2011) three logics of political secrecy: arcanum, mysterium and secretum. By integrating Fung’s principles of openness and Horn’s logics of secrecy, we construct a model for analysis of a few public affairs activities and practices. Empirical examples of PR agencies’ communicative activities support our model, in addition to interviews with three executives in agencies. The empirical examples illustrate that communication activities rely on top-down controlled information diffusion in PR agencies’ communication activities, such as podcasts and web pages. They use information to develop group identities and to develop stronger relationships to their clients and customers. The social dimension of information in our examples suggests that the agencies are discrete, operate in the background and are careful about revealing their competence and privileged insights.

Consumer health literacy is a necessary skill in all facets of library work, from reference desk to programming to website development. In this chapter, the authors present key terms in the domain of health literacy; challenges and controversies in research and public library practice; and findings from a recent study of public library workers meeting consumer health information needs. Finally, the authors present examples of National Library of Medicine (NLM) initiatives for public libraries and public librarians focusing on bridging health literacy gaps. Socially disadvantaged groups who are the most affected by health disparities tend to be those who are lower-income, have less education, and are not White. The combined effects of environment and socioeconomic status mean that these communities have particular, highly local challenges in addressing their health issues, as individuals and as a population. Health literacy can serve as the enabling factor in obtaining quality health information, navigating healthcare, and seeking better health. To support the public, NLM and its National Network of Libraries of Medicine have placed a strategic emphasis on public libraries in order to develop long-term partnerships. The goals of these partnerships are to support staff development and programming, and to promote resource-sharing about programs and activities focusing on health information. Public libraries are everywhere and open to all. This makes them the ideal community agency to reach out to the public and implement national information initiatives.

In this article, we survey experiments that are directly related to monetary policy and central banking. We argue that experiments can also be used as a tool for central bankers for bench testing policy measures or rules. We distinguish experiments that analyze the reasons for non-neutrality of monetary policy, experiments in which subjects play the role of central bankers, experiments that analyze the role of central bank communication and its implications, experiments on the optimal implementation of monetary policy, and experiments relevant for monetary policy responses to financial crises. Finally, we mention open issues and raise new avenues for future research.

Innovation is proven to be an essential element of every organisation that wants to achieve survival and sustain its presence. Libraries as information organisations are transformed into innovation incubators because of the fluid information environment, the social and economic influences and their desire to advance the public good. The Greek public libraries of Nafpaktos, Levadia and Veria are known examples of libraries that have successfully embraced change and innovation. This research aims to identify, through a content analysis of these specific public libraries’ websites, the innovative services they offer to the community.

It was found that the chosen public libraries offer a wide range of innovative services (e.g. Media Lab, Information Centres). No matter the challenges the Greek public libraries are facing, they have developed the necessary internal mechanisms to change the difficulties into opportunities and chance for excellence.

This chapter studies Digital (or Electronic) Government in Latin American (LatAm) countries from a comparative perspective. It analyzes a group of countries with a significant degree of economic diversity and public administration heterogeneity. This chapter presents data about the development of the Information Society in Latin America, regarding the diffusion of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and the Internet in the countries of the region and taking into account the digital divide phenomenon. It also analyzes Digital Government from a regional perspective, pinpointing intergovernmental institutions and international organizations devoted to design and define, and, in some cases, implement, shared perspectives and a common agenda within this region. This overview is brought forward by a comparative approximation to the development of e-Government readiness in LatAm countries, using data from the United Nations reports. Additionally, this chapter analyzes sectional e-Government dimensions, including digital public administration national agendas, electronic public service delivery websites, interoperability initiatives, social media technologies, open data and open government strategies, and the future of technology in public sector of the region. Therefore, this chapter is important to understand the role of ICTs as one of the most recent sources of innovation and reform in public administrations Latin America.

The study contributes to the literature on public value and performance examining politicians’ and managers’ perspectives by investigating the importance they attach to the different facets of performance information (i.e. budgetary, accrual based- and non-financial information (NFI)).

We survey politicians and managers in all Italian municipalities of at least 80,000 inhabitants.

Overall, NFI is more appreciated than financial information (FI). Moreover, budgetary accounting is preferred to accrual accounting. Politicians’ and managers’ preferences are generally aligned.

NFI as a measure of public value is not alternative, but rather complementary, to FI. The latter remains a fundamental element of public sector accounting due to its role in resource allocation and control.

The preference for NFI over FI and of budgetary over accruals accounting suggests that the current predominant emphasis on (accrual-based) financial reporting might be misplaced.

Public value and performance are multi-faceted concepts. They can be captured by different types of information and evaluated according to different criteria, which will also depend on the category of stakeholders or users who assesses public performance. So far, most literature has considered the financial and non-financial facets of performance as virtually separate. Similarly, in the practice, financial management tends to be decoupled from non-financial performance management. However, this research shows that only by considering their joint interactions we can achieve an accurate representation of what public value really is.

Public libraries are vibrant and trusted community hubs that provide services, support, and resources in a variety of ways that impact the well-being of their communities. The Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) partnered with the National Institute of Health (NIH) All of Us Research Program (All of Us) to support libraries to serve as health information resources for their patrons and provide All of Us awareness through community engagement. The NNLM All of Us National Program provides infrastructure and resources to public libraries, such as free training for library staff, health information outreach funding, connections with other organizations, and free programming tools to expand health programming beyond fitness to boost digital and health literacy in their communities.

The history of the public library is long and rich, and continues to reflect this institution's initial mission: to respond to the needs of an evolving democratic society. From its early days as a subscription service for the middle-class, through its evolution to become an educational site for the lower-classes and new immigrants, the public library has served as a touch-stone for urban industrial society in North America (Lerner, 1998, p. 138; Shera, 1974). Over the past century, public libraries have evolved to respond to the growing needs of the communities they serve and continue to do so with recent advances in technologies (such as DVDs, electronic books, the Internet, etc.), and with a more global outlook on the ways that people seek and share information. Indeed, the public library's constituents today are exceedingly diverse, including children and adults from a broad range of socio-economic, cultural, and educational backgrounds, all of whom seek information for a variety of personal and work-related purposes. The fact that public libraries have been fulfilling patrons' information needs for well over a century is a testament to their enduring success and versatility as information providers, and also points to the overall effectiveness of public librarians as intermediaries in the provision process.

This chapter analyzes the role of public libraries in providing access to information to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Nigeria. It examines some of the challenges experienced by the public library system in ensuring equitable access to information to such disadvantaged groups. It also looks at the concept of social exclusion in the context of public library services in Nigeria and how it can be tackled.

The study employed a survey method; data were collected through the administration of structured questionnaires to the study population.

Outcomes from the study point to a need for the development of a policy framework by the National Library of Nigeria and increased partnership between public libraries and other stakeholders in formulating more proactive strategies toward meeting the information needs of IDPs in the affected communities.

Implications from the findings of the study provide a basis by which more proactive measures can be taken toward intervention by public libraries and other stakeholders in the community.

Few studies on the public library in Nigeria have focused on addressing problems of disadvantaged groups in the society. This chapter has examined the fundamental role public libraries can play in confronting the social exclusion of IDPs and also provided useful insights to the nature of their information needs in their given context.

Citizens are substantial stakeholders in every e-government system, thus their willingness to use and ability to access the system are critical. Unequal access and information and communication technology usage, which is known as digital divide, however has been identified as one of the major obstacles to the implementation of e-government system. As digital divide inhibits citizen’s acceptance to e-government, it should be overcome despite the lack of deep theoretical understanding on this issue. This research aimed to investigate the digital divide and its direct impact on e-government system success of local governments in Indonesia as well as indirect impact through the mediation role of trust. In order to get a comprehensive understanding of digital divide, this study introduced a new type of digital divide, the innovativeness divide.

The research problems were approached by applying two-stage sequential mixed method research approach comprising of both qualitative and quantitative studies. In the first phase, an initial research model was proposed based on a literature review. Semi-structured interview with 12 users of e-government systems was then conducted to explore and enhance this initial research model. Data collected in this phase were analyzed with a two-stage content analysis approach and the initial model was then amended based on the findings. As a result, a comprehensive research model with 16 hypotheses was proposed for examination in the second phase.

In the second phase, quantitative method was applied. A questionnaire was developed based on findings in the first phase. A pilot study was conducted to refine the questionnaire, which was then distributed in a national survey resulting in 237 useable responses. Data collected in this phase were analyzed using Partial Least Square based Structural Equation Modeling.

The results of quantitative analysis confirmed 13 hypotheses. All direct influences of the variables of digital divide on e-government system success were supported. The mediating effects of trust in e-government in the relationship between capability divide and e-government system success as well as in the relationship between innovativeness divide and e-government system success were supported, but was rejected in the relationship between access divide and e-government system success. Furthermore, the results supported the moderating effects of demographic variables of age, residential place, and education.

This research has both theoretical and practical contributions. The study contributes to the developments of literature on digital divide and e-government by providing a more comprehensive framework, and also to the implementation of e-government by local governments and the improvement of e-government Readiness Index of Indonesia.