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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.

The development of reference services in public libraries is described and the importance of standards accentuated. The need for proper marketing and systematic evaluation, both qualitative and quantitative, is explained. An unobtrusive telephone test of 15 libraries is analysed and the results of interviews with 455 users of 13 public reference libraries given. Satisfactory results were obtained for straightforward questions but an occasional tendency towards flippancy by staff was highlighted. A further disquieting feature which came to light was the number of people who did not approach staff for help.

Few issues in recent times have so provoked debate and dissention within the library field as has the concept of fees for user services. The issue has aroused the passions of our profession precisely because its roots and implications extend far beyond the confines of just one service discipline. Its reflection is mirrored in national debates about the proper spheres of the public and private sectors—in matters of information generation and distribution, certainly, but in a host of other social ramifications as well, amounting virtually to a debate about the most basic values which we have long assumed to constitute the very framework of our democratic and humanistic society.

We all know that the AIDS threat to society is alarming. It is not only a serious health problem but it has become a problem of education and information as well. By the end of 1991, AIDS is predicted to be the second leading cause of death in the United States, exceeded only by heart disease. More people will die from AIDS than from cancers or accidents; and the direct health cost for caring for the estimated 145,000 AIDS patients in 1991 will be between 8 and 16 million dollars.

The aim of this paper is to define a framework for public information services in the twenty‐first century, as a means to address some arguments that are put forward in the debate on the obsoleteness of public information services in the age of the internet.

The paper discusses theoretical concepts on the function of information in modern democracy, followed by analysis of two foremost models of seeking knowledge, “the wisdom of crowds” and “expertise”, the different kinds of questions both forms apply to, the kind of knowledge the different models result in, and the application of the findings from that analysis in the information services environment.

The function of information in a modern democracy still applies today. Information is a means to allow citizens to make informed decisions in the democratic process. The debate on the proper way to provide functional information services in modern democracy is roughly divided between two “schools of thought”. One of them puts the model of “the wisdom of crowds” forward, and sees information technology as the final answer to all questions. The other relies on expertise, which is paramount in classic information services. The conclusion of this paper is that, where not all (research) questions yield to knowledge derived from the wisdom of crowds, there is a true need for information services that specialize in providing information produced by experts. As no other party provides that, public information services should commit themselves to playing a central role in society in providing expert information.

The main value of the paper is comprehensive analysis of the widespread claim that free information on the internet is the end to all means, providing all knowledge at the fingertips. It provides arguments to put forward in debates on the value of public information services.

Considering the important role of public libraries in providing health information service as well as user feedback in improving the quality of health information services, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the quality of health information service in public libraries of Hamadan, Iran, on the basis of the modified LibQUAL model

This practical research was conducted in an analytic-survey method. The statistical population consists of all members of public libraries of Hamadan over 18 years old (12,237 people), and the sample size is calculated to be 373 people. The stratified sampling method was used, and within each class, a convenience sampling method was used. The modified LibQUAL questionnaire was used to gather data. For checking normality of data distribution, the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test and for analyzing date, descriptive statistics and also Chi-square and Wilcoxon tests were applied using SPSS 25.

The users' minimum level of public libraries in all three dimensions is an average level. The users' desired level of “information control” is higher than other dimensions. The users' perceived level in dimensions of “human resources” and “information control” is high level, while users' perceived level in “educational service” is an “average” level. There is a superiority gap between desired and perceived level in all dimensions, but the adequacy gap was seen only in the dimension of “educational service.”

In this study, the quality of health information services provided in public libraries is evaluated by the LibQUAL model.

The results of this research can help managers and librarians of public libraries in measuring the quality of health information services and improving the quality of services provided by libraries. Besides, they can take a more accurate planning and pathologic approach, to eliminate the gap between minimum and desired expectations of users and libraries’ real services.

In this study, the quality of health information services provided in public libraries is evaluated by LibQUAL tool.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the aims of IPTV‐based public services in Korea.

This is a case study written based on the results of a government research project that the authors participated in.

Korea's IPTV promotion policies are driven with a strong force. Focusing on public as well as industrial benefits, the Korean government decided to provide public services through IPTV. For example, the Korean government introduced a plan called “tailored IPTV education services” to expand education services through IPTV. The study of this case is expected to provide implications about new public services under the ubiquitous environment that combines broadcasting and communication.

IPTV‐based public services are currently in trial phase. Therefore, additional research is necessary to analyze the effectiveness of services after a commercial launch.

This case serves as a reference for other countries that are pursuing public interests through the new media.

This is the first study that looks into the effects of IPTV‐based public services.

The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyze challenges and to discuss proposed solutions for innovative public governance through cloud computing. Innovative technologies, such as federation of services and cloud computing, can greatly contribute to the provision of e-government services, through scaleable and flexible systems. Furthermore, they can facilitate in reducing costs and overcoming public information segmentation. Nonetheless, when public agencies use these technologies, they encounter several associated organizational and technical changes, as well as significant challenges.

We followed a multidisciplinary perspective (social, behavioral, business and technical) and conducted a conceptual analysis for analyzing the associated challenges. We conducted focus group interviews in two countries for evaluating the performance models that resulted from the conceptual analysis.

This study identifies and analyzes several challenges that may emerge while adopting innovative technologies for public governance and e-government services. Furthermore, it presents suggested solutions deriving from the experience of designing a related platform for public governance, including issues of privacy requirements, proposed business models and key performance indicators for public services on cloud computing.

The challenges and solutions discussed are based on the experience gained by designing one platform. However, we rely on issues and challenges collected from four countries.

The identification of challenges for innovative design of e-government services through a central portal in Europe and using service federation is expected to inform practitioners in different roles about significant changes across multiple levels that are implied and may accelerate the challenges' resolution.

This is the first study that discusses from multiple perspectives and through empirical investigation the challenges to realize public governance through innovative technologies. The results emerge from an actual portal that will function at a European level.

To understand the relationship of social justice ideas to the role of a public library and its organizational members, particularly in terms of how information services are developed to meet the needs of patrons. Additionally, this research also examines the relationship between public library organizational rhetoric and the social justice ideas used by organizational members.

Uses a single case study, mixed-method approach informed by Yin (2013) with semi-structured interviews of library staff, text analysis of organizational rhetoric (mission statement and strategic plan), observation of the library’s Board of Trustees and an emic-etic content analysis method developed in Dadlani and Todd (2014, 2016a, 2016b).

Some findings include that both utilitarian and egalitarian distributions of service were used, sometimes one replacing the other based on the supply-demand of the situation. In terms of what is meant by equality, there is a utilitarian idea to the use of resources, those geographically closer are given more benefits, at the same time, the library fulfills needs based on something like an equality of capabilities approach, where the basic functionings of the community are central. Unexpectedly, a tension was observed between the ideas of the library as an unbiased and neutral information conduit and the library as a community hub that also espouses particular cultural/public values. Importantly, it was found that social justice ideas, like equality, had significantly different meanings across members of the library staff, thereby highlighting the contestable nature of social justice concepts.

This research provides a methodological example of how the extant philosophical literature on social justice concepts can be used to analyze libraries. It also provides a structured approach to understanding the role of social justice in different forms of librarianship and may be applicable in other types of information intensive organizations (government agencies, corporate information centers, for example).

In this session I want to take the conference theme — ‘Information for decision‐making’ and attempt to examine how the development of community information provision in public libraries in Great Britain can and does assist improved decision‐making both by the general public, including certain groups of people in particular, and library staff. I am conscious, in talking to an audience which I suspect is, in the main, comprised of colleagues from special and academic libraries, that there is a view amongst some of you at least, that ‘community information’ is one of those ‘harebrained schemes’ which are nothing to do with ‘real’ librarianship and are contributing to the decline in standards of public library services. I hope to convince those people, and indeed all of you, that community information is one of the most significant developments that public libraries have ever undertaken.