Public Libraries around the world

When we think of libraries of the world, we should probably think about shapes. We all know that there are many different shapes, some with five edges, some with six edges, and some with no edges at all. The same is true for public libraries across the world. While many of them are very similar, most of them all have something a little different about them that makes them unique to the country they reside in and the people they serve.
What I found to be most interesting about all of my articles was the notice given to service. In China, it was noted that though libraries increased in number, they decreased in service. At the same time, libraries in Africa of one type served a completely different role in the community than another type did; and that one type of library a better job than another. One study noted that service to Young adults was available, but lacking. Another looked at the vast presence of public libraries in England and the services provided to its citizens. All were looking at different points of the world, and yet all were focused keenly on the area of service. What is interesting about that is how it pertains to our discussions the last few weeks. We have been looking at mission and location and service to community. It shouldn’t surprise me that other libraries around the world are similarly focused on serving the patron, but it never crossed my mind to think that Africa had the same problems with young adult readers as American librarians have, or that in some places in America, the role of the library is being marginalized to a storage facility just as in China it is being marginalized into a business. The parallels from library to library are the same, even though the countries are in some instances completely dissimilar (i.e. America and China).
Another common thread I found throughout was the dedication of the researcher to find out answers to some tough questions. I have never done a study before, so the idea of surveying 8 different villages in Africa or Library directors and community leaders in China seems daunting to me. That being said, it’s interesting to note the kinds of focus each author brings to the question. I often wonder as I read these journal articles what kind of investment these scholars have in the answers. I wonder about their agenda, or maybe more appropriately, their mission. Scholars do not come with mission statements, just with a desire to find new knowledge in the field they find interesting. I’m curious to see what a study on librarian scholars would find.
To conclude, I think there is something to be said about the similarities shared by public libraries and the people who write about them. Even though each comes from a different place, the institutions and the people tend to share common threads. They are shapes. Sometimes libraries have six sides and sometimes scholars have ten sides, but each aligns to the others in its similarities, even as it celebrates the difference.


Usherwood, B. (2002). The Inspiration and the facts: library and information services in the United Kingdom. IFLA journal, 28(136), 136-152.
Usherwood’s article is about the services and organization of the United Kingdom’s libraries. Since IFLA was to be held in Scotland in 2002, this article was meant to show attendees the types of library services in and around the country. While Scotland is not a part of the UK, it is a close neighbor and is shares some similarities with UK libraries.
The article describes services the UK libraries have offered in recent history, including an expansion of refugee resources; the ties to the “National Grid of Learning” as described in the paper “The learning age” which focused on the socio-political advantages of lifelong learning; the process of digitizing rare collections all over the world so that access can be increased; and the focus on books and reading.
The article also described the means by which the UK library held itself accountable to the country. The library, like many other entities in a country, has to be both sustainable and offer good service. The article notes that government at the time (PM Tony Blair) looked for the library to provide the “best value” to patrons, which tries to be both sustainable and serviceable.



Hart, G. (2006). The Information literacy education readiness of public libraries in Mpumalanga province (South Africa). Libri, 56, 48-62.
Hart’s article investigates one phase of a study about the readiness of public libraries in South Africa to take on a greater role in information literacy education, especially with regard to school-aged children. The study has two phases, and this article is a report on the first part: the interview surveys that will inform the follow up survey, or phase two.
The methodology of the study took careful focus on the design of the first phase because it was the broad survey that would later be used to bring in tighter focus on areas of interest to the researchers. The sampling of the designated area was also a factor taken into consideration. Mpumalanga province has six geographical regions that include both “big” (45,000 books or more) and “small” (having only one staff member).
The study concludes that respondents’ descriptions show a lack in knowledge of information literacy. This can partly be contributed to librarians seeing their job as the brokers of information, thereby not taking the time to educate the patrons on how to access their own information. Another factor to the lack of knowledge can be the limited number of staff or space in a given library where the service of information literacy just won’t do.

Yu, L. and Xu, J. (2006). The Political economy of public library development in post-1978 People's Republic of China. Libri, 56, 117-132.
Yu’s article is an examination of the public libraries in China following the 1978 economic reforms and onward. He notes that an extensive amount of study has been dedicated to the health care and education sectors of China, but not many have taken a deep look at the public library system and how it has been impacted by the rise of economic development of China.
The article looked at two data sources: the first is published statistics from the mid 1980’s to the present, professional literature and published speeches of government officials relating to public libraries. The second is empirical data collected through site visits to twelve local and four province libraries where interviews were taken from local officials and library directors. The four province libraries represent the varied development levels across the whole of China.
The study looked at several different areas of interest to develop some answers. For example, the growth of new libraries across the country is noted as increasing significantly from 1980 to 1999, jumping from 1732 libraries to 2769 libraries. Libraries, it turned out, while being neglected during the Cultural Revolution, were held as a major cultural edifice of urban life and so local governments clamored to construct new buildings or more buildings for libraries. Another focus of libraries that shifted after 1978 was the mission to the public. Prior to 1978, the library was held as an important organization to spread socialist ideology, but following 1978; the library was turned into a means of increasing economic construction.
The problem with this rapid growth of libraries was the methods local governments were turning toward in order to make the library efficient. They put quotas on library labor that could be measured (catalogers, shelvers, etc.) and introduced a management style that was more suited for a business than a library. While more libraries were opening, the level of access and assistance toward the community diminished.
The article concludes that while the economic reforms of China brought libraries into the forefront of economic growth, it has been increasingly marginalized in terms of public service because of its focus on economic growth. Market forces have lowered the level of service given by public libraries in China and the public service ethos of the library is minimal zed.






Kevane, M. (2008). How much do village libraries increase reading? Results of a survey of 10th graders in Burkina Faso. Libri, 58, 202-210.
The article by Kevane is a survey of reading habits in a country in Africa. The author first gives some background knowledge on the impact of reading and the availability of reading materials at a young age. Extensive research has been put forth to show that having access to books will greatly increase learning at the younger age groups. While there are some studies available to look at how many African children are reading for pleasure as opposed to reading for school, they are mostly only looking at a small population or village so no greater insight can really be determined. The introduction also notes the effect libraries have reading for pleasure in Africa. This survey hopes to shed some light on the reading habits of young adults.
The survey was conducted in secondary schools in eight villages in the country of Burkina Faso. The study looked at four villages with secondary schools and a public library and four villages that had a secondary school and no public library. In each village, the participants filled out a questionnaire that asked about socioeconomic background, accessibility of books and reading habits. The questionnaire took approximately one hour to complete.
The results (data sets shown in graphs and tables) were a little complicated. In towns that had nonprofit funded libraries, reading was up compared to towns that did not have nonprofit funded libraries. However, in towns that had government funded libraries, reading was less prevalent compared to the nonprofit libraries. One reason stated for this was the accessibility and depth of the collection between the two libraries. The nonprofit funded libraries are more open to community use, while the government funded libraries are more for the aide of teachers and community leaders.
The conclusions, according to the author, are that reading is quite low in Burkina Faso but villages with nonprofit funded libraries are able to double the reading level as opposed to villages without libraries and villages with government libraries.











Kargbo, J. (2007). Public library programming for the young adult reader: the Sierra Leone experience. Libri, 57, 65-68.
Kargbo’s article is about the issues and attempts to give good service to one of the hardest reading groups in Sierra Leone. He begins by describing the political, ethnic, and monetary standing of the country as well as a brief description of the term “young adult.”
Kargbo’s next point is to describe the agreements made in the white paper on educational development, which was developed by the Sierra Leone government. It called for the establishment of a library board as well as “support [….] programs of adult and fundamental education; provide effective services to children and young adult peoples [….]; provide much needed information and reference services; promote and stimulate reading […and] provide where needed, adequate services for special groups, that is women and girls, language groups […]” The white paper also called for nationwide support and supply of books to primary schools as well as advisory assistance to the teacher college.
The Sierra Leone public library has traditionally been looked at as the “peoples university” and has long been a home for those who are doing independent studies. While this can include the young adults of Sierra Leone, other steps made by librarians to engage young adult readers is to start book clubs and book discussions as well as creating book lists, book displays, and book exhibits for young adults to peruse at school and in the library. Other steps are to bring in live music, poetry, and drama performances into the public library space.
The article concludes that programming with the young adult in mind can be challenging, but the Sierra Leone library board has found a way to provide an acceptable level of service. While it could be much, much better, the country is doing a fine job.