Recent library reform in Norway

Library Reform 2014 has been prepared
by the Norwegian Archive, Library and
Museum Authority in accordance with
the assignment given jointly by the
Ministry of Culture and Church Affairs
and the Ministry of Education and
Research. It is a comprehensive study
covering the whole sector, consisting of
public libraries, school libraries, institutional
libraries and research libraries.

Libraries have a unique position as
centres of knowledge for the community
as a whole. The objective of the
reform is to ensure that the library
sector in 2014 is a network of strong
and efficient libraries working closely
together. They will provide reliable,
relevant and up-to-date services, giving
users access to knowledge, expertise
and cultural experiences.

Libraries will be visible in the local
community and will supply suitable
services on the Internet for research
and education. Libraries face considerable
challenges. Adjustments must be
made to meet the constant demands of
a changing society. They must keep
abreast of technological innovations
and make an active contribution to the
development of a knowledge society.

Providing access to digital material
presents libraries with a huge challenge.
Libraries shall ensure access to
knowledge and culture for all the country’s
inhabitants and shall assist them
in utilising information to acquire
knowledge. Libraries should also be a
cultural and social meeting place with
particular focus on literature and activities
for children and young people.

Norway has become a multicultural
nation and libraries have an important
function in the work of integration and
in making available a diversity of
cultural expressions in many different
languages.

Norway has many small libraries with
limited resources. Library users in the
smaller municipalities have interests
and requirements no less varied than
elsewhere, but it is difficult to provide
them with services to match those
available in the larger municipalities.

The circumstances under which libraries
fulfil their community responsibilities
have changed so radically that a
new approach is now required if they
are to meet future demands and challenges
and thereby play a significant
role as a partner in tomorrow’s knowledge
society. In order to face these
challenges, a reform is needed. There
must be investment in collective
services and a common digital infrastructure.

There is also a need for a special programme
of library construction, new
net-based learning facilities for the
public and an organisational reform.
The overriding task for library reform
will be to abandon the traditional
collection-oriented library with its
emphasis on internal systems and
move forward to a genuine focus on
the user, a stronger library network and
joint digital services. In Library Reform
2014 the Norwegian Archive, Library
and Museum Authority presents the
challenges and the possibilities, the
overall strategy and the most important
initiatives to be taken.

Grete Bergh
Senior adviser
Norwegian Archive
Library and Museum Authority

grete.bergh@abm-utvikling.no

Translated by Eric Deverill

A library development program

The third national Information Society
Strategy, which covers the period 20072015,
speaks of a renewing, humane
and competitive Finland. Among national
assets, it counts a high level of
education and regional and social
equality. Libraries are mentioned as
“a special national asset”.
Finland has the largest proportion of
rural area in Europe. Only 5.2 million
people populate the seventh largest
European country.

Many urban dwellers would like to
counterbalance their hectic city life
with longer stays in the peace of the
countryside. Less than five per cent of
the work force work by telecommuting
although there is potential for much
more. Increased teleworking would
reduce the load on the environment
and energy consumption.

The Library Development Program
2006-2010 - the library as an integrated
service centre for rural and urban areas
responds to the proposal made in a
rural policy paper to develop public
libraries in rural areas into cultural and
educational action centres.
The driving forces behind the program
include changing user needs and lifestyles,
new possibilities created by
technologies, and the aim to deepen
regional cooperation. The developing
industries, diversifying agriculture and
tourism in provincial areas require
education and information service in
the same way as other industries.
Distance working and learning, independent
of place and time, are part of
the future of provincial areas.

Public libraries in rural areas work in
cooperation with the educational and
cultural authorities. Librarians have to
be information and culture generalists,
while libraries on the other hand need
more and more specialised expertise.
Library users expect to get quality
service in any library, whatever its size
and location.

Centrally produced, web-based services
level out differences in the capacity of
regions, but a competent staff is an
absolute prerequisite for all library
development.

Library Development Program 20062010
- the library as an integrated
service centre for rural and urban areas
http://www.minedu.fi/export/sites/defa
ult/OPM/Kirjastot/linjaukset_ja_hankkeet/
Librarydevelopmentprogram.pdf

Barbro Wigell-Ryynänen
Counsellor for Library Affairs
Ministry of Education and Culture
Finland

barbro.wigell-ryynanen@minedu.fi