20-24 septembrie 2009 - Biblioteca Metropolitana Bucuresti

258 Olesea Cobleanintegration and accession to the European Union. It also transformed themission and role of the library as a social institution according to the newneeds of the society for elucidating current information and organisationalproblems and for protecting the rights to free exchange of information andcommunication. Or the development strategy for libraries in the past periodhas been based on ensuring access to information and first of all, to publicinterest information – environmental information, information on humanrights, etc.When attempting to build an informational society, the inability ofcertain individuals or social groups to have, accede to, use or benefit fromgoods or services in basic areas (such as education, healthcare, culture etc.through social institutions, especially the library), is equivalent to socialexclusion. Blocking the supply of information is a violation of civil rightsand means placing the individual outside the democratic exercise of socialparticipation.The term ‘social exclusion’ emerged in the 1960’s of the 20 th centuryand is in correlation with the term ’poverty’.In order to determine the levelof poverty, it was necessary to have an indicator to determine the level ofemployment of individuals.Characteristics of exclusion are mass migration of the populationabroad.At present, from a sociological point of view, social exclusion means“placing a person outside the normal social life, a result of discrimination,lack of opportunities, and degradation of the capacity of normal socialoperation, or an individual or collective lifestyle that marginalizes”.Social exclusion does not pose a danger only to the societies intransition but also to the developed ones. Sociologists in industrializedcountries where the impact of urban mass culture on the individual isalready evident [Bernstein (1971), Bourdieu, Passerou (1970), Durkheim(1922, 1925), Percheron (1974)] oppose the social isolation of individualsor social groups by social inclusion.One of the tasks of the library, as a social institution, is socializing theindividual by forming a socially active citizen. Its scope of methodologicalinterests also includes minimizing the social effects caused by theinformational explosion or the lack of information. By virtue of its tasks,the statement that the library is a social institution meant to contributeto the education of the individual and that this involves having themcomply with laws, standards, and policies, is not enough. There shouldalso be considered the wishes of different groups interested in promotingthe principles of participation and social organization in the existence