20-24 septembrie 2009 - Biblioteca Metropolitana Bucuresti

356 Marian Korento smaller publishers and internet bookshops. Libraries are worried aboutthe lack of quality in access and content, and could add value to the’unorganised information’ on the Internet, but developments are quickerthan changes in library policies, administration and management. Peopleshow their needs for improved literacy skills, and libraries offer coursesand support, but generally speaking seeking information behaviour is rathersuperficial and pupils and people in general are easily satisfied.In European societies the population will grow and the senior part evenmore. Diversity increases, and public services will have to serve a largevariety of people with different backgrounds and cultures. The educationallevel and the stimulation of lifelong learning will increase the demandfor learning materials and learning environments. Although modern lifecomes with amenities to make life easier, people seem to have less leisuretime, and time for reading. Working parents in smaller families have tocombine many tasks: traditional library membership is replaced by shorttime affiliations.These are some of the trends in society which were the basis for a studyon the future of the Dutch public library: ten years on (Huysmans, 2008).These trends in the changing world take place at different pace in differentcountries, but can generally be identified. Society is more demandingon libraries; technology makes for rising expectations. How are librariesresponding to new user needs, and forcing themselves to reinvent theirmission?… so the library changesDutch public libraries attempt to come with answers and practicalapproaches based on some studies. A transformation process of the publiclibraries started. Some elements are highlighted here.The first issues discussed were the role of libraries in society and thestructure of the public library network: was it still adequate to meet newdemands, future-proof? Was the size and organisation of libraries able towork strategically on issues of society? Library leaders started to debatealso the digital infrastructure and services. A number of local initiativeswere taken, but a sustainable structure and service could only be createdat a coordinated, national level, in spite of decentralisation. Key to manychanges is the library staff, confronted with the main question: do theyhave the required knowledge, competencies and skills to offer modernservices? And was the staff willing to follow the changes or even leadingthem? The overall dominant issue in practise is the user: how to change thetraditional library focus from collection management to the user, in otherwords a major marketing approach would be necessary. But from where