Development and the crisis: a role for libraries

Abstract

Nowadays we're facing the widest economic and social crisis that hit western countries since the Second World War. Consequently, new and alternative models of development are needed in order to replace the old (and losing) ones, established in the past thirty years. Culture and access to information and knowledge are essential elements for any possible improvement based on equity and sustainability. Libraries may have a crucial role in this transformation if they'll be able to fulfill adequately their new tasks as well as the traditional ones. This paper presents a few suggestions on what could be done in the short to medium term, based on the analysis of the existing literature and on the study of recent experiences.