Parliament report on the role of libraries in the modern world A report of the European Parliament calling for a Green Paper on the role of libraries in the modern world has recently been adopted. This own initiative report was compiled by the Parliament's Committee on Culture, Youth, Education and Media, and was discussed during the Parl... A report of the European Parliament calling for a Green Paper on the role of libraries in the modern world has recently been adopted. This own initiative report was compiled by the Parliament's Committee on Culture, Youth, Education and Media, and was discussed during the Parliament's plenary session on 23 October 1998. The report calls on the European Commission and the EU Member States to support a number of measures with regard to the growing role played by libraries in organising widespread access to knowledge. Commenting on the report, the European Commissioner for rural development, Mr Franz Fischler, announced that the Commission would now begin to work on a communication stimulating consultation on all the important aspects affecting modern library services and citizens' access to them. The Parliament's report states that the Green Paper should invoke responses on options for future coordinated action at the European level which should aim at improving conditions for citizens' access to information resources, and assist libraries in meeting the needs of citizens. The need to identify existing barriers and problems was also outlined, and in particular the following: - The need to help citizens to benefit from the Information Society; - The need to ensure freedom of access to information and knowledge while respecting copyright provisions; - The relative difficulty for users in certain regions to access networked information resources; - The dangers of social exclusion relating to commercial interests in information resources; - The cost of extending library services to the Information Society while maintaining long-term access to traditional and digital resources.
