Norwegian Public Library Policy: A Possible Model for the Third World?

Authors

  • Else Granheim Norwegian Directorate for Public and School Libraries

Abstract

Discusses the Norwegian Library Act of 1985, and gives the text of the legislation. The Act requires each independent municipality and every primary and secondary school to provide library service in accord with quantitative standards. Although Norway is a relatively wealthy country, the author believes that the principles that underlie the Library Act could be applicable in developing countries as well. The main point is that library service should be grounded in formal national government policy, a policy that harmonizes with accepted professional judgment and guidelines.

Author Biography

Else Granheim, Norwegian Directorate for Public and School Libraries

Else Granheim has been Director General, Norwegian Directorate for Public and School Libraries, since 1973. One of her accomplishments was to prepare and carry into effect the Libraries Act discussed in her article. Mrs. Granheim has also been involved in the improvement of library services to the blind and to other handicapped users. Her publications have appeared in journals, yearbooks, and festschrifts of Norway, Europe, and North America. She edited Bog og bibliotek from 1970–85, and has been co–editor of Reol and Scandinavian Public Library Quarterly. She has served on the Norwegian Unesco Commission and on the Intergovernmental Council for the Unesco General Information Programme. She was President of IFLA from 1979–85. Mrs. Granheim has expressed her professional commitment in these words: "development of public library service of equal standard to all individuals, wherever they live, and free of charge, as a means to create more tolerance and human understanding and to assist in giving all people equal opportunities to participate in building a democratic society."

Downloads

Issue

Vol. 1 No. 2 (1990)

Section

Articles

License

World Libraries allows authors to maintain the copyright of their article or to give permission to World Libraries to hold the copyright. If contributors decide to maintain copyright, a Creative Commons license allows authors to determine how their work can be used. For more information on the types of licenses available, visit http://www.creativecommons.org/.

Authors submitting a paper to World Libraries do so with the understanding that Internet publishing is both an opportunity and a challenge. In this environment, authors and publishers do not always have the means to protect against unauthorized copying or editing of copyright-protected works.

World Libraries is a copyrighted product, and all rights are reserved worldwide. Permissions to use any materials appearing in World Libraries should be directed to Questions about World Libraries.

Downloads of specific portions of World Libraries articles are permitted for personal use only, not for commercial use or resale. Educational uses of World Libraries are permitted with permission of the authors of specific works appearing in World Libraries.

PRIVACY

World Libraries respects the privacy of both its readers and its contributors. To that end, World Libraries does not collect in its logs or other server tools the exact identities of its readers. World Libraries does not require its readers to sign in or to secure a unique ID or password. World Libraries does not use cookies.

World Libraries collects general information in its logs on the origins of users at the highest domain levels. Usage patterns are tracked in World Libraries to assist editors in making decisions about future content. In addition, this information is used for research on usage patterns to improve the site over time.

E-mail addresses used by World Libraries to notify readers of new issues are not disclosed to third parties.