The social function of the public library in information age

Abstract

Libraries have long been the prime sites for acquiring knowledge. For centuries they were in the service of minorities, namely clergy and nobility, and in Europe only with French Revolution began to open the doors to the public, that is, to all the citizens. From then on, the public library gradually transformed itself into the space where the most poor had the same means as the rich to acquire knowledge. In this article, we take as starting point the ideas of the masters of Library in nineteenth and twentieth century, Anthony Panizzi, Melvil Dewey, Paul Otlet and Shiyali Ranganathan, to understand what social functions belong to public library in the information age. We are aware that many challenges remain and that, as in the past, the public library has a social function to fulfill notably by combating discrimination in access to knowledge, developing the critical spirit and thus contributing to the creation of the public sphere and a more just society.