Provision of the European Union information in an acceding country. A survey of the role of public libraries in Croatia
| Pages | 454-467 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/LHT-02-2016-0020 |
| Published date | 19 September 2016 |
| Date | 19 September 2016 |
| Author | Sanjica Faletar Tanacković,Ivana Faletar Horvatić,Milijana Mičunović |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,Library technology,Information behaviour & retrieval,Information user studies,Metadata,Information & knowledge management,Information & communications technology,Internet |
Provision of the
European Union information
in an acceding country
A survey of the role of public libraries
in Croatia
Sanjica Faletar Tanacković
Department of Information Sciences, University of Osijek, Osijek, Croatia
Ivana Faletar Horvatić
Zagreb City Libraries, Zagreb, Croatia, and
Milijana Mičunović
Department of Information Sciences, University of Osijek, Osijek, Croatia
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to present an exploratory study whose aim was to investigate
the role of public libraries in the provision of European Union (EU) information in an EU acceding
country (Croatia).
Design/methodology/approach –Study was conducted via online questionnaire in public libraries
across country.
Findings –The findings revealed that majority of respondents (83.7 percent) think it is an important
task of public libraries to provide citizens with materials about the EU, and that almost all responding
libraries (98 percent) have EU materials. In general, respondents think that provision of EU materials in
their library does not compromise its role of politically neutral institution. The results also indicate that
libraries quite rarely (10 percent) maintain links to relevant EU online sources on their websites. EU
collections in responding libraries are promoted actively most frequently in the library itself and on its
website, and very rarely in the local media.
Practical implications –Findings are expected to be of interest to European administration in
charge of the development of effective communication policies, national authorities in EU candidate
and acceding countries, and information professionals in general.
Originality/value –This is the first study to investigate the role of public libraries in EU information
provision in an EU acceding country.
Keywords Public libraries, Croatia, European Union, Collections, Information provision,
Acceding country
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
European Union (EU) has always put high value on the promotion of active citizenship
and open communication with its citizens. Nevertheless, recently it was faced with a
crisis of confidence into European project. In addition, recent surveys show that the
general public across the EU feels uninformed about its institutions, policies and
activities (Eurobarometer, 2014). It seems that numerous information networks and
initiatives, such as European Documentation Centres (EDCs), Euro Info Centres,
Innovation Relay Centres, Info Points Europe, Public Information Relay (PIR) and
European Public Information Centres (EPICs), which have been set up across EU did
not result with as efficient information and communication infrastructure as ex pected.
Library Hi Tech
Vol. 34 No. 3, 2016
pp. 454-467
©Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0737-8831
DOI 10.1108/LHT-02-2016-0020
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
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