Abstract

The economic crisis has been harmful for libraries. Although the studies that have been done by professional associations have given evidence of their economic and social value, the reasons given to justify budget cuts and closures show that the real problem is not an economic problem but one of perception: Politicians and citizens give libraries a secondary place when competing with other basic services for financing. Everyone recognizes the past importance of libraries, but few situate them in contemporary education, information, and knowledge. The future of libraries depends mostly on what people think of them. Professionals can help to build a new popular awareness that places value on the idea of the library’s utility and neutralizes its presumed digital obsolescence. In this sense, technology is changing the role that institutions play, as well as the space that they have traditionally occupied. Technology has also changed our expectations towards institutions. In order to make the library something appealing and useful, the librarian must be able to facilitate the interconnection (cooperation, networking, benchmarking, and co-creation) and seek to reduce the barriers between the library as an institution and the users.

Abstract

Digital information, digital books and the World Wide Web are gaining an increasing and accelerated importance over paper resources. Therefore, it is time for librarians to begin to assume new roles, including the construction, maintenance and management of websites for each library, as long as its resources permit. Acquisition and application of information architecture and usability skills are essential for good design of these digital libraries, along with the identification of valuable resources on the Web, the development of repositories and the creation and management of digital communities around the library’s website using the tools of Web 2.0. This process should be accompanied by corresponding changes at the political level to facilitate the allocation of the financial resources, technology, training and human resources necessary to do so.

Abstract

Due to both the digitization of press archives and the current financial, economic and journalistic recession, news libraries in online journalism need to re-invent themselves. While performing their traditional tasks, news librarians are developing new skills so that their activity will continue to be considered a necessary and natural component of quality journalism.