Can librarians help to overcome the social barriers to access?

Abstract

Librarians are now more relevant as facilitators than custodians and, in order to fulfil this role successfully, require a high degree of sensitivity to the potential effects of such variables as gender, age and social background on their clients’ interactions with information sources, whether paper‐ or electronic‐based. Government initiatives to widen participation in education mean that students from hitherto non‐traditional backgrounds are more likely to be using libraries than previously. That the much discussed “digital divide” is indeed a reality, is confirmed by the author’s own recent research, “Barriers to libraries as agents of lifelong learning”, conducted at a UK university and two further education colleges. Social class and home access to information technology are shown as dividers impacting on the extent of use of all services offered by the learning resource centre. In the education of future librarians, the need for greater sensitivity to client group characteristics and an enhancement of good interpersonal skills is indicated.

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