The Institute of Informatics and Development published a study in 2015 titled the Library Landscape Assessment of Bangladesh. It surveyed 136 libraries, 315 e-centres, 769 library users and 4585 members of the public amongst others and revealed that 99 percent of library users find libraries useful for society, 60 percent of whom find libraries essential. This is no surprise considering that often they are the only readily available source of comprehensive information needed by people for personal, family and job-related purposes.
They have health and well-being benefits, economic benefits, and they are safe spaces for people to meet, accessible to all. Not only that, they can be sources of entertainment, education, and escape. As free to use institutions, they are a necessity in economically straightened times. Sadly, the survey also told us that only 44 percent of libraries had computers for public use, only one percent of libraries use their space for organising seminars or meetings and only 44 percent of libraries had toilets! Fifty-two percent of librarians said reading resources were insufficient. As essential as they may be, they are not currently serving their communities well.
In order to address this, a project called Libraries Unlimited was developed in close partnership with the Government of Bangladesh, seeking to improve public access to information and knowledge. Libraries Unlimited aims to modernise the public library network, build the capacity of government officers, train library staff and build public awareness of and access to library and information services. It will give millions more people in Bangladesh, including groups such as women, young people out of education and employment and micro-entrepreneurs, more control over their own lives, thus supporting them to achieve their potential through access to a range of user-driven services.
So how do we intend to do this? What are the Libraries Unlimited solutions? Well, connectivity for a start. Forty-four percent of government libraries do have internet for the public, although at a maximum speed of 1Mbps some may say that’s hardly any internet at all. We will work with the government to ensure speeds at least as good as a 4G connection. Once there is connectivity there should also be computers. Only 21 percent of the population in Bangladesh have mobile internet connections. The internet reaches 49 percent of the population, but only 25 percent of Bangladeshis have computers. With online information and digital access to services becoming more prevalent, people need public access, and libraries are best placed to do this.
Access to computers alone however isn’t enough. Information literacy is as important as the ability to read and write in today’s social media world. Knowing how to use a computer and how to access authoritative, accurate and current information are vital skills that librarians should be able to help people with. To this end, libraries Unlimited are training librarians across the country in ICT skills, customer service and community engagement, as well as Leadership skills in order to better serve their communities.
Another solution we are proposing for libraries is that they introduce customer focused collections. The introduction of an online Library Management System should make it easier to identify which books are being read, and by whom, and enable collections suited to their users’ information and entertainment needs. People want information on health, government services, jobs and finance, and yet only two percent get this information from libraries. Libraries should be the “go to” place for this sort of information and it should be freely available.
The design of libraries too, should be human centred - focusing on the needs, contexts, behaviours, and emotions of the people that the libraries serve. Children’s areas should meet the needs of the child. They should be safe spaces where children can experience the joy of reading and the excitement of discovering knowledge and works of the imagination.
The survey also showed that 43 percent of library users want libraries to host workshops and trainings. Libraries Unlimited proposes that libraries are the ideal places to host skills for employability training, promote 21st century skills, such as collaboration, creativity and critical thinking, and assist the development of a stable and inclusive society. We will be rolling out coding events in libraries for children and young adults, using the micro:bit, a tiny programmable computer, designed to make learning easy and fun, as well as contributing to the vision for Digital Bangladesh.
Libraries can also help achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. They can support initiatives in a variety of fields, including health, agriculture, civic engagement, education, information literacy and others, and have a powerful impact in the community because they are connected to people’s needs at a local level.
Libraries support literacy. In 2012, the World Literacy Foundation estimated that illiteracy was costing the global economy $1.19 trillion. UNESCO estimates that if all students gained basic reading skills, 171 million people could be lifted out of poverty. A relevant, accessible, engaging library service can be the living force for education. Children who read have stronger literacy skills, score higher on intelligence tests, and eventually get better jobs than children who do not read. Reading increases empathy and emotional intelligence – and the benefits continue into old age. An American study has shown that people over 50 who read books—fiction or nonfiction, poetry or prose—for as little as 30 minutes a day over several years were living an average of two years longer than people who didn’t read anything at all.
Of course, all these internet connected, Wi-Fi enabled, well designed libraries with collections, workshops, training courses, programmes and events that meet the needs of their users are of no use at all if no-one uses them. Libraries Unlimited will initiate a nationwide social marketing campaign to build public awareness of the libraries and the benefits they can bring to their communities.
With these solutions, Bangladesh’s libraries are ideally placed to be a significant driver to achieving the sustainable development goals, and to lift the country to middle income status and a developing country by 2021.
Kirsty Crawford is Programme Director, Libraries Unlimited, a BMGF-funded project delivered by the British Council in conjunction with the Government of Bangladesh
