IFLA Journal

The article presents a short history of Finnish libraries and librarianship. The written culture in Finland started in the 15th century AD. The Reformation meant the eventual outbreak of the Finnish culture, both from the point of view of the religious and academic cultures. The Academy of Turku was established in 1640. The public library network started to evolve from the 17th century onward. From the beginning of the independence, i.e. 1917, libraries have played an important part in the development of an open and democratic society. At present there are public libraries in all the municipalities as defined by the Public Library Act, in addition to the Finnish higher education and special libraries that constitute a modern library network open to all citizens that utilizes modern library technologies.

Reviews research studies on the information needs and information-seeking behaviour of rural dwellers in developed and developing countries. The analysis suggests that the information needs of rural communities from all countries are very similar, although rural communities they do vary from region to region and from country to country depending on socio-economic conditions. These needs are mostly related to the daily life of rural dwellers.

This paper presents a methodology and preliminary results of a study to research perceptions of stakeholders and the public towards public libraries in six African countries. The study is closely linked with the EIFL Public Library Innovation Program, which awards grants to public libraries globally to address a range of socio-economic issues facing their communities, including projects in Kenya, Ghana and Zambia. The goal of the study is to understand the perceptions of national and local stakeholders (municipalities, ministries, public agencies, media, etc.) and the public (including non-users) in public libraries in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe about the potential of public libraries and to understand how these stakeholders could best be positively influenced to create, fund, support or to use public libraries. As far as it is known, surveys of this kind have not been done in African countries so the paper acquaints the audience with the field, which has not been explored, and provides background for increased library advocacy in Africa.

Information and knowledge management have become very crucial to the growth and development of countries around the world, including African countries. This is also true about the importance of information science education. This truth has already been accepted in Africa, including Nigeria, where the joint effort of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) led to the establishment of the Africa Regional Center for Information Science (ARCIS) in 1990. The primary objective set for ARCIS was for it, as a regional Center, to internationalize its processes, functions and curriculum. This paper, relying on both primary and secondary data, examines the issue of internationalization of information science education in Nigeria with practical examples reported from experiences at ARCIS. It highlights current achievements ARCIS has recorded in its internationalization efforts, challenges it faces due to the political experiences in Nigeria and competing needs of units and departments at the University of Ibadan, as well as the prospects of ARCIS internationalization efforts. In the end, it is concluded that the internationalization future for ARCIS is bright.

Access to information and transparency are considered a vaccine for ensuring good governance and countries must gear up for this vaccine to ensure accountability and prevent corruption. This paper probes the anticipated implementation challenges of the freedom-of-information (FOI) law in Jamaica, and the lessons Ghana stands to learn to improve on its FOI bill, currently at a deliberative stage. The lack of transparency in government or the public sector as a result of lack of access to governmental or public information will be tackled in this study. After describing the background, context, framework and methodology of the study, the paper presents findings, makes a comparative analysis, and provides recommendations especially for Ghana, which is still in the process of passing similar legislation.