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Libraries, places of digital mediation

The development of the Internet, of search engines, and the digitization of an increasing number of books, have confronted the library world with an existential crisis: why should the public continue to visit libraries if they can find the information and books they are looking for online? The alarm was sounded in the United States by an article in 2001: The Deserted Library. ("The Deserted Library").For the past decade, libraries around the world have been rethinking their buildings, their reception and their services in light of the digital revolution. They have undertaken to bring together traditional books and digital books (e-books), shelves and computers in the same place. This "hybrid library" gives access to digitized books (the "digital libraries") as well as to digital service packages.The equipment of libraries with reading stations and wifi has transformed the expectations of the public; if they visit libraries, it is also to benefit from an Internet connection. This change in usage has destabilized library staff: what if the user no longer needed them?According to Christophe Evans, a sociology researcher at the BPI's research department at the Georges Pompidou Center, working in the library no longer necessarily requires the use of the library's collections: on the contrary, a large proportion of users work on their own documents. The library is as much a place of work as a place of resources. A public desk, used by 32% of municipal library users, 61% for users aged 15 to 24.In 2014, there were 7,100 libraries in France (excluding university libraries), to which should be added 9,000 book access points (PAL), for a total of 16,100 public reading places. One third of French municipalities offer access to a communal or inter-communal library, with 28% of municipalities offering a book access point.Three studies published in 2016 by the French Ministry of Culture provide an update on the services offered and digital uses in libraries: asurvey of municipal libraries, an evaluation of the activity of digital book lending by public libraries, and an assessment of the national system of digital reference libraries (BNR). 97% of libraries with 40,000 or more inhabitants have a dedicated website This is far from being the case for libraries with less than 5,000 inhabitants (56%). However, the online presence of libraries is not limited to the website, as some libraries may have pages on their community website with an online catalog.69% of libraries with a population of 2,000 or more offer an online catalog. These online services can be considered as an extension of the access to the library services, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 72% of libraries with populations of more than 10,000 acquired digital resources in 2014 The survey highlights two main trends in terms of the type of content acquired and the acquisition methods. "The acquisition of single digital documents remains a minority model; the editorial offers correspond rather to "content packages". Digital documentation, on the other hand, "in 2014, is essentially a training and information offer (online press)". In large communities, just over a third of libraries acquire digital books and audiovisual documents.20% of libraries with populations over 2,000 acquired digital resources in 2014.This proportion varies from 9% to 72% depending on the size of the communities.The acquisition of digital resources is still marginal in the library budgetFor a total acquisition expenditure of €20,670 on average per library and €1,420 per Book Access Point (BAP), €755 and €55 respectively (i.e. 4%) are spent on digital resource acquisitions. "This is mainly because a large proportion of libraries - including those in large communities - do not spend any money ondigital resources," notes the report, which adds that "spending on digital resources varies greatly from one level of community to another. However, the funds devoted to digital documentation increased by 27% in 2014. Deployment of "Digital Reference Libraries" in the territories The national "Reference Digital Libraries" program, initiated in 2010 by the French Minister of Culture and Communication, was initially aimed at creating a small circle of five libraries of excellence at the regional level for their digital collections and services. This program has met with a broad response from local authorities: nearly fifty of them have applied for the label (and associated state funding): 25 institutions are now involved in the national scheme.A first assessment of this program has just been made.Libraries that have completed a BNR are located in communities of all sizes, ranging from mid-sized cities to large towns or metropolitan areas. "Commitment to the program is often the mark of a convergence between the libraries' investment in digital and the community's desire to display its commitment to technological innovation. The communities most sensitive to these issues are those that have already acquired a French Tech label.""The implementation of a BNR "is similar to the construction of a library, with an infrastructure (portal), differentiated spaces, accesses (multiplied), contents (varied and available without constraints of places or schedules, nor for some of a limited number of copies) and services (reservation of documents, extension of loans, consultation of the agenda, request for information, exchanges, etc)". Their implementation also gives rise to a significant increase in the materials made available to the public and the purchase of mobile tools (fleets of e-readers and tablets, coupled with management systems for these terminals.BNR's projects place a great deal of emphasis on mediation with the public: on-site services are reinforced (workshops, meetings, creative spaces) as are online services (blogs, social networks, collaborative spaces).The BNR projects have thus led to a diversification of the offer (digital culture, video games, digital practice workshops), as well as to partnerships with cultural institutions, associations, and artists: mediation by the library of content produced on the territory, reading clubs favoring digital modes with tablets or e-readers, events around digital culture, video game tournaments, and digital creative practice workshops. The NRBs have also multiplied the number of initiatives aimed at people who are far from the digital world: popularization of digital technology for adults, seniors, unemployed people, partnerships with associations, administrations and local social services, help in finding a job, digital education on copyright, open data and Creative Commons, on democratic issues (access to data). The lending of digital books in libraries: still a marginal practice Historically oriented towards the consultation of books on the spot and their loan, the libraries had a natural vocation to allow the loan of "digital books".The deployment of this service can take several forms: loan of e-readers already loaded with content or loan of the "digital books" themselves, via a package.The digital reading offer in libraries is now mainly based on the loan of e-readers. E-readers are less expensive than tablets and their format is specially adapted to reading. The library can buy pre-loaded e-readers. This solution, in a sense, takes away the library's role as a prescriber, as they no longer have to make a selection. Another option is for libraries to load the devices themselves, using the catalog of digital booksellers or downloading public domain or openly licensed works. (While some libraries have tablets, they are used exclusively on site and are primarily for edutainment, workshops, and reading newspapers and magazines.The loan of digital books requires a subscription to a platform: the ebooks can then be borrowed for a period determined by the platform. The modalities vary according to the platforms: streaming (limited time), download with time-limit.Since 2014, the Ministry of Culture has been promoting the "Prêt numériques en bibliothèques" (PNB) project. Under the PNB, one or more libraries join forces with partner booksellers to offer a selection of digital books, which they can purchase and integrate into their collections. They can then lend an ebook for free to any user, as long as he is registered at the library. This system relies on an intermediary (Dilicom) that organizes the articulation of the various actors of the book chain: publishers (providing the book catalog), booksellers (proposing the offers of the distributors to the communities), libraries (making them available) and finally the users (being able to download or read in streaming).The French Ministry of Culture and Communication has just published a first report on the digital loan in libraries (PNB). It shows that 54 library networks have now subscribed to the service and that 37 booksellers offer this new service to libraries. At the beginning of 2016, the editorial offer to libraries consisted of 106,216 titles, compared to 207,999 titles offered to individuals. Almost half of the offer is composed of general literature; documentaries and practical books represent 37% of the offer. French libraries had acquired 12,716 digital copies over the year 2015 (of which nearly 73% were acquired between October and December). 41,259 loans had been made by French libraries, nearly 50% of which were made between October and December 2015.However, the PNB system does not meet with unanimity within the profession. The main criticisms or reticence concern the high price of digital books, the lack of durability of the collections (libraries do not own the books: if a library does not renew a license, the title disappears from the catalog) as well as the constraints linked to the technical measures of protection against the copy (DRM). American libraries, places of digital mediation The lending of digital books in public libraries in France is still lagging behind neighboring countries (Spain, Germany, Italy) and the United States.90% of U.S. libraries offered this service to their users in 2014. They benefited from the early development of a digital platform (Overdrive) as well as a significant rate of public equipment with e-readers. Over the course of 2016, U.S. libraries loaned almost 200 million digital books and audiobooks. 49 libraries recorded at least one million titles borrowed.More generally, the digital renovation of U.S. libraries is well underway: 98% of libraries have Wi-Fi and 43.8% have fiber optic connections, according to the American Library Association. On average, each library has 18 workstations, although there are significant differences between urban and rural libraries.  In addition to print-on-demand, video conferencing and 3D printing services, libraries are devoting increasing resources to training activities (basic digital skills, security and privacy, web design and creative content) as well as to assisting users with administrative formalities, online homework help, health prevention, entrepreneurship programs, and small business developmentIn 2012, according to Pew Internet Research, 50% of library users had gone to a library for help: this proportion decreased to 42% in 2015 and 35% in 2016. 27% of library users attended classes, programs, or lectures at libraries in the past year, a 10-point increase from the 17% who did so in 2015. The reinvention of libraries as "third places These changes in the library offer, in the expectations and uses of the public, as well as in the practices of professionals, are thus preparing the passage towards a "library-third place": a neutral space, conducive to exchanges, conversation and sharing moments with others.Quiet zones are located next to coworking spaces, meeting rooms, relaxation areas, cafés, movie viewing areas and even video games. This spatial division allows several uses to coexist in the same place. "Breaking with an elitist vision of culture, the library-third place refuses to be a place of prescription of knowledge. It addresses all forms of popular culture and its cultural offer is diverse and varied.After several years of declining attendance (in the sense of number of visits) at municipal or inter-municipal libraries, there was a +19% growth between 2007 and 2012. 

• Inclusion

Published on 11/03/17



Libraries, digital and inclusion: how far can we go?

The ADBGV (Association of Directors of Municipal Libraries and Intercommunal Groups of French Cities) will devote its annual study day, on October 9 in Grenoble, to the role of libraries in digital inclusion.How to respond to the needs induced by the digital boom? What is the place of the library in a local digital inclusion policy? How far should we go? Can we meet all the needs induced by the rise of dematerialization and e-administration? What complementarity within cities? Prepare and take the Adult Computer and Internet Certificate (B2IA) in a library The multimedia spaces in the library have been training users in digital technologies for a long time, but until now they have not had any accreditation, particularly in terms of teaching, to give them a diploma.Since the beginning of 2017, it has been possible to train for and take the Brevet Informatique et Internet Adultes (B2IA) in six libraries in the Gironde department, approved by the rectorat de Bordeaux.The Brevet Informatique et Internet Adultes (B2IA) is a diploma recognized by the National Education. It is a certificate that certifies the mastery of digital skills of users. It is offered by libraries and EPN (Etablissement Public Numérique) approved by the National Education. Train people in digital tools, without transforming or substituting themselves for social workers Thomas Fourmeux, on the blog Biblio Numericus, wonders about the contribution of librarians to digital inclusion."The poverty and digital precariousness in which users find themselves (...) indirectly pushes us to provide a service that goes beyond the professional framework (giving one's number, filling in forms with personal data because the user does not speak French or speaks it badly...). If we sometimes act in this way, it is because we are guided by the desire to fulfill our public service mission and we are eager to help the people who use our services. But if we look at it carefully, we are often neither ready nor trained to fulfill this mission. This service generally relies on the good will of some librarians with a digital hat to take the time to accompany the users...(...) Solutions have already been implemented by public authorities to fight against the digital divide. But very often, the library does not appear as a privileged actor of digital inclusion (...)  "Just because we file a tax return does not mean we are social workers. We need to be aware of our limitations and have a clear vision of our missions. We can train users to use word processing software so that they are able to write a CV. In my opinion, we are not Pole Emploi counselors and do not have the skills to help people return to work. Although in fact, we are required to help users write their CV or cover letter. (...) We need to communicate on our ability to help people learn to use a tool if we don't want to become annexes of other services present in the territories and lose the specificities that characterize us". Eurekoi: a free online public question and answer service, supported by a network of 48 libraries "We are 500 librarians trained to search for information on the Internet and in specialized content databases. Each library has a specialty and we will find the best contact person for your question. We will do everything we can to find answers to your questions. The promise made to Internet users is simple: a precise answer to a question, delivered in 72 hours maximum by a qualified professional.Created in 2006, then called BiblioSésame, Eurekoi has evolved considerably since then.The Eurekoi network is made up of 48 libraries located in France and Belgium and is managed by the Bibliothèque Publique d'information du Centre Pompidou in Paris and the Service de la lecture publique de la Fédération Wallonie-BruxellesInternet users have four possible vectors to submit their question: the Eurekoi website, a dedicated mobile application, the website of a partner library and a Facebook group (in open mode).Annual traffic grew by 47% in 2017, with 8,455 responses to web users.

• Inclusion

Published on 05/10/18



How libraries became administrative reception points

One may remember the character of Daniel Blake, in Ken Loach's film I, Daniel Blake, a 59 year old English carpenter who is forced to register for welfare after suffering from heart problems. When he fails to complete the online job search process at a job center, he is directed to a public library where he finds support and advice on how to open an account and fill out his application.This episode of the film illustrates one of the daily realities of municipal libraries, confronted with people lost in the face of the dematerialization of public services.While many procedures are going digital, due to the lack of alternative or sufficient support offered by the administrations concerned, vulnerable people and more generally people who are not at ease with digital technology, tend to turn to local actors (town halls, social centers, CCAS, etc.) or solidarity actors such as Emmaus, the Red Cross, Secours Populaire or Secours Catholique) in order to find the expected help.These people, having difficulty with their administrative procedures, sometimes turn to libraries and media libraries. Present throughout the country (there are 17,000 libraries and "reading points" in France and 38,000 librarians), equipped (nine out of ten libraries even had at least one public computer station in 2015), having largely initiated their digital transformation (30% of municipal libraries offered digital resources in 2016), libraries also enjoy an excellent image with the public. Media libraries clearly identified by the public as places of digital mediationA series of questions introduced by the Digital Agency in the 2018 edition of the Digital Barometer provides a better understanding of the public's expectations for digital training and support.While 8% of respondents do not experience any difficulties and 31% say they can manage on their own, 36% seek help from family and friends.One question was about the places that offer " near you" support in online procedures and digital learning. Among the five possible places (Maison de service au public, Espace public numérique, Médiathèque, Cyberbase, other place such as a fablab or a ressourcerie), the médiathèques come clearly in the lead:63% of respondents cited media libraries (and know of one near their home), This high response rate was also found in all population groups A typology of services to support administrative procedures in librariesFor several years, many libraries have been offering support to users in their administrative procedures. In a more or less formalized way. More or less punctual. More or less professionalized. By relying on their own teams, by calling on third parties, by relying on institutions.In her dissertation for the diploma of library curator, Mathilde Herrero undertook to specify the contours of the accompaniment to administrative procedures in libraries. She distinguishes several types of support services. Everyday reception: the library as a referral center Reception refers to all interactions between users and library staff. "One of the main challenges is to respond to an immediate request when there is no mechanism in place, especially since users' requests are often urgent in nature.In the Plaine-Commune public reading network, for example, files have been drawn up and shared throughout the inter-municipal network in order to organize the reception of the public in difficulty with their procedures: users can benefit from a first level of support for administrative procedures when they feel the need, and not only in the time slots of a specific permanence or a mediation workshop. "Depending on the nature of the user's request, the response can also take the form of additional guidance, by offering the user mediation activities proposed by the library or by giving him/her the contacts of competent people to help him/her with his/her procedures.The Citizen's Life area of the Champs Libres library in Rennes plays this role of referral. " It is common for users consulting a computer workstation to ask the staff for help in solving a problem that they often present first as a technical problem. The permanences On registration or free of charge, these sessions correspond to regular or occasional time slots during which professionals are specifically available to the public to respond to requests on a predefined theme.There are several types of permanence. Public writer" offices: some local authorities call upon a professional "public writer" who provides this function within the framework of office hours, a few hours a week. (See on this subject: Digital public writer: a service, a function and a profession that is still in search). The Vaclav-Havel library, in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, has drawn up a memo for public writers who come to work there: "The aim is to offer readers of the library a one-time writing and information service, in particular to: read and understand a letter; write, shape and correct a document; transcribe requests, thoughts and needs; compile administrative files and/or letters. When making an appointment, the user is asked for his or her first and last name and the nature of the request, in order to redirect the user if his or her request cannot be handled by the writer. The library has established a list of requests that can be treated (exchanges with the administrations, in the broadest sense); help in filling out applications for benefits, claims or termination of contracts, help in filing and organizing papers, cover letters, housing, personal correspondence) and those more specific (legal, over-indebtedness files, applications for residence permits, tax returns) which require redirection to associations or institutions. Computer services: some libraries offer, in addition to digital workshops, a digital service on certain days of the week or month. This service (called "Déclics informatiques" at the BPI of the Centre Pompidou) allows users to ask librarians about technical points related to online administrative procedures. Help with tax filing: since 2017, users of the Plaine-Commune network of media libraries have been able to benefit from a service to help them file their tax returns The workshops Through the workshops, users can access a group learning and mediation service, usually with prior registration. The training sessions are most often led by library staff members and take place during a predefined time slot.At the BPI of the Centre Pompidou, for example, the workshops "Accompanying administrative procedures" are mainly attended by people who want to create online accounts. The workshop leaders also show them how to find their way around the administration's websites so that they can find their way back to complete their procedures.The Saint-Denis Centre-Ville media library offers such workshops every two weeks. Users make an appointment at the library; the staff at the reception desk ask them for some information about their needs. This allows them to specify whether their request can be met. Dedicated or shared spaces Support for administrative procedures must be provided in a space that meets confidentiality requirements and has an Internet access point.According to Mathilde Herrero, the support actions for administrative procedures take place in two types of spaces: dedicated or shared. Permanent or ephemeral installation or modular space, the dedicated spaces aim at guaranteeing the confidentiality of the exchanges between the accompanied and the accompanying person. Some libraries guarantee this confidentiality by organizing digital workshops to support online procedures outside of public opening hours. Support can also be provided in the reception areas of the building (counters, information points), as well as in the computer areas, where many users wish to carry out administrative procedures online. The mediation intervenes when the users question the staff in public service Often, people tell us themselves that they were referred to us by social services, CAF advisors or Pôle Emploi. I often say that we are like Care Bears in the library. We don't have an administrative relationship with people and it's often in this breach that they rush in. We're victims of our own success because we have ten free computers and we're pretty friendly. We have tried to set up partnerships with Pôle Emploi or the CAF, but it is very complicated. We have the impression that the counselors are overwhelmed, they rarely give us news. This is not a problem of individual responsibility, but rather a structural one. They have portfolios of job seekers that are too full. CAF just offered to train ten librarians to apply on their site. I don't think we should accept. Laurène Pain-Prado. Interview in Libération How far should we go? How to guarantee a quality service?Librarians, when accompanying users, may be required to fill out forms, create logins on behalf of the user. This accompaniment relationship involves being privy to confidential information, requires skills and raises questions of responsibility. This type of relationship is not self-evident for librarians. As is already the case for professionals in social action, the accompanying posture tends to be transformed into taking steps "in place of" the person. Martine Herrero reports, in her dissertation, on the debates that this type of evolution is causing among librarians: " If the problems of confidentiality with regard to other users can be solved by a new arrangement of spaces, the problem of discretion with regard to personal information generated by the procedures raises the question of the definition of the role of librarians in this matter and of the ethics of the profession.How far to go: this was the theme of the annual study day of the ADBGV (Association of Directors of Municipal Libraries and Intercommunal Groups of French Cities) on October 9, 2018.I'm creating passwords for people's email addresses, which I write down on a small piece of paper so that they remember them. Also, my email box is the backup address for a lot of people. I've already made online appointments at the prefecture on my own time, because the library is closed on Mondays, but the slots open up early in the week. For taxes, people come to the library with their paystubs and do their taxes there. They have no problem with that! At a digital training workshop, I once found myself doing simulations of the tax site on a video projector with my own tax number. Laurène Pain-Prado (Interview in Libération) Digital inclusion in libraries: "differentiated responses are neededFor Malik DialloMalik Diallo, president of the ADBGV, "this debate raises another question: should a library do everything alone? Libraries can very well act as a sort of "hub" directing users to the appropriate services. In this case, it is a matter of putting people in touch with each other. On this point, there is no debate in the profession.Some libraries go further by setting up partnerships with competent public services or associations. For example, the library may consider bringing in tax agents for online tax returns, or representatives from the French Employment Service. This kind of service is also useful for users who are digitally literate. In this case, librarians are coordinators. Here again, the profession is willing to play this role.We have also seen that some libraries have started to go into the field of accompanying users for online procedures. This raises the question of the legal responsibility of librarians who "do it for". Some professionals believe that this is not our responsibility. However, in some territories, this choice may be necessary. For example, when there is no public service nearby offering this assistance. In this case, librarians feel that offering it in their facilities makes sense. For each intervention method, we must therefore always take into account the territorial context. "Just because we file a tax return doesn't mean we're social workers" Thomas Fourmeux, on the blog Biblio Numericus, wonders about the contribution of librarians to digital inclusion."The misery and digital insecurity in which users find themselves (...) indirectly push us to provide a service that goes beyond the professional framework (giving one's number, filling out forms with personal data because the user does not speak French or speaks it poorly...).If we sometimes act in this way, it is because we are guided by the desire to fulfill our public service mission and we want to help the people who use our services. But if we look at it carefully, we are often neither ready nor trained to fulfill this mission. This service generally relies on the good will of some librarians with a digital hat to take the time to accompany the users (...) "It is not because we fill out a tax return that we are social workers. We must be aware of our limits and have a precise vision of our missions. We can train users to use word processing software so that they are able to write a CV. In my opinion, we are not Pole Emploi counselors and do not have the skills to help people return to work. Although in fact, we have to help the users to write their CV or their cover letter. ( ...)We must communicate on our capacity to help individuals learn to use a tool if we do not want to become annexes of other services present on the territories and lose the specificities that characterize us ". "We are faced with demands that are completely beyond us: writing CVs, registering with the family allowance fund (CAF), updating on the Pôle Emploi website. And this is accelerating with the dematerialization of procedures. For example, two years ago, when the pension funds went digital, about fifty elderly people visited us in the weeks that followed. They were not at all familiar with computers, and we had to open e-mail addresses for them. And since they didn't have a mobile number either, I gave them mine. We really feel like the last link in the chain. If we weren't there, a lot of people wouldn't take the steps to access the benefits they are entitled to. We also often see 10 or 12 year old children doing the paperwork for their parents' universal health coverage (CMU) or RSA, it's quite incredible.Laurène Pain-Prado is a librarian, responsible for digital technology at the Elsa-Triolet library in Bobigny.Interview in Libération

• Inclusion

Published on 11/06/19



A consultation on digital inclusion in libraries

The Ministry of Culture (General Directorate of Media and Cultural Industries) and the Digital Agency (Digital Society mission) are joining forces to set up a working group on the issue of digital inclusion in libraries.By highlighting the diversification of libraries' missions, this interministerial work is positioned at the crossroads of the National Strategy for Digital Inclusion and the "Offer More" component of the Libraries Plan. It follows on from several professional days on the role of libraries in digital inclusion and echoes, more recently, the report by the Défenseur des droits on access to administrative procedures in the age of dematerialization. DIGITAL INCLUSION IN THE LIBRARY PLAN The Plan Bibliothèques, launched by the Minister of Culture in 2018, includes several of the proposals from the report Journey to the Land of Libraries". During this journey, the authors of this report, Erik Orsenna and Noël Combin had noted that many Libraries had, on their own initiative, and often in conjunction with local authorities, undertaken to address audiences "in difficulty with digital".In their report, they had recommended to integrate and involve Libraries in the national plan for digital inclusion. "Libraries must be part of it, as they are already (and will be even more tomorrow) at the heart of the city policy. What and who do we need to reduce this divide? Places, connected equipment, trained mediators and the means to reach and bring in those 20% of the population who are excluded from Internet access. No angelism on this subject: for these questions which touch on exclusion, the offer does not create the demand. We must go to the people and then make them come ... The wifi access and multimedia stations available in thousands of facilities are a valuable resource for the success of the Government Plan for Digital Inclusion. "OPEN MORE" The first phase of the Library Plan, " Open More", aimed to help communities provide better access to the greatest number of people by significantly improving library opening hours and universal accessibility to all. 231 communities were supported in expanding their library hours in 2018, for an average of eight additional hours of operation per week. "OFFER MORE SERVICES" Continuing the partnership between the State and local authorities, the Minister of Culture is implementing, in 2019, a second component: "offering more services."Libraries have already begun this second transformation, which must be amplified. Of course, they continue to provide access to knowledge and information. They are involved in digital mediation and homework support, helping our fellow citizens with their administrative procedures or their job search. They work with other partners, associations or local public services, and reinvent themselves through participatory dialogue with residents.This second act of the Library Plan is structured around three areas of transformation for public reading: libraries, attractive and welcoming places: renovate spaces, modernize them and connect them better; libraries, a local public service: support the action of departmental policies and encourage the sharing of libraries with other public services; Libraries, actors of social inclusion: promote digital inclusion and actions in the social field. The ambition is to open the libraries more to allow everyone to come and find their place: those who traditionally come to consult or borrow a book, those who will be able to use digital resources, but also those who will be able to benefit from services related to training, citizenship, and more generally to everything that can be put in place for the sake of emancipation and social link.It also sets a number of priorities for library transformation projects. These include: Training and self-training: services developed by libraries and the strengthening of the presence of associations: "Transformation projects could integrate services such as training (homework help, adult courses), self-training, support for returning to work, learning French as a foreign language, and the fight against illiteracy. To this end, the DRACs will set up support units with local authorities, bringing together the players around the library project and offering engineering assistance. Citizenship:"Digital modules and practical training workshops on "fake news" and more generally on information literacy will be offered by the DRACs in at least 3 libraries per department and at least one library per city of 100,000 inhabitants." Strengthen equal access to online resources: "Libraries have a leading role to play in digital mediation. It will therefore be necessary to encourage the development of digital support spaces or resources within them, in line with other digital inclusion initiatives carried out in the territories. Local cultural public service centers: "The ambition is to support local authorities who wish to do so so that 10 million people benefit from these new local cultural public service centers throughout the country. Pooling between libraries, digital spaces and public service centers will be encouraged. LIBRARIES IN THE NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR DIGITAL INCLUSION Without specific action, this strategy mentioned libraries and strategy mentioned libraries and media libraries as stakeholders in digital inclusion.A variety of actors are in contact with these people who have difficulty with the digital world: solidarity organizations, public agents, volunteers or employees, community and popular education actors, media and library agents, postal workers, police officers, civic services, local elected officials, etc.The first observation that emerges from the various contributions is the involvement of certain organizations and structures in digital inclusion, even though this is not their main mission. These actors are directly confronted with the difficulties encountered by the public in the digital field. Through their missions, they often have a detailed knowledge of the reality of the inhabitants and their familiarity with digital technology. Acting for an inclusive digital world implies federating and uniting all stakeholders (the State, including decentralized actors, public service operators, local authorities, social action, solidarity, proximity and integration actors, digital support professionals, including public digital spaces, libraries and media libraries, third places, economic actors, foundations) in a common action. OPENING OF A CONSULTATION The Ministry of Culture and the Agence du Numérique have opened a contributory forum to accompany and feed the work of the group which will meet during three thematic meetings: Theme 1: Defining the role and missions of libraries in digital inclusion: from a heterogeneous positioning of institutions to a common roadmap? (May 2019) Theme 2: Identification and contact with target audiences: from needs assessment to orientation or support (July 2019) Theme 3: Training and professionalization of digital inclusion actors in libraries: complementarity between library professionals and digital mediators (September 2019) By collecting feedback and allowing contributors to highlight areas of concern or present proposals, this forum is intended to enrich and feed the thinking of the working group that will meet for the first time in May 2019.Library professionals, digital mediation actors, elected officials, associations and users can contribute to this public forum.

• Inclusion

Published on 05/06/19



Digital technology as a vector and catalyst for new relationships between adolescents and libraries

72% of 15-24 year olds had visited a library in the past 12 months in 2016, 1.6 times more than those aged 25-69.If young people use libraries the most, what about teenagers?A survey conducted by the INJEP among teenagers and professionals in libraries of various sizes has attempted to identify the practices and expectations of young people with regard to libraries, to identify and analyze new approaches to teenagers, to identify and qualify professional practices, changes in professional and organizational cultures, and digital mediation practices at work in libraries.According to the authors of the survey, "the entry of digital practices into libraries has caused or accompanied a change in them, not only in terms of the offer intended for teenagers but also in the reflection on the spaces made available to them. The practices of teenagers are thus taken more into account".The survey, after a review of the cultures and digital practices of young people, and their limits, also seeks to understand how these digital practices of teenagers have influenced the offer of libraries and how they have organized themselves in front of this public. Various uses of the library Young people come to the library for a variety of reasons. "For many, it is less about accessing collections than it is about having a space, "having a corner of one's own while feeling part of a space". Teens travel, sometimes far, to go to a library where they can concentrate and feel like they are among other like-minded young people. In some neighborhoods, the library also serves as a safer place. The survey distinguishes two periods (before 15 and after) in the relationship of young people to libraries. "The13-15 year oldsandthe 15-17yearoldsdonothavethesameneeds.The13-15year old scometomeettheir friends,have fun,spendtime,the15-17yearoldscomemoretostudy/work,even iftheyalsomeettheirfriends. " The survey thus highlights an ambivalence among adolescents between the desire and need for "calm" ( "little corners to do nothing" ) and the need to meet up with their friends and exchange ideas. Some libraries are trying to change this representation "by adapting to the fact that adolescence is the age of noise, music, and groups, and by offering them places where they can stay in groups and express themselves, where they can adopt relaxed positions and read what is not prescribed in school, for example comics and manga, but also play video games and organize competitions with other libraries. The difficult search for a digital offer adapted to teenagers The question of how to organize the presence of teenagers in the library is not self-evident. "First of all , because teenagers often behave in a contradictory way. They are there and elsewhere at the same time, or as one librarian put it: "They are where we least expect them. They do school work in spaces not intended for it, invade spaces at exam time, which is not always well accepted."The survey thus highlights the ambivalence of teenagers towards the digital offer of libraries. Many of the teens we met have simultaneous use of the library's digital equipment and their own equipment. young people do not come to the library primarily to find digital materials, unless they do not have access to them at home "young people do not ask for digital resources but they appreciate offers related to their daily practices: access to wifi, possibility to play video games.... "(a library director) "While it is difficult to imagine what is "necessarily" attractive to teenagers in libraries," the study's authors note, "we can easily list what drives them away: mandatory registration, limited groups, strict hours, conditions for access, etc." Teens in libraries more active than we think Many of them, the authors of the study point out, "practice several digital cultural activities simultaneously (music, games, information, films...) ... They mix consumption, communication, sharing and creation activities. For them, digital does not represent a series of tools but a continuum and an environment in which they act.When the conditions are right, teenagers can even become driving forces. "They can propose workshops, new video games, creations, animations that librarians can use as inspiration for their offers. Some of them, even very young ones, appreciate being put in the position of facilitator of workshops or activities around the digital world.According to Anne Cordier, author of "Growing up connected", a digital offer is only relevant if it is proposed within the framework of a mediation: "The edutainment offer does not work in adolescence. The offer works when there is a mediation. The offer in catalog is not enough, what works better is when there is a workshop which supposes that the library opens on the city. There must be communication and a link with other structures.The place of teenagers in the library, conclude the authors, "should be considered in all its aspects, taking into account their presence in and around the library, their digital practices, their motivations for borrowing, and their interactions with librarians online and offline. This implies a reinforced complementarity with the other professionals of the territory who are concerned by education, youth, culture and social cohesion, putting in music all the specialities without diluting them, so that the whole makes sense for each teenager". Teenagers, an audience long considered difficult by librarians Adolescents are often the untraceable public of cultural institutions. Indeed, the particularities of this age, which is an in-between between childhood and adulthood, make them keep away from everything that is of the order of the institution, the rule, the obligation.In the midst of their search for identity, their way of life is collective (with their peers) and their membership in a group is based on both imitation and distinction.In the same way that students disappear from conservatories or visit museums by "poaching", the presence of teenagers in libraries is rather ambiguous.This "restless, noisy, unpredictable " public has long been considered difficult by librarians with the necessary "framing" of their presence and the maintenance of silence in the premises, which in a way continues the school universe and its constraints.According to a recent study (Roselli, 2014), " regulation by silence and by distinctive cultural codes (knowing how to behave, knowing how to search, knowing how to choose, knowing how to borrow) works against the attendance of teenage audiences and, discouraging profiles far removed from cultural concerns and books, produces an "abandonmentist" attitude."One of the reasons for these difficulties has also been a limited knowledge of adolescents and their practices. Librarians can often feel caught off guard when faced with a public that is difficult to grasp and that challenges their vision of the library as essentially book-based and "educational."The same study (Roselli, 2014) concludes, " Beyond age-related factors, the attractiveness policy of libraries constitutes another explanation for the progressive distancing of younger generations: the more libraries display orientations on the side of legitimate and coded culture (literature and elite genres), the more the new generations assimilate them to the adult and academic world."Adolescents have mixed feelings about libraries because they distance themselves from the institution in general and from formal practices in particular. The library reminds them of the school context, while their leisure practices develop a lot (in peer groups) of conviviality and exchanges.Cécile Delesalle, Chantal Dahan, Gérard Marquié and Mirabelle Gallego: Youth, libraries, digital and territory: towards new interactions

• Inclusion

Published on 03/09/19