Open Access‘It is unbelievable how many come to us’:
Author(s) -
Mariana S. Gustafsson,
Elin Wihlborg
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
the journal of community informatics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1712-4441
DOI - 10.15353/joci.v17i.3490
Subject(s) - inclusion (mineral) , democracy , function (biology) , public relations , perspective (graphical) , the internet , digital literacy , community engagement , digital inclusion , universal design , literacy , political science , civic engagement , digital divide , sociology , business , internet privacy , world wide web , computer science , politics , pedagogy , social science , evolutionary biology , artificial intelligence , law , biology
In advanced, digitalized democratic communities the demands for literacy are a prerequisite for engagement and inclusion, at the same time different forms of divides are omnipresent. By providing access and qualified support to all citizens, public libraries play a central function in the building of democratic and inclusive local communities, being increasingly relied upon by governments to deliver access and support for e-services. Based on a case study of community library services in Sweden, Östergötland, this paper aims to study digital inclusion as reflected in daily practices through the perspective of librarians. In this paper we argue that while advancing digitalisation involves opening of new access and engagement opportunities through empowering digital tools and Internet, it also involves different challenges of exclusion for those who cannot use, choose not to use or have other needs