Library and Information Commission Prospects: a strategy for action

Library and Information Research, Development and Innovation in the United Kingdom - Proposals for consultation

Library and Information Commission Research Committee, November 1997



[1] The Vision

1.1
Library and information services need a pragmatic and farsighted foundation for the twenty first century, in recognition that effective practice requires underpinning knowledge. Most importantly, insight and innovation are required, to sustain and improve the contribution that library and information services make to society.

The information society environment

1.2
The rapidly changing environment in which library and information services are operating presents many challenges and opportunities for change. The vast and growing agenda of issues within this environment means that there is an even greater need for the library and information services community to focus on areas which match both its own and government objectives.
1.3
The features which members of the Library and Information Commission have identified in 2020 Vision as significant elements of the information society environment are that:

The role of the United Kingdom

1.4
We believe that the United Kingdom will play a leading role in the global information economy through:
Connectivity
providing universal access to the products of the human mind
Content
creating a digital library of the UK's intellectual heritage of culture and innovation
Competences
equipping individuals and organisations to play their full role in a learning and information society.
1.5
These concepts provide the framework for the Library and Information Commission's role of promoting the value and impact of library and information services in social, educational, political and economic contexts.

The 2020 Vision statements

1.6
The Library and Information Commission's 2020 Vision statements articulate its vision of the information society:

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