Managing public libraries for democracy and diversity:
Contrasting Japan and UK

Democracies depend for their success on educated and literate
electorates, who have access to a wide range of information and
ideas. By the provision of a vast array of print and electronic
information, public libraries are the only providers of freely
available information and cultural materials to the general public in
both Japan and the U.K. The Public Library plays a profound role in
all aspects of community life both as a place and as a service, which
underpin the goals of the Governments: providing facilities for life
long education, sustaining the skills of literacy, supplying
information to the business community, maintaining the cultural
archive and much else. In addition, in increasingly diverse societies,
communities need to understand different cultural traditions and to
exchange and share ideas and philosophies. As we enter the information
age, libraries provide informational resources which promote essential
information literacy. The virtual world is managed and enabled by the
skills that have underpinned libraries through the centuries.

The provision and management of public libraries is a cost effective
activity, with the wide range of services indicated above being
provided to whole communities for about the same cost to the
individual as buying a daily newspaper. The latter decades of the
twentieth century were those in which investment in public services
declined and in which public accountability increased. Both countries
are examining management systems to ensure the most economic delivery
of public services and they are looking to provide the best services
they can from the funding that is available through taxes: 'Shitei
kanrishasei' in Japan and 'Comprehensive performance assessment' (CPA)
in the UK.  There is an expectation from both Governments that public
services will adopt a business ethos. It is essential therefore that
librarians are armed with the management competencies and
understanding of the concepts of quality and performance so as to
further develop the effective and efficient delivery of services. Now,
more than ever they need to be able to prove the impact that their
libraries have on the societies they serve.  Allocation of resources
in towns and cities is a political process. Librarians need to
understand these processes and to use them to their advantage.

The United Kingdom and Japan have much in common and also much to learn from each 
other. This paper will examine:

- The position of public libraries in the UK and Japan
- The principles of the provision of services to all sections of the community 
including those who are least likely to be active library members 
- The barriers to effective use of public libraries
- The management systems and critical success factors by which people  may be 
encouraged to use library services more effectively: 
    o Planning 
    o Funding
    o Sustainability
    o Community involvement
    o Evaluation
    o Partnerships
    o Publicity and promotion

Sandra Parker is a Research Fellow from Northumbria University in the UK and is a 
Visiting Research Fellow, Center for Knowledge Communities, University of Tsukuba, 
Tsukuba, Japan.