A seminar held in Glasgow on 21st June 2004 celebrated best practice in public libraries in using ICT to encourage participation and having an impact on people’s lives. The People’s Network, the NOF CALL programme and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have enabled public libraries to deliver ICT into areas of significant social deprivation and isolated communities.
Liz McGettigan, Library & Information Services Manager, East Renfrewshire Council, delivered a presentation on the work that East Renfrewshire has done to engage the community in ICT and the benefits this has brought.
Bob Orr, Training Co-ordinator with Hairnet Computer Training, shared some of his experience of working with older people.
Moira Methven, Senior Manager with Dundee City Council outlined the Bill & Melinda Gates and Scottish Government Public Libraries Excellence Fund project which operated from Coldside Library in Dundee. Dundee worked with older people and young people using reminiscence to engage with ICT.
Susan Hall from North Ayrshire Council gave an account of their experience of using hooks to learning and the development of a successful IT Buddy Scheme.
Anne Harrison and Helen Dewar’s presentation outlines Aberdeenshire’s experience of delivering the People’s Network and CALL programmes to rural communities.
Dorothy Browse gave an account of the Excellence Fund project which delivered ICT training to rural and isolated communities in Fife.
Karen Cunningham, Head of Libraries, Information and Learning with Glasgow City Council, shared their experience of working closely with community groups and the voluntary sector to remove barriers which disability or learning difficulties may cause customers.
John McGarrity managed the South Lanarkshire Excellence Fund Project which delivered ICT training in libraries and in community venues.
The seminar concluded with a presentation by Elaine Fulton, Director Scottish Library and Information Council, which looked at the next steps for delivering ICT across communities.
An exhibition has been produced to celebrate the contribution that public libraries can make to encouraging participation in ICT and overcoming social inclusion.
Public libraries are able to borrow this exhibition for promotions and events.
Scotland's Information
Research Collections Online
Scottish Library and Information Resources
Scottish Distributed Digital Library
Scottish Collections Network
Co-operative Information Retrieval Network for Scotland
© Send comments, suggestions and queries about SLAINTE to Gillian Hanlon. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 UK: Scotland License 06-Mar-2012
