A    A    Hrvatski

INVITATION TO THE MEETING OF SUPPORTERS' NETWORK UNDER THE SLOGAN

I HAVE THE RIGHT TO KNOW, I HAVE THE RIGHT TO A LIBRARY
 
Croatian Library Association invites all its members, all members of library profession and all library friends to join forces in raising public awareness and promoting and ensuring free access to information, lifelong learning and struggle against ignorance, informing the general public on the need of building and adequately financing libraries in all towns and districts, the need for establishing library services in all schools, high-schools, scientific and cultural institutions, as well as in all social, health and penitentiary institutions.

Croatian Library Association recounts the permanent values of libraries:
  • libraries are basic and irreplacable institutions of democracy servicing citizens of various age, economic status, ethnicity, as well as various mental and physical abilities in order to provide them with information sources necessary for their life and work, as well as equipping them for active participation on both local and national levels;
  • libraries, in cooperation with community's civil associations and institutions, affect the development of public sensibility and removes prejudice against socially marginalized groups of library users, such as minority members, physically challenged and elderly, as well as organizing special programmes aimed at encouraging the above mentioned to use the library services;
  • libraries are treasuries of collective memory and an invaluable source for reconstructing community's history and recognizing its identity within a highly globalized world, as well as supporting the creation, borrowing and preservation of printed, audio-visual and electronic versions of cultural heritage collections;
  • libraries are the place of free flow of knowledge and culture, functioning as a counterpoint to the selective offers of mass media and educational systems, as well as ensuring economic growth and social stability in the times of global competition;
  • libraries aid learning by nurturing the need for consulting various information sources, as well as providing easier search, selection and evaluation of quality information;
  • libraries devise programmes aimed at lifelong learning for members of all age, social and ethnic groups, following the development of information and communication technologies, and are, along with schools, the most relevant institutions in creating the preconditions for developing a society of knowledge;
  • libraries ensure optimal access to official publications and information via quality processing and information services, as well as by choosing the adequate technical equipment;
  • libraries support the use of electronic government services, electronic health services, electronic trade and electronic education services, offering easy and direct access to its users, as well as user training for accessing electronic sources;
  • libraries are a safe place for learning, pleasure and meeting of different generations.
Croatian Library Association thus invites public authorities and local government bodies in all Croatian districts, towns and counties, Croatian Government, Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Science, Education and Sport in particular, to join their efforts in providing every child, young adult, employed and unemployed citizens and pensioners, with the easy and accessible use of quality library services.