(iii) Lifelong Learning
63. The concept of Lifelong Learning is to provide
educational resources from infancy through to retirement and beyond.
Lifelong Learning initiatives are directed at not only all age
groups but also all social groups. The Library Association has
asserted that, although libraries provide a suitable environment
for learning, a gap "exists in the minds of those individuals
who see themselves as non-learners, who do not recognise their
own life-experience or informal learning as being learning".[175]
The challenge to the public library system is to close that gap
and help the many adults who "find it hard to get the education
and training they need".[176]
Libraries are particularly well-placed to provide learning resources
to those who "find it hard to gain access to activity that
is too formal or is provided in too 'conventional' an educational
setting".[177]
64. Seventy three per cent of adult public library
users finished their education at 19 or younger.[178]
A 1998 MORI poll showed that 36 per cent of adults defined their
preferred learning environment as libraries.[179]
According to the Chairman of MLAC, "it is an absolutely neutral
place where the librarian is trained to welcome and help learners".[180]
Libraries need to recognise that individuals have different learning
styles and preferences and that libraries are seen by some as
unapproachable. It is important to build bridges between formal
and informal learning and to reach "out to those who lack
the confidence to recognise themselves as learners".[181]
A local information and guidance service is being developed to
assist adults in making decisions about returning to education.[182]
65. A principal resource for Lifelong Learning is
The National Grid for Learning (NGfL) which was launched in January
1998. The NGfL is designed to provide access, via the Internet,
to high quality educational content and, in particular, to material
designed to raise standards of literacy and numeracy.[183]
The NGfL will be linked to the public library system, and access
will also be available through schools, colleges and other institutions,
as well as in the home. The target for completion is "the
end of the year 2002 wherever practicable".[184]
The NGfL educational content will be provided by "central
and local government, museums, galleries, schools, private sector
companies, and libraries".[185]
66. The University for Industry (UfI) is a national
network to provide learndirect products and services to
promote learning. The content ranges from basic skills to specialised
technological skills and business management and is aimed at individuals
and businesses. There are 79 development centres throughout the
United Kingdom preparing the new technology and testing the content.[186]
67. Central to the success of these initiatives is
the development of ICT skills. To effect that development, ICT
Learning Centres will be established at about 700 sites throughout
England.[187]
Lord Evans said that "the library will be the place where
these learning centres will exist in many areas because ... the
library is the place where people who wish to learn want to go".[188]
He continued that, although learners feel "most comfortable
in ... the library, I am not for a moment suggesting that the
library is the only place".[189]
68. The Merton Library Forum expressed concern that
Lifelong Learning, "especially in the context of IT, is an
expression which is being used to bludgeon library officers in
to a pro-active educative role, for which they are neither trained,
nor qualified".[190]
That view is shared by many library user groups which also believe
that traditional library services would suffer as a result of
staff training in ICT.[191]
However, Mr Wicks stated that Lifelong Learning presented "a
challenge and an opportunity" for libraries.[192]
Mr Mackay said that "there is a very encouraging track record
of librarians in particular wishing to grasp the technology in
order to improve the services that they can provide to the public".[193]
Lord Evans appreciated that "training is an absolutely critical
part of this because the whole thing could go very wrong, as certain
initiatives have gone wrong in the educational world, if teachers/librarians
are not trained".[194]
He explained that the New Opportunities Fund was allocating money
"for training librarians and teachers".[195]
69. It is a matter for regret that the potentially
invaluable role of public libraries was neglected during the development
of the National Grid for Learning and the University for Industry.
If there is to be continuity in the delivery of information and
communication technology, it is essential that, even at this late
stage, libraries are seen to be at the centre and not at the periphery
of the delivery of these new services. However, the role now envisaged
for public libraries in Lifelong Learning by MLAC and Ministers
appears to be in line with the best traditions of the public library
service. We recommend that the Department for Culture, Media and
Sport and the Department for Education and Employment work together
with library authorities to ensure that libraries can play an
integral role within the wider delivery of Lifelong Learning and
that funding arrangements reflect this.
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