n Service of Their Communities : Public Libraries

Introduction It is no doubt a truism to say that public libraries are societal institutions that genuinely mirror the society in which they have been set up. In spite of the fact that they are normally established and funded by the local communities, their activities reflect the broader policies of a particular society towards its citizens. The contemporary society in which public libraries act today has been characterized by specific, highly prominent traits, which strongly influence the libraries' activities and have to be taken into account in any discussion on libraries. Some of these distinctive traits are: Globalization a series of norms developed at the transnational level crossing the borders of individual countries and striving to overcome the present technical, geographical and political obstacles to the free movement of people www SHORT