history, it has found fertile ground in nations where education is either devalued or its purpose is to teach peo- ple to feel wronged and afraid rather than empowered to think critically. The only lasting antidote to populism is critical literacy. We have a professional duty to help the public arm themselves against mis- and dis-information and to see informed scepticism as the root of strong democracies.
The experience of the past few years has demonstrated that librarians and information professionals alone cannot turn the tide on a lack of critical literacy in the general population We must work hand-in-hand with teachers, policymakers regulators and even parents to re-establish the principle that a true universal edu- cation must equip children and young people with the complex digital and information literacies needed to thrive in the modern world.
Local libraries as the root of strong
democracies Let us be under no illusions – the prin- ciple of universal access to a free, quality library service supported by professional library staff is under sustained assault in the UK. As Local Authorities begin to push back on central Government cuts by challenging the legal definition of ‘minimum service requirements’, we will likely see further challenges to the idea of libraries as a universal entitlement in the months ahead. As a profession, our responsibility is not to ‘see both sides’ of the debate about volunteerism and cuts to library services.
January-February 2024
We have a duty to call it what it is – a fraud that has been perpetrated on the tax-pay- ing public. We must call out the culture of cuts and ‘hollowing-out’ not as a political position, but because of what is right for the readers and communities to whom we are ultimately accountable. So in 2024, we must be resolute not only in defending the basic facts of public library provision but in maintaining a clear defence of the right of every resident to a high-quality, professionally-staffed and adequately-funded library. Our strategy cannot be ‘keeping up appearances’ – it must be to defend the principle of a Univer- sal public library service for everyone.
Influencing legislation
As ethical librarians and information professionals, we must be conscious of how legislative change filters down to impact on the daily lives of millions of information users. In recent years, we have seen the emergence of a legislative agenda which ought to give cause for concern to those of us that care about Human Rights and civil liberties.
Arguably the greatest strength of the Human Rights Act (and the Universal Declaration on Human Rights) is that they apply equally to us all. They also firmly establish the principle that the rights of the individual are paramount over those of the state and private enterprise.
Any nation seeking to withdraw from, for example, the European Convention on Human Rights, should do so solely in the belief that their domestic replacement will do a better job of securing the individual rights of their citizens. Nothing in the
current legislative agenda suggests that this will be the case.
Taken alongside the Investigatory Powers (Amendment Bill) announced in the King’s Speech, the impact of the Online Safety Act and the bundle of measures intro- duced under the Digital Economy Act, we are looking at arguably the most intrusive regulatory framework for digital rights the UK has ever seen.
With the likelihood of significant political change in 2024, we must come together as a professional community to make the case for legislative reform in order to protect the civil rights and freedoms of information users.
The opportunity and challenge of technology
Children growing up in our hyper-con- nected societies have at their disposal tools which would once have been the sole preserve of scholars, High-Priests and Emperors. The vast, open-ended oppor- tunity of universal connectivity could yet bring about a new age of Enlightenment. Conversely, we have all lived through a period in which technology has proven to be the ideal accelerant of harms, misin- formation and unwarranted influence. The same digital connectivity which has empowered grassroots political move- ments has also facilitated the election of demagogues. Last year saw the widespread emergence of AI in the public psyche, but also a new understanding that we are right at the very beginning of understanding where AI-pow- ered systems might take us as a society. 2024 will see AI make the transition from software to hardware – creating systems
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