The Role of Librarians in National Development in Tanzania: Information Inclusion and Exclusion

Abstract

Public libraries are inclusive institutions created for everyone to equally and freely access information for educational, social and cultural development; indeed that is the essence of inclusion. However, this is not true because defining and identifying user inclusion is a difficult task due to the wide range of factors that cause potential users exclusion from using public libraries. This is unfortunate, because the major function of a public library is to meet the information needs of all community members without discrimination. Previous research has shown that librarians usually draw two conclusions about exclusion factors: first, it is users’ personal preference when they do not use library services; and secondly, inadequate marketing of public library services to the citizenry. This is due to the fact that a public library as an inclusive institution is so ardently incorporated into the identity of public librarianship that questioning the social inclusiveness of libraries rarely occurs. This paper examines the issue of exclusion, attempts to define the inclusive society, and subsequently makes recommendation on how the librarians can use their professional capacity in service provision to combat the exclusion in the society in turn enhance development.