The logic of the networks of instrumental exchanges is very different from the logic of people’s everyday life and experiences. Yet, it seems that the life worlds of ordinary people are increasingly bound to such instrumental net- works. Daily living, interaction with other people, self-development, and participation are more and more connected with the ways in which global networks position people according to their use value. These developments are indicators of the fundamental tension between the Net and the Self (Fig. 1).
The tensions between global networks of instrumental exchange and the place-specific, historically determined life forms at local and individual levels have been reacted and mediated in various ways. Some of these strategies of action are based on spontaneous reactions of citizens, while others draw on societal and institutionalized forms of mediation. This repertoire ranges from individual alienation and citizen activism to the activities of non- governmental organizations and state interventions. For example, the exploitation of developing countries by multinational companies has given rise to social movements and consumer boycotts. Similarly, this kind of mediation – particularly its institutional form – is manifested in the ways in which nation states, regions, and cities make attempts to increase their attractiveness on a global level by creating innovative milieus, regional innovation systems, and favorable conditions for business (see, e.g.,Anttiroiko, 2004b). In a similar sense, we may assume that libraries have a role as cultural mediators in the global–local dialectic.
Space of flows Global networks of
instrumental exchanges Flows of capital and information
Social integration Livelihood Citizen influence
People and communities Processes of everyday life
Space of places Local conditions
Fig. 1. Aspects of the Fundamental Tension between the Net and the Self.
New Premises of Public Library Strategies 65
Globalization as a Conditioning Framework
What do the changes associated with globalization mean for public libraries and the conditions of their action? In general, globalization refers to the intensification of worldwide social relations, linking localities to each other and making local transformations as inherent part of the logic of globalization (Giddens, 1990; Hirst & Thompson, 1999; Scholte, 2000).
As the processes of globalization include economic, cultural, social, and political aspects, it is likely to affect public libraries in various ways. The impacts of globalization are rarely direct, which means that they must be analyzed as a kind of conditioning framework rather than as a single factor with direct causal impact on libraries. Thus, globalization may be seen as a complex setting of contextual factors that are not causally deter- mining the strategies and measures of individual public libraries. However, since public libraries function as an integral part of local communities subject to the same structural and contextual changes as the community at large, libraries can hardly avoid being responsive to such changes, not least because most of them have their manifestations at local community level.
Another important factor of change that has a close connection to glo- balization is information society development. In essence, it revolves around the informational logic of development, which increasingly determines the ways in which material, social, and human resources are allocated and used in society. Public libraries as cultural and informational institutions have a role to play in this transformation. For example, they may provide services and support in the fields of communication, life-long learning, and the use of networked services. In fact, during their history, libraries have contributed to fields related to ‘‘information society’’; nowadays these contributions have just received new forms. In addition, public libraries have a significant role as mediators and arenas of culture. In a general sense, they may relieve orientation and identity problems, increase the openness and transparency of society, activate discussion and informa- tion transfer, and dampen the externalizing and instrumentalizing effects of globalization.
From the perspective of the critical factors of change outlined above, public libraries seem to have two possible directions. A conservative route is to adhere to traditional models of action such as, for example, borrowing books from the local library. Given the severe pressure from and changes in worklife, civic education, and library and leisure services consumption pat- terns, it is unlikely that conservative or reactionary strategies such as these
would garner political support for a library. Thus, it is more likely that libraries will be required to apply more responsive and adaptable strategies in order to guarantee that they will maintain their productive and repro- ductive mediating functions in changing conditions of globalization and informatization. The starting point of this alternative is that the library can function as a democratic node and public arena at local level in order to provide access to knowledge and enhance interaction in the community and in local–global exchange relations. In this way, the role of the public library may be profiled as a mediator at two levels and in two realms, i.e. connecting the local and the global, and creating new links between the space of flows and the space of places. At a very fundamental level this implies that the library may provide a value-based element supporting the formation of identity in a network society that is permeated by instrumental relationships of exchange. It may contribute to more inclusive globalization as well as the democratization of the space of flows. In our view, this is perhaps the major message that Castells provides to the discussion concerning the changing social role of institutions, including public libraries.