AID to Libraries: policies and trends

Abstract

Information-related aid, including aid to libraries, is an area of technical assistance designed to contribute both to economic and to human development. Its role in economic development is heavily emphasized in the literature, but no major aid agency gives top priority to it and only a handful can be said to give it more than a low priority. The scope and nature of aid for information and library development are reviewed and the contribution of the major bilateral and multilateral aid agencies and non-governmental organizations is analysed. Different forms of library aid including consultancy, presentations and donations of new and used books and periodicals, gifts of furniture, equipment and buildings and the provision of education and training, are discussed. Political and social implications of library aid are considered.