Abstract

Public libraries are vital public agencies consist of the knowledge empowerment and the information accessibility. This study focuses on the role of public libraries toward serving society in Egypt. It addresses various provided services as well as the actual beneficiaries. The collected data is based on a qualitative study through semi structured interviews with librarians to focus on the existing functionality of public libraries. The main question is how the Egyptian public libraries can serve the society with the concentrate on the challenges they are facing and the possible opportunities for effective utilization. The interview data reflect the strong social mission that libraries have and their role in providing reference and reader services aside from organizing varied activities and supporting the lifelong learning. The study demonstrated the actual challenges which included the librarians’ limited training chances as well as their low wages. In addition to the uncooperative polices by the government and the lack of financial resources which required efficient running of the public libraries. On the other hand, the opportunities included the chances to enhance the librarians’ skills, raising fund, new policies that encouraged cooperation programs among libraries and other organizations, and the buildings spaces’ utilization as well as strengthening the infrastructure.

Department

Public Policy & Administration Department

Degree Name

MA in Public Administration

Graduation Date

6-1-2016

Submission Date

May 2016

First Advisor

Barsoum, Ghada

Committee Member 1

Ali, Hamid

Committee Member 2

Abdel Halim, Khaled

Extent

90 p.

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Rights

The author retains all rights with regard to copyright. The author certifies that written permission from the owner(s) of third-party copyrighted matter included in the thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study has been obtained. The author further certifies that IRB approval has been obtained for this thesis, or that IRB approval is not necessary for this thesis. Insofar as this thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study is an educational record as defined in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 USC 1232g), the author has granted consent to disclosure of it to anyone who requests a copy.

Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval

Approval has been obtained for this item

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