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APOLOGIES FOR CROSS-POSTING
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LASER (London and South Eastern Library Region)
PRESS RELEASE - For Immediate Release
17 April 1998
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LASER welcomes the Government's Information Age initiative and proposals
for establishing the
UK Public Library People's Network
LASER wholeheartedly welcomes the co-ordinated government initiative as
laid out in "Our Information Age - the Governments vision" launched by the
Prime Minister on the 16th April 1998. This recognises the public library's
central role in ensuring that all members of society have access to ICT in
order to enjoy the benefits it brings.
LASER supports the major recommendations for establishing a UK Public
Library People's Network as set out by Chris Smith in the Government's
response to the Library and Information Commission's "New Library: the
People's Network" Report and the setting of these initiatives within the
Information Age framework which includes the National Grid for Learning,
the University for Industry and the IT for All Programme.
We welcome the opportunity to work with and assist the Government, public
libraries and the Library and Information Commission in the proposals for
training library staff, content creation and digitisation and in the
establishment and implementation of the Public Library Network
infrastructure.
The government's response is right to stress the importance of partnerships
between the private sector, libraries, schools and business in realising
the goals of the Information Age. We welcome the opportunities which this
will bring to initiatives and developments currently being undertaken by
LASER in the areas of networking, resource sharing and cross-sectoral
collaboration
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References
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1) The full text of "Our information age" is on the new Downing Street
website at http://www.number-10.gov.uk/
2) Copies of the Government's response to the "New library: the people's
network" are being sent to every public library authority in the UK
(Stationery's Office have copies - Command Paper 3887) and this is also
available on the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's website at
http://www.culture.gov.uk/
3) New Library : The People's Network : Report commissioned from the
Library and Information Commission by the Department for Culture, Media and
Sport is available from the Library and Information Commission or at
http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/services/lic/newlibrary
4) National Grid for Learning site is at http://www.ngfl.gov.uk/
5) University for Industry can be found http://www.ufi.org.uk/index.htm
6) IT for All site is at http://www.itforall.org.uk/
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Notes to Editors
Press Release issued by LASER,
Gun Court, 70 Wapping Lane,
London E1 9RL; Tel : 0171 702 2020; Fax : 0171 702 2019;
E-mail: [log in to unmask];
URL : http://www.viscount.org.uk/laser/
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