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Nowadays, the increasing volume of information has an incalculable growth; not being informed is not a problem in itself, but how to digest it and properly use it, is. If the existing hypertext structure information network is read similarly than printed documents inevitably we will stop at the words and concepts that we are familiar with. Thus we will read and understand in what we are interested to read and to understand. We will not go seeking information by means of curiosity, but by endorsing topics. That is a plain way of consuming information that does not encourage the wish of knowing, that is as a single way of thinking. The purpose of knowing how to use the information is not merely to read it, but knowing how to assess it, to encourage the otherness (to see life through the eyes of the writer) and dialogue in any other medium or format whereby performance information is presented. The library and specially the information given to its Users are, no doubt, fundamental for a well formed and structured civil society due to the fact of being sufficiently well informed. The work of a library and the availability of information are essential in the building of society and citizenship in the 21st Century. For this reason, the 18th International Colloquium of Librarians to be held in the framework of the 25th anniversary of the Guadalajara International Book Fair aims to show the library and its main service, the information, as key elements that support the building of society. Society is dynamic, in continuous change and transformation, civil society groups find in the information points and links of identity that help them grow as citizens. However, the points of identity will depend on other factors such as:
Nowdays information and communication technologies are essential elements in the building of both society and citizenship, particularly the Web, which put us all –the librarians- to meet greater information demands from the Users; therefore libraries must implement processes committed to development and social improvement, which forces them to have sufficient infrastructure to resolve such claims. Papers to be presented at the 18th International Colloquium of Librarians will focus on identifying and analyzing how people value the essential role of information in the development of individuals and society in general, besides Users find in the library a fundamental support to locate, analyze, evaluate and use information, which has been enhanced and augmented with technology. Sergio López Ruelas |
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