A public library is also called a circulating library. It is a library, which is accessible by the public and is generally funded from public sources and may be operated by civil servants. Taxing bodies for public libraries may be at any level from local to national central government level. Public libraries exist in most often places in the world and are often considered as an essential part of having an educated and literate population. Public libraries are distinct from research libraries, school libraries or other special libraries in that their mandate is to serve the public’s information needs generally as well as offering materials for general entertainment and leisure purposes. Public libraries provide free services such as preschool story times to encourage early literacy. Public libraries are typically lending libraries, allowing users to take books and other materials off the premises temporarily; they also have none circulating reference collections. Public libraries primarily focus on popular materials such as popular fiction and movies as well as educational and non – fiction materials of interest to the general public; computer and internet access are often offered.
An online public library is an online data base of materials held by a library or group of libraries. Users search a library catalog principally to locate books and other materials physically located at a library.
Public librarians now assist many patrons with federal state, and local government agencies services that have moved almost exclusively online. Government provides many services to the online public libraries. They provide access to and assistance navigating e- government websites. They provide assistance filling in forms and sending emails related to obtaining forms. They help writing employment letters and resumes, completing employment and unemployment applications and searching employment data base. They provide creating email accounts and locating government information such as government assistance and grants, Medicare benefits, immigration and naturalization regulations, tax forms, hunting and fishing licenses and so on.
In addition to these services, a growing number of public libraries reported collaborating with government agencies. Also, patrons expect that public libraries provide free internet access and trust library staff members to assist them in the use of e – government services. With the growth in e – government expected to continue, defining e – government services roles for practical applications in the public libraries may assist libraries in planning for the provision of these services and better understanding the resources that would be needed to offer such services.
As more commercial and government services are being provided, online public libraries increasingly provide internet access for users who otherwise would not be able to connect to these services. Part of the public library mission has become attempting to help bridge the digital divide. In addition to internet access, many public libraries offer training and support to computer users. Once access has been achieved, there still remains a large gap between people’s online abilities and skills. For communities, the public library is the only agency offering free computer classes and information technology learning.
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