Ian McShane

Public libraries, digital literacy and participatory culture

In recent years public libraries have experimented with user-generated or community-contributed content through the interactive tools of Web 2.0. For some commentators this not just establishes a new relationship between libraries and their publics, but signals the end of information hegemony and an ‘expert paradigm’. Such claims need to be treated with caution. This article argues that public library experiments with user-generated content can be more usefully analysed in the context of wider institutional mandates around literacy, civic engagement and access. This article critically examines some recent library developments in this field, with a particular focus on Australian libraries.

Learning to share: Australia's 'Building the Education Revolution' and shared schools

This article analyses the conceptual and policy contexts of the Australian governments Building the Education Revolution (BER) programme. This

Unlocking the potential? Australia's digital strategy and major public libraries

A15 billion commitment to renewing school facilities is the Australian governments largest single measure of economic stimulus in response to the recent global financial crisis. Public debate and analysis of BER have focused on its economic objective. The programme has a second, less publicised objective, to promote community building and engagement with schools by specifying that funded facilities will be available for community use. This article argues that, in contrast to the Australian governments rhetorical commitment to educational innovation, BER follows a modernist tradition of infrastructure provision characterised by top-down programme design and limited attention to the ‘soft’ infrastructure of organisational systems and human resources. While conceding the circumstances in which BER was developed, this article identifies areas where the programme requires further development to optimise this current high-point of investment in Australian schools.

Community facilities, community building and local government : an Australian perspective

This paper examines some implications for public libraries of the Australian governments 2009 strategy for the digital economy. Many countries have produced national digital strategies in recent years, but these key pieces of policy architecture have received little critical attention. The rhetorical framing of the Australian document indicates the shift of communication and information to the centre of economic policy. This has particular significance for public libraries, as the major public information portals and cultural storehouses of liberal democracies. The strategys emphasis on productivity and economic competitiveness, boosted by a proposed high‐speed national broadband network, presents major opportunities for Australian libraries. However, libraries and other collecting institutions have voiced concern over assumptions that they can simply ‘unlock’ their collections and supply content for new broadband applications. In contrast to some other countries, the Australian strategy pays no attention to the profound implications for information integrity and cultural memory presented by the expansion of cultural and economic activity in the digital sphere. The challenge for public libraries, the paper argues, is to explore ways that orthodox library responsibilities and new roles can be articulated in this evolving policy framework.

Trojan Horse or Adaptive Institutions? Some Reflections on Urban Commons in Australia*

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the connections between community and community facilities, and the implications for local government facility management.Design/methodology/approach – In addition to cited published literature, the paper draws on archival and case study research and interviews with local government managers and local residents conducted by the author.Findings – The financing, planning and management of community facilities has emerged as a major public policy issue in Australia in recent years as assets acquired in the post‐World War II years of growth and decentralisation age, service needs widen and local governments experience fiscal stress. During this period, awareness of the limits of state provision and market individualism has brought renewed focus on community, and policy outputs, particularly at local government level, are increasingly framed around community strengthening.Research limitations/implications – The research focus is Victoria, Australia.Originality/value – The p...

The past and future of local swimming pools

The rubric of ‘new’ commons signals the re-assessment of old dilemmas about resource management and collaborative action in new social, spatial and technological settings. Urban commons feature in the expanding register of new commons, but there has been little analysis of the meaning and application of the concept. This article explores the urban commons in an Australian context, focusing on the provision of social infrastructure. While noting criticism of the concepts imprecision and ideological valency, the article argues that the urban commons offers new perspectives on public resources, urban governance and sustainability.

Analysing the challenges for large public libraries in the twenty-first century: A case study of the State Library of Victoria in Australia

Abstract This article examines both recent policy to rationalise the provision of local public swimming pools, and the controversy that some closure or redevelopment plans have generated. Focusing on Victoria, the article analyses the cultural and political history of municipal pools, challenging a current policy narrative of local authority failure by highlighting earlier civic and higher government initiatives for pool building. Physical infrastructure has been little studied by scholars in the humanities and social sciences. With much of Australias post-World War Two infrastructure reaching the end of its effective life in the first few decades of this century, the story of local pools illuminates a policy challenge with major social, political and environmental implications.