International Research Journal of Education and Technology

The library now is the chief instrument for the accumulation and dissemination of man’s intellectual heritage. The value of information as an important and crucial factor in the social and economic development and progress of a nation is increasingly recognized in the present decade in comparison to ever before, and the public library plays an important role in the disseminating types of information to its readers. The role of the public library in our society is a living force for popular education and dissemination of knowledge and culture. The role of modern public library is just what a temple had been till about a hundred years ago. In those days the temple was used as the center of various social, cultural and spiritual activities of a village. Under the present changed circumstances, the public library shall have to play a similar role. It has to enter the very heart of the life of the village people and should take special interest in adult education and the activities alike; public library also serves as a storehouse of information from which each reader can draw whatever he requires.

Keywords: Information Access; Information Society; Information Literacy; Public Libraries; Internet Access; Knowledge Society; Collection Development; Rural Library; Rural Community; Literacy; Information Seeking; Community Development and Empowerment; Socio-cultural Development.