The role of the public library in the local community

The subject-matter of the master’s thesis is the role of the public library in the community. The aim of the work is to define and evaluate the role of the public library as a socio-cultural object in the community. The goals of the research study are as follows: to establish cultural and information needs of the community, to review the mission and evolution of the public library, to estimate the need of the public library services and to define their structure, and to survey and evaluate the role of the branches of the Marijampolė municipality public library in small communities. Having used the theoretical methods of induction and comparison of the scientific literature and the empirical scientific research based on the method of analyzing data from statistics and the data acquired from the questionnaires, a conclusion was made that the public library plays a significant role in the social system of the community. Having applied the method of generalizing abstraction, there was observed a dependence of the functioning of the community as a social system on the development of the infra-structure of the socio-cultural environment and that of the educational and cultural services. Having analyzed territorial and social aspects, a conclusion was made that socialization and integration of the individual into the civil society takes place on the territorial basis in the set social environment through purposeful community and socio-cultural education. It was also noted that in the community functioning as a social system, there exists a dense exchange network among the individuals and local organizations, and the individuals taking part in the network have high level of community-sense. The public library as a partner of the social system has a potential to maintain the community’s efforts to raise the cultural awareness while diminishing social disjuncture, encourages local development, fosters and diversifies strategies of people’s evolution and development of their competences. Having completed the research in the rural communities of Marijampolė municipality, analyzing the empirical data, a conclusion was made that social system works better in the larger communities that have the infra-structure of the services, and those that do not have it have more features of the territorial community. It was also noticed that the public library is a powerful member of the social system of the communities; it helps to create the socio-cultural environment in the communities, and the environment influences socialization of the individuals, their social activeness and civil maturity. The public library is an active partner of the community; it strengthens the feeling of community based on its activities, personal relations and trust. It was also noticed that the public library, creating opportunities for the rural community members to consume traditional cultural values, does not meet their information needs based on modern requirements of the society, especially in the remote form the public library communities. The research work is a matter of great relevance as the collected and organized information about features of social characteristics of the community and the changes in the mission and functions of its institution, the public library, can help to form a new attitude towards the local library as the object of information, socialization and education, increasing the potential of the communities and developing sociality and public spirit. The master’s thesis can be useful for professionals at public libraries and their administrators, for lecturers and students of communication disciplines and for anyone interested in the subject