The Implementation of e-Inclusion in Public Libraries. A Case Study of Tallinn Central Library

      Аннотация: Despite the fact that Estonia is known as a leading country in terms of ICT, there are still many groups of the population excluded from the benefits offered by the digital information society. Amongst them are elderly people and people who have lost their employment in the wake of the economic crisis in recent years. This book aims to explore the e-Inclusion from the Librarians’ point of view and analyse how it has been implemented by Tallinn Central Library (TCL). Two e-Inclusion programmes were analysed - training courses for elderly people and training courses for jobseekers. This research is a single-case study and follows a qualitative approach. Purposive sampling was used. Thus, participants selected were Management staff of TCL and Directors of seventeen branch libraries in Tallinn. The methods used for the collection of data were documentary analysis, written and semi-structured interviews. The interviewees’ responses provide detailed information regarding the performance of the e-Inclusion programmes as well as the motivations of participants and strengths and weaknesses among other relevant issues. The interviews were analysed using description analysis.

Ключевые слова: Estonia, European Union, Digital Divide, Elderly, Public Libraries, e-Inclusion, Jobseekers, Tallinn Central Library