Digital Literacy and Digital Inclusion - Information Policy and the Public Library (Hardcover)

Digital Literacy and Digital Inclusion: Information Policy and the Public Library examines the interrelationships between digital literacy, digital inclusion, and public policy, emphasizing the impacts of these policy decisions on the ability of individuals and communities to successfully participate in the information society. The ability to use the Internet to meet information needs is often labeled digital literacy, while access to the Internet in order to apply the skills of digital literacy is often discussed in terms of digital inclusion; while both are widely recognized as central to participation in contemporary society, they are rarely considered as policy issues. This book is the first detailed consideration of digital literacy and digital inclusion as policy problems and as core issues in information policy and libraries.The unique features of this book include: *Drawing together the key themes and findings from the discourse on digital literacy and digital inclusion widely spread among many fields; *Analyzing digital literacy and digital inclusion as policy issues, both being driven and regulated by policy; *Building on a wealth of original research conducted by the authors using different quantitative and qualitative data collection approaches on four different continents when analyzing these issues, providing unique examples, case studies, and perspectives; *Using information behavior theory to provide important insights about these issues at individual, community, and political levels; *Providing recommendations to inform practice in libraries and help libraries to frame their advocacy for public policies that support literacy and inclusion; and *Providing policy recommendations to improve the creation and implementation of policy instruments that promote digital literacy and digital inclusion. The authors of this book have been involved in this research space for many years and their experience provides a broad view across the literature and problems, as well as across national perspectives.This breadth allows the book to offer comprehensive policy recommendations, solutions, and best practices for an area that is currently extremely fragmented in discourse, practice, and policy.