The social function of the public library in the world of social networks and of the crisis of the Welfare State

Abstract

Currently we discuss the model of the Welfare State. In its genesis, this model intended to create a sense of belonging and of a cohesive community, concerned with the construction of a more equitable society through the redistribution of richness and attention to the most vulnerable population. Europe has a past of developing economic policies which led to the building of a society with legal and constitutional recognition of social rights after the Second World War, emphasizing the concept of citizenship. The current economic crisis has installed the debate on the performance of the state organizations and their social role. The public library as a state organization has a social function linked. This study aims to review the theoretical perspectives of several authors on the social function of the public library and to identify a connection between the presence of public libraries in virtual social networks and their condition towards the weakening or strengthening of the social responsibility that they carry, taking as a set the current discussion of the model of the welfare state and the generalized economic crisis. This work is part of a wider research on the impact of Web 2.0 on the social role of the Portuguese public libraries observed in the social network Facebook.