Parliamentary Libraries: An Uncertain Future?

Parliamentary libraries serve parliamentary institutions on a national or local level. Usually they are founded at the same time as the parliament itself and organized according to the parliamentary model of the country in which they are located. The parliamentary library’s mission is to support and facilitate parliamentary activities and make available all useful sources of information to the parliament as a whole. Thus, the parliamentary library is a specialized library from the point of view of the collections’ coverage and of patrons as well. Today, parliamentary libraries are at a turning point in their history. All over the world they are radically changing their nature and are reinventing themselves. They are facing two main challenges: the convergence toward a digital and networked society and the changing role of parliaments themselves. Parliamentary libraries are heading in two main directions: they are becoming documentation centers by integrating their services with other parliamentary offices and departments, meaning that they sometimes give up their physical structure; and they are extending themselves beyond their traditional roles by also serving the general public, by acquiring the status of national libraries, or by becoming central research libraries for a specific field such as political science and law. Introduction Parliamentary libraries serve parliamentary institutions on a national or local level (Priano, 2000). Usually they are founded at the same time as the parliament itself and organized according to the parliamentary model of the country in which they are located. Therefore, if the parliament consists of only one chamber there is usually only one library, while if there 550 library trends/spring 2010 are two chambers there are also two libraries. However, this is not true everywhere. Many countries with two parliamentary chambers have had only one library since the outset, or the two existing libraries have been integrated through cooperation projects or unified in a single library. The parliamentary library’s mission is to support and facilitate parliamentary activities and make available all useful sources of information to the parliament. Thus, a parliamentary library is a specialized library from the point of view of the collection’s coverage and of patrons for whom it is intended as well (Priano, 2000). At first glance, the definition of parliamentary libraries is clear. One definition seems to fit all the libraries and to justify the common affiliation with a specific category whose peculiarities require a specific approach and an autonomous subfield of library science. Nonetheless, we believe it is time for parliamentary libraries to reinvent themselves by examining recent and current trends in their own development. The Origins of Parliamentary Libraries and Library Types The historical roots of parliamentary libraries are directly linked to the birth of parliamentary institutions. While some of them date back to the first half of the nineteenth century, libraries serving newer democracies were founded more recently.1 Notwithstanding the different periods in which they were created, it is worth noting that even the most recent parliamentary libraries were conceived based on the principles used to develop these libraries from the outset. The establishment of the first parliamentary libraries did not automatically mean that there was a need to differentiate these libraries from other special libraries on a theoretical basis or to create an autonomous identity. However, during the second half of the nineteenth century, libraries became more diversified, particularly in Great Britain and in the United States (Harris, 1999). During this period there was a steady increase in the number, aims, and functions of libraries for several reasons. Economic growth and increasing wealth provided the resources to build cultural institutions and libraries, while population growth supplied a workforce for factories and industrial activities, resulting in a greater demand for cultural activities. The second phase of the industrial revolution brought a heightened need for sources of information and promoted higher education levels of workers due to the democratic nature of Anglo-American society, which promoted self-development of citizens. In particular, during the second half of the nineteenth century, academic libraries proliferated thanks to increased funding and reform of the education system. School libraries began to develop though they were not completely well-shaped before the twentieth century. Special libraries serving public institutions and governmental bodies grew in number and 551 galluzzi/an uncertain future? quality, and, above all, public libraries were founded to address the needs of all citizens and were supported by taxes paid by the local communities (Harris, 1999). This quick overview points out that the birth of different types of libraries is the consequence of a historical process linked to the development of libraries in general and the understanding of the many possible roles libraries could have within society. This process was the manifestation of a society that was moving toward a higher degree of specialization and where extensive, in-depth services were considered a sign of advancement. Nowadays, we have to wonder whether there is the same need or if the surrounding circumstances require a different approach (Galluzzi, 2009). To this end it is essential to analyze recent trends and their possible reasons. Recent Trends As already mentioned, over a long period of time parliamentary libraries have evolved on common grounds and, notwithstanding the institutional differences between countries, have shared similar issues and needs. Today libraries in general, and even more so parliamentary libraries, are going through a phase of transition and are trying to respond to many different challenges. At the moment there seem to be two opposite trends occurring in parliamentary libraries: the first is toward the broadening of functions and user population beyond the boundaries of the parliamentary institution; the second is toward a stronger specialization of services and collections under a more strictly parliamentary point of view. Both these trends are the result of changing contexts and are based upon shared theoretical grounds. There are important examples of each trend, although each case is unique and each library has chosen its own way. As far as the first trend is concerned, some parliamentary libraries, without changing their main mission and policies, have opened up their services to the general public, usually under a wider policy of openness on the part of the parliament itself toward citizens and other institutions as well as an attempt to better defray expenses. For instance, this is the case in respect to the two Italian parliamentary libraries, the Biblioteca del Senato “Giovanni Spadolini” (http://www.senato.it/biblioteca) and the Biblioteca della Camera dei Deputati (http://www.camera.it/index.asp), now in the process of establishing a joint library, Polo bibliotecario parlamentare (Joint Parliamentary Library, http://www.parlamento.it/polobibliotecario/home.htm), and the Swedish parliamentary library, the Riksdag Library (http://www .riksdagen.se/templates/R_Page____21039.aspx) (Brundin, 2004; Committee of the Nordic Parliamentary Librarians, 2000). In other cases, parliamentary libraries have undertaken the role of national libraries or central research libraries for specific disciplinary fields, such as political science, law, and administrative studies. For example, 552 library trends/spring 2010 the parliamentary library of Finland, the Eduskunta Library (http://lib .eduskunta.fi/Resource.phx/library/index.htx?lng=en), is a national research library and has a central role in the research and academic libraries’ network (Committee of the Nordic Parliamentary Librarians, 2000), while the parliamentary libraries of Estonia (http://www.nlib.ee/ html/inglise/teen/parl.html) and Japan (National Diet Library of Japan, http://www.ndl.go.jp/en/index.html) are also the national libraries of their countries. Some parliamentary libraries have turned into documentation centers, integrating their services with other parliamentary offices and departments, mainly those involved in documentation activities, and sometimes giving up their physical structure. In some instances, parliamentary libraries have decided to focus on information services and document delivery, strengthening their electronic collection and referring to other specialized libraries when paper documents are needed. For example, this is partially the case for the Norwegian parliamentary library, the Stortinget (http://www.stortinget.no/en/) (Committee of the Nordic Parliamentary Librarians, 2000). Overall, the parliamentary libraries of the oldest democracies are changing and are in search of their own way to fulfill their mission and to regain a meaningful role inside the institution and the national library system. Parliamentary libraries founded in new democracies are surprisingly much more similar to the original model and much more traditional than the oldest ones.2 This phenomenon is consistent with the above-mentioned trends, because they are connected to changes that are affecting some world areas more than others, particularly the West. Consequently, new democracies and new parliamentary libraries, which are mostly located in developing countries, are less affected by the processes occurring in Western society. What follows is a discussion about why the oldest parliamentary libraries are moving in these directions and what external and institutional inputs they are trying to respond to. Why These Changes? There are multiple reasons for recent trends in the oldest parliamentary libraries. In order to facilitate the analysis, it is useful to focus the discussion on three main areas: how parliamentary institutions and political life are changing, how the digital revolution is affecting everything, and how user habits and cultural approaches are changing. How Parliamentary Institutions Are Changing First of all, there is no doubt that parliamentary institutions in the West are changing dramatically when compared to their origins, and many phenomena are shaping parliaments and political life differently. 553 galluzzi/an uncertain future? Various scholars (Barbera, 1999; De Micheli & Verzichelli, 2004; Deffenu, 2006; Flinterman, Heringa, & Waddington, 1994; Mastropaolo & Verzichelli, 2006; Sartori, 2000) mention a decline in the perceived efficacy of the parliamentary assemblies and point out the reasons behind this situation. They agree that these days, parliaments are not the only places where political debate occurs, nor are they the only institutions having a representative role. Moreover, the process of lawmaking has been facing new challenges. There is a need for high-level technical specialization in order to manage the increasing complexity of the topics on the agenda; consequently, a rising number of external experts, groups, and institutions are involved in the lawmaking process. Secondly, assemblies are often asked either to simply ratify—without an adequate debate—decisions and agreements reached through mutual consensus outside the parliaments or to merely turn governmental initiatives into laws. At the same time, governments are only formally accountable to parliaments, but in fact, legislatures work thanks to the balance of power among parties. Currently, general interests are usually safeguarded outside parliaments, while only particular interests are debated in parliamentary assemblies. The debate has partially moved outside the parliamentary institution and has invaded the mass media, private communities, and lobbies. Furthermore, in recent years many Western countries have registered a decisive decrease in citizens’ participation in elections and political life, which a number of scholars consider another signal of political crisis. Citizens are increasingly uninterested in traditional forms of political life and are asking for deeper and more innovative involvement in the management of public affairs. Therefore, the balance between institutions inside the state organization and other political and social actors is shifting, and the way in which political life interacts with social life and weighs upon citizens’ behaviors is very different from the past. While on the one hand important aspects of the lawmaking process have moved outside the parliaments, on the other hand, legislative and nonlegislative activities and acts have gradually increased and are further increasing in number, variety, and level of specialization. Consequently, the internal organization of parliaments has become more and more complex over time, and currently the number of departments managing documentation is far higher than in the past. The number of documents produced by parliaments or necessary to respond to their needs is so huge that the only way to manage them is through a cooperative effort by different entities. These trends create paradoxical situations. While parliaments are overcrowded with documents and expand their activity in redundant ways, more and more laws come directly from the government’s initiative and are passed, thanks to governmental majority, almost without debate and amendments. 554 library trends/spring 2010 These problems are particularly evident when compared to parliaments in new democracies. In fact, in countries that have recently switched over to parliamentary systems, parliaments tend to be more traditional and central in political life. They are inspired by the original institutional arrangement of this form of government, and citizens tend to be much more interested in political participation, claiming the classic idea of democracy as the result of an ongoing debate between opposite parties and ideas. Nonetheless, the point of view that counters the proposition that today’s parliaments are pointless and redundant institutions that simply undersign decisions and have lost their original status as places of popular sovereignty is theoretically weak. Parliaments, as any other social and political institution, must evolve alongside the society and its needs in search for new internal and external balances. At the same time, their internal organization must adapt to changing requirements. Last, it is worth mentioning that another overall trend recognizable in developed countries, the trend toward efficiency and cost reduction, has become much more important in the current economic situation. The need for stricter budget control and a renovated legitimacy, together with requests for transparency and involvement by citizens, pushes parliamentary institutions toward deeper exploitation of their resources and the offering of their services to the general public. All these aspects should be analyzed together with the observation of the current internal use of parliamentary libraries; and account should be taken of common practices and rules across the parliamentary libraries sector in order to point out possible links between general trends and internal usage statistics. Most existing parliamentary libraries have seen decreased use by internal users during the last few years, while requests for consultation by external users and scholars have proportionally increased. At the same time, institutional users use the services of parliamentary libraries more and more in response to other needs (related to their own lives or to personal research interests) rather than to institutional needs. The same happens for retired members of parliament and staff, who are considered primary users by many parliamentary libraries and consequently have a right to access all library services and to be primarily served by the library staff, regardless of whether they still have active roles in parliamentary or political life (Verrier, 2003). Each of the highlighted trends deserves an in-depth examination in order to recognize possible changes in the role and organization of parliamentary libraries. Consequences of the Digital Revolution Parliamentary libraries show the effects of the above-mentioned internal changes, but also are taking part in the shifting processes that are affecting libraries in general because of the digital revolution and the consequent 555 galluzzi/an uncertain future? changing habits of users (Anderson, 2007; Galluzzi, 2009; Pine & Gilmore, 1999).3 The digital revolution is a widespread phenomenon that cannot be summarized in a few words. With respect to libraries, the two most important aspects of this revolution are the creation of a global network that allows people all over the world to be constantly and promptly in touch, and the convergence of all media toward a digital format. These two trends directly affect libraries from many points of view and, above all, deeply modify society as a whole and the way in which people relate to each other and go through their everyday lives. There is no doubt that the digital revolution is putting library identity under pressure, insofar as the majority of information sources are going digital, most reference transactions are moving toward a virtual network, the physical premises of libraries are becoming less important, the mediation role is being overcome by Internet access, and the number of competitors offering media is constantly increasing. Some scholars and many librarians point out that there is a risk of marginalization of libraries in the new global and digital framework (Conti, 2006; Osif, 2008a, 2008b). According to this opinion, libraries should, on the one hand, focus on their most traditional and distinctive functions, such as the preservation of historical content, and, on the other hand, contribute to the global availability of these sources in a digital format. Therefore, from this perspective, the future library will take up a very small niche of the information society and will engage in very specific activities intended for restricted groups of users.