Provision of European information: Commission policy and its implementation in libraries and information services in the United Kingdom.

This work is an investigation into the European Commission’s information policy and its implementation in the UK in the context of the provision of information to the European citizen via a network of information relays. Information relays are documentation centres and/or information services that have been established by the European Commission to provide information at the local level to all citizens of the European Union. The rationale for undertaking the present research was identified as a result of issues raised in the literature, such as the questioning of the existence of such a policy and the criticisms relating to its lack of coherence, while also revealing, more generally, a lack of literature and applied research specifically addressing the research topic. A broad-based study was therefore undertaken with a view to developing a greater understanding of three areas, including: the historical development of the European Commission’s information policy; the impact on policy by LIS professional associations; and its implementation in the UK in the context of three information relays, serving the academic (European Documentation Centres) and business communities (Euro Info Centres), and the general public (Public Information Relay). A mixed-methodological approach was adopted, which involved: tracing the development of the Commission’s information policy via EU official sources; undertaking a postal survey of LIS professional associations and a small number of additional telephone interviews with associations operating from a Brussels base; undertaking a national survey by questionnaire of EDC and EIC relay networks; and finally, the execution of three case studies (an EDC, an EIC and a PIR). The present research represents the first study to specifically examine the European Commission’s information policy and its implementation in the UK, which utilises an interdisciplinary framework by investigating the topic from a library and information science perspective, while also drawing on an understanding of policy development from the field of political science. The findings generally reveal that a range of problems exist in relation to each of the areas investigated, which, it is hypothesised, have arisen as a result of a fragmented information policy.

Author dc:creator

• Parker, Susan

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• R. Marcella, J. Greenwood and M. Head

• European Commission information policy
• Information relays
• European Documentation Centres
• Library and information science
• Policy implementation in the UK
• European citizenship information

Language dc:language

en

Identifier

oai:rgu-repository.worktribe.com:2807519
https://doi.org/10.48526/rgu-wt-2807519

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:rgu-repository.worktribe.com:2807519