hrvatski

Library services for users with special needs : the state of affairs in the Croatian capital and plans for the future

Every person has the right to information and knowledge. Individuals who are not able to use conventional library services depend on information professionals as well as on information technology. According to goals of IFLA’s Section of Libraries Serving Disadvantaged Persons, authors would like to promote free access to information in Croatia. In order to start on the known basis, it has been decided that a research needs to be conducted with the aim of getting an exact picture of the state of affairs in the field of serving special needs users. It took place during the summer of 2000 in Zagreb and its surrounding area, which makes one quarter of the Croatian population. Hospitals, prisons, homes for the aged and associations for people with special needs were included in the research. Public and university libraries were also part of the research, but at a more superficial level. In the next phase in 2001 a more complex research will be conducted in order to examine them thoroughly. In the article the results of the research are presented. The assumptions with which we started were confirmed. These are: 1) libraries and library services for people with special needs are present but not for all groups of special needs users; 2) there is an interest in improving the quality of library services through co-operation with external libraries, particularly the public ones and other specialised libraries; 3) there is a lack of technological and software support, especially for access to electronic information resources. One of the most important reasons for the unsastisfactory state of affairs is absence of systematic legislative support. The existing llegislative regulations are also presented because they are considered to be the major basis for systematic services implementation. One of the conclusions of the last Croatian Library Association Assembly (held in September 2000) was to establish a working body within the Association, which would promote library services for people with special needs in Croatia. This would include establishment of effective co-operation with experts and various associations for people with special needs, regulation and standardisation of co-operative programmes of public libraries with hospitals, homes for the aged and prisons as well as programmes for people with mental problems. The working body would also organise courses for librarians for new adaptive technologies and special needs of the users.

right to information; equal access to information; IFLA’s Section of Libraries Serving Disadvantaged Persons; library users with special needs and disabilities; Zagreb libraries; library services for users with special needs and disabilities; legislative r

nije evidentirano