Cultural Ministers Council

In 1993, the Cultural Ministers Council set up the Libraries Working Group, recognising that rapid changes to information technology and high speed communications were collapsing traditional barriers to information movement. Its role was to examine the implications this would have for the way Australia's state and public libraries operate.

The working group's terms of reference were to:

• Explore opportunities for the most effective contributions by the national, state and public library sectors to meeting the information and cultural needs of Australians
• Identify patterns of information-seeking behaviour and recreational reading by library users and non-users, through surveys and other means, to inform future planning
• Examine the use of state and public libraries by all types of students
• Determine the benefits to the community generally of the state libraries and public library networks
• Examine the future impact of information technology on service delivery
• Consider the need for governments to establish a minimum level of service on a national basis in the interests of social justice and equity
• Evaluate the extent to which state and public libraries can generate funding from sources other than state and local governments

The working group produced four reports, now out of print:

Bushtrack to Superhighway (1995) proposed a national network infrastructure to ensure a minimum level of access by all Australians to the internet.

Navigating the Economy of Knowledge (1995) reported on the first ever national market research into the use and non-use of Australia's state and public libraries.

State of the Nation: Australia's Public Libraries provided a snapshot of the policy and organisational framework of Australia's national public library system.

2020 Vision - Towards the Future Library: A Strategic Agenda and Policy Framework for Australia's State and Public Libraries (now out of print) outlined a vision and change agenda for Australia's state and public libraries.

The working group had a three year timeframe to complete its research program and submitted its final report to the December 1996 meeting of the Cultural Ministers Council. The working group completed their extended term in June 1997.