Presentation of the Written Declaration in Support of Public Libraries

Dan MountHead of Policy and Public Affairs, Civic Agenda EU

Written Declaration 0016/2013

Dan MountHead of Policy & Public AffairsCivic Agenda EU

2013 European Congress on E-Inclusion

“the impact of public libraries in European communities”

Why do we need a Written Declaration?

Background on Written Declarations

Mechanism for raising political awareness around a particular topic or set of issues

Registration requirementso Must be no more than 200 words in lengtho Must not explicitly call for funding or reference any

on-going procedure or legislative proposal currently before the European Parliament

o To be registered any WD must have the support of at least 10 Members of the European Parliament from a minimum of 3 political groups

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 2009 – 2014

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WRITTEN DECLARATION submitted pursuant to Rule 123 of the Rules of Procedure on the impact of public libraries in European communities Hannu Takkula (ALDE), Maria Badia i Cutchet (S&D), Vilija Blinkevičiūtė (S&D), Andrew Duff (ALDE), Cătălin-Sorin Ivan (S&D), Morten Løkkegaard (ALDE), Marie-Thérèse Sanchez-Schmid (PPE), Marietje Schaake (ALDE), Helga Trüpel (Verts/ALE), Marie-Christine Vergiat (GUE/NGL), Sabine Verheyen (PPE)

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Written declaration, under Rule 123 of Parliament's Rules of Procedure, on the impact of public libraries in European communities1

1. A 2013 survey of public library services across 18 European countries shows that nearly

100 million Europeans visited their public library and 14 million used it to access the internet last year;

2. In the last 12 months 24 million Europeans (most frequently the elderly, ethnic minorities, those from rural areas) used their public library to engage in non-formal and informal learning activities;

3. 83% of those using free public library computer and internet services reported a positive impact on their lives: saving time and money, improving skills, gaining access to government services and employment and health related resources;

4. Last year 1.5 million European applied for and 250,000 Europeans found work via free library internet access;

5. Public libraries represent the only source of free internet access for 1.9 million marginalized Europeans;

6. The Commission is hence called upon to recognize the essential services that public libraries provide to local communities and disadvantaged groups in relation to digital inclusion, social inclusion, lifelong learning and pathways to employment and the role of those services in assisting with the delivery of EU's objectives

7. This declaration, together with the names of the signatories, is forwarded to the Commission.

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1 In accordance with Rule 123(4) and (5) of Parliament's Rules of Procedure, when the declaration is signed by a majority of Parliament's component Members, it shall be published in the minutes with the names of its signatories and forwarded to the addressees, without however binding Parliament.

Our key supporters:

Outcomes / Objectives3 MONTH WINDOW for signatures (Oct 7th 2013 – Jan 7th

2014)PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: WD is signed by over 50% of MEPs

(384 out of 766)o Outcome: WD will be adopted as the official position of the

EP and forwarded to the European Commission for a response

SECONDARY OBJECTIVE: WD is signed by 20-50% of MEPso Outcome: The Commission will recognise that public

libraries enjoy the support of a significant number of European elected representatives from all Member States

Contact us:DAN.MOUNT@CIVICAGENDA.COM ROBIN.KNOWLES@CIVICAGENDA.COM

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