ABSTRACT
Illiteracy is a form of information poverty that has come to be regarded as a key indicator of social exclusion, and one that policy makers can look to the public library to help combat. Some barriers are very much responsibility of library managers and policy makers. A public library service that is free at the point of use can help to remove many economic barriers that deny the disadvantaged access to information and ideas. The library literature from different parts of globe is full of examples that demonstrate how diverse excluded groups have been served by general and quite specific services. However, as has often been demonstrated in the world of children's libraries, high quality work by well trained and dedicated professionals can do much to help people develop skills. As Katz argues, 'the whole concept of professionalism is tested on the selection battle line'. As publicly funded organizations, public libraries should seek to attract a diverse set of users.
