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The scientific and technological progress as well as the deep social changes experienced between the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century were an ideal environment for the growth and development of the visionary ideas of Paul Otlet, the pioneer of modern documentation. His eclectic personality was influenced by a few decisive events occurred during his life: the shift from the strict Jesuit education to Positivism, and from law to bibliography studies, up to his commitment for the promotion of peace and culture - commitment that materialized in projects such as the League of Nations and the Mundaneum. All these events are essential to recall his work as well as to understand his thought. His main ambition was the foundation of a new science aimed at investigating the book - or document - that Otlet highly estimated because of its being the result of scientific research as well as a vehicle of dissemination, a knowledge and information medium in any field and discipline. In Otlet's opinion, the ultimate aim of documentation science was the Universal Bibliographic Repertory. This objective was put into effect by the creation of the Universal Decimal Classification, and by the publication-in 1934-of what is considered his philosophical testament: Le Traité de Documentation. Le livre sur le livre. Théorie et pratique. This paper outlines the figure of the Belgian biographer by pointing out the essential traits of his thought, and focusing on the unprecedented impact he had in the creation of a universal “free access to information and knowledge". So far, his work hasn't lost its value, and can still be of some help to contemporary documentation, librarianship and information science, who are now facing new and ever complex challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays we're facing the widest economic and social crisis that hit western countries since the Second World War. Consequently, new and alternative models of development are needed in order to replace the old (and losing) ones, established in the past thirty years. Culture and access to information and knowledge are essential elements for any possible improvement based on equity and sustainability. Libraries may have a crucial role in this transformation if they'll be able to fulfill adequately their new tasks as well as the traditional ones. This paper presents a few suggestions on what could be done in the short to medium term, based on the analysis of the existing literature and on the study of recent experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the role of public libraries in promoting knowledge, supporting citizenship and facilitating individual - as well as community - development. Edgar Morin's concept of “reliance" suggests the ability of contextualizing information, transforming it into knowledge, and establishing a connection between separate knowledge processes. Libraries can borrow several ideas from this concept, proposing themselves as active branches of a new educational system which should provide not only access to information, but also the opportunities and tools that today are essential for a critical reading of the world, life, and society. Public libraries have become tightly entwined with democracy, citizenship and social rights - three major issues of Western Europe's welfare politics, now on the wane because of the global economic crisis. Therefore, now more than ever, it is important to understand how to revive the democratic and social function of public libraries, and to sustain them as inalienable expressions of local welfare. Eventually, the concept of development is almost boundless, allowing innumerable interpretations. With respect to public libraries it can be related to the idea of cultural and social improvement of the community, but it must also be related to citizens' well-being, intended as the free expression of their personal capabilities: in this perspective, public libraries can legitimize themselves as spaces and places of actual opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]