Building a portal for the people

Chris Batt tells Sylvia Simmons why the new public library network will change lives, particularly those of academics

"The clearest measure of my performance over the next three years will be that by the end of 2002 every public library in the country will be connected to the information superhighway." Chris Batt, serious and softly spoken, becomes passionate when talking about his mission. Formerly director of leisure services at the London Borough of Croydon, his appointment as the nation's public library networking adviser was announced by culture secretary Chris Smith in May.

From his office in London's Russell Square he will be leading the development team coordinating the roll-out of the People's Network across the country.

Public libraries, he says, have played a key role for over 100 years in lifelong learning. "The library has been the street corner university. It is the fifth most popular out of work activity and is neutral - people who go to no other institutions will go to a public library. The People's Network will offer access to resources in libraries and a window on the information world."

He is excited by the "miracle" of the public sector at last recognising the value of access to information. "Most people do not think learning is anything to do with them or realise the pool of knowledge which can enrich their lives. The government has made a number of fundamental policy and investment commitments: the National Grid for Learning, the University for Industry, the People's Network; the further education sector is exploring lifelong learning and networking opportunities; the National Electronic Library for Health and so on. There has to be a commonality of output and the synergies between different networks must be there from the start."

The set up phase (1999-2002) involves connecting more than 4,000 public libraries with leased lines so that users can access information and learning resources. The People's Network will also become a resource for users from home or office.

Batt's role is to give advice, negotiate and coordinate at national level. Fifty million pounds is being made available to create electronic content directed at libraries and other cultural institutions. The New Opportunities Fund has the funds for training, content and infrastructure, while Batt tries to conduct the orchestra. "We are creating relationships and priorities. What will matter is its sustainability, value and content rather than how the physical network is put together. It is important to have a vision of what the future will be like."

Some models for the national network do exist. Examples are Information North in northeast England, and Batt's own former authority, Croydon, which pioneered networking and lifelong learning with the community education service. In the West Midlands, the academic sector and public libraries will be linked via a Metropolitan Area Network connected to Janet.

How will higher education be affected by the People's Network? Batt is unrepentant: "Looking 20 years ahead there will be a significant shift in the locus of learning from institutions to communities. We'll have to find powerful arguments to justify sending people away to learn. Just as public libraries will need to be aware of learning so academics will need to be aware of the power of public libraries."

For Batt there should be fewer boundaries between further and higher education; the only distinction that matters to him is between good and bad learning experiences. "Judgments have to be made; I'm not an academic but the key issue seems to be about doing things for the greatest good. How far we, as a country, want to make academic learning accessible to everyone.

"Communities are full of undiscovered experts: a woman who has spent 30 years cultivating carnations has built up incredible expertise. With a lifetime's experience of using her public library, often borrowing very specialised texts, the networked community opens up new horizons. She is now in touch with dedicated carnation-growers around the world in discussion groups, talking anonymously to academics, looking at websites, and taking a university module in plant genetics taught in New Zealand.

" Her passion for her subject, practical experience and knowledge may contribute to a revised version of the module. She can be part of a global research community, sharing her knowledge with professors. There is a richness in every individual which is not catered for at all at the moment."

Batt is keen that higher education should make its resources available through the People's Network. In the digital world where every student will be searching for material worldwide, it may be an opportunity not to be missed.

But how protective will the HE community be of its disciplines, how its content is delivered, how information is published? How will its culture interact with the public library's ethos of total open access? "This will work if the incentive is there," Batt predicts.

Public libraries are not a challenge to the education sector, he believes, but a means of providing outlets within communities. Commercialisation will set the agenda and the real challenge is from multinationals producing and selling high quality network-based learning resources.

"Locked up in our universities is a great deal of learning opportunity but it is very structured. Although people will still take residential courses, the future lies in smart cards and taking modules remotely to suit your learning needs. The university becomes a high quality production centre and research institution. Many different organisations are creating content and public libraries will be working with other agencies to create content: citizenship, re-skilling, exploiting national collections and cultural diversity."

Similar developments in Singapore, Denmark and Slovenia that link higher education and public library sectors are serving much smaller populations. The size and scope of the national coordination in the United Kingdom puts us "in the first XI". Batt is more interested in information than technology.

"I'm not here because I want to see bits of cable put in the ground. It's about producing a new model of opportunity for people; giving people access to the information that can enrich their lives: how to use new software, teach yourself a new skill; how to get information effectively."

He says the People's Network is a network for information, not a network of libraries. Libraries are not the only places where it will be available. Batt looks forward to seeing content on the new network in three years' time and the emergence of partnerships across sectors. "The future is about creating materials for people to use and learn."

The debate will focus on the extent to which universities will operate in cyberspace rather than real space. With electronic networking as envisaged by the People's Network and other related policy initiatives, Batt is confident we can deliver high quality learning experiences to all, rather than a selected few, in the community.

"Over the next five to 10 years there will be a relaxation of boundaries between collections held in the universities and public libraries. Most people realise it is to their advantage to share; that's part of the strength of networking and that's what we want the People's Network to do. We are not saying public libraries will rule the universe or that universities are redundant, but new partnerships need to be formed. We need to draw up new models to do more for more people - it's as simple as that."