The “Self-Help section” in public libraries: The case of Israel

This paper discusses the new self-help section in public libraries in Israel. The author suggests expanding the activities of the public library by building a unique self-help section that will include practical social information as well as belles-lettres for support and encouragement. This new section will be organized by a new Social Information Scientist who will be aware of the social needs of the public as well as new information technologies. A survey conducted in Israel in 1994, made clear that there is an awareness of the need for a self-help section in most libraries. Some librarians (67.5%) have such a section but most of them do not have a special policy for choosing books. Almost 40% of the readers expressed interest in this new section, but there is a lot to be done yet in order to utilize the potential of such a section and meet the needs of the public.