Civil society and good governance: challenges for public libraries in South Africa

To demonstrate that “civil society” is an important aspect of the democratic process, providing a vital link between the citizens and the state. One of the principal functions of civil society is to maintain a watchful eye on the activities of public officials. Public libraries play an essential role in fulfilling in this regard.

An examination of the philosophy of civil society and governance, with accompanying analyses for the potential social applications of a variety of civic principles.

The development of an informed citizenry is one of the essential functions of public libraries and this invariably affects the participation of civil society in the affairs of state. In South Africa, for civil society to ensure good governance, there are various challenges confronting public libraries that need to be addressed. This paper enumerates those challenges and points a way forwards.

This paper gives a variety of interpretations of the relationship between social philosophy and information science that are capable of further sophisticated theoretical elaboration.

The broad thrust of this paper is to emphasise the potential social benefit and significant practical outcomes of promoting library and information services within the sphere of civil society.

This paper gives an original insight into the relevance of public library work to the furtherance of social betterment, with particular reference to the situation in South Africa in the post‐apartheid era.