Governance of public library services: how philosophical approaches to a public service impact on practice

Challenges for public libraries faced since the turn of the millennium has seen the period dubbed a volatile time for their history (Goulding, 2006, p.3). One of the key challenges faced by public services is how the governance regimes they must work under view those services from the point of view of prevailing political philosophy. While this might seem a rather esoteric issue to considerin the daily grind of service provision, the political philosophy of any prevailing government will have a significant bearing on how they approach the deliveryof public servicesduring their tenure,and what they see as the purpose of those public services. It followsthat this will thenhave a significant knock-on effect for the professions charged with delivering those services, who might have to interpret potentially changing missions and ends for their services