Abstract

RAMOS CHAVEZ, Alejandro. Information and citizen participation in the context of open government: the possibilities of the public library. Biblios [online]. 2017, n.68, pp.34-47. ISSN 1562-4730.  http://dx.doi.org/10.5195/biblios.2017.350.

A range of governments around the world have established trends oriented towards government actions that result in greater citizen participation. In this sense, open government represents one of the most viable trends to understanding the need to have better informed and more participative citizens in the development of public matters, taking into consideration three principle factors: i) the need for greater government transparency and accountability; ii) establishment of more plural and horizontal forms of government closer to the concept of governance; iii) the importance of using digital tools to carry out these processes. The aim of this article is to consider the importance of information to achieve a citizenship that is more involved in public matters, within the context of open government debates, as well as the role that the public library could have as a democratic space to obtain information and as a public meeting point. The conclusions indicate the importance, as well as the challenges, that public libraries have in establishing themselves as essential spaces of open government and the construction of citizenship.

Keywords : Citizen participation; Citizenship; Information; Open government; Public library.

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