Aid for information development?

摘要

The very title of this journal, 'Information Development', carries with it the implication that 'development' in the field of information, is, in fact, possible. This view is reflected in the longstanding efforts of international and other aid agencies to provide support for a wide variety of projects aimed at improving information provision, access and use in developing countries. Yet the effectiveness of these efforts has been called into question from very early in this journal's now 30 years of publication. In 1986, for example, David Clow, in an extensive review of 'Aid to Libraries: policies and trends' (Volume 2, no. 2, pp. 108-119), asked, "Does library aid work?", concluding that "it seems certain that library aid projects have been no more successful than any others, and have generally achieved less success than, say, health initiatives". Though written nearly 20 years ago, Clow's paper is worth revisiting if only to remind us how little has changed in the field of aid to information development.