The Danish Library Association (DLA) is an organisation which lobbies for libraries, in particular public libraries. Its mission is to campaign for free and equal access to information, knowledge and cultural experiences at local level. The association lobbies the national government and the local municipalities and their politicians. For example, the DLA fought for and succeeded in resisting charges for library services when the most recent library act came into force in 2000. This new Law on Library Activities states that book and digital formats, including the internet, are equally important in today’s Knowledge Society.
Past and present
The DLA has been active for more than one hundred years. In the beginning its aims were to ensure that public libraries had the means, methods and a legal framework to promote reading, reading habits and support literacy. One of the DLA’s main focuses today is to highlight and promote the concept of the modern library, i.e. the combined physical and virtual library. This modern library offers both traditional services such as books and other printed materials. However, in accordance with the law, it also offers full access to digital documents and resources, and assists users in searching for relevant material on the internet.
