Providing information on economic and monetary union
Identifieur interne : 000842 ( Istex/Corpus ); précédent : 000841; suivant : 000843Providing information on economic and monetary union
Auteurs : Sarah Jane Cousins ; Adrienne MuirSource :
- Journal of Documentation [ 0022-0418 ] ; 2002-08-01.
Abstract
The British government has promised a referendum on whether the United Kingdom should participate in the European single currency. There are questions about whether the UK population knows enough about economic and monetary union to make an informed decision and from what sources they received that knowledge. The European Commission has instigated an information programme for EMU. The EC sees the system of European Information Relays as an important part of its policy on disseminating information on Europe. This study investigated the role of the Relays in this, and informing the public on EMU in particular. The East Midlands was selected as a case study and a series of interviews were carried out with librarians and users. The librarians believe that the Relays have a role to play as a disseminator of information from other sources, but are hampered in their efforts by a lack of resources, lack of awareness of the EC information programme and adverse user reaction to promotion activities. In addition, there is evidence of apathy amongst potential users, who are passive in their consumption of information on EMU, mainly from mass media sources. While this study is too small to be representative, the findings indicate that the EC should improve the presentation of its publications and better target dissemination to different Relays. The UK government may have to take a more proactive role in informing the British public about EMU. However, the findings also indicate that a bigger problem is the perceived lack of accuracy and neutrality of the UK media on this topic. Since this is a major source of information for the public, this could hamper informed decision making.
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DOI: 10.1108/00220410210431127
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There are questions about whether the UK population knows enough about economic and monetary union to make an informed decision and from what sources they received that knowledge. The European Commission has instigated an information programme for EMU. The EC sees the system of European Information Relays as an important part of its policy on disseminating information on Europe. This study investigated the role of the Relays in this, and informing the public on EMU in particular. The East Midlands was selected as a case study and a series of interviews were carried out with librarians and users. The librarians believe that the Relays have a role to play as a disseminator of information from other sources, but are hampered in their efforts by a lack of resources, lack of awareness of the EC information programme and adverse user reaction to promotion activities. In addition, there is evidence of apathy amongst potential users, who are passive in their consumption of information on EMU, mainly from mass media sources. While this study is too small to be representative, the findings indicate that the EC should improve the presentation of its publications and better target dissemination to different Relays. The UK government may have to take a more proactive role in informing the British public about EMU. However, the findings also indicate that a bigger problem is the perceived lack of accuracy and neutrality of the UK media on this topic. Since this is a major source of information for the public, this could hamper informed decision making.</div></front></TEI><istex><corpusName>emerald</corpusName><author><json:item><name>Sarah Jane Cousins</name><affiliations><json:string>Department of Information Science, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK</json:string></affiliations></json:item><json:item><name>Adrienne Muir</name><affiliations><json:string>Department of Information Science, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK</json:string></affiliations></json:item></author><subject><json:item><lang><json:string>eng</json:string></lang><value>EMU</value></json:item><json:item><lang><json:string>eng</json:string></lang><value>Information retrieval</value></json:item><json:item><lang><json:string>eng</json:string></lang><value>Europe</value></json:item><json:item><lang><json:string>eng</json:string></lang><value>Case studies</value></json:item></subject><language><json:string>eng</json:string></language><originalGenre><json:string>case-report</json:string></originalGenre><abstract>The British government has promised a referendum on whether the United Kingdom should participate in the European single currency. There are questions about whether the UK population knows enough about economic and monetary union to make an informed decision and from what sources they received that knowledge. The European Commission has instigated an information programme for EMU. The EC sees the system of European Information Relays as an important part of its policy on disseminating information on Europe. This study investigated the role of the Relays in this, and informing the public on EMU in particular. The East Midlands was selected as a case study and a series of interviews were carried out with librarians and users. The librarians believe that the Relays have a role to play as a disseminator of information from other sources, but are hampered in their efforts by a lack of resources, lack of awareness of the EC information programme and adverse user reaction to promotion activities. In addition, there is evidence of apathy amongst potential users, who are passive in their consumption of information on EMU, mainly from mass media sources. While this study is too small to be representative, the findings indicate that the EC should improve the presentation of its publications and better target dissemination to different Relays. The UK government may have to take a more proactive role in informing the British public about EMU. However, the findings also indicate that a bigger problem is the perceived lack of accuracy and neutrality of the UK media on this topic. 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There are questions about whether the UK population knows enough about economic and monetary union to make an informed decision and from what sources they received that knowledge. The European Commission has instigated an information programme for EMU. The EC sees the system of European Information Relays as an important part of its policy on disseminating information on Europe. This study investigated the role of the Relays in this, and informing the public on EMU in particular. The East Midlands was selected as a case study and a series of interviews were carried out with librarians and users. The librarians believe that the Relays have a role to play as a disseminator of information from other sources, but are hampered in their efforts by a lack of resources, lack of awareness of the EC information programme and adverse user reaction to promotion activities. In addition, there is evidence of apathy amongst potential users, who are passive in their consumption of information on EMU, mainly from mass media sources. While this study is too small to be representative, the findings indicate that the EC should improve the presentation of its publications and better target dissemination to different Relays. The UK government may have to take a more proactive role in informing the British public about EMU. However, the findings also indicate that a bigger problem is the perceived lack of accuracy and neutrality of the UK media on this topic. 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content-type="label">Information management</compound-subject-part></compound-subject></subj-group></subj-group></subj-group><subj-group subj-group-type="subject"><compound-subject><compound-subject-part content-type="code">cat-LISC</compound-subject-part><compound-subject-part content-type="label">Library & information science</compound-subject-part></compound-subject><subj-group><compound-subject><compound-subject-part content-type="code">cat-CCAT</compound-subject-part><compound-subject-part content-type="label">Classification & cataloguing</compound-subject-part></compound-subject></subj-group><subj-group><compound-subject><compound-subject-part content-type="code">cat-CBM</compound-subject-part><compound-subject-part content-type="label">Collection building & management</compound-subject-part></compound-subject><subj-group><compound-subject><compound-subject-part content-type="code">cat-SCPG</compound-subject-part><compound-subject-part content-type="label">Scholarly 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Relay</subtitle></title-group><contrib-group><contrib contrib-type="author"><string-name><given-names>Sarah Jane</given-names> <surname>Cousins</surname></string-name><aff>Department of Information Science, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK</aff></contrib><x></x><contrib contrib-type="author"><string-name><given-names>Adrienne</given-names> <surname>Muir</surname></string-name><aff>Department of Information Science, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK</aff></contrib></contrib-group><pub-date pub-type="ppub"><day>01</day><month>08</month><year>2002</year></pub-date><volume>58</volume><issue>4</issue><fpage>396</fpage><lpage>421</lpage><permissions><copyright-statement>© MCB UP Limited</copyright-statement><copyright-year>2002</copyright-year><license license-type="publisher"><license-p></license-p></license></permissions><self-uri content-type="pdf" xlink:href="00220410210431127.pdf"></self-uri><abstract><p>The British government has promised a referendum on whether the United Kingdom should participate in the European single currency. There are questions about whether the UK population knows enough about economic and monetary union to make an informed decision and from what sources they received that knowledge. The European Commission has instigated an information programme for EMU. The EC sees the system of European Information Relays as an important part of its policy on disseminating information on Europe. This study investigated the role of the Relays in this, and informing the public on EMU in particular. The East Midlands was selected as a case study and a series of interviews were carried out with librarians and users. The librarians believe that the Relays have a role to play as a disseminator of information from other sources, but are hampered in their efforts by a lack of resources, lack of awareness of the EC information programme and adverse user reaction to promotion activities. In addition, there is evidence of apathy amongst potential users, who are passive in their consumption of information on EMU, mainly from mass media sources. While this study is too small to be representative, the findings indicate that the EC should improve the presentation of its publications and better target dissemination to different Relays. The UK government may have to take a more proactive role in informing the British public about EMU. However, the findings also indicate that a bigger problem is the perceived lack of accuracy and neutrality of the UK media on this topic. Since this is a major source of information for the public, this could hamper informed decision making.</p></abstract><kwd-group><kwd>EMU</kwd><x>, </x><kwd>Information retrieval</kwd><x>, </x><kwd>Europe</kwd><x>, </x><kwd>Case studies</kwd></kwd-group><custom-meta-group><custom-meta><meta-name>peer-reviewed</meta-name><meta-value>no</meta-value></custom-meta><custom-meta><meta-name>academic-content</meta-name><meta-value>yes</meta-value></custom-meta><custom-meta><meta-name>rightslink</meta-name><meta-value>included</meta-value></custom-meta></custom-meta-group></article-meta><ack><p>The authors wish to thank all the participants in the research and Laurie McGarry of the Pilkington Library at Loughborough University. We would also like to the John Campbell Trust of the Institute of Information Scientists for granting financial support for this research.</p></ack></front><body><sec><title>Introduction</title><p>The population of the UK may soon be asked to vote in a referendum on whether the UK should join the European single currency (the euro). Arguments for the desirability of economic and monetary union (EMU) include that it will support the single market (European Commission, 1996a, p. 12) and that there are major benefits for the consumer, namely market transparency and price harmonisation (Taylor, 1995, p. 44). It is also a significant step in the direction of federalism (Apel, 1998, p. 93). However, political integration between European Union (EU) Member States has always been a sensitive end goal of European co‐operation. The UK Conservative Party referred to the General Election on 7 June 2001 as, “the last chance to save the pound” (<ext-link ext-link-type="uri" xlink:href="http://www.keepthepound.org.uk">http://www.keepthepound.org.uk</ext-link>) and made this issue the main focus of their election campaign.</p><p>Within the UK there are various high profile eurosceptic campaigns, such as the Conservative Keep the Pound action and the UK Independence Party (UKIP) (<ext-link ext-link-type="uri" xlink:href="http://www.ukip.org/body_home.html">http://www.ukip.org/body_home.html</ext-link>). Furthermore, the media in this country, particularly the newspapers, are not noted for their pro‐European views (The European Commission Representation in the United Kingdom, 1995, p. 23). Counterbalancing this, one finds the European Commission (EC) strategy for promoting the euro. The EC view is that in order to accept the euro, the citizens of the EU must understand it. To understand it, they have to be accurately informed about it. This objective can only be achieved through communication of information (European Commission, 1998a, p. 9).</p></sec><sec><title>The EU’s economic and monetary union information strategy</title><p>The EC’s information strategy divided into two distinct parts. These were aimed at helping small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), to prepare themselves for the changeover and to citizens about the single currency. In the EC’s view, to be credible and effective, communication actions must be shaped by the culture, language and concerns of the citizen, “Information will best be provided from sources that are close to the citizen and regarded both as authoritative and reliable” (European Commission, 1998a, p. 3). This means focusing the communication responsibility firmly on the European Union Member States (European Commission, 1998a, p. 4). The Commission sees its own role as that of provider of information and advisor, encourager and harmoniser in communication activity.</p><p>The strategy advocated the use of a variety of information media and dissemination vehicles. Some of the information provided by the EC included the creation of an interactive database, QUEST; a new section on the Europa server dedicated to the euro and the production of the newsletter <italic>Inf</italic>E<italic>uro</italic>. There is also the Official euro Web site hosted by the European Central Bank (ECB) (<ext-link ext-link-type="uri" xlink:href="http://euro.ecb.int/en.html">http://euro.ecb.int/en.html</ext-link>) and the European Parliament’s euro site (<ext-link ext-link-type="uri" xlink:href="http://europarl.eu.int/euro/default_en.html">http://europarl.eu.int/euro/default_en.html</ext-link>).</p><p>While the EC stressed the importance of national and local government in the communication of information on the euro, it also thinks that other organisations such banks and financial institutions and trade and consumer associations also have a role. There is also an existing information dissemination network for the dissemination of EU information, the European Information Relays, but these were really only mentioned in passing in the EC’s strategy document. However, the EC states that it considers the Relays to be “the principal instruments of the Union’s information policy” (European Commission, 2002).</p><p>However, the GoDigital strand of the European Commission’s eEurope initiative is making use of the Information Relays aimed specifically at business to promote the use of information and communication technologies for ebusiness by SMEs. This is being done through national campaigns launched in September 2001 (European Commission, 2001).</p></sec><sec><title>European Information Relays in the UK</title><p>The European Union divides the UK into 12 regions. Each of the regions is served by a series of Information Relays, each of which provides access to European information for different target groups of the population (The European Commission Representation in the United Kingdom, 2001), including the general public, SMEs, rural communities and students, teachers and researchers.</p><p>European Documentation Centres (EDCs) were the first Relays to be set up in 1963 and are based in higher education institutions. They serve the staff and students of that institution, as well as the staff and students of neighbouring universities without EDCs. The strength of EDCs lies in the comprehensiveness of their collections (<italic>EIA Review</italic>, 1993, p. 14). Initially EDCs received every European publication for free. However, the cost of such an exercise became too great for the then EEC to support. Today there are two types of EDC:</p><list list-type="order"><list-item><label>1. </label><p>(1) those that continue to receive all the EU’s publications; and</p></list-item><list-item><label>2. </label><p>(2) those that only receive publications related to the academic subjects taught (Caddel, 1997). </p></list-item></list><p>They are known as comprehensive and selective EDCs respectively. It was apparently only at this stage that there was a serious attempt to define the role of the EDCs (Ramsay, 1997) and apparently there was no document setting out services to be provided and target audiences until 1995 (Caddell, 1997).</p><p>Very little has been written about European Reference Collections (ERCs). Like EDCs, they are based in higher education establishments, but they are very much smaller than EDCs. They are also supported by the EC.</p><p>European Information Centres, or Euro Info Centres (EICs) were set up by Directorate General XXIII (enterprise) of the EC as part of an action programme targeting SMEs in the EC (Wiper, 1997). The role of an EIC is therefore slightly different from the role of Relays set up under DG X (now information, communications, culture, and audiovisual media). Many EICs charge for their services and their role goes beyond the simple provision of information. Although often viewed as information providers, the EC envisaged and envisages that they will be providers of advice, promoters of the EC, lobbyists for SMEs and monitoring stations for local SME topics (Cooper, 1993).</p><p>The Public Information Relays (PIR), now known as European Public Information Centres (EPICs), emerged as a solution to the problem highlighted in a 1993 Gallup poll (Kelly, 1996). The poll showed that the existing Relay systems did not cater for more than a quarter of the people surveyed. The Commission Representation in the UK collaborated with the Federation of Local Authority Chief Librarians (FOLACL) to set up a network of information Relays, based in public libraries in order to make European documentation available to the general public (Marcella <italic>et al.,</italic> 1997, p. 8). One of the aims of the EPIC network was to provide the public with a neutral source of accurate information, so that citizens would make up their own minds about the EU.</p><p>The EPICs receive a certain amount of free information from the EU, but most must be paid for, although the Relays do get a 50 percent discount (Kelly and Nicholas, 1996). EPICs must absorb that cost and the cost of staffing the Relay. They are also supposed to “co‐operate with local members of other sectorally established Relays” and “publicize the existence of the Relay by using a designated logo adopted by FOLACL, and through various local events”. The main EPIC collection is usually based in the larger central library of a town or city, but our interviewees told us that the smaller satellite libraries do have what is known as the “yellow folder” containing a tiny amount of EU information.</p><p>Several surveys carried out on the EPIC Relays showed that the majority of users were A level and GCSE (secondary education) students. There was also a growing number of requests from teachers for classroom packs. The EPIC Relays simply do not have the resources to produce these, according to our interviewees. The British response was to set up a Relay network specifically to cope with this demand, European Resource Centres for Schools and Colleges (ERCSCs). The Education Relay has received some limited funding from the European Commission Representative in London to help kick‐start the project. There are 12 ERCSCs spread around the UK designed to meet the information needs of young people from the age of three through to 19 years. The UK is at present the only Member State to have a Relay specifically for that age group.</p><p>The first Rural Carrefours were set up in 1988 and provide information to rural societies on EU policies and measures affecting them. The Carrefours are based in rural centres and organisations. The aim is to promote awareness of rural development and encourage dialogue, partnership and cooperation between rural society and regions on common problems (The European Commission Representation in the United Kingdom, 2001). Little specific information is available on the role of this type of Relay and how they relate to the network of European Relays.</p><sec><title>The European Information Relays and the dissemination of information on economic and monetary union</title><p>Caddel (1997, p. 108) emphasises the significance of the Treaty on European Union (the Maastricht Treaty) in bringing the need for a more coherent information policy to the forefront, “As the Maastricht Treaty had demonstrated, at least in the UK, there was a yawning ‘information deficit’ as far as the general public was concerned”. This is a reoccurring theme in much of the literature on the subject.</p><p>While there is no literature relating specifically to the dissemination of information on EMU through the European Information Relays, there is work on the dissemination of European information generally. Research in this area tends to focus on the provision of European information through a particular type of Relay.</p><p>Thomson (1996, p. 4) states that while European Depository libraries are generally open to all, “the difficulty comes in defining the level of service that can be reasonably provided”. The main role of EDCs is to serve the higher education community generally, not just the institution in which the EDC is housed. He suggests that in the higher education sector information needs include the history of the European integration process and the institutions, policies and activities of the EU. Research and study is facilitated by the provision of access to primary sources and specialist information expertise of staff. Thomson concludes that EDCs are “a sensible and cost‐effective investment by the EU” to ensure academic input into understanding of the history and development of European integration and that people will be trained for careers that will benefit the EU and Member States.</p><p>Sargent <italic>et al.</italic> (2000) carried out an in depth case study of one particular EDC. They refer to an earlier project by Shearman, which was a comparative study of three different Relays (an EIC, an ERC and an EDC) (Sargent <italic>et al</italic>., 2000, p. 162). They found that only four out of the 22 people surveyed had used the EDC to find information on economic and financial matters (Sargent <italic>et al.</italic>, 2000, pp. 162, 171). Again, it was discovered that “the methods used to market the EDC are not reaching their target audience” (Sargent <italic>et al.</italic>, 2000, pp. 162, 172) and concluded, “a proactive information service is required by users” (Sargent <italic>et al.</italic>, 2000, pp. 162, 173).</p><p>Paxal and Rennie (1991) published the findings of a survey of six EICs in 1991. Three of these were in the UK, two were Belgian and one was in Luxembourg. Although the EIC Relay network had only been in place for four years at the time, large discrepancies could already be seen in the way the individual Relays were set up and the services they offered to clients.</p><p>Two years later, Cooper (1993) carried out a statistical review of the EIC network, including the annual number of enquiries received by EICs since their foundation in 1987 and which sectors of British business were the most frequent users. In Cooper’s (1993, p. 23) own words, his conclusion arrived at no “dazzling insights into the inner being of the EIC network”.</p><p>Kelly and Nicholas (1996) conducted research to “assess the effectiveness of the new [Public Information] Relay in facilitating public access to European Union information by interviewing some of the key personnel involved as well as other relevant individuals”. They found that</p><disp-quote><p>Students and businesses are the major users of EU information. The amount of students using public libraries as a source of EU information indicates that their needs are not being met in their schools or colleges. This is an issue that needs to be addressed by the European Commission … (Kelly and Nicholas, 1996, p. 156).</p></disp-quote><p>Marcella <italic>et al.</italic> (1997) investigated the provision of European information in the UK, via the establishment of the Public Information Relay. Questionnaires were sent to every PIR in the UK and a different questionnaire was sent to the few local authorities not participating in the scheme. User surveys, interviews and observations were also carried out. They describe their project as the first major survey of European information provision in UK public libraries since Hopkins’ in 1986. Interestingly, the conclusion they emphasis from Hopkins’ survey is that of the lack of demand for European information and Hopkins’ suggestion that public libraries should be actively trying to combat this apathy. Marcella <italic>et al.</italic> (1997, p. 19) also found that only 28 percent of those users surveyed in 1997 had made a previous European enquiry. Their results show, too, that only 22 percent of respondents stated that they would like to know more about EU economic and financial issues (Marcella <italic>et al.</italic>, 1997, p. 20). Marcella and Baxter (1997) extracted data relating specifically to Scotland from their findings and in 1997 they published a second article, which concentrated on public libraries in Aberdeen, Glasgow and Moray.</p><p>In 1997 in Hertfordshire, following the introduction of the PIR system in that county, a needs survey was commissioned by the council to gauge “the demand for European information amongst a cross‐section of the public and businesses in the county, as a precursor to developing a service which would meet local needs” (Dudley and Tolfrey, 1997). A total of 2,000 questionnaires were dispatched at random to households in the county. The response rate was 52.7 percent and of these just 18.5 percent of households had any member who had ever tried to obtain EU information (Dudley and Tolfrey, 1997, p. 49).</p><p>Marcella (2001) has also carried out research into one particular user group: women in the UK. Of her respondents, 47.5 percent felt uninformed, to a greater or lesser degree, about the European Union and 19 respondents did not seem to want to be informed. Interestingly, as far as our research is concerned, she found that “very few respondents felt that European information would have a role in helping them to make political decisions” (Marcella, 2001, p. 500). Over half of the women questioned stated that they had a problem “knowing where to go to find European info” (Marcella, 2001, p. 505).</p><p>Directorate General X issued a reflection paper on the role of European Documentation Centres in 1998 (European Commission, 1998b). This followed an evaluation exercise that suggested that the contractual relationship between the Commission and the EDCs should be reconsidered. The increasing volume of information available electronically and the cost of supplying all publications to all EDCs seemed to be behind the conclusions of this paper. These included a reduction in the number of EDCs and continuous evaluation of their performance.</p></sec></sec><sec><title>The introduction of the single currency in the UK</title><p>Both the Labour government and the Liberal Democrats have published detailed reports on the possibility of introducing the European single currency in the UK. The government’s <italic>Second Outline National Changeover Plan</italic> devotes an entire chapter to communication (HM Treasury, 2000, pp. 40‐5). This talks of learning from the European countries which have already joined the first wave and cites several examples from different states of successful information campaigns. In line with the Commission’s strategy discussed above, it speaks of using a wide range of different media to put across a clear, consistent message to “as many people as possible” (HM Treasury, 2000, p. 41) and of the need to reinforce that message over a lengthy period of time. The report also recognises the need to target certain groups, such as the elderly or the visually impaired, with specific campaigns. However, the chapter “does not look at the provision of information in advance of, or during, any referendum campaign” (HM Treasury, 2000, p. 42) and leaves one in doubt as to whether there would actually be such a campaign.</p><p>The Liberal Democrats mention an information campaign only in passing, as their report focuses more on the theoretical feasibility of Britain adopting the single currency (Liberal Democrats, 2000, p. 28). However, they too place the information campaign after the referendum, not before.</p><p>Statistics showing just how much the British populace knows about the single currency can be found in each edition of <italic>Eurobarometer. </italic>Comparing the results from the 1996 <italic>Eurobarometer </italic>with those from the year 2000 one finds an interesting trend in the figures. In 1996, when asked whether they feltwell‐informed about the euro, 23 percent of Britons said that they did and 75 percent said they did not (European Commission, 1996b, p. 36). This was better than the European average. The same question, asked in 2000, produced an almost identical response from the UK: 21 percent felt informed and 75 percent did not (INRA (Europe), 2000), but this was now the second worst response out of all the European Member States. This suggests two things. First, the British public is no more informed about the euro now than it was in 1996 and, second, that awareness within the other countries EU has improved considerably.</p></sec><sec><title>Aim and objectives of the research</title><p>While the UK population may have to vote on entry into the single currency, there is evidence that they are not particularly well‐informed about economic and monetary union and there is a significant level of euroscepticism in this country. The European Commission and the UK is concerned that citizens should make informed decisions.</p><p>The European Information Relays were set up to disseminate European information to the population. Our aim was to investigate how European information, especially information on EMU, is currently made available in the UK through them, and whether this is effective. We had four research objectives:</p><list list-type="order"><list-item><label>1. </label><p>(1) to evaluate the different types of European Information Relay and the material available in each, with the aim of discerning what information is available to whom and how and to what extent it is used;</p></list-item><list-item><label>2. </label><p>(2) to determine whether the dissemination of European information is pro‐active or reactive and why;</p></list-item><list-item><label>3. </label><p>(3) to investigate what initiatives, if any, exist to aid the promotion of the EU within the East Midlands;</p></list-item><list-item><label>4. </label><p>(4) to make recommendations for improving or altering the existing system based on the data collected.</p></list-item></list><p>The research focuses on all the types of Relay, instead of just one, to gain some insight on how the Relay system works as a whole. To make the research manageable we selected our local region, the East Midlands, as a case study.</p><p>The East Midlands region has an area of 15,630km<sup>2</sup>, making the East Midlands the third largest region in England (Government Office for the East Midlands, 2001). The East Midlands has a population of over 4,000,000. There are 15 Information Relays in the East Midlands region. There are three EDCs, two EICs, eight EPICs, one ERC and one ERCSC. There are no Rural Carrefours in the East Midlands, which is perhaps surprising given the rural nature of much of the region.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>Interviews were carried out with both the librarians in charge of the European Information Relays and users. The use of questionnaires was rejected because of the mainly qualitative nature of the research. Individual interviews were feasible because the number involved was manageable in the time available. Initial contact with all of the Relays was made by letter in summer 2001. Librarians at 12 out of the 15 East Midlands Relays agreed to take part in semi‐structured interviews. These were the ERC, the ERCSC, both EICs, two of the three EDCs and six of the eight EPICs. Interviewees were sent a copy of the interview schedule (see Appendix 1) in advance. They were asked general questions about their Relay, including kind of Relay, target audience, the nature of their collections both in hard copy and electronic formats, staffing and funding and cooperation with other Relays to identify what, how and to whom information is made available. Interviewees were also asked about monitoring of enquiries and identification of user needs in an attempt to gather some data on the users and use of the Relays. To identify whether provision is reactive or proactive and the role of relays in promoting the EU, interviewees were asked about what they felt the role of the Relay is and how they publicise their service and any cooperative activities they are involved in. Finally interviewees were asked questions specifically related to EMU, including who should be responsible for informing people about EMU, what types of information they provide access to and any proactive activities. All the interviews were recorded and transcribed.</p><p>User surveys were also carried out in some of the Relays to complement the librarian interviews and provide some insight into the user perspective. The aim of the user survey was to gain some idea of how much users of each library were aware of the Information Relay and from where they received most of their information on EMU. The interview schedule is shown in Appendix 2. Interviewees were asked about their use of the Relay, their knowledge of EMU, the usefulness of the Relay’s information collection and alternatives sources of information on EMU.</p><p>The way the user population was sampled has to be taken into consideration when viewing the conclusions drawn from this research. For various reasons, some of the librarians were unable to give permission to carry out a user survey. However, we were able to carry out 53 interviews in six Relays. A convenience sample of users of the library, rather than just the Relay was selected. This was necessary because of the lack of time and because the number of people actually using the Relay collections was very small. The users surveyed were those people who happened to be in the library directly after the conclusion of the interview with the librarian and do not necessarily represent an accurate picture of the perceptions of the user population. Although the survey includes both user and non‐users of the Relays, it did not include non‐users of the libraries. Since this survey is based on a small and probably unrepresentative sample of the user population the results are, at best, indicative.</p><p>Another problem with the user survey was the way the interviewees answered the questions. There was some obvious lack of openess in that some of the respondents declined to answer some of the questions. It is not clear what the reasons for the sensitivity were. Possibilities are the controversial nature of the European Union and single currency and an unwillingness to reveal personal lack of knowledge.</p></sec><sec><title>Interviews with librarians</title><sec><title>General information</title><p>The librarians were asked to state the target audience of the Relay. There were no surprises here with the Relays mainly dealing with their respective target audiences. While the Relays based in academic institutions (i.e. EDCs and the ERC) mainly dealt with staff and students of the institution in question, members of the public and staff and students of higher education institutions in the area that do not have their own EDC were also mentioned.</p><p>Questions on human and financial resources revealed various constraints in this area. When asked how the Relay was staffed, two trends became apparent. The Relays do not have staff wholly dedicated to the European information service. In addition, most enquiries were dealt with by any member of staff, who were unlikely to be given training in handling European enquiries. Only the complex enquires were referred to specialised staff.</p><p>Only one of the six EPIC librarians had her own European budget. The others funded their EPIC from existing budgets; either the business information budget or the reference information budget. The ERC was also funded from the business budget. The ERCSC and one of the EICs said they received a set payment in euros from the European Commission and that their host institution made up the shortfall. EDCs do not have to pay for European information, but anything extra comes out of the relevant departmental budgets.</p></sec><sec><title>Collections</title><p>The librarians were asked about the nature of their European collections. They were also asked to say which of the following sources of information on EMU were available in their library:</p><list list-type="bullet"><list-item><label>• </label><p><italic>Inf</italic>E<italic>uro</italic>: a free newsletter on EMU.</p></list-item><list-item><label>• </label><p>Free information leaflets on EMU provided by the EC and the EC Representation in the UK.</p></list-item><list-item><label>• </label><p>Access to the QUEST database of EMU information either online via the Europa server or as a CD‐ROM.</p></list-item><list-item><label>• </label><p>Textbooks on EMU.</p></list-item><list-item><label>• </label><p>Access to legislation on EMU.</p></list-item></list><p>As expected, the EDCs could provide access to all of the above and all the Relays receive the free information booklets. The EICs provide most of their information through the Internet, but they provide detailed information packs on monetary union. None of the EPIC librarians could remember receiving either posters or postcards advertising monetary union. The ERCSC has received both posters and postcards, all of which are on display. The three academic Relays had received posters, but only one displayed them. One of the EIC librarians had attempted to get dummy notes and coins as well, seeing them as more useful than a poster and a handful of postcards. The other EIC librarian described promotional CD‐ROMs, which came in tins shaped like an euro coin.</p><p>More generally, while the EDCs receive everything published by the EU free of charge, the general trend seems to be that the European Commission is sending less and less free hard‐copy material to the Relays. Possible reasons mooted for this were a lack of financial resources at the European level and the growing accessibility of the Internet. One potential effect of this trend is additional pressure on library budgets.</p><p>While providing electronic only access may save the EC money, it is debatable whether this strategy will fulfil the ECs information policy. Most EIC users have their own Internet access, so they feel there is no real need to provide it. Users without Internet access would be pointed in the direction of the nearest public library. Given the public library networking initiatives in the UK, electronic only access is becoming realistic. Indeed, all the EPICs said they provided Internet access for their users.</p><p>However, this access is not straightforward. Over half mentioned that they charge for this service. European Web sites were rarely book‐marked anywhere save on the staff PCs. One EPIC has a free intranet system which provides limited access to specially selected Web sites, some of which contain European information.</p><p>All the academic libraries provide their students with free Internet access, although usage seems to vary. At the ERC, links have been provided to European Web sites. The ERCSC has one PC with Internet access and the facility to connect up two more PCs if needed.</p><p>Since all the Relays provide some sort of electronic access to European information, it is surprising that very few of the librarians had heard of the QUEST database. Half said that, as they had access to the Europa server, they would therefore have access to QUEST if anyone wished to use it, but it was obvious that no one had asked for this service. The lack of awareness was most surprising amongst EPIC librarians because the database is aimed at the general public.</p><p>It became clear from the interviews that there are issues surrounding the nature of hard copy information sent to Relays by the Commission and the response of individual relays to this.</p><p>One example is the free leaflets with the EPICs finding these one of their most useful assets and the EICs considering them to be irrelevant to their users. Two of the EPICs mentioned having to order more leaflets while the EICs were throwing them away. While one solution to this situation might be local cooperation to redistribute the leaflets, the findings suggest that the EC should be considering a more targetted approach based on the different needs of the different Relays.</p><p>It is not just how the information is distributed that is problematic, it is also the nature of the information. While the EC claims that the Relays “provide the public with information about the EU and its policies in a specially tailored and user‐friendly format”, the information that the EC provides them with hampers them in doing that.</p><p>There were various comments about the design of the different information sources and appropriateness of the content for the different target audiences.</p><p>One of the EPICs thought that the information was not focused enough on the UK and did not take into account British feelings about Europe, leaving the way open for accusations of insensitivity. There were also comments about leaflets being out of date, the difficult language in official European publications, the stiltedness of translated documents and “boring” layouts in general.</p><p>When asked whether they thought the information provided by the EU was pitched at a suitable level for their target audience, very few of the librarians replied in the affirmative. Academic institutions were happy with the official documentation, but felt that the popular literature, such as the free pamphlets, was of no use to their target audience because it was not detailed enough. Both EICs bemoaned the lack of any information pitched between the official and the popular. They found that the official documentation was incomprehensible to most of their users without explanation.</p><p>On the other hand, half of the EPICs found the level of information too high for their target audience. Two EPICs raised the point that most of the actual users were school and sixth‐form college students, whereas the information provided was aimed at adults. This sentiment was echoed strongly by the ERCSC, where the librarian further criticised the overuse of decorative rather than informative pictures.</p><p>A few of the librarians interviewed had come up with some ways of combating these problems. One of the EICs opted for staff explaining documentation to users. This, however, is time consuming and can only work in EICs where users must book an appointment to see the documentation. One of the EPICs keeps a file of newspaper cuttings on EU issues, which are written in readable journalistic English. However, as will be mentioned later, newspapers are not always a reliable source of accurate European information. The ERCSC in the East Midlands is responsible for a Commission Representation document entitled <italic>Euroquest </italic>(Harrison, 1998). This was designed specifically for children aged seven to 11 and the emphasis is very much on learning whilst having fun. A great deal of thought seems to have gone into examining the National Curriculum and identifying ways in which European information can be used as a teaching aid to liven up lessons and incorporate incidental learning about the EU. Indeed, <italic>Euroquest </italic>contains a small section aimed at giving ideas to teachers on how this might be achieved.</p></sec><sec><title>Monitoring enquiries and user needs</title><p>The librarians were asked about monitoring of enquiries in an attempt to investigate the level and nature of use of information on EMU. Only the EICs and the ERCSC could distinguish enquiries on the single currency in their records. The EDCs and two of the EPICs were able to distinguish between EU and non‐EU enquiries only. Three of the EPICs and the ERC had no way of monitoring European enquiries separately on a day‐to‐day basis, but were asked by the European Commission to record them over a one week period twice yearly. The remaining EPIC made no mention of this, but the authors assume that this library must also be obliged to record the statistics bi‐annually.</p><p>None of the Relays have ever carried out user needs surveys purely for European information, although over half have been part of a larger survey encompassing the whole of the host library or organisation. It is not clear whether the Relays got any useful information from these surveys or how they used it.</p></sec><sec><title>Publicity</title><p>All the Relays publicise themselves, although several thought that they could probably do more to promote awareness. Promotion methods mentioned included displays within the library, possibly linked to a European event, or providing an EU slant to a display about modern languages or travel. Other methods included displaying the Relay’s symbol, displaying leaflets, producing guides to the Relay and advertising the Relay’s presence on the library’s Web site. The ERCSC librarian has given talks at head‐teachers’ meetings. The heaviest publicity comes from the EICs, one of which could list over 20 different occasions when the Relay had been promoted within the last six months.</p><p>Half of the librarians could relate at least one incident in which their Relay had been accused of being a propaganda machine for the EU, and two of the others said that they knew of libraries where such accusations had been made. Complaints seem to become more frequent around election time. Usually these led to lengthy exchanges in local newspapers and letters from the complaining party to local councillors. In two of the libraries, the problem arose over literature dealing with the single currency, but generally complaints are about the lack of eurosceptic literature. Three of the EPICs claim to keep eurosceptic material as well as EU publications and another keeps newspaper cuttings. On the whole it was felt that, although there is plenty of eurosceptic material in the press and produced by political groups, “quality” material presenting an anti‐European viewpoint was very hard to come by. One librarian recounted how she thought she had found an ideal source on the Internet, but then discovered that the author of the Web page had provided a link on his site to another containing pornography. The ERC has found an unusual way of compensating for this lack of anti‐European literature. It is explained to the students that the Relay is providing the EU’s point of view only and they are encouraged to examine any documents they use critically for bias, as they should with any source of information.</p></sec><sec><title>Neutrality</title><p>One thing that all the interviewees agreed upon was that the Relays should be neutral. However, half qualified this by saying “as neutral as possible”. They readily acknowledge that the EU is not likely to send out literature which is anti‐European. This fact combined with the lack of eurosceptic material makes it difficult for the Relays to be as neutral as they would like to be. Some of the librarians, particularly those working in public libraries, felt that it was the responsibility of the host institution to provide a balance for the EU literature. Others prefer to trust the intelligence of their users to realise that information provided by the EU will have a positive approach to European matters. A few offered the opinion that, considering the attitude of the press towards the EU, having up‐beat information in the Relay was no bad thing. All concurred, however, that at the end of the day the job of the Relay was to provide information not opinions. They felt that each individual user must form their opinions without influence either way from the staff of the Relay.</p></sec><sec><title>Co‐operation</title><p>Contact and co‐operation between the Relays seems to be of a highly informal nature. A few of the librarians mentioned an East Midlands steering group and still fewer spoke of a national steering group. However, from comments made, it would seem that there is little contact between the national and regional groups. Several mentioned annual conferences, of which the one planned for December 2001 would be the fourth.</p><p>They have used these and other meetings to network, getting to know both the contact people for each Relay and the services offered. This arrangement seems to function, however, as most of the librarians stated that they felt quite able to phone other Relays for help or to refer users to other, more appropriate Relays from time to time. There seems to be an underlying, unspoken belief that this informal network exists to be used, but not abused and that help is more willingly given by other Relay librarians because it is never over solicited.</p><p>The problem of co‐operation being a one‐way street, which has been put forward by some writers (Sargent<italic> et al.</italic>, 2000, p. 165) does not come across as being a major problem in the East Midlands. The Relays each have their own specialist areas and even the EDCs, traditionally seen as having to support and carry the weaker Relays, will refer users to the EICs or the ERCSC for certain enquiries.</p><p>Some librarians have taken this informal co‐operation further. For example, the Relays in Northamptonshire are involved together in the Access to Life‐long Learning in Northamptonshire (ALLIN) agreement. One librarian was involved with the EPIC training group, which trains staff in public libraries to deal with European enquiries. The most isolated Relays seem to be those standing more or less alone in their town, and sometimes county. Although most of these knew of someone they could contact within the East Midlands area, many preferred to contact the Commission Representation in London for help.</p></sec><sec><title>Relays and EMU</title><p>The Commission wants the government of each Member State to be responsible for informing their citizens about the single currency. It envisages a “grass roots level” information campaign. The first question in this section of the interview was designed to discover whether the Relays themselves believe they have a part to play in this. Many librarians found this the hardest question to answer. One of the EICs and one of the EDCs gave answers in line with European policy. Three Relays thought that the EU should be ultimately responsible and two of these felt that one cannot rely on the government because it has its own political agenda. Conversely the other EIC librarian voiced concern that any campaign led by the EU might have a detrimental effect because of the way the EU is portrayed in the British press. The rest of the librarians thought that it should be a balance between the EU, the British government and the Relays. They stressed, however, that the role of the Relay would be that of a tool in the hands of the other two. The Relays can only disseminate the information they are given.</p><p><italic>Initiatives and the impact of a referendum.</italic> The librarians were asked whether the Relay had become involved in any initiatives to promote the single currency. The response was mixed. None of the academic Relays were involved in any project of that sort and the ERCSC is not allowed to get involved because of the age of its target audience and the sensitive nature of the subject.</p><p>Three of the EPICs mentioned general displays in the library, but nothing specifically relating to EMU. In one library a display containing a few items about the euro had prompted a user to lodge a formal complaint. The remaining two EPICs are both trying to stimulate interest in the single currency rather than raise awareness. One made a display a few years ago called “The euro? The future?” which tried to get people thinking about EMU by posing questions. Similarly, the other EPIC is planning a debate on the single currency in the near future. It is planned to turn the entire library, for an evening, into one big display on the euro and encourage users to view the different materials and Web sites available. One of the EICs has also been involved in debates on the euro. The first was held three to four years ago and another was due to be held in October 2001, after having been postponed due to an inability to find anyone willing to speak in favour of the single currency. The other EIC runs a euro helpline for worried businessmen and has been involved in various roadshows to promote the euro, including the Three Es campaign aimed at making SMEs aware of how export, the euro and e‐commerce will affect their businesses. However, their involvement in such campaigns has led to criticism that they are abandoning their neutral stance.</p><p>Finally, the interviewees were asked to predict whether a referendum would be likely to have any effect on the number of EMU related enquiries they receive. Again, the response was mixed. Two of the EPICs replied negatively and one positively. The other three felt that people in the area were apathetic as regards seeking such information and would only show an interest when a date for the referendum had actually been set. The ERC echoed this sentiment and one of the EICs went further, stating that interest amongst SMEs would probably not increase until after a positive referendum when a date for joining the single currency had been set. One of the EDCs felt that the number of enquiries would rise, but the other doubted this due to the fact that students with assignments to write are the main users of EDCs. The ERCSC felt that the level of interest from their users would depend on the date of the referendum. An autumn referendum would coincide with the busiest part of the school term, making it unlikely that teachers would worry about it, whereas a referendum in the summer term would coincide with the post‐examination time when teachers are looking for small, interesting projects with which to end the year.</p></sec></sec><sec><title>User survey</title><sec><title>General details</title><p>Of the 53 respondents, 32 (60 percent) were male and 21 (40 percent) were female (see <xref ref-type="fig" rid="F_2780580403001">Table I</xref>). Almost half were aged between 15 and 24 years of age.</p><p>This can be accounted for by the fact that two of the Relays surveyed are based in academic institutions and, therefore, more than half of the respondents were students. However, nine of the respondents, who gave their occupation as student, were surveyed in public libraries. The second largest groups were retired persons and academic staff (i.e. lecturers and teachers) with four respondents each. Three people worked with computers, two were drivers and two were gardeners. One man owned his own company, one was currently unemployed and one declined to give a profession.</p><p>Only 30 percent of the respondents knew that the library they were in housed a European Information Relay. This was divided equally between the sexes, with eight men and eight women being aware of the Relay’s presence. However, as there were in total more men than women surveyed, this means that eight positive responses account for a quarter of the men, but nearly a third of the women. Analysing the results by age and occupation produced no significant results.</p></sec><sec><title>Relay users</title><p>Out of the 16 respondents who were aware of the Relay, half had actually used it. Two of these users were male and six female. This section will look at how and why those eight people have used the Relays.</p><p>Two said that they used the Relay annually, two bi‐annually and two monthly. The last two gave answers for which there was no tick‐box on the questionnaire. One stated that she had used the Relay only once, whereas the other claimed to use the Relay approximately three times a month. This latter respondent was the owner of his own company and used the Relay for commercial information. Five of the eight used the Relay for their studies, one used it to find information on specific EU countries and one described her usage as “occasional and various”. When asked what would make them use the Relay more often, four replied further coursework and one stated travel. However, three of the respondents said that nothing would induce them to use the Relay more often. They declined to say why.</p><p>All eight claimed that they found the information easy to locate, but six had asked a member of staff for help. With the exception of the man who owned his own company, who found the information a little basic, the respondents thought that the material was pitched at a suitable level for their use.</p></sec><sec><title>Non‐users</title><p>The 45 non‐users were asked to say why they did not use the Relay, 33 of them declined to answer this question. Of the remaining 12, four said that they had never needed to use the Relay; three said they had not known of its existence; a further three stated simply that they had no interest in European information and the last two had an alternative means of accessing European information, such as the Internet. When asked what would induce them to use the Relay, the response was mixed. There were 18 negative replies, of which 14 said nothing would make them use the Relay, three said they could not see a time when they would need to and one said he had no interest in using it. Ten of the respondents stated that they would use the Relay if they had an academic assignment on a European topic. Ten said they wanted to know more about the Relay, the sort of information it held and the services offered. Two respondents claimed that they would use the Relay if they needed to. One man said he would like to be able to access European information via the library’s Intranet. This was in fact possible in the library in question and again highlights a lack of awareness. The remaining four gave examples of topic areas for the sort of European information they might use.</p></sec><sec><title>EMU</title><p>When asked whether they knew what EMU is, 27 respondents said that they did. However, when the question proceeded to ask for a definition, they gave mixed answers. The majority (14) thought that EMU was solely about the single currency. Four of these made the common mistake of defining EMU as European monetary union instead of economic and monetary union. One man gave the following definition, “Economic and monetary union is the replacement of disparate and conflicting national currencies with a single cohesive unit”. One person said that EMU had to do with the removal of trade barriers; one spoke of fixed exchange rates; another gave a vague answer about the union of Member States and, vaguer still, someone offered “a lot”. Some gave more detailed responses. One talked of interest rates and inflation rates being set by a central bank in Germany. Another described EMU as the single currency and the completion of the single market. Three respondents declined to answer the second part of this question and bizarrely one person, after having said that they knew what EMU was, stated, when asked to define it in their own words, “no idea!”.</p><p>EMU was then briefly explained to the respondents who had answered negatively and almost all showed signs of recognition at the mention of the single currency. The respondents were then asked to say where their knowledge of EMU came from. Seven of the 53 declined to answer this question. The remaining 46 respondents were encouraged to give all the sources they have used (see <xref ref-type="fig" rid="F_2780580403002">Table II</xref>).</p><p>Television, radio and newspapers are by far the most frequently consulted sources of information on EMU. This appeared to be a passive rather than active method of seeking information. Only two of the people surveyed mentioned using the Relay to find out about EMU.</p><p>Finally respondents were asked whether they felt that they knew enough about EMU to vote in a referendum. This produced a definite split between men and women. Of the men, 17 (53 percent) thought they knew enough and 14 thought they did not. The women, however, were much more cautious. Only three felt that they knew enough, whereas 18 (86 percent) did not. One man declined to answer the question on the grounds that he did not believe in the concept of a referendum. A chi‐square test on this result showed a statistically significant result[1]. Although the questionnaire deliberately did not ask users how they would vote, several offered this information. It was noted that only one of those who gave a political opinion was in favour of EMU and he had written books on the subject.</p><p>The 32 people who had given negative answers were then asked what further information they needed and through what medium they would like to receive that information? Nine said that they knew so little at the moment that they would have to be told everything about it and two asked for general information, 11 wanted to know the effect that joining the single currency would have, particularly the long‐term effects on jobs, inflation and the British economy. Three wanted to be presented with balanced arguments both for and against joining, one wanted to know what value the exchange rate for Sterling would be set at and another wanted more information on the referendum itself and what it entails. Three respondents were unsure as to what sort of information they required and two declined to answer.</p><p>The second part of this question, once again, prompted multiple answers. Five respondents declined to answer. The most popular choices of media were television and leaflets. Out of the ten people who favoured television, four also included radio. After those came newspapers and the Internet with seven respondents favouring each. One person, however, expressly desired not to receive information about EMU via the national press because she thought that would prejudice the information. Four respondents wanted the information to come from the British government, but once again another was equally adamant that the government should not provide such information. Two respondents listed friends and family, two stated vaguely that they wanted to receive information on EMU via their college studies and one thought that financial institutions were best placed to give expert information. Only one person said that they would go to the library.</p></sec><sec><title>Knowledge of the Relay</title><p>The results of the user survey support the observation made by Marcella quoted above, that people do not know where to go to find European information. A lot of people are still oblivious to the existence of the Relays and 22 percent of the non‐users said that more information about the Relays would encourage them to use the Relays. The authors would agree, too, with Sargent’s conclusion that a more proactive approach to information dissemination is needed. For example, in the East Midlands the EPICs tend only to promote the Relay within the public library itself. Therefore, only the existing library users would see such advertising. The obvious solution would be to publicise all the Relays more widely and vigorously. However, this is easier said than done, when even the in‐house displays come under severe criticism from eurosceptic groups.</p></sec><sec><title>Feeling informed?</title><p>Of the users surveyed, 38 percent felt that they knew enough about the euro to vote in a referendum, which suggests that these people felt well informed on the subject. However, of those users, five had not known what EMU stood for and two had claimed to know, yet given poor responses when asked to define it. This is a far higher percentage than that of 21.7 percent given in <italic>Eurobarometer </italic>(INRA (Europe), 2000, p. 1). The latter survey also found that television was the most popular source of information on the euro with over 55 percent of citizens in 12 of the Member States (INRA (Europe), 2000, p. 5). One of the exceptions to this rule was the UK, where television was only used by 17 percent as a source of information (INRA (Europe), 2000, p. 5). However, the results of our interviews suggest that the UK is no different from the other EU countries. Not only was television the most popular source of current information, but it was also the preferred medium for future dissemination of information. The Relays were only mentioned as a current source of information by two users and as a future source by one. Strangely, in the <italic>Eurobarometer </italic>survey mentioned above, the respondents were given 17 possible sources to choose from, but European Information Relays was not one of them (INRA (Europe), 2000, p. 6).</p></sec><sec><title>User apathy</title><p>The Relay librarians spoke of a sense of apathy amongst the citizens of the East Midlands and this was borne out by the responses given to the user survey. Not only did most of the users’ current knowledge about EMU come from the most easily accessible sources, but they also favoured those sources for future information dissemination. Three of those who chose leaflets stipulated that the leaflets should be posted through their doors. Similarly, one of the respondents wanted to be sent e‐mails containing links to electronic information about EMU.</p></sec><sec><title>The national press</title><p>Several of the librarians and one of the users thought that the British press was prejudiced against the EU. This reflects the findings of Kelly and Nicholas (1996), and Marcella (2001). It also poses a problem for the European Commission’s information strategy, which advocates using all available grass‐roots media to publicise the euro.</p></sec></sec><sec><title>Conclusions and recommendations</title><p>The EC sees the European Information Relays as a central part of its information policy generally and part of its strategy for promoting the euro. Our research suggests that the Relays do not seem to be fulfilling their roles as effectively as they might. There seem to be various reasons for this, including the way the EC distributes information to the relays and the nature of the information. In addition, the research suggests a lack of awareness among users of the existence of the Relays.</p><p>A lack of both time and funding has prevented librarians from being more proactive in their promotion of the Relays. Much promotion activity has been low key and confined to the library in which the Relay is based. In addition, several of the librarians’ attempts to publicise their Relays have provoked complaints that the Relay is a propaganda machine for the EU. Some Relays have tried to take to advantage of the controversial nature of EMU to stir up public interest and raise awareness.</p><p>The EU needs to review the literature it sends to the various Relays to ensure that it is appropriate for the target audience of each. This includes improving the presentation, style and content of publications.</p><p>There needs to be more quality eurosceptic material. The material currently available generally takes the form of political leaflets or tabloid articles, which are both difficult to collect and unrefereed. If the Relays were able to stock quality material displaying both sides of the argument, they would be less open to criticism and this in turn might make them more confident about advertising the EU information they hold on topics such as EMU.</p><p>Although the system of informal co‐operation functions well in the cities of the East Midlands with two or more Relays and has produced some encouraging partnerships, more should be done to sustain contact with isolated Relays.</p><p>However, the findings of this research suggest that users still prefer to consult the most readily available media (television and newspapers) rather than make the effort to go to a European Information Relay. Research needs to be carried out, not only amongst library users, but also amongst non‐users, to discover exactly why this is the case. It may be that even if the suggestions above were implemented, the level of use of European Information Relays would not dramatically improve.</p><p>The authors believe that the Commission is correct in recommending a grass‐roots level information campaign, which takes the information to the citizen, but the fact that, statistically, the British do not feel informed about the euro suggests that this is not happening. This would suggest that the Commission should fundamentally review its information dissemination policy, not only in terms of content but dissemination channels. In addition, the UK government should also be reviewing its policy in this area too, perhaps by acting sooner rather than later to inform citizens.</p><p>Better dissemination of information by the European Commission or the UK government action may tackle the lack of awareness or interest amongst the UK public. However, it seems that the mass media could hold the key to informed decision making by citizens. 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Prospects for European Monetary Union</italic></source>, <publisher-loc>The Royal Institute of International Affairs, London</publisher-loc>.</mixed-citation></ref><ref id="b28"><mixed-citation><person-group person-group-type="author"><string-name><surname>Thomson</surname>, <given-names>I.</given-names> </string-name></person-group>(<year>1996</year>), “<article-title><italic>European Documentation Centres</italic></article-title>”, <source><italic>Law Librarian</italic></source>, Vol. <volume>27</volume> No. <issue>1</issue>, March, pp. <fpage>3</fpage><x>‐</x><lpage>4</lpage>.</mixed-citation></ref><ref id="b29"><mixed-citation><person-group person-group-type="author"><string-name><surname>Wiper</surname>, <given-names>C</given-names></string-name></person-group>. (<year>1997</year>), “<article-title><italic>Euro Info Centres after ten years</italic></article-title>”, <source><italic>EIA Review</italic></source>, Vol. <volume>10</volume>, p. <fpage>29</fpage>.</mixed-citation></ref></ref-list><app-group><app><title>Appendix 1. Librarian interview schedule</title><sec><title><italic>Interview schedule</italic></title><p>Part one:</p><list list-type="order"><list-item><label>1. </label><p>Name and job title.</p></list-item><list-item><label>2. </label><p>How long has your library been an Information Relay?</p></list-item><list-item><label>3. </label><p>What sort of Relay is your library?</p></list-item></list><list list-type="simple"><list-item><p>& European Documentation Centre.</p></list-item><list-item><p>& European Information Centre.</p></list-item><list-item><p>& European Public Information Centre.</p></list-item><list-item><p>& European Reference Centre.</p></list-item><list-item><p>& European Resource Centre for Schools and Colleges.</p></list-item></list><p><list list-type="order"><list-item><label>4. </label><p>Describe the target audience of your Relay.</p></list-item><list-item><label>5. </label><p>How is the European information distributed throughout your library?</p></list-item></list><list list-type="simple"><list-item><p>& Special collection.</p></list-item><list-item><p>& Interspersed with main collection.</p></list-item><list-item><p>& Other, please state … </p></list-item></list><list list-type="order"><list-item><label>6. </label><p>Is the information on open access shelves, closed access shelves or a mix of the two? If a mix of the two, please state rough percentage.</p></list-item><list-item><label>7. </label><p>How is the Relay staffed?</p></list-item></list><list list-type="simple"><list-item><p>& General staff.</p></list-item><list-item><p>& Dedicated staff. (Are they specially trained/qualified?)</p></list-item><list-item><p>& Other, please state … </p></list-item></list><list list-type="order"><list-item><label>8. </label><p>How is the Relay funded?</p></list-item></list><list list-type="simple"><list-item><p>& Redirection of existing funds.</p></list-item><list-item><p>& Extra funds were made available.</p></list-item><list-item><p>& A grant (please give details).</p></list-item><list-item><p>& Other, please state … </p></list-item></list><list list-type="order"><list-item><label>9. </label><p>How much contact/co‐operation is there between your Relay and others in the East Midlands? Please elaborate your answer. (What kind of co‐operation? How often? With whom: like Relays or different Relays? Is there more or less co‐operation now than a year ago?)</p></list-item></list><list list-type="order"><list-item><label>10. </label><p>Do you have any way of monitoring enquiries regarding the European Union?</p></list-item><list-item><label>2. </label><p>If yes, what percentage of the enquiries is about Monetary Union?</p></list-item><list-item><label>11. </label><p>Do you do user needs surveys? If yes, what were the results? How have you acted upon them?</p></list-item></list></p><p>Part two:</p><list list-type="order"><list-item><label>12. </label><p>Describe the range of EU publications held by your Relay.</p></list-item><list-item><label>13. </label><p>What percentage of above are free publications?</p></list-item><list-item><label>14. </label><p>Is the information pitched at a suitable level for your target user group? If not, why not? Have you done anything to rectify the problem?</p></list-item><list-item><label>15. </label><p>Does your Relay consist solely of EUR‐OP/EU publications? Please elaborate your answer.</p></list-item><list-item><label>16. </label><p>If you answered No to question 15, what other publications have you purchased?</p></list-item><list-item><label>17. </label><p>Do you provide access to European information via the Internet for library users?</p></list-item><list-item><label>18. </label><p>Do you provide access to databases containing European information? If so, which ones? Are they online or CD‐ROMs?</p></list-item><list-item><label>19. </label><p>How does your Relay decide which media to purchase an item in?</p></list-item><list-item><label>20. </label><p>Do you publicise your Relay status? If yes, how? If no, why not?</p></list-item><list-item><label>21. </label><p>Do you believe a Relay should be pro‐European, neutral or anti‐European? Please elaborate your answer.</p></list-item></list><p>Part three:</p><p><list list-type="order"><list-item><label>22. </label><p>Who do you believe should be ultimately responsible for informing people about EMU?</p></list-item></list><list list-type="simple"><list-item><p>& The European Union.</p></list-item><list-item><p>& The British government.</p></list-item><list-item><p>& The Relay network.</p></list-item><list-item><p>& Other, please state … </p></list-item></list><list list-type="order"><list-item><label>23. </label><p>With regard to EMU, does your library hold any of the following?</p></list-item></list><list list-type="simple"><list-item><p>& <italic>Inf</italic>E<italic>uro</italic>.</p></list-item><list-item><p>& Free information booklets.</p></list-item><list-item><p>& Access to QUEST, interactive on‐line database.</p></list-item><list-item><p>& Text books on EMU.</p></list-item><list-item><p>& Access to legislation on EMU.</p></list-item></list><list list-type="order"><list-item><label>24. </label><p>Do you receive posters/postcards from the EU advertising EMU? If so, do you display them?</p></list-item><list-item><label>25. </label><p>Are you/have you been involved in any initiatives to promote awareness of the European Union in general or EMU in particular? If yes, please give details.</p></list-item><list-item><label>26. </label><p>(Only in event of a Labour victory on 7 June) Tony Blair has promised a referendum on the single currency, do you anticipate a surge of interest in EMU? If yes, how are you planning to deal with it?</p></list-item></list></p></sec></app><app><title>Appendix 2. User interview schedule</title><p><italic>The user survey</italic></p><list list-type="order"><list-item><label>1. </label><p>Age.</p></list-item></list><list list-type="simple"><list-item><p>& 0‐14 & 15‐24 & 25‐39 & 40‐54 & 55+ & Decline to say</p></list-item></list><list list-type="order"><list-item><label>2. </label><p>Profession.</p></list-item><list-item><label>3. </label><p>Sex.</p></list-item></list><list list-type="simple"><list-item><p>& Male & Female</p></list-item></list><list list-type="order"><list-item><label>4. </label><p>Are you aware that this library is also a European Information Relay? (An Information Relay is a library specially designated to receive publications from, and provide information on, the European Union.)</p></list-item></list><list list-type="simple"><list-item><p>& Yes & No</p></list-item></list><list list-type="order"><list-item><label>5. </label><p>Do you ever use the Relay?</p></list-item></list><list list-type="simple"><list-item><p>& Yes & No</p></list-item><list-item><p>If so, how often?</p></list-item><list-item><p>& Daily & Weekly & Fortnightly & Monthly & Bi‐annually & Annually</p></list-item><list-item><p>If not, why not?</p></list-item><list-item><p>_____________________________________________________________________</p></list-item></list><p><italic>(If you answered No, please go to question 7 and then question 11 onwards.)</italic></p><list list-type="order"><list-item><label>6. </label><p>What do you use the Relay for?</p></list-item><list-item><label>2. </label><p>_____________________________________________________________________</p></list-item><list-item><label>3. </label><p>_____________________________________________________________________</p></list-item><list-item><label>7. </label><p>What would induce you to use the Relay more often?</p></list-item><list-item><label>5. </label><p>_____________________________________________________________________</p></list-item><list-item><label>6. </label><p>_____________________________________________________________________</p></list-item><list-item><label>8. </label><p>Do you find the European material easy to locate?</p></list-item></list><list list-type="simple"><list-item><p>& Yes & No</p></list-item><list-item><p>If not, why not?</p></list-item><list-item><p>_____________________________________________________________________</p></list-item></list><list list-type="order"><list-item><label>9. </label><p>Have you ever asked a member of staff to help you locate a piece of information?</p></list-item></list><list list-type="simple"><list-item><p>& Yes & No</p></list-item></list><list list-type="order"><list-item><label>10. </label><p>Do you find that the information is pitched at a suitable level?</p></list-item></list><list list-type="simple"><list-item><p>& Yes & No</p></list-item><list-item><p>If no, in what way is it unsuitable?</p></list-item></list><list list-type="order"><list-item><label>1. </label><p>_____________________________________________________________________</p></list-item><list-item><label>2. </label><p>_____________________________________________________________________</p></list-item></list><list list-type="order"><list-item><label>11. </label><p>Do you know what EMU is?</p></list-item></list><list list-type="simple"><list-item><p>& Yes & No</p></list-item><list-item><p>If yes, please define what EMU involves.</p></list-item></list><list list-type="order"><list-item><label>1. </label><p>_____________________________________________________________________</p></list-item><list-item><label>2. </label><p>_____________________________________________________________________</p></list-item></list><list list-type="order"><list-item><label>12. </label><p>Where does your knowledge of EMU come from? (tick all that apply)</p></list-item></list><list list-type="simple"><list-item><p>& TV/radio</p></list-item><list-item><p>& Newspapers</p></list-item><list-item><p>& The EU via Information Relays</p></list-item><list-item><p>& Banks and other financial institutions</p></list-item><list-item><p>& The EU via the Internet</p></list-item><list-item><p>& The British government</p></list-item><list-item><p>& Friends/relatives</p></list-item><list-item><p>& Other, please state … </p></list-item></list><list list-type="order"><list-item><label>13. </label><p>Are you aware of any initiatives carried out by this relay to promote European information in general or EMU in particular?</p></list-item></list><list list-type="simple"><list-item><p>& Yes & No</p></list-item><list-item><p>If yes, please specify … </p></list-item></list><list list-type="order"><list-item><label>1. </label><p> _____________________________________________________________________</p></list-item><list-item><label>2. </label><p>_____________________________________________________________________</p></list-item></list><list list-type="order"><list-item><label>14. </label><p>(Only in the event of a Labour victory on 7 June) Tony Blair has promised a referendum on EMU. Do you believe you currently know enough about the subject to vote in the best interests of the country?</p></list-item></list><list list-type="simple"><list-item><p>& Yes & No</p></list-item><list-item><p>If no, what further information do you believe you require?</p></list-item></list><list list-type="order"><list-item><label>1. </label><p> _____________________________________________________________________</p></list-item><list-item><label>2. </label><p>_____________________________________________________________________</p></list-item></list><list list-type="order"><list-item><label>1. </label><p> How and where would you like to get this information?</p></list-item><list-item><label>2. </label><p>_____________________________________________________________________</p></list-item><list-item><label>3. </label><p>_____________________________________________________________________</p></list-item></list></app></app-group></back></article></istex:document></istex:metadataXml><mods version="3.6"><titleInfo lang="en"><title>Providing information on economic and monetary union</title><subTitle>A case study of the East Midlands European Information Relay</subTitle></titleInfo><titleInfo type="alternative" lang="en" contentType="CDATA"><title>Providing information on economic and monetary union</title><subTitle>A case study of the East Midlands European Information Relay</subTitle></titleInfo><name type="personal"><namePart type="given">Sarah Jane</namePart><namePart type="family">Cousins</namePart><affiliation>Department of Information Science, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK</affiliation><role><roleTerm type="text">author</roleTerm></role></name><name type="personal"><namePart type="given">Adrienne</namePart><namePart type="family">Muir</namePart><affiliation>Department of Information Science, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK</affiliation><role><roleTerm type="text">author</roleTerm></role></name><typeOfResource>text</typeOfResource><genre type="case-report" displayLabel="case-report"></genre><originInfo><publisher>MCB UP Ltd</publisher><dateIssued encoding="w3cdtf">2002-08-01</dateIssued><copyrightDate encoding="w3cdtf">2002</copyrightDate></originInfo><language><languageTerm type="code" authority="iso639-2b">eng</languageTerm><languageTerm type="code" authority="rfc3066">en</languageTerm></language><physicalDescription><internetMediaType>text/html</internetMediaType></physicalDescription><abstract lang="en">The British government has promised a referendum on whether the United Kingdom should participate in the European single currency. There are questions about whether the UK population knows enough about economic and monetary union to make an informed decision and from what sources they received that knowledge. The European Commission has instigated an information programme for EMU. The EC sees the system of European Information Relays as an important part of its policy on disseminating information on Europe. This study investigated the role of the Relays in this, and informing the public on EMU in particular. The East Midlands was selected as a case study and a series of interviews were carried out with librarians and users. The librarians believe that the Relays have a role to play as a disseminator of information from other sources, but are hampered in their efforts by a lack of resources, lack of awareness of the EC information programme and adverse user reaction to promotion activities. In addition, there is evidence of apathy amongst potential users, who are passive in their consumption of information on EMU, mainly from mass media sources. While this study is too small to be representative, the findings indicate that the EC should improve the presentation of its publications and better target dissemination to different Relays. The UK government may have to take a more proactive role in informing the British public about EMU. However, the findings also indicate that a bigger problem is the perceived lack of accuracy and neutrality of the UK media on this topic. Since this is a major source of information for the public, this could hamper informed decision making.</abstract><subject><genre>keywords</genre><topic>EMU</topic><topic>Information retrieval</topic><topic>Europe</topic><topic>Case studies</topic></subject><relatedItem type="host"><titleInfo><title>Journal of Documentation</title></titleInfo><genre type="journal">journal</genre><subject><genre>Emerald Subject Group</genre><topic authority="SubjectCodesPrimary" authorityURI="cat-IKM">Information & knowledge management</topic><topic authority="SubjectCodesSecondary" authorityURI="cat-ICT">Information & communications technology</topic><topic authority="SubjectCodesSecondary" authorityURI="cat-IMG">Information management & governance</topic><topic authority="SubjectCodesSecondary" authorityURI="cat-INT">Internet</topic><topic authority="SubjectCodesSecondary" authorityURI="cat-IMAN">Information management</topic></subject><subject><genre>Emerald Subject Group</genre><topic authority="SubjectCodesPrimary" authorityURI="cat-LISC">Library & information science</topic><topic authority="SubjectCodesSecondary" authorityURI="cat-CCAT">Classification & cataloguing</topic><topic authority="SubjectCodesSecondary" authorityURI="cat-CBM">Collection building & management</topic><topic authority="SubjectCodesSecondary" authorityURI="cat-IBRT">Information behaviour & retrieval</topic><topic authority="SubjectCodesSecondary" authorityURI="cat-RMP">Records management & preservation</topic><topic authority="SubjectCodesSecondary" authorityURI="cat-SCPG">Scholarly communications/publishing</topic><topic authority="SubjectCodesSecondary" authorityURI="cat-DOCM">Document management</topic></subject><identifier type="ISSN">0022-0418</identifier><identifier type="PublisherID">jd</identifier><identifier type="DOI">10.1108/jd</identifier><part><date>2002</date><detail type="volume"><caption>vol.</caption><number>58</number></detail><detail type="issue"><caption>no.</caption><number>4</number></detail><extent unit="pages"><start>396</start><end>421</end></extent></part></relatedItem><identifier type="istex">72030CCB6FEC4C84A53BAB3A7C49BF3CD33128F2</identifier><identifier type="DOI">10.1108/00220410210431127</identifier><identifier type="filenameID">2780580403</identifier><identifier type="original-pdf">2780580403.pdf</identifier><identifier type="href">00220410210431127.pdf</identifier><accessCondition type="use and reproduction" contentType="copyright">© MCB UP Limited</accessCondition><recordInfo><recordContentSource>EMERALD</recordContentSource></recordInfo></mods></metadata><serie></serie></istex></record>Pour manipuler ce document sous Unix (Dilib)
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