A term that refers to the gap between those with adequate access to digital information and those without quality access. This gap can be influenced by age, class, race, education, access, cognitive ability, and location.

The Digital Divide

Libraries provide access to digital materials for the general public such as computers and internet access. This helps lessen the digital divide. 

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Types of services include:
- reference services
- reference resources
- intermediation
- digital resources
- information literacy instruction
- user experience
- access services
- hyperlinked libraries
- creation culture and makerspaces
- index based discovery services

Types of Information Services in Libraries

Herbert Schiller, “Information: Commodity or Social?” in Information Inequality: The Deepening Social Crisis in America (New York: Routledge, 1996), 34-37.

“Information: Commodity or Social?

Services provided by librarians to help users find resources that fulfill their information needs.

Reference Services in Libraries

Digital Resources

Large databases that are usually subscribed to by an institution for patrons to use for information seeking. 

Index-Based Discovery Services

Instruction designed to teach information literacy skills to any given group of information users.

Information Literacy Instruction

Libraries provide users with access to reference resources that are credible records that help fulfill their information needs. 

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