Information institutions and their role in building national information policies

an analytical study of the reality of the situation in the Libyan state

Abstract

The main aim of the to explore the role that information institutions and those responsible for them must play in building the national information policy. Through this study, we seek to highlight the importance of involving them and those responsible for them in building national information policies because of their knowledge and ability to enhance the concepts related to information, and the areas of its use and control. Information institutions are primarily concerned with obtaining, using, controlling, and disseminating information, in addition to their ability to identify and understand the information behavior of members of society, and identify the strengths and weaknesses of the state’s information construction.

     However, the reality of the situation shows the exclusion of this segment and the partial absence of its role, and in most cases the absence is complete. Initial research shows that the current situation in the Libyan state is not encouraging with regard to its national policies, with the confusion and chaos it is experiencing at the political and economic levels, which has cast a shadow on the information aspect of the state.

    In order to investigate the topic and determine the current situation of information policy in the Libyan state, the Delphi method was adopted to extrapolate the opinions of twenty information experts, who have scientific and practical experience of not less than 20 years in the field of information services, in order to answer the main question posed by the study, which is:

- Do information institutions have a role in drawing up the national information policy in the Libyan state? It results from a set of questions:

- What can an information specialist add to information policy?

- What are the obstacles that prevent the involvement of information institutions in information policy making?

- What visions do information institutions aspire to?

Based on the above, the study reached a number of results and recommendations, the first of which is the need for librarians and information specialists to contribute to developing the national information policy.