Abstract:

Libraries are not merely storehouses for books anymore. Today they are multifunctional spaces where:
(a) documents and their carriers take a back seat to providing the information they contain;
(b) it is just as important to function as a public space and as a socially sensitive, democratic, and multicultural institution, as it is to conserve cultural heritage;
(c) other, socially useful ventures cannot be avoided.

One of these is non-formal education, supplementing formal school training, which has taken place in libraries since the beginning. Libraries have an indisputable history in providing remote services. This is particularly important in this digital age, especially during COVID-19. Library and information science and library practice itself have considered as their own – first atypical but by now organic – duty not only the development of financial literacy and the businesses built on it, but also the educational mission related to these. This is implemented through broad collaborations usually involving external partners. Sustainable economy is also included in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), while financial education is part of the activities of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development International Network on Financial Education (OECD/INFE). The presentation provides an overview of the international literature on the topic, and of the good practices supporting the responsible financial decisions of citizens. It also introduces some of the major public library programs related to the American Library Association (ALA), e.g., Smart Money Week, Smart Investing @ Your Library, and Thinking Money; the initiatives of the Reference and User Service Association Business Reference and Service Sections (RUSA BRASS); and the activities of a few specific libraries (e.g., New York Public Library). Topics related to business development include the library and information support of founding and operating start-ups. In this regard, The British Library Business & IP Centre National Network, which operates in a European, national library environment, as well as the EU-funded programs Start-ups in London Libraries and Innovating for Growth: Scale-ups all have indisputable merits. The goal of this presentation is to formulate proposals and create a model for developing services promoting business life and financial awareness among citizens in Central and Eastern Europe, and thereby to improve Hungary’s ranking in the EU’s Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI). We aim at conducting a curricular innovation of the educators’ education, i.e., the library and information science university program, so that, on the one hand, librarian graduates can provide the aforementioned services properly, and, on the other hand, they are able to operate and manage their institutions successfully even while facing constant challenges presented by the economic-social-technological environment, whereby they can also meet the efficiency expectations imposed on public collections (cultural institutions).

Keywords:

Financial literacy, library, non-formal education, library and information science, start-up, entrepreneurship, business information.