Digital inclusion in British Columbia’s public libraries

van der Linde, Deborah (2026) Digital inclusion in British Columbia’s public libraries. Ed.D thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

This dissertation explores the role of libraries in British Columbia in supporting digital inclusion. The research question is: What is the role of British Columbia’s public libraries with respect to digital inclusion? Within that role, what do we need to do to accomplish digital inclusion, and what are the barriers that may prevent us from accomplishing it?

I used Nussbaum's Capability Approach as a theoretical framework to explore the issues surrounding digital inclusion and libraries. Further, I used Futures Studies to guide the interviews, using the 7 Questions method.

The research applies a qualitative approach. Eight library staff were interviewed to identify current and future challenges and conflicts faced by public libraries. Semi-structured interviews allowed exploration of the participants' perceptions of past and potential future challenges in supporting digital inclusion and the changes that need to be made if libraries are to better respond to the digital future. Braun and Clarke's approach to thematic analysis was used to analyse the data.

The findings suggested that the challenges cluster around:

• Challenges with access, from access to stable funding to digital resources,
• Governance in that libraries have become a type of essential service to communities, and would benefit from clearly articulated roles and more formal connections to government
• Building community, which relates to the library’s role as a community educator and connecting community with information and culture.

The findings further suggest that to determine the library’s role with regards to digital inclusion, one must first determine the library’s role in general as both are very much tied together. The implications of the study are that the Capability Approach enables a way of looking at the role of the library and what libraries can do to support digital inclusion. Developing minimum standards based on that, would be beneficial to libraries by providing consistency and a goal to strive towards. Future Studies provided libraries with a way of examining, understanding, and responding to the challenges.

• Item Type: Thesis (Ed.D)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Subjects: L Education > L Education (General); Z Bibliography. Library Science. Information Resources > Z719 Libraries (General)
• Colleges/Schools: College of Social Sciences > School of Education
• Supervisor's Name: Patrick, Dr. Fiona and Morrison-Love, Dr David
• Date of Award: 2026
• Depositing User: Theses Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:2026-85711
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 02 Mar 2026 10:49
• Last Modified: 02 Mar 2026 10:49
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.85711
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/85711