Directing Digital Citizenship: How Librarians Mediate the Dutch Digital Welfare State

Maud Rebergen, Joëlle Swart and Marcel Broersma
Additional contact information
Maud Rebergen: Centre for Media and Journalism Studies, University of Groningen, The Netherlands
Joëlle Swart: Centre for Media and Journalism Studies, University of Groningen, The Netherlands
Marcel Broersma: Centre for Media and Journalism Studies, University of Groningen, The Netherlands

Social Inclusion, 2025, vol. 13

Abstract: Digital citizenship has emerged as a prominent concept in policy and academic discourse, broadly referring to individuals’ ability to access and use digital tools for public engagement. However, because its meaning varies between actors and across societal contexts, it is still an ambiguous term. This article considers how digital citizenship takes shape in practice by examining the everyday practices of librarians, the key mediators between citizens and the digital welfare state, and analysing how these contrast with conceptualizations of digital citizenship promoted by the Dutch national Digital Inclusion programme. Governments worldwide are adopting “digital‐by‐default” models, emphasizing ICT‐driven public service solutions. While promising greater efficiency and accessibility, this transition exacerbates challenges for individuals lacking access to ICT resources or digital literacy, reinforcing social inequalities. Using the Netherlands as a case study, this research highlights the challenges of digital inclusion in highly digitalized societies. Despite high digitalization rankings, many Dutch citizens face difficulties using digital tools and accessing digital public services. To address this issue, the Dutch government launched the Digital Inclusion programme in 2019, establishing information points and digital skills courses in libraries. Based on ethnographic research in three public libraries, this study reveals a disconnect between policymakers’ conceptualisations of digital citizenship, defining what competencies citizens should possess and what participatory practices are supported, and the lived reality of digital citizenship in public libraries. By highlighting the tensions and misalignments between policy and practice, this article aims to contribute to more inclusive conceptualizations of digital citizenship, to inform digital inclusion initiatives that foster equitable participation in digital societies.

Keywords: digital citizenship; digital government; digital inclusion; digital literacy; digital welfare state; public libraries; self‐service solutions; social inequality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9949 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9949

DOI: 10.17645/si.9949

Access Statistics for this article

Social Inclusion is currently edited by Mariana Pires

More articles in Social Inclusion from Cogitatio Press
Bibliographic data for series maintained by António Vieira () and IT Department ().