Consumer information and advice: the role of public libraries

An examination of the work of Consumer Advice Centres and of the information sources and support activities that public libraries can offer. CAC's have dealt with pre‐shopping advice, education on consumers' rights and complaints about goods and services, advising the client and often obtaining expert assessments. They have drawn on a wide range of information sources including case records, trade literature, contact files and external links. The recent closure of many CAC's has seriously affected the availability of consumer information and advice. Public libraries can make many kinds of information sources more widely available, both to the public and to the agencies now supplying consumer information and advice. Libraries can co‐operate closely with advice agencies through local co‐ordinating committees, shared premises, joint publicity, referral and the sharing of professional expertise.