Introduction
Kofi Annan, welcomed Heads of States, delegates and participants to the International Day of the Universal Declaration of Human rights and the Opening Day of the World Summit with these words: "We are going through a historic transformation in the way we live, learn, work, communicate and do business. We must do so not passively, but as makers of our own destiny. Technology has produced the information. Now it is up to all of us to build an information society." Information society is a concept that describes a society in which the creation, handling, distribution and manipulation of information is assuming a very significant economic interest. It describes a society in which knowledge and information are becoming significant components of factors of production. In this kind of society, information technology occupies a central position. It is generally seen as successor to industrial society. In the Information Society, knowledge is the crucial competitive factor.

The World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) was held in Geneva 2003 and Tunis 2005. After several months of preparations, more than 6000 delegations of States, non-governmental organizations and other interests groups gathered in the first phase WSIS meeting in Geneva 10-12 December 2003. IFLA was among the participants.
The other aspect of social inclusion is more closely related to the traditional library role, but it is placed a little more squarely in the context of the Information Society. It is that libraries and information services share the common vision of an Information Society For All (analogous to UNESCO’s Information For All and Education For All programmes), which might be viewed as a restatement of the “Haves versus Have Nots.” But, it has the added objective of libraries helping all citizens to create, access, use, and share information and knowledge.
IFLA urges national, regional, and local governments, as well as international organizations, to invest in library and information services as vital elements of their Information Society strategies. The claim is that, in so doing, an informed and literate citizenry will not only be more stable, but more productive and thus able to participate more effectively in the democratic process and also be helpful members of their respective local communities.