During his librarian and consultation work in a specialist library, the author has experienced that the European InfoNet Adult Education plays a significant role among information resources of adult/life-long education.

 Hungary’s largest Technical and Adult Education Library is located in the Nemzeti Szakképzési és Felnőttképzési Intézetben [National Institute for Technical and Adult Education]. The library provides technical and professional information for the staff of the Institute, and it is also open for everybody outside the Institute. Most of the users are researchers, teachers of technical and adult educational institutes, professors and students of higher education in andragogy. Students of andragogy faculties often take part in practical training sessions in the library, during which they learn more about sources of information in adult education. It is easy to learn more about Hungarian technical journals, basic tasks and databases, because the library offers a comprehensive range of Hungarian specialist literatures. However, it is a significant challenge to gain access to up-to-date, credible information on adult education in the European countries, because the library only has limited funds to purchase foreign publications and technical books. The European InfoNet Adult Education database offers a great assistance in professional information. Students often receive tasks concerning adult education in a certain European country, which requires them to carry out some research work. InfoNet provides them with most up-to-date information to complete their tasks.
 

They can navigate easily in the InfoNet database, and they can run searches based on subject matter or country. Articles published via InfoNet broaden their professional horizon, a number of questions arise and ideas emerge in respect of their future professional activities. On the basis of the articles they can, for example, study the meaning of the phrase and the concept behind “adult education” in certain European countries. Teachers and researchers receive tailor-made information in the library on the use of InfoNet. They search with a keen interest in the InfoNet database about the various adult education policies, institutional systems, support mechanisms, etc. in various European countries. On the basis of the feed-back we received, InfoNet provides a significant help in the collection of international practices and facts on the formats and trends of life-long learning. Users can get an impression on the similarity or the differences between the various professional problems arising in the European countries.


It is a very important aspect for the Hungarian users that the InfoNet articles are easy to read by those who speak English at an intermediate level, as the language aims to be simple. Students also indicated that whilst they are reading these articles, they can also learn the English key words in Andragogy, as they would not have the opportunity to learn these during their studies otherwise. On the basis of the experiences obtained during the librarian work we can say that InfoNet is a vital source of professional information in adult/life-long education in Europe.