From access to action: rethinking digital citizenship in public library platforms in the age of AI

Introduction: In recent years, European public libraries have invested heavily in the digitalization of their services, developing digital lending platforms that expand access to reading and knowledge. However, these platforms not only organize content but also construct institutional discourses on what it means to be a citizen in the digital age.Objective: This paper critically examines the 2023/2024 institutional reports of three major public digital libraries —MLOL (Italy), eBiblio (Spain), and Gallica (France) —to explore how digital citizenship is discursively represented, regulated, or silenced in each case. Methodology: Through a comparative critical discourse analysis, the study investigates key linguistic and ideological patterns in the three reports. A comparative matrix was developed to examine dimensions such as discursive tone, user representation, time construction, and ideological functions. Results: The analysis identifies three implicit models of digital citizenship: patrimonial (Gallica), administrated (eBiblio), and participatory (MLOL). Despite their differences, all platforms fail to address digital inequality, user agency, or active participation in the design of digital services. Conclusions: The paper calls for a new sociopolitical vision of public digital libraries as inclusive, democratic infrastructures. In the Brazilian context, where no national cooperative digital library system currently exists, these reflections are especially relevant. With the rise of generative AI, public platforms must go beyond access and foster civic agency and digital empowerment