Founded in 1971 and based in The Hague, LIBER is Europe’s largest research library network. We help our university, national and special libraries to support world-class research. To contribute to the implementation of the strategy, LIBER is looking for an Executive Assistant who can support our team, the Executive Board and the Executive Director. The…

The post Job Opening: Executive Assistant appeared first on LIBER.

Three months ago we highlighted the need for urgent action from governments, publishers and authors, so that online teaching and learning in the wake of Covid-19 can be properly supported. Sadly, little action has been taken to deal with the fact that books located in libraries cannot be accessed remotely. Few key players have reacted to…

The post Update on Call for Urgent Copyright Action to Support Distance Learning & Research appeared first on LIBER.

LIBER is launching an Innovative Peer Review Working Group with two key aims: to explore a wide spectrum of challenges in the peer review field and to understand how research libraries can further facilitate the progressive elements of scholarly communication system. Why Is Innovation in Peer Review Needed? We believe that scholarly communication should embrace…

The post Help Libraries Find a Role in Innovative Peer Review: Join Our New Working Group appeared first on LIBER.

IFLA is continuing in its work around the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), both in direct engagement, and in supporting members at the national levels.

The below update, distributed to participants in IFLA's International Advocacy Programme on 3 July 2020, provides an overview of activities and resources in the past weeks.

 

1. HIGH LEVEL POLITICAL FORUM

Next week, the 2020 High Level Political Forum opens in New York. Given limitations on travel, however, on-site events are heavily restricted, but more is taking place online than ever before. This means that library and information workers can follow meetings and events more than ever before.

In particular, all ‘main’ sessions will be live streamed, including thematic sessions on issues such as transformative pathways towards development, global responses to COVID-19, and how to deliver on the SDGs at the local level, and Voluntary National Reviews (see below). There are also lots of other sessions, including Voluntary National Review Labs (which share experiences of being involved in VNRs from different perspectives), learning sessions, and lots of side-events, including one co-organised by IFLA looking at the role of culture in the response to COVID-19 and long-term sustainable development.

Do take a look at the programme here, register for VNR labs, learning sessions or side events (space may be limited), and follow the website for information on how to watch the main sessions. You can sign up for the IFLA co-organised webinar, on 13 July at 12pm New York time (check when this is for you) at this link: https://bit.ly/385c77N.

Finally, as promised in our previous e-mail, you may wish to write to the person leading on the SDGs in your government to ensure that they remember the importance of libraries as they participate in the High Level Political Forum. You may wish to use a version of the below to do this:

 

Dear […],

I am writing to you from [your association/institution] concerning the United Nations High-Level Political Forum, held on 7-16 July 2020. Through the participation of the delegation of [your country], I hope that you will be able to recognise and support the potential of libraries in our country to achieve sustainable development.

As you will be aware, libraries have a mission to support stronger, fairer, more sustainable development by giving everyone access to information and the skills they need to use it. Through this, they do not only support literacy and life-long learning (SDG4), research and innovation (SDG9) and the safeguarding of heritage (SDG11), but at least 20 targets across the 2030 Agenda. In particular, they can have a transformative impact on the local level, building on their knowledge of their communities’ needs.

As we enter the Decade of Action, at the same time as planning for rebuilding after the COVID-19 pandemic, libraries represent an excellent partner for governments in order to achieve transformative change. With countries with stronger library networks having higher levels of literacy, lower levels of inequality, and better performance on indicators of innovation such as publishing and patenting, our institutions have a major contribution to make.

For example, libraries in [your country] [examples of what you are doing].

I therefore hope, in your interventions at the High Level Political Forum, that you will be able to use examples from [your country] to highlight all that libraries can do to accelerate progress, and to encourage colleagues from other countries to do the same.

I wish you a successful Forum.

 

2. VOLUNTARY NATIONAL REVIEWS

Almost all the countries presenting Voluntary National Review reports this year have now published their reports (on this page, scroll down and select ‘2020’). In addition to Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, India, Liberia and Nigeria for the fact that libraries are referenced in your countries’ reports, we also have extensive references in the reports for Argentina, as well as ones in the documents for Brunei, North Macedonia, Papua New Guinea and Slovenia. We will issue a summary of what’s in these documents early next week.

We also have the opportunity to shape the statements made by civil society organisations on each of the VNR reports, and are grateful to participants from Bangladesh and Burundi for suggesting points which we will try to integrate into civil society statements.

 

3. IDENTIFYING DEVELOPMENT ACCELERATORS

As mentioned in the last e-mail, the UN has a call open for examples of ‘development accelerators’. You can find out more about what this means in our blog from last year, but in short, it is a great way to show examples of how libraries help achieve a number of SDGs at the same time, and of course to have your work featured on the UN website.

 

4. CULTURE, COVID-19 AND THE SDGS – STATEMENT ENDORSED BY PRESIDENT OF THE UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

In our last e-mail, you read about the Culture and COVID-19 statement prepared by IFLA alongside other members of the Culture 2030 Goal Coalition. There are already over 200 signatories to the statement, and we have now received the exciting news that the President of the 74th United Nations General Assembly, His Excellency Mr Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, has endorsed it. This is a welcome recognition – at the highest level – of the message that cultural actors such as libraries need to be integrated into policy planning.

If you haven’t already, you can sign up to the statement using this form.

 

5. NEW LIBRARY MAP OF THE WORLD RESOURCES AND LIBRARY STAT OF THE WEEK

For those who did not already see the e-mail on our IFLA-L mailing list, there is new information on IFLA’s Library Map of the World! This includes new stories from Argentina (on supporting people with disabilities), India (on supporting research), Ireland (on sustainability), Singapore (on employment) and Ukraine (on childhood development).

There is also now data for the first time on libraries in Pakistan, as well as updated data from Latvia and Sweden.

Through our Library Stat of the Week series, we have been looking at data around academic libraries and library workers, and connections to indicators of research performance (linked to SDG 9 and SDG 17). Through these, we have analysed the strength of the academic library field in different regions, as well as the links between numbers of academic libraries and librarians and publishing/patenting, including at similar levels of wealth.

These figures help underline that more librarians in particular tend to be associated with higher research performance, including in countries with similar levels of GDP per person, but also highlight inequalities between countries and regions.

 

As ever, we are keen to hear about what you are doing, including your successes in building contacts and awareness, and ensuring that the role of libraries is recognised, celebrated and supported. So don’t hesitate to let us know!

 

The IFLA Professional Committee has now cleared the way for ENSULIB to move from Special Interest Group status to a Section. Following the IFLA rules, ENSULIB has to gain 40 institutional IFLA members to subscribe an additional membership for the new Section (for 62 € annual fee) or alternatively - free of charge - to exchange another Section membership for this new one.

Therefore, ENSULIB invites all Association and Institutional IFLA Members which are engaged in environment and sustainability issues and supporting the UN Agenda 2030 to sign a membership for the future ENSULIB Section!

Please fill in and send back the corresponding form [Letter of Intention] not later than 27 July 2020!
 

Petra Hauke,

ENSULIB Convenor

 

The IFLA Professional Committee has now cleared the way for ENSULIB to move from Special Interest Group status to a Section. Following the IFLA rules, ENSULIB has to gain 40 institutional IFLA members to subscribe an additional membership for the new Section (for 62 € annual fee) or alternatively - free of charge - to exchange another Section membership for this new one.

Therefore, ENSULIB invites all Association and Institutional IFLA Members which are engaged in environment and sustainability issues and supporting the UN Agenda 2030 to sign a membership for the future ENSULIB Section!

Please fill in and send back the corresponding form [Letter of Intention] not later than 27 July 2020!
 

Petra Hauke,

ENSULIB Convenor

 

Government Information is more important than ever. Together with you GIOPS wants to improve Government Librarianship!

IFLA Section 17 "Government Information and Official Publications (GIOPS)" invites you as a GIOPS Member or an interested Librarian working in Government Information or related fields to take part in a short survey.

GIOPS wants to better support you in the future. This is why we need to know your ideas and the challenges you face in your job. It only takes 15 minutes to fill in the questionnaire. Please complete the survey by July 22, 2020.

Many thanks for your cooperation!

Optical character recognition (OCR) and handwritten text recognition (HTR) are processes most libraries are familiar with when digitising (large volumes of) text. The automated software recognises characters, which are then available for e.g. keyword search and computational analysis. The rise of machine learning applications saw a corresponding rise in HTR and improvements in OCR quality. …

The post Reading List: Text Recognition for Digital Collections appeared first on LIBER.

Over the past month, the ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic continued to affect the global library world.

However, IFLA’s PAC Centres continue their mission: putting a spotlight on preservation and conservation, bringing professionals together across borders, and enabling trainings and collaboration opportunities – all by digital means.

Qatar National Library

IFLA’s PAC Regional Centre for Arab countries and the Middle East, hosted at the Qatar National Library (QNL), has brought its key role in preserving the region’s heritage to the world stage in June through a series of online events.

The PAC Centre at QNL works with regional and international partners to build capacity, raise-awareness, and promote cooperation regarding the preservation of the rich cultural heritage of the Middle East and conservation of the region’s rare books, manuscripts and documents. Over the month of June, over 300 international delegates subscribed to four online classes facilitated by the PAC Centre.

In one event, 85 delegates from Qatar, the Gulf region and 32 other countries joined the international lecture, “Preservation and Conservation of Manuscripts: Founding Introductions.” Experts from the Manuscript Restoration Center at the Al-Abbas Holy Shrine Library in Iraq joined the Library to guide participants through the process of restoring and preserving documents of historical value to the Gulf and Arab region, as well as crisis preparedness and first aid to documentary heritage at risk.

Maxim Nasra, Book Conservation Specialist at the Library, said:

Historically, Iraq has played a leading role in the production of manuscripts concerning philosophy and natural science, as well as the development of written Arabic. It was extremely mutually beneficial to be able to share knowledge with the Al-Abbas Holy Shrine Library concerning their recent heritage rehabilitation efforts, as well as with such a wide variety of experts from different backgrounds.

Additional workshops this past month focused on conservation of various formats of Arab audio recordings, and an online tutorial for libraries and archives in the Middle East to discuss precautionary procedures for reopening to the public in the context of the pandemic.

Read more about the recent activities from Qatar National Library and the PAC Regional Center for Arab countries and the Middle East. 

 

PAC Russia and Kazakhstan

The PAC Centres hosted at The National Library of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Almaty, Kazakhstan) and the M.I. Rudomino All-Russian State Library for Foreign Literature (Moscow, Russia) have a long-standing, fruitful relationship.

In June, the Centres hosted a meeting to exchange updates on their activities, present short-term and long-term plans, and shared proposals for future cooperation. This was the first meeting between the Centres held digitally, but it sets a precedent for regular knowledge-exchanges – both virtually and in-person.

In 2019, these Centres entered into a cooperation agreement in order to expand and develop professional ties and promote cultural exchange between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan.

An ongoing relationship, promoting the exchange of experience in the field of preservation and conservation of documents, is one of the most important goals of cooperation between these libraries.

Follow news and updates from across IFLA’s PAC Centre Network online at News From PAC.

​

The goal of the IFLA Section on Continuing Professional Development and Workplace Learning is to develop effective continuing professional development opportunities for librarians around the world. One of the most successful programmes of this work is the IFLA Coaching Initiative.

Aligned with the IFLA Strategy Key Initiatives 3.4 and 4.2, the programme is already having a great impact on the global library community.

The IFLA Coaching Initiative

The IFLA Coaching Initiative is a collaboration between the IFLA Section on Continuing Professional Development and Workplace Learning (IFLA CPDWL Section) and the IFLA Management and Marketing Section (IFLA M&M Section).

The IFLA Coaching Programme matches volunteer coaches with IFLA WLIC participants who are interested in developing their careers, tackling challenging situations and realising their goals through the process of coaching. During the coaching conversation, the participants also learn how getting involved in the work of IFLA can help them expand their career and professional development opportunities.

The coaching training programme consists of two parts, recorded webinars and live presentations, are designed specifically for those who want to become IFLA volunteer coaches. Trainees develop their coaching skills, offer their time and expertise and become confident in their ability to coach others during the IFLA congress.

History

The programmes started at WLIC 2018 in Kuala Lumpur, where the IFLA CPDWL Section hosted a session for delegates, focusing on career and professional development coaching. 24 experienced coaches from across the IFLA sections offered coaching sessions on a wide range of subjects: general management skills, change management, career planning, leadership, work-life-balance, professional reorientation, IFLA work and structure.

After the programme was accepted as an official IFLA initiative, the two-hour coaching session during the next IFLA WLIC 2019 in Athens was again well-attended. Collaborations with the IFLA M&M Section and Certified Leadership Coach, Vera Keown, have improved the programme’s quality, outcomes and effectiveness.

Part 1

Certified Leadership Coach, Vera Keown has planned and produced a training course for coaches in the form of recorded webinars. This training course is available online in five of the seven IFLA official languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, German and Russian, and is offered free of charge.

Participants can follow it at their own pace, by watching the recordings uploaded to YouTube and by following the slides of each training.

The five IFLA Coach Training Series YouTube vdeos cover the following themes:

• IFLA Coach Training: 1A – Introduction to Coaching
• IFLA Coach Training: 1B – Coaching Principles, Mindset, & Roles
• IFLA Coach Training: 1C – Coaching Process & Session Guide
• IFLA Coach Training: 1D – Asking Questions
• IFLA Coach Training: 1E – Listening & Providing Feedback

Access the IFLA Coaching training course materials for free.

Other coaching-related webinars have been uploaded to the CPDWL Section’s YouTube channel, such as: “Enhancing your strengths through coaching”

Part 2 - coming up soon

With the first IFLA Coaching training series already being held successfully, the IFLA CPDWL and M&M are now ready to kick off Part 2.

In Part 2 of the training program, participants will join a live online webinar offered by Vera Keown. In these live webinars, participants will have the opportunity to review the coaching concepts and process introduced in Part 1 with the instructor available to answer questions related to the training content. To participate in Part 2, please be sure to have watched all 5 of the Part 1 coach training recordings, linked above.

Live Zoom webinars:

• 10 August 2020 (Asia/Pacific timezone)
  https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_-xTeFYSsTBOx1Tf8xXMurw
   
• 10 August 2020 (Europe timezone)
  https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_9_K5MlWvRUWZFJH0ax75dA

Dr Gillian Hallam and Ulrike Lang, chairs of the IFLA CPDWL had this to say about the IFLA Coaching Inititive:

Since the beginning of the IFLA Coaching Initiative, we’ve been revising the programme’s content and process to optimise the trainings for coaches. We started with groups and moved toward individual coaching only, in a setting which ensures a high level of confidentiality. We hope that all who wish to become an IFLA volunteer coach will take the opportunity to complete the training course over the next few weeks.”

IFLA Coaching Initiative working group:

Ewa Stenberg (Convenor), Almuth Gastinger, Barbara Schleihagen, Carmen Lei, Ulrike Lang, and Vera Keown.

Ten UN Member States have highlighted the role of libraries in delivering the Sustainable Development Goals, through reports submitted as part of their Voluntary National Reviews. Furthermore, 3 of the 4 cities running Voluntary Local Reviews have done the same.

A key feature of the United Nations 2030 Agenda is its focus on tracking progress towards the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

In addition to the publication of annual statistical reports, drawing on the 232 indicators identified in 2015, each High-Level Political Forum sees a number of countries presenting Voluntary National Reviews.

These are an opportunity for individual governments to set out their plans and actions to deliver on the goals of the 2030 Agenda. These Reviews should not only take account of what different stakeholders are doing to this end, but also include them in their preparation.

IFLA has therefore looked to work with its members in order to ensure that libraries are included both in the drafting process and the content, both through a general briefing, a specific guide for national libraries, and a series of monthly guides.

We have seen very positive examples, notably in Argentina where the Library of Congress signed an agreement with the National Coordinating Council on Social Policies in order to promote the 2030 Agenda, implement the SDGs into the Library’s own activities.

With almost all reports now published, we are happy to share the news that with 41 of the 47 reports published, ten make reference to libraries. Furthermore, of the four Voluntary Local Reviews published, three acknowledge the importance of libraries.

Argentina’s report sets out the argument most clearly:

‘Public libraries have a strategic role in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. They have an essential social function in guaranteeing the right to access information freely for all of the community, contributing to create a fairer and more equitable society and a better educated and informed citizenry, conditions which are indispensable for the development of a democratic nation with better opportunities for all’.

 

Education, Well-being, Community

A key theme throughout the reports is the role of libraries in advancing education.

The Nigerian report provides some excellent examples, highlighting for example the role of well-stocked school libraries in ensuring quality education for students (and the lost opportunities that under-developed libraries can represent). The report sets out the improvement of physical and digital libraries in schools as a priority within its education strategy. The Finnish report proposes library utilisation rates as an indicator of success in reaching education and training goals, and the Argentinian one the role of libraries in ensuring education for people with disabilities.

A similar point emerges in the report of Papua New Guinea, which highlights the construction of school libraries as being part of success on SDG 4 (Quality Education). The reports from Liberia and North Macedonia both underline the costs of under-investment in school libraries on wider education outcomes.

Reports also make the connection between libraries and broader wellbeing. The report for Brunei-Darussalam notes that libraries are a key part of a project to provide better lives for underprivileged youth, while the Slovenian report stresses how access to libraries, alongside other cultural venues, can improve mental health and wider quality of life.

The contribution of libraries to community building and participation is clear from the Voluntary National Review of Estonia, which highlights how libraries served to engage citizens in surveys to help inform the country’s development planning, as well as in activities around Estonia’s 100th birthday. Meanwhile, Finland’s review highlights how libraries raised awareness of the 2030 Agenda itself, and Argentina’s notes the creation of a forum of librarians in order to debate SDG implementation.     

 

Libraries for Local Development

The inclusion of libraries is even more significant in the Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs) which have been published. These look to apply the 2030 Agenda at the city level, with the same attention to coordinated action across policy areas.

While 2020 has not seen libraries feature on the front cover of a VLR (as was the case with Helsinki last year), they do feature visually in the reports for Turku and Espoo (also in Finland). The report for Turku highlights their role in improving  quality of life for residents, while Mannheim (Germany)’s VLR includes satisfaction with libraries as an indicator of success in the city’s education policies.

The best practice comes, however, from Espoo, Finland, which defines libraries as one of the key services provided by local councils, and one of the key ways in which they can build successful and sustainable communities.

Examples presented focus on the potential of libraries to provide a wide range of services, from welfare to health to culture, as a space for democratic and civic engagement, student learning and wellbeing, education for sustainable development, and as neighbourhood anchors. A whole double-spread dedicated to libraries (p74-75) makes it possible to explore the breadth of what a strong library can offer.

 

A Further Opportunity

Even for those countries whose reports have not included references to libraries, there is further opportunity to participate when the VNRs are presented on 10-16 July. You can watch these on the UN TV website, and participate through social media, and raise points about the role of libraries then.

See our five suggestions on how to get involved in the High Level Political Forum.

IFLA’s Committee on Standards and Linked Data Technical Subcommittee (LIDATEC) are pleased to announce the launch of IFLA Namespaces.

This website allows for linked data access to various IFLA Standards, including:

• The FRBR Vocabularies
• The ISBD Vocabularies
• The UNIMARC Vocabularies
• MulDiCat

The next standard to be included will be the LRM (Library Reference Model).

If you have any questions or comments, please contact: Joseph Hafner, Chair, LIDATEC, joseph.hafner@mcgill.ca

Thanks to restrictions linked to COVID-19, the 2020 High Level Political Forum will take place online, meaning more opportunities than ever before to engage from around the world. IFLA headquarters will be participating - and here we share five ideas for how you can also. 

Tomorrow, 7 July, the 2020 United Nations High Level Political Forum opens, not only in New York but around the world. While the COVID-19 Pandemic has made in-person meetings impossible, this has meant that all the events taking place are now online, and so more people can get involved than ever!

This year’s Forum – the fifth since the agreement of the UN 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – also marks the start of the Decade of Action.

With just 10 years to go to achieve success, the theme is ‘Accelerated action and transformative pathways: realizing the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development’. Instead of looking at just a few specific SDGs, it will look at how to succeed across all dimensions of the agenda.

This offers great opportunities to highlight the potential of libraries. Access to information is a great example of a development accelerator, enabling progress across a wide range of SDG targets.

Through ensuring this, with a focus on providing tailored support to all in their communities, libraries are indispensable partners for governments and all others who want to build stronger, fairer and more sustainable societies.

With a new urgency in work around the SDGs, and too little progress so far, it therefore makes sense to integrate libraries fully into policy planning and implementation.

So how can you get involved in this year’s HLPF? Here are five ideas:

1. Re-read IFLA’s blogs on libraries as development accelerators, and on the Global Sustainable Development Report. These will help make sense of many of the key themes mentioned at the HLPF!
2. Take the opportunity to learn more about the SDGs and their implementation. The UN training agency, UNITAR, is organising a series of sessions where you can learn about different actions and perspectives. You can find out more, including about registration, on the site.
3. Follow the main sessions – including the VNRs – and participate in the social media discussion! The full programme is available on the HLPF website, and will be broadcast live on the UNTV site. Don’t forget to share your reactions using the #HLPF and #HLPF2020 hashtags!
4. Participate in a side-event. There are plenty going on, as listed on the HLPF programme, including many relevant to libraries. You may well need to register for these, so make sure you check, and then participate as much as you can, highlighting all the good that libraries are doing!
5. … especially the IFLA side event on 13 July! We’re lucky to be working with the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG)’s Committee on Culture to discuss how to make culture more central in the response to COVID-19 and long-term development. Register now at this link, and join us at 12pm New York time (see what time this is for you)!

The Knowledge Management section is pleased to announce  its 2020 IFLA Journal Special Issue: Knowledge Management and library innovation in a changing world  has been published. Check out the introduction by guest ediitors Leda Bultrini and Wilda Newman, and IFLA's digital edition here. Hardcopies will be made available by SAGE Publishing and more information about this can likely be found here.  

The 41st session of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) takes place in Geneva from 30 November to 4 December, 2020.

EIFL will participate in the session when delegates from WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) member states discuss limitations and exceptions for libraries and archives, education and research, and a proposed treaty for the protection of broadcast organizations, among other topics.

 

The 41st session of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) takes place in Geneva from 30 November to 4 December, 2020.

EIFL will participate in the session when delegates from WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) member states discuss limitations and exceptions for libraries and archives, education and research, and a proposed treaty for the protection of broadcast organizations, among other topics.

 

The 41st session of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) takes place in Geneva from 30 November to 4 December, 2020.

EIFL will participate in the session when delegates from WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) member states discuss limitations and exceptions for libraries and archives, education and research, and a proposed treaty for the protection of broadcast organizations, among other topics.

 

EIFL will take part in the 15th Internet Governance Forum 2020 (IGF 2020) which will be held online this year as part of international efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

The overarching theme of IGF 2020 is ‘Internet United’. The main thematic tracks are Data; Environment; Inclusion; Trust. 

EIFL will take part in the 15th Internet Governance Forum 2020 (IGF 2020) which will be held online this year as part of international efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

The overarching theme of IGF 2020 is ‘Internet United’. The main thematic tracks are Data; Environment; Inclusion; Trust.