The Civil Society Forum (31 May) is a biennial event that enables civil society actors active in the protection and promotion of a diversity of cultural expressions to coordinate their activities and engage with the governing bodies of the 2005 Convention.

During the International Year of the Creative Economy for Sustainable Development, IFLA has been active in deepening our work with the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of a Diversity of Cultural Expressions. See our Get into Guide here for more.

The Civil Society Forum is coordinated by civil society actors themselves and provides an opportunity for many different types of organisations and stakeholders to voice their priorities.  Through this Forum, civil society can provide proposals to the Conference of the Parties on priorities that that they would like to see reflected in the work of the Convention’s governing bodies.

IFLA will play an active part in this year’s Forum – working to ensure the role of libraries as enablers of environments where diverse cultural expressions are encouraged, valued, shared, and protected. See our recent blog article for World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development for more examples of how libraries have an impact.

Third Civil Society Forum Themes

This year’s Forum will contain four breakout sessions, during which participants will discuss priorities on critical topics relating to cultural diversity.

An IFLA representative will moderate the breakout session on the topic, Culture and sustainable development – building off the work of IFLA and partners towards upholding culture as the fourth pillar of sustainable development.

IFLA is also involved in conversations on the topic, Digital environment, rights, and trade, upholding the importance of meaningful access to information in both the creation of and access to cultural expressions.

Outcomes

The outcome of this Forum includes elaboration of a set of recommendations to inform the future work plan of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.

IFLA’s goal is to ensure the formulation of these recommendations includes the perspective of the global library field. This will impact our longer-term goal of enabling greater recognition and potential cooperation regarding the role of libraries in preserving and promoting diverse cultural expressions.

For more information and the full programme of the Forum, visit the UNESCO Diversity of Cultural Expressions website: Third Civil Society Forum.

Strengthening the global voice of libraries by making every librarian an advocate is a key part of IFLA's Strategy. But how can we teach advocacy? WE interviewed Raphaelle Bats, France, to find out about her experiences (English, and then French).

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IFLA: What does advocacy mean for you?

Raphaelle: It’s about taking action to influence political decisions, in particular around the definition and drafting of policies, and ensuring that the subject of our advocacy – the role libraries – is included. Lobbying is a part of advocacy which plays out at the level of national or international institutions when there is discussion around a draft policy. Advocacy can take place more broadly, with campaigns to build awareness of the value of libraries, but the end-goal remains to work with elected officials and decision-makers to be sure that libraries have a place at the table in policy discussions.

How did you come across the concept of advocacy for the first time ?

I couldn’t say for certain, but I remember well having organised a round table with colleagues from ALA (USA) and the Austrian librarians’ association in 2014 during a study day on the role of libraries and their recognition by others. I was therefore familiar with the term, but in France, we were really beginners in the field.

And when did you make the step from doing advocacy to teaching advocacy, and why?

Thanks to the IFLA International Advocacy Programme! It was in December 2016 that I was trained in advocacy and the 2030 Agenda, which offers both a framework for presenting the role of libraries, but also opportunities to act to ensure the recognition of this, because governments were right at the beginning of efforts to implement the Agenda. With this training, I gained knowledge, but more importantly developed an advocacy goal (to ensure the inclusion of libraries in France’s Voluntary National Review). The more I worked on this project, the more I developed my own skills, through trial and error. I was regularly invited to talk about this process and the path I had taken, and this is how I became a trainer on these questions.   

In what context do you teach advocacy?

In two contexts primarily – firstly with university students studying library and information science, for example in Switzerland at the HEG which has made advocacy part of its programme in the first years, which I very much salute! Secondly, with professionals already in work, generally on request by a network (often regional) which wants to give librarians skills to defend their institutions. In both cases, these are training courses of 2 to 3 days. I also give shorter interventions, but this is more something for conferences than a real training course.

Does the new generation of librarians easily understand the need for advocacy?

At the beginning, not at all. But recently, a student told me how happy she was to have this in her first year of university because ever if she didn’t have all the skills and experience of a librarian, she did now know how important it was to have a clear discourse, to evaluate her library, to have a strategy, and to position her library in her local area. She considered that the training in advocacy had helped her understand all of this.

At heart, it’s a training course about the role of the library, and it’s always important to remind yourself that we’re not in this job for nothing. But of course, I’m biased!

As a student said to me, I’m advocating for advocacy. And it’s true!!! It’s true, because I think that advocacy obliges us to think about the library in its setting, with a strong pressure to build a strategy and develop indicators, and it’s never a bad thing for a public institution to be able to talk about its strategy, the tools it has, and to be accountable to citizens about what is being done by this institution which in the end works for them.

What does teaching advocacy make it possible to change in attitudes and practices?

Exactly what I was mentioning above – to build strategies, to pay attention to indicators, to align with local policies, without being passive. Fundamentally, it obliges libraries to be political, something that doesn’t always come easy to a profession which is scared of this word, which is so often associated with the more polemic activities of politicians.

What does your training cover, in terms of content and pedagogy?

First of all, work to define what advocacy is, and then to explain the relation between advocacy and libraries.

Next comes work around how to show the essential role of libraries, in particular by looking at strategy documents (at the local or national levels) to see where libraries are (generally nowhere) or could be. Once this absence has become obvious, we then work on what evidence we could bring, what could convince others.

Finally, we work on advocacy tools provided by associations, time-bound events (such as Libraries Week or Cyclobiblio), and actions directly with elected officials. I finish by telling the story of our experience in France to get libraries included in the national roadmap for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. It’s an advocacy experience that shows that you need plenty of time (2½ years), lots of different actions (meetings, events, brochures etc), but it pays off because we have achieved what we set out to achieve.

The lessons themselves switch between theoretical approaches, practical case students, and especially lots of exercises.

What recommendations do you have for other countries ?

I recommend running advocacy projects, then find a way to share the skills gained and then train librarians as soon as possible.

I would perhaps have another recommendation also – don’t confuse communication and advocacy, even if the latter uses the tools of the former. The political dimension of advocacy needs to be recognised and embraced if it is to work.

 

[TEXTE ORIGINEL EN FRANCAIS] 

 

IFLA: Que veut dire l’advocacy pour toi ?

Il s’agit des actions à mener pour influer sur les décisions politiques et notamment en matière de définition et de rédaction des politiques publiques et faire inscrire dans celles-ci l’objet de notre défense, en l’occurrence pour nous : le rôle des bibliothèques. Le lobbying est une partie de l’advocacy, qui se joue directement au niveau des institutions nationales ou internationales lors des discussions autour d’une politique publique en cours de rédaction. L’advocacy peut se jouer aussi sur un plan plus général, avec des campagnes de valorisation des bibliothèques, mais le but final reste de travailler avec les élus et les décideurs pour que la bibliothèque trouve sa place à la table de discussion sur les politiques publiques.

Comment as-tu rencontré le concept de l’advocacy pour la première fois ?

Je ne saurais plus dire exactement, mais je me souviens bien avoir organisé une table-ronde avec des collègues de l’ALA (USA) et de l’association des bibliothécaires Autrichiens en 2014 pendant une journée d’étude sur le rôle des bibliothèques et leur reconnaissance. J’étais donc familière du terme, mais en France on était vraiment de très très grands débutants en la matière.

Et quand est-ce que tu as fait le saut de « faire de l’advocacy » à « enseigner l’advocacy »? Pourquoi ?

Grace à l’International Advocacy Program de l’IFLA ! C’est donc en décembre 2016, que j’ai été formée à l’advocacy et à l’Agenda 2030, qui offre non seulement un cadre pour présenter le rôle des bibliothèques, mais encore des opportunités d’agir pour la reconnaissance de celles-ci puisque les différents Etats en étaient juste au début de leur prise en main de cet outil. Avec cette formation, je me suis dotée de connaissances, mais surtout d’un projet d’advocacy (faire inscrire les bibliothèques dans le rapport national volontaire de la France) et plus j’ai travaillé sur ce projet, plus j’ai développé des compétences, à force d’échecs et d’erreurs. J’ai été régulièrement invitée à partager ce processus et ce chemin, et c’est ainsi que je suis devenue formatrice sur ces questions.

Dans quel(s) contexte(s) enseignes-tu l’advocacy ?

Dans deux contextes principalement : soit auprès d’étudiants dans des universités en sciences de l’information et des biblithèques, par exemple en Suisse à la HEG qui a inscrit l’advocacy au programme des premières années, ce que je salue vivement ! Soit auprès de professionnels déjà en poste, en général à la demande d’un réseau, souvent départemental, qui veut doter les bibliothécaires de compétences pour défendre leurs bibliothèques. Dans les deux cas, ce sont des formations de 2 à 3 jours finalement. Je donne aussi des interventions plus courtes, mais il s’agit davantage de conférences que de formation.

La nouvelle génération des bibliothécaires, comprend-elle facilement le besoin de l’advocacy ?

Au début, pas du tout. Mais dernièrement une étudiante m’a dit combien elle était contente d’avoir ça en première année d’université parce que même s’il n’a pas toutes les compétences et les expériences de bibliothécaire, maintenant elle sait combien il est important d’avoir un discours construit, d’évaluer sa bibliothèque, d’avoir une stratégie, de positionner sa bibliothèque dans son territoire. Et tout ça, elle considère que le cours sur l’advocacy lui permet de l’appréhender. C’est au fond un cours sur le rôle de la bibliothèque, et c’est toujours important de se rappeler qu’on ne fait pas ce métier pour rien. Mais bon, je suis de partie pris ! Comme me l’a dit un étudiant, je fais de l’advocacy de l’advocacy. Et c’est vrai !!! C’est vrai, parce que je pense que l’advocacy nous obliger à penser la bibliothèque dans son environnement, avec une forte pression sur la construction d’une stratégie et l’élaboration d’indicateurs, et ça ne fait jamais de mal à une institution publique d’être capable de publiciser sa démarche, ses outils et de rendre compte aux citoyens de ce qui est mené par cette institution qui est à leur service.

Que permet l’enseignement de l’advocacy de changer dans les attitudes et les pratiques ?

Justement ce que je disais au-dessus : construire des stratégies, prêter attention aux indicateurs, être en résonnance avec les politiques publiques locales, sans être passifs. Cela oblige au fond les bibliothèques à être politiques, et ce n’est pas toujours évidemment dans une profession qui est effrayée par ce mot qu’elle relie directement à la nature politicienne de la politique.

Que comprend ton enseignement, en termes de contenu et de pédagogie ?

D’abord un travail de définition autour de l’advocacy, puis un travail d’explicitation du rapport entre advocacy et bibliothèques.

Ensuite un travail autour de la preuve du rôle essentiel de la bibliothèque, notamment à partir de la circulation dans des documents stratégiques locaux (de la municipalité ou du pays) pour voir où est la bibliothèque (en général nulle part) et où elle pourrait être. Une fois qu’on a pris conscience de ce gros vide, alors on travaille sur ce qui pourrait faire preuve, ce qui pourrait convaincre.

Enfin, un travail sur les outils de l’advocacy fournis par les associations, les campagnes événementielles (du type la semaine des bibliothèques ou cyclobiblio), et les actions menées directement auprès des élus. Je finis par la narration de notre expérience en France pour faire inscrire les bibliothèques dans la feuille de route nationale pour l’implémentation de l’agenda 2030. C’est une expérience d’advocacy qui montre qu’il faut beaucoup de temps (2 ans ½), beaucoup d’actions variées (rencontres, campagnes événementielle, brochures, etc.), mais que ça paye puisque nous avons obtenu ce que nous cherchions à obtenir.

Le cours oscille entre approches théoriques, des présentations de cas, et surtout plein d’exercices.

Quelles recommandations aurais-tu pour d’autres pays ?

Mener des projets d’advocacy, puis construire une transmission des techniques apprises et enfin former les bibliothécaires le plus tôt possible.

J’aurais peut-être une autre recommandation : ne pas confondre communication et advocacy, même si la seconde utilise les outils de la première. La dimension politique de l’advocacy doit être pleinement assumée pour que cela fonctionne.

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I am pleased to announce that following the recent elections the IFLA Governing Board 2021-2023, to be led by incoming President Barbara Lison, will have the following members:

President-elect:

Antonia Arahova (Greece)

Treasurer: 

Perry Moree (Netherlands)

Governing Board Member at Large:

1. Kirsten Boelt (Denmark) 1st Term
2. Jonathan Herández Pérez (Mexico) 2nd Term
3. Mandla Ntombela (South Africa) 1st Term
4. Ayub Khan (United Kingdom) 1st Term
5. Yasuyo Inoue (Japan) 1st Term

Ex-officio members of the Board:

Chair of the Regional Council: Nthabiseng Kotsokoane (South Africa)

Chair of the Professional Council: To be announced on 14 June.

Chair of the Management of Library Associations Section: To be elected by August.

The Governing Board 2021-2023 will take office on 26 August 2021.

See more: IFLA Elections 2021 results

My congratulations to those elected, and to all candidates for their strong commitment to IFLA and willingness to participate in building the future of our field.

Gerald Leitner
Secretary General
The Hague, The Netherlands
27 May 2021

Every librarian who likes singing and would like to show how libraries are important, needs to record a song and send it to the IFLA New Professionals Special Interest Group. You can also invite your patrons and together prepare a video clip to the song. Sounds interesting? Let's look for more info below.

Important details:

• a song should lasts to 5 minutes
• it can be a sound composition and/or music video (video clip)
• participation is free
• lyrics might be in your mother tongue but translation in English is needed  
• deadline: June 15, 2021
• send a song to address: npsig.ifla@gmail.com

  Everything about the contest you can find on the special website: https://npsigmusiccontest.wordpress.com/.    Here, there are  invitations to libraries and general info about the contest in English, Polish, French, Croatian, Serbian, Slovenian, Arabic and Turkish. Feel free to share materials with your colleagues!  

The May 2021 Newsletter brings a collection of interesting articles covering various topics from digital services for teens in Singapore NLB to the progress the 3rd edition of the World Through Picture Books program is making or useful tips for successful online events. And there is more to discover - check it out here

 

(1) “The Top Books" LIS Professionals Recommend for LIS Students. In this project LIS leaders - IFLA Professional Units members share their top book choices with LIS Students. LIS students can make their must-read checklist that will help them to immerse themselves in new ways in the profession.

(2) "Professional Advice – LIS Professionals give to LIS Students" - LIS Professionals give their inspiring advice on how to grow in the profession.

See their contributions here:

Christine Mackenzie: Book recommendations, Professional Advice

Barbara Lison: Book recommendations, Professional Advice

Antonia Arahova: Book recommendations, Professional Advice

It is an honor for SET that IFLA President Christine Mackenzie, IFLA President-Elect Barbara Lison, and IFLA Treasurer Antonia Arahova participated in these two projects.

We invite you to join these two projects. You can write to SET Secretary Albina Krymskaya  krymskayaalbina@gmai.com. Let's collect books' titles recommended by LIS professionals to learn about books that build our profession and a list of motivating statements of IFLA professionals.

If you believe that there is no future without culture and that the cultural ecosystems should be integrated in both short-term recovery and long-term development strategies, support the #Culture2030goal campaign.

With the launch today of its strategy document, the campaign, of which IFLA is a member, takes this opportunity to extend invitation to interested stakeholders to join the campaign and support its actions. 

​The #Culture2030goal campaign calls for the recognition of culture as the fourth pillar of sustainable development and advocates for mainstreaming culture across the global development agenda. The campaign also aims to include culture as a distinct goal in the post 2030 development framework.

It is formed by several international cultural networks united to advocate for the role of culture in sustainable development. It is the continuation of the #Culture2015goal Campaign, created in 2013 to call for culture to be included in the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (and the SDGs) that was adopted in September 2015. 

Over the past two years, the Campaign has gained important momentum. A study on the place of culture in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, published in September 2019, highlighted good practices around the world.

However, it also underlined that much needs to be done to realise the potential of culture as a pillar of sustainable development. In the context of the UN’s Decade of Action, the study underlined that culture needs to be recognised more broadly as a crucial development accelerator in order to realise its potential.

Published more recently, the Campaign’s #CultureCOVID19 Statement entitled ‘Ensuring culture fulfills its potential in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic’ not only highlighted the need to support culture during the pandemic, but also demonstrated how culture could both promote wellbeing in the immediate term, and a stronger, fairer recovery in the longer term.

This received noteworthy attention from various organisations, including UNESCO and the WHO, culminating in the excellent result of an endorsement by the President of the UN General Assembly.

You can support the #Culture2030goal campaign by joining  as ‘Supporters’, here you can learn more how you can do it. Cultural networks with significant international reach and a leadership role in their field can join the Campaign’s small and dedicated steering group, find out more.

The #Culture2030goal campaign strategy document is available in English, French and Spanish.

Check more about the campaign on its website and follow #Culture2030goal on Twitter for more updates.

 

Dear Friends,

We are excited to share with you the latest issue of the IFLA Asia & Oceania Regional Newsletter. It has undergone a complete makeover, and we hope that you will like it.  

It is heartening that many of you have responded enthusiastically to our call for articles. A big thank-you to all of our contributors and supporters. Please keep the articles coming and help make this newsletter more diverse and vibrant.

You can click on the PDF attached to access the articles we have put together this time.

Happy reading and stay safe!

Best regards,

Ms Lin Li SOH

Manager | IFLA Regional Office 
Asia & Oceania
c/o National Library Board, Singapore

Our next E4GDH webinar will describe the primary initiatives undertaken by the Librarian Reserve Corps to streamline efforts and encourage sharing and collaboration among partners to inform the evidence-base health information response to COVID-19, focusing on the evolution and preliminary results of two key projects

1) The development of best practices for searching during public health emergencies.

2) A database validation study of specialized COVID-19 literature databases, jointly led with the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technology in Health.

 

Please see our Events page for more information, including the webinar time where you are and how to register.

The IFLA Division IV - Support of the Profession and SET  - are hosting a series of webinars for LIS students. These webinars aim to create a place for students to share their projects, research, and ideas about different topics related to libraries. All webinars are held online and are open to everyone (no registration fees).

Our third webinar is in June and the theme is: “LIS Degree Requirement: Internships, Practicums, or Field Experiences” Many library programs require their students to gain practical experience by taking a practicum course, finishing an internship, or completing other end-of-program requirements. We are interested in hearing about your school, its requirements for graduating, and your experience.

The Call for Papers closes on 9 June 2021.

The proposal may speak to:

• Field experience requirements at your school
• Benefits of these requirements
• Challenges faced for fulfilling the requirements
• How they are managed
• The experience for you as a student
• Whether they prepared you for a future position

Library and Information Science students at all levels are encouraged to submit a proposal about the topic. Proposals (in MS Word) must include:

• Name, title, institution, email of speaker(s);
• Brief biographical statement about each speaker (maximum 100 words);
• Title of proposed presentation;
• Abstract highlighting its relevance to the theme (maximum 400 words)

Submit your proposals to Albina Krymskaya (krymskayaalbina@gmail.com) and Paria Tajallipour (paria@library.tamu.edu) Accepted participants will receive a certificate from IFLA Division IV for presenting at the webinar.

Presentations will be delivered online in PowerPoint format by the presenters. Each presentation will last for 20 minutes, including 5-10 minutes for questions and answers.

Important dates

• Deadline for submission is 9 June 2021
• Three proposals will be accepted for presentation and the accepted participants will be notified by 16 June 2021
• This month’s webinar is held on 23 June 2021 (Time will be confirmed depending on the time zones of the speakers)

For further questions, contact: Albina Krymskaya (krymskayaalbina@gmail.com) or Paria Tajallipour (paria@library.tamu.edu)

Several members of the Bibliography Section participated in the III International Bibliographic Congress: Bibliographic information in digital culture held 27-30 April 2021 as organizers or speakers. (More on the event)

See the reports on the Congress published on the Bibliography Blog:

• Bibliographic Information in Digital Culture, 3rd International Bibliographic Congress, April 27-30, 2021, published 3 May 2021, by Pat Riva

• Panel on National Bibliographic Resources during the 3rd International Bibliographic Congress, April 28, 2021, published 5 May 2021, by Pat Riva

• Session 8 during the 3rd International Bibliographic Congress, April 30, 2021, published 10 May 2021, by Marina Neshcheret

Did you attend? Share your impressions on the Blog.

IFLA Division IV and SET are delighted to announce the second webinar "Projects in the Libraries - Ideas, Innovations, Initiatives". The registration is open at https://bit.ly/33S1GCZ

Join us! You will hear about the innovative out-of-the-box projects LIS students have created or helped to create in a library.

Program:

Speakers:

• Randolf Mariano (Norway)
• Gerald C. Diño (Philippines)
• Jay Michael O. Diola (Philippines)
• Sagan Wallace (USA)
• Anthony Martinez (USA)

Moderator: Erik Boekesteijn (Senior Advisor at the National Library at the Netherlands (KB))
Webinar coordinator: Albina Krymskaya (IFLA Division IV and SET Secretary)

Webinar project team: Catharina Isberg (Division IV Chair), Kendra Albright (SET Chair), Albina Krymskaya (SET Secretary), Loida Garcia-Febo (MLAS Information coordinator), Susanne List-Tretthahn (SET corresponding member), Magdalena Gomułka (NPSIG Convenor), Marija Simunovic (NPSIG member), Andrés Reinoso (NPSIG member), and Paria Tajallipour (NPSIG member).    

 

The Network of Parliamentary Libraries in Latin America and the Caribbean hosted the Webinar "Latin America and Caribbean Parliamentary Libraries: experiences, challenges and practical work during the Covid-19 pandemic" on April 29, 2021.  The webinar enjoyed success with an audience of over two hundred people.

Recordings of the webinar session are available on Youtube  links in the original Spanish and with English interpretation. 

 

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, research activities have been disrupted. Many students and researchers cannot visit the library easily to find the resources they need. Prior to the outbreak of the pandemic, the National Library of Indonesia (NLI) was often visited by researchers, students and people both from local and foreign countries. However, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted this activity suddenly. We believe that people’s information needs continue to exist and therefore we keep delivering our library services digitally and undertake online activities.

 

NLI has been preparing and executing several online activities in order to fulfill people’s information needs and to educate users during this pandemic. The activities comprise workshops and seminars on current topics in library management and services, such as library services transformation, nation literacy index in relation to nation cultural index, user education and online focus group discussions (FGD) titled Historical Research FGD and Manuscript FGD.

 

This article will explore the FGD, workshop, and user education activities to explain NLI’s efforts to reach communities, give people access to rich information resources in the library and educate people to deal with the pandemic smartly. The Division of Rare Collection conducted its first FGD on 27 January 2021, via a Zoom meeting and YouTube live streaming (https://youtu.be/k5a_hRvZYnM). The theme was “From Gutenberg to Google: The Mass Media Readiness in Facing Disruption”. The FGD was attended by many participants from various backgrounds, including students, researchers and employees.

Capture 1: The Calendar of the FGD

Capture 2: FGD’s Flyer

The aim of the FGD was to educate people that the world has been facing disruption since the old times and therefore the disruption this day is not a new thing. We can learn how to deal with the disruption from the history of mass media development from the time when Johannes Gutenberg discovered printing machine to the present digital era. The NLI librarian explained the history recorded in NLI’s rare newspapers. He also promoted NLI’s rich rare newspaper collections. As at March 2021, there are 1,877 rare newspapers in 26,383 bundles and 140,717 exemplars plus 1,498 titles of scrapbooks (clippings). They serve as main resources of historical research. The rare newspapers consist of newspapers published before and during the Dutch colonial period in 19th century. The promotion is to encourage the consciousness of youth to preserve and protect rare newspapers and other rare collections as part of the precious Indonesian national heritage.

Capture 3: Happenings of the FGD

On 10 February 2021, NLI conducted a workshop titled “The Recorded Trace of Pantun and its Growth in Indonesia” over video teleconference. The workshop was attended by 588 participants and viewed 3,552 times on YouTube. This theme is interesting because pantun has been recognised as part of the intangible world cultural heritage by UNESCO in December 2020. NLI held the workshop to celebrate this award.

 

There were four speakers at the pantun workshop. They are General Secretary of Cultural Directorate, Ministry of Education and Culture, lecturer of Andalas state university, audio visual practitioner from the Ministry of Communication and Informatics, and a researcher of Brawijaya University. Pantun is a form of traditional Malay poetry which is composed in four lines and rhymes. It is often practised in several ceremonies, such as wedding parties and even in formal meetings. Pantun is also becoming a part of Indonesian and Malaysian daily life. During the workshop, participants were required to submit a self-made pantun in order to stimulate creativity and innovation among participants. The young generation was invited to create pantun in order to build a sense of ownership.  Furthermore, we also wanted to promote NLI’s collections and facilities to participants as NLI owns many collections of pantun.

Capture 4: The Flyer and Performance of Pantun Workshop

The last activity to be explained in this article is NLI’s user education. These activities are planned as a series, to be held nine times this year from February to November 2021. The first themed programme invited three librarians from the Division of Rare Collection as speakers to educate people on how rare collection is preserved.

 

It is hoped that these activities would motivate people to increase literacy activities during the pandemic period.

Capture 5: The Calendar of the NLI User Education

“Multiculture library-trip around the world” is a series of multicultural-themed events organised by the Guangzhou Library to showcase the cultural diversity of various countries. On 11 March 2021, the opening ceremony of the exhibition, "The Art of Raffaello: Opera Omnia", jointly organised with the Consulate General of Italy in Guangzhou, was held in the Guangzhou Library. Officials from the Consulates of Italy, France, Greece, Portugal, Spain, Germany, and other consulates in Guangzhou, attended the ceremony and toured the exhibition. Mr Fang Jiazhong, Director of the Guangzhou Library, and Ms Lucia Pasqualini, Consul General of Italy in Guangzhou, delivered speeches at the opening ceremony.

Group photo of guests at the open ceremony.

"China-Italy" New Dialogue in the Epidemic Situation

 

Mr Fang Jiazhong highlighted in his speech that China and Italy are outstanding representatives of Eastern and Western civilisations. This event is not only a dialogue between the two ancient civilisations of China and Italy in the new era, but also a testimony of the deep friendship between China and Italy to overcome the COVID-19 global pandemic situation. The Guangzhou Library is a "multicultural window" in Guangzhou. Thus, we hoped that through this event, the citizens of Guangzhou could appreciate up close the master's works and understand the Italian culture and art, and also promote communication and understanding among different cultures.

Speech by Fang Jiazhong, Director of Guangzhou Library

Consul General Lucia Pasqualini introduced Raphael and the works exhibited in this exhibition at the opening ceremony. Raphael is one of the greatest artists of the Italian Renaissance. The works displayed in the exhibition are absolutely faithful to the original works. The exhibition is a rare opportunity for the citizens of Guangzhou to witness Raphael’s works and enhance their understanding of Italian cultural heritage.

Speech by Lucia Pasqualini, Consul General of Italy in Guangzhou

A "Flash Mob" of Raphael's Famous Work

 

The opening ceremony also featured scene paintings created by the well-known domestic illusion artist Wan Brothers based on Raphael's masterpiece "The Marriage of the Virgin". The Wan Brothers used 3D painting technology to "restore" the scene in the painting, while dancers from the Guangdong Institute Aesthetic Education gave a vivid interpretation of the dramatic scene in the painting.

The flash mob performance "The Marriage of the Virgin"

Exhibition Guided Tour - Exploring Raphael's Art World

 

After the opening ceremony, Mr Alessandro Antonicelli, an Italian art teacher from Shenzhen Hutong School, provided the audience with a guided tour of the exhibition, explaining in detail the artistic conception depicted in the work and the characteristics of the artist in different stages of his entire career.

Mr. Alessandro Antonicelli guided exhibition

"The Art of Raffaello: Opera Omnia" exhibited 36 high-definition reproductions of Raphael's original scale restoration. The original works are scattered and collected in art galleries in 7 countries around the world. The exhibition is curated by Professor Antonio Parucci, one of the most influential experts in the field of Italian art and history. Professionals in the art imaging industry use advanced technology to produce high-definition restoration paintings.

During the recent organisation of the Public Libraries in the Islamic Republic of Iran, a major movement has been started to properly equip the central public libraries with a focus on the following areas – spatial arrangement, equipment, facilities, segmentation and user spaces. Various national and international models, including their library equipment and services, were studied and examined as part of the planning process.

Yazd Central Library is one of these libraries and was launched on 6 March 2021 with an infrastructure of 8,000 square metres and a capacity of 200,000 copies of books in various sections. This launch date coincided with the anniversary of the establishment of the Iran Public Libraries Foundation. The distinctive features of this library include: anticipating the need for new spaces and functions in the library, reviewing the design and equipment of the library, allocating skilled and specialised manpower, and standardising the internal equipment. With the opening of the Central Library of Yazd, the number of central public libraries in Iran reached 10.

Some of the other remarkable features of this library are:

A) Furnished with modern technologies and equipment:

 ● The central library is equipped with high-speed internet on optical fibre platform.

● All equipment and facilities of this library have been selected through various processes with expertise and consideration for the needs of users e.g. tables fitted with electrical outlets, ergonomic chairs, information stands, etc.

● The children's section of the library, which is one of the largest in the country, was designed by the librarians of the children's section with an attractive atmosphere for children and young people. A playroom, a training class and a play stage are part of this section, along with the bookstack and the nursery room.

 Due to the Corona virus pandemic and the impossibility of attending or visiting libraries, a "Virtual Tour of Yazd Central Library" has been made available (http://sarasarnama.com/cms/iranpl/view.php?id=MTYzOA==) with the aim of acquainting knowledge and information science specialists, the general public and anyone else who could be interested with the different sections and facilities of this library.

● Setting up a science room with an area of 300 square metres for teenagers, in cooperation with knowledge-based companies, focusing on education, creativity, entertainment and familiarity with science using interactive and experimental equipment. This is a novel and distinctive feature of Yazd Central Library.

 

● Some library spaces will be put into operation in the near future. These include the workshop space, audio book recording studio, amphitheatre, book café, book exchange centre, warehouse and commercial spaces.

 

B) Designing an environment in accordance with the traditional context of Yazd

Yazd is a historical city with a unique cultural, architectural and Islamic context. Since the library is located in the historic district, the architecture and exterior view of the library is modelled on the traditional context and history of Yazd. Likewise, designing space has been done using local and cultural patterns of the city.

 ● Space creation, division of user spaces and partitioning different sections of the library building have been done based on recognised standards and with an emphasis on maximum use of library spaces.

C) Considering the needs of all groups of users

● A variety of audio-visual resources for all people, including the deaf, the blind and other members of the society make this library a comprehensive centre in terms of audio-visual services.

● In dividing the spaces and creating different sections for the library, the principle of easy access for all visitors to the spaces and services of the library has been observed.

● Currently, Yazd Central Library has various dedicated sections including the following: print repository, children, adolescents, publications, science, the blind, the deaf, manuscripts, lithography and lead printing, classrooms, computer-based classroom, study halls, researchers hall, group study room , gallery, VIP study rooms, conference hall, and database management.

● The "special groups" section of the library has been prepared for the benefit of the blind and deaf by using specialised equipment and facilities to actively encourage the attendance of these groups in the library. Consultations have been held with Welfare Organizations and affiliated associations for more activities and expansion of these sections.

After several years of planning and preparation, the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) will be streaming its annual National Simultaneous Storytime on Wednesday 19 May, read by an astronaut at the International Space Station.

National Simultaneous Storytime has been a major event on the Australian library calendar since it first occurred in 2001. ALIA wanted to mark the occasion with something big, and when an ALIA Member suggest that we hold it in space, the challenge was accepted. ALIA approached the Australian Space Agency and the Office of the Chief Scientist, who loved the idea and provided support for the event.

 

National Simultaneous Storytime also features an Australian picture book, and so ALIA approached publisher Scholastic Australia and highly acclaimed author and illustrator Philip Bunting to commission a book for the occasion. His book Give me some Space! follows a young girl Una, as she expresses her lifelong love for all things astronomical. Una dreams of leaving her boring life on Earth behind to follow her mission to find life in space. As well as being a fun and creative book, it was created in consultation with astronomy specialists to ensure that everything portrayed in the book was scientifically accurate.

 

Once the book was finished, a prototype was created to send to space, with specific physical requirements, such as no sharp surfaces, a specific kind of ink and paper, no rivets or detachable parts, and absolutely no glitter. After thorough cleaning and packaging, the book was placed onto a space shuttle in late 2020 and sent to its destination – the International Space Station.

 

The book’s central themes were intended to instil in children a curiosity in science and technology – a focus that is echoed in a nationwide citizen science experiment that will accompany National Simultaneous Storytime. The experiment, designed to shed some light on the important issue of climate change, will investigate how, as we change the surface of the Earth from trees and fields to concrete and roads, we change the CO2 levels in the atmosphere, and change the temperature on Earth and its atmosphere. Participants will be recording the temperature at their locations around Australia on Wednesday 12 May 2021, and then share the data with ALIA for collating.

 

On the International Space Station, astronauts will run their own customised experiment to show how changes to the surface of Earth can result in different temperatures. A recording of the experiment will be shared with participants who will be able to see the results and better understand their own experiment.

 

Through this opportunity to link our activities with themes of scientific inquiry – particularly for young women – and climate action, ALIA is actively supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals, by embedding themes of quality education, gender equality and climate action, through partnership with government and educational organisations.

 

 

Finally, on Wednesday 19 May 2021, ALIA’s National Simultaneous Storytime will occur. A video from the International Space Station will be produced by Story Time From Space, featuring astronaut Shannon Walker as the reader. Registered participants and organisations will receive a link to the online video of the reading prior to the day, and will hold reading events in their libraries at 11am on the day.

 

Last year’s event attracted more than 1.2 million participants from across Australia, and this year is looking to be even bigger. Whilst National Simultaneous Storytime is created for the Australian and New Zealand library community, participants from other countries are welcome to participate – last year we had participants from Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

 

Registration for the event is free, and more details can be found at https://www.alia.org.au/nss

National Simultaneous Storytime is supported by Scholastic Australia, the Office of the Chief Scientist, and the Australian Space Agency.

 

Several days ago, Ms Chen, who lives in Lin'an District, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, returned books borrowed from the Zhejiang Library to the Lin'an District Library near her house, freeing herself from 3 hours of running about if she had to return books to Zhejiang Library. This is one user who benefitted from the Overall Service-Improving Programme, which aimed to enhance the public library system in the province. In this example, the library coordinated the loan and return of books, with books borrowed in one public library allowed to be returned to any public library within Zhejiang Province.

This seems to be a small change but is motivated by the Overall Service-Improving Programme which offers great reform significance. In June 2020, Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism and other relevant departments jointly launched the Overall Service-Improving Programme Plan for Zhejiang Public Libraries (2020-2022), with a focus on balance — public libraries across the whole Zhejiang Province plan to spend 3 years to solve problems such as uneven library distribution and service inefficiency, bridge the social divide through integrated management, optimise digitalisation, and expand the community outreach of library services. The Plan aims to incorporate technological innovation and build a public library community.

"Appointment with books at the Hehe Book Bar" activity held in Taizhou Library, Zhejiang Province

There are 8 objectives to the Overall Service-Improving Programme:

 

1. Commitment to creating diversified reading spaces with distinctive characteristics and ensuring even distribution in the neighbourhood.
2. Implementing the coordinated loan and return of library items among public libraries in Zhejiang Province.
3. Optimising digital services, narrowing relevant urban-rural gap, establishing a province-wide joint procurement mechanism and a collaborative service platform, upgrading mobile reading services, and promoting digital services for ancient books and local literature.
4. Developing an online book loan and return platform called “credit reading”, which is based on personal credit and there will be no deposits or overdue fees in public libraries across the province. Readers in rural areas can fairly benefit and enjoy the online book selection, borrowing and delivery to home through “credit reading”.
5. Promoting high-quality reading activities in rural areas, for example, the spectacular growth of new media can be used to diversify activity forms and promote the involvement of the masses.
6. Optimising convenience services, especially improving the barrier-free reading facilities of public libraries to enhance the service for the marginalised groups.
7. Regular epidemic prevention and control.
8. Promoting the corporate governance reform of public libraries at and above the county level.

Blind readers listening to audiobooks in the Music Hall of Ouhai District Library, Wenzhou City

 

Change and more change

 

Like many libraries, Singapore Management University (SMU) Libraries closed their physical libraries early in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. SMU transitioned courses and to working online in late March 2020. Singapore underwent a ‘circuit breaker’ from 7 April 2020 – 1 June 2020, and all campus facilities were closed. Since then, the physical libraries have progressively reopened. Working from home has been the default mode, with 75% of staff returning to campus as of May 2021. Seating capacity in the Libraries remains reduced due to safe distancing measures.

During similar transitions, academic libraries around the world have experienced a range of significant challenges including implementing health and safety measures, providing access to materials, launching and enhancing digital services, moving teaching and learning activities online, navigating personal trials, and more! Throughout these manoeuvres staff have consistently demonstrated dedication, flexibility, and creativity.

Strategic planning now?!?!

While COVID-19 complicated our already-VUCA environment, at SMU there were simultaneously circumstances that presented an opportune time for strategic planning. There was recent leadership change across the University in 2019, and I joined as University Librarian in end March 2020. SMU developed a new strategic plan (SMU 2025), and the Libraries’ previous strategic plan expired. Colleagues in the Libraries were excited to explore new opportunities, tactics, and alignments.

As the new University Librarian, I viewed strategic planning as a way to show commitment to collaboration and inclusion and hone our focus together. If we did not seize the chance to leverage on fresh leadership, closely align with the SMU strategic plan, and capture colleagues’ enthusiasm, it would be a loss of momentum and opportunity. It was also an occasion to empower colleagues to establish future directions and goals during a time when Covid-19 presented forced changes that they had little, if any, ability to affect. Strategic planning opened the doors for agency and future-looking during a time when the present was extraordinarily unpredictable.

 

Staff investment and innovation

SMU Libraries’ goal was to design, develop and implement an inclusive strategic plan for 2021-2025. The highlights of the process were investment and innovation by the Libraries’ staff.  Throughout the process, all staff participated in activities through which, among other things, they shared their hopes for SMU Libraries, conducted environmental scanning, reflected on the Libraries’ context and community stakeholders’ evolving needs, and examined fundamental elements of the University’s strategic priorities.  Colleagues also engaged in activities that resulted in new Vision and Mission statements, explored segmented stakeholder needs from the perspective of the stakeholder, and identified new potentialities through guided approaches. These activities promoted their investment in the institution and in the outcomes of the strategic planning process; one colleague noted that the experience gave them a “sense of belonging to the organization.”

Additional engagement included an external facilitator, who enthusiastically and effectively conducted two workshops online, the University’s Library Advisory Committee, and the Provost. The SMU Libraries Strategic Plan 2021-2025 was launched at the beginning of 2021.

 

Planning in the face of unpredictability

While strategic planning is not a new activity for libraries, the context of the development of this strategic plan was unique. Planning amidst a pandemic necessitated new thinking. As Peter Drucker’s widespread quote proclaims, “the greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence – it is to act with yesterday’s logic.” Colleagues were challenged with viewing the future through a new lens. They shared comments like “the COVID situation presents challenges but it's also an opportunity for libraries to transform….”  

 

The significance of the University’s priorities of digital transformation, sustainable living, and growth in Asia, which are integrated into the Libraries’ strategic plan, were underscored by COVID-19. Other areas were also brought to the forefront, as they were at other libraries, such as the value of physical learning spaces as a service, shifting collections, building digital capabilities, digital everything relating to teaching, learning, and research support, open science opportunities, flexibility in systems and staffing, the importance of collaboration and partnerships, and, again, more! Empathy and awareness around mental health were also accentuated. These recognitions contributed to the Libraries’ strategic directions and goals, such as those addressing user-centred discovery of resources, emerging research trends and technologies as part of research support, advocating and integrating open resources into collections and practices, virtual spaces as active environments, development and well-being of staff, and flexible staffing models for new and emerging environments.

While addressing immediate needs and shifts during COVID-19, SMU Libraries also moved to set its future strategy.  The strategic plan is a result of teamwork and provides shared directions and goals to advance SMU’s Mission and our users’ success in emerging environments, accommodating adjustments as local and global situations evolve. Planning during extreme unpredictability may be risky, but we are continually reminded that change is constant. The risk was worth the benefit of approaching the unknown future with a cohesive strategy as #OneSMULibraries.

References

Cox, C. (2020, June 5). Changed, changed utterly. Inside Higher Ed.
https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2020/06/05/academic-libraries-will-change-significant-ways-result-pandemic-opinion

Ohler, L. A., & Pitts, J. (2021) From peril to promise: The academic library post-COVID-19. College & Research Libraries News, 82(1), 41-44. https://doi.org/10.5860/crln.82.1.41

If you took a look at my background, there were elements that possibly led to my becoming in late 2018, the Head Librarian of the Singapore Institute of Management (SIM); and then in 2019, the Vice-President of the Library Association of Singapore (2019 to 2021); and ultimately, as of 27 March 2021, the President of the Library Association of Singapore, a post that I will hold up to 2023.

When I was first approached by my company to take over as the Head Librarian, my first thoughts were when I am going to get started with my professional qualifications. Mind you, I was pursuing my doctorate during the same period. Never one to say no to a challenge, I took it up, gleefully.

Since I was young, I have always been an avid fan of the library. My mom would bring me to the National Library (at the then historical location at Fort Canning) at least once a week and I would fit as many books as I could into my bag. Trust me, even until today, nothing much has changed! During my school days, apart from the National Library, the National Archives and the school library were my other two best friends where I sought comfort, knowing that the books were and will always be my faithful companions.

When I told my friends that I was going to become a Head Librarian, nobody seemed surprised as my life revolved around books in some way or another throughout the years. My previous experience included handling the marketing, publicity, advertising, events management, and public relations aspects of all the authors that my company distributed, both local and global.

When I decided to pursue my masters, I moved on to sales. After which, I was headhunted by a few companies from various industries ranging from airlines to banks as well as education. No prizes for guessing which industry I ended up with.

At the Singapore Institute of Management, I initially started as a learning and development consultant whereby I helped the human resources development heads to best plan out the training and development needs of their people by providing the best offerings that helped them close the skills gaps.

Seeing an opening in the publications department, I decided to pivot and take over the publications team—I applied and got the job! Being Editor and Publications Head (a position I still hold together with my Head Librarian post), I managed to see things from the other perspective, especially since in my previous role, I was on the other side of the fence looking after public relations and publicity. Plus, I get to maximise what I have learnt in journalism school.

Until today, I still manage the senior quarterly management magazine Today’s Manager as well as the management portal Management360 (http://m360.sim.edu.sg). I was Editor of the management journal Singapore Management Review which is currently on a hiatus.

Now the reason why I am sharing my background is because I see the library shifting to not only being knowledge curators but knowledge creators as well. This is where I am pivoting my library towards and I am looking towards working with my association to do the same too.

Given my background, I will be looking towards not merely developing librarians in terms of library related activities or programmes, but expanding their scopes by looking at the possibility of introducing a range of speakers or facilitators who will help them relook at their own roles and see how else and what else they can contribute to this amazing world.

I have met many librarians locally and globally in my current role. I have found that most of them are just ready to share their knowledge so readily. I am looking to do the same in my capacity not just as Head Librarian at SIM but more importantly, as the President of the Library Association of Singapore.

In 2021 alone, there is an E-book and a joint conference in the works that celebrates the 65th anniversary of both the Library Association of Singapore and the Persatuan Pustakawan Malaysia.

I am excited about what is going on in the library world, and I am even more excited about the prospect of playing an instrumental role in the changes to come. I look forward to being able to get to know more of you and finding various ways to collaborate.

Excelsior!