In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are working with our partners globally to help ensure that education and research continue despite disruptions, and that the scientific and health sectors have access to the widest range of trusted resources to support their work while the crisis continues.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are working with our partners globally to help ensure that education and research continue despite disruptions, and that the scientific and health sectors have access to the widest range of trusted resources to support their work while the crisis continues.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are working with our partners globally to help ensure that education and research continue despite disruptions, and that the scientific and health sectors have access to the widest range of trusted resources to support their work while the crisis continues.

UNESCO’s statement, Turning the threat of COVID-19 into an opportunity for greater support to documentary heritage, co-signed by IFLA, stresses the importance of continued support for preservation and access to documentary heritage.

IFLA joined the International Council of Museums (ICOM), International Council on Archives (ICA), The International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) and the Coordinating Council of Audiovisual Archives Associations (CCAAA) in supporting this statement from UNESCO and the Memory of the World programme.

IFLA is proud to join these partner organisations in stressing the shared educational, social, scientific and artistic values of documentary heritage. The statement goes on to give concrete examples of the role of documentary heritage in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and in preparing society for similar situations in the future.

Read the full statement here: Turning the threat of COVID-19 into an opportunity for greater support to documentary heritage

This document is part of the Resources for Documentary Heritage Professionals page recently launched by UNESCO. This is a comprehensive collection of resources and responses to COVID-19, both from UNESCO and other memory institutions.

Featured here is a statement from IFLA's Secretary General Gerald Leitner on Libraries in Action at the time of COVID-19.

We thank our partners at UNESCO and all other organisations working to promote the value of memory institutions to society, especially in these challenging times.

IFLA continues to address the changes and challenges brought about by COVID-19 across all areas of our work. For updates, please see the COVID-19 and the Global Library Field Resource Page.  

Researchers in EIFL partner countries can now publish their articles in open access with waived or discounted Article Processing Charges (APCs) in 780 journals as a result of agreements signed by EIFL with publishers.

In developing countries, budgets for research are low or non-existent. This makes it difficult for researchers to publish their articles in open access in journals that charge APCs. To support researchers from these countries, EIFL negotiates with publishers for free or discounted APCs. 

Researchers in EIFL partner countries can now publish their articles in open access with waived or discounted Article Processing Charges (APCs) in 780 journals as a result of agreements signed by EIFL with publishers.

In developing countries, budgets for research are low or non-existent. This makes it difficult for researchers to publish their articles in open access in journals that charge APCs. To support researchers from these countries, EIFL negotiates with publishers for free or discounted APCs. 

Researchers in EIFL partner countries can now publish their articles in open access with waived or discounted Article Processing Charges (APCs) in 780 journals as a result of agreements signed by EIFL with publishers.

In developing countries, budgets for research are low or non-existent. This makes it difficult for researchers to publish their articles in open access in journals that charge APCs. To support researchers from these countries, EIFL negotiates with publishers for free or discounted APCs. 

Researchers in EIFL partner countries can now publish their articles in open access with waived or discounted Article Processing Charges (APCs) in 780 journals as a result of agreements signed by EIFL with publishers.

In developing countries, budgets for research are low or non-existent. This makes it difficult for researchers to publish their articles in open access in journals that charge APCs. To support researchers from these countries, EIFL negotiates with publishers for free or discounted APCs. 

EIFL worked with partner organizations in drafting an open letter to the Director-General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Dr Francis Gurry, calling on WIPO to ensure that intellectual property (IP) systems are a support, not a hindrance, in global efforts to tackle the coronavirus crisis, and its consequences. The letter was signed initially by more than 140 organizations and individuals in 33 countries. Update 7 April: the letter has been endorsed by almost 400 organizations and individuals in 45 countries.

EIFL worked with partner organizations in drafting an open letter to the Director-General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Dr Francis Gurry, calling on WIPO to ensure that intellectual property (IP) systems are a support, not a hindrance, in global efforts to tackle the coronavirus crisis, and its consequences. The letter was signed initially by more than 140 organizations and individuals in 33 countries. Update 7 April: the letter has been endorsed by almost 400 organizations and individuals in 45 countries.

EIFL worked with partner organizations in drafting an open letter to the Director-General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Dr Francis Gurry, calling on WIPO to ensure that intellectual property (IP) systems are a support, not a hindrance, in global efforts to tackle the coronavirus crisis, and its consequences. The letter was signed initially by more than 140 organizations and individuals in 33 countries. Update 7 April: the letter has been endorsed by almost 400 organizations and individuals in 45 countries.

Faced with the urgent need to combat the COVID-19 Pandemic and its consequences, it is vital to ensure that intellectual property laws and practices do not become a blockage. IFLA, working with its partners, has led in drafting an open letter to the Director General of WIPO to underline this point and call for action. UPDATE - over 312 organisations and individuals have now signed. 

Copyright and intellectual property laws – and the practices they support – have a defining influence on the work of libraries at any time.

For many years, IFLA and its partners have been active in calling for reforms which bring relevant rules up to date with a global, digitised world.

The need for such laws, enabling both analogue and digital uses of works – for example eLending alongside traditional lending, or remote access to academic books, alongside on-site possibilities – has been made clearer than ever with the crisis.

Forced to close their doors to the public, libraries need to be able to provide access in support of research, education and access to culture at distance. Without this possibility, not only is it more difficult to counter the spread of COVID-19, but there is more widespread disruption which will leave scars long into the future.  

However, intellectual property laws and practices do not necessary allow this. While there have been many positive initiatives from publishers – often in response to calls from libraries – these do not cover all needs or situations.  

As a result, IFLA has worked with partners to prepare an open letter to Dr Francis Gurry, Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), calling on the Organization to show leadership. Over 312 organisations and individuals, as of 5 April 2020, have already signed. 

It stresses the need for Member States to use existing flexibilities to facilitate public interest uses of works, for rightholders to give the necessary permissions for use, and for steps to be taken to support the development and delivery of treatments.  

In line with the goals of the wider United Nations system to accelerate the fight against the pandemic and its consequences – as well as the broader Sustainable Development Goals – we hope that WIPO will be able to play its part.

You can access the letter as a pdf. The letter is still open for sign-on for interested organisations and individuals through this form.

The Mid Year Meeting in Rome, Italy was cancelled due to the Coronavirus. Instead, a Zoom meeting was held. Here are some of the participants.

The conference The Evolving Concept of School Library and Its Profession to be held in Rome, Italy was replaced by a virtual one due the Corona crisis. The Meeting was initially intended to be on April 2, 2020: See here

Ensuring equitable access to information and knowledge lies at the heart of the library mission. As part of this goal, many libraries offer public internet access and workstations. And yet, there are still areas where many people do not have an opportunity to get online. Community networks - local community-led initiatives to build and maintain a telecommunications infrastructure – are emerging as an alternative model to help connect the unconnected. How do such Community Network projects relate to libraries’ mission, what can libraries do to support these initiatives?

The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted a rapid shift to online education and work. However, this simply isn’t a possibility for everyone, highlighting just how large of an impact the continuing digital divide has.

Many libraries have, of course, long worked to support digital inclusion by offering public internet access. As quarantines or lockdowns can impact libraries’ ability to offer such services (or make them temporarily impossible), we could use this time to explore other ways that libraries can support digital inclusion in a world post-COVID.

In recent years, more and more people have taken up Community Network initiatives to help bridge the digital divide. These are local community-led projects to build and jointly operate a digital communications infrastructure – often in areas where commercial networks are not available. These networks are built on the principle of open commons: the users of the network govern and manage it cooperatively, contributing their time and resources.

What does this mean for libraries? Supporting Community Network projects can be a fundamentally new way for libraries to help their communities get online. In the digital age, this aligns closely with libraries’ mission to help ensure equitable access to information and knowledge.

A new briefing prepared by IFLA explains this in more detail:

• What are Community Networks?
• Why are Community Networks important for libraries?
• How can libraries help and support community network projects?
• How have libraries helped community network projects in different parts of the world?
• What are the different ways a library can get involved?

[Visit the publication page to download the briefing]

The deadline of the Committee on Standards call for papers for our open session at this year's IFLA WLIC 2020 has been extended to 8 April 2020. 

Please see the IFLA WLIC 2020 website for complete details on the call.

Dear Colleagues,

It is with great regret that I must tell you that, by agreement between the IFLAPARL Standing Committee and the Houses of Oireachtas Service, the IFLAPARL 2020 Conference has been cancelled.

The IFLAPARL 2020 conference was due to run 12-14 August 2020 in Dublin, Ireland. It would have been the 36th Library and Research Services for Parliaments IFLA Pre-Conference.

The main IFLA WLIC conference, including the IFLAPARL session within it, remains on.  

The COVID-19 pandemic requires great efforts now and in the coming months from all our services, and the Houses of the Oireachtas Service must be allowed to focus on that. This consideration applies also to speakers and to conference delegates. Further, there are many uncertainties regarding travel to Ireland and the feasibility of running such an event in Ireland in August.  We know that round the world there are prohibitions on making travel arrangements and colleagues have understandable concerns regarding both health and travel in August.

We do not believe that the many challenges and uncertainties will clear in sufficient time for this event to be viable, considering the logistics, content and level of attendance.

The Standing Committee will look in due course at options to run some kind of virtual conference in the last quarter of the year. As Chair, I will urge IFLA to postpone the Dublin main conference to 2021, saving some of the work done by the Irish organising committee, with the event in Rotterdam deferred to 2022, and that in New Zealand to 2023. We cannot guarantee that the IFLAPARL conference planned for 2020 can be offered in 2021 but it might at least be a possibility. Deferment would acknowledge the efforts made to date by our Irish colleagues from all Sections, as well as the National Committee.

I wish to thank the Houses of the Oireachtas Service for their cooperation to date – which was splendid – and I wish them all the very best in dealing with this crisis situation.

I thank all of you, and in particular those who made proposals to speak, for your interest and investment in IFLAPARL 2020 up to this point. I would ask for your understanding in regard to this very difficult decision.

Yours faithfully,

Iain Watt

Chair of IFLAPARL

New research from Australia has explored how the way eBooks are offered to libraries affect their decisions over what to offer borrowers.

Led by Associate Professor Rebecca Giblin of the University of Melbourne law school as part of the international eLending Project (elendingproject.org), this builds on previous work that has underlined the restrictions, inconsistencies and lack of adaptation to demand that characterises the library eBook market, both in Australia and worldwide.

The new research is based on a survey of libraries across Australia. The researchers sought to understand how publisher licensing practices were impacting library decisions about which ebooks to add to their collections, as well as the trade-offs they were making in balancing scarce resources with their communities’ diverse needs.

It finds that the prices and licence terms set by publishers are having real impacts on the books that get added to public library collections – and thus the authors who get read and paid for library uses. 

Previous work from the library eLending project have identified a series of challenges associated with the library eLending market on the side of suppliers. Not all ebooks are made available for lending (although availability is better in some countries than others). Different publishers take different approaches. Increasingly, they are adopting ‘metered’ (only a certain number of loans are possible) or ‘exploding’ licences (which see the library lose access to a book after a set time, regardless of how many times it has been borrowed. The eLending Project’s previous work had also shown that the licence type and price charged do not necessarily reflect likely demand, with older books just as likely to be made available at high prices and on exploding licenses as the newest ones. But what does this mean for libraries?

As the new research shows, it is not the conditions offered by publishers and platforms, but rather patron demand that is the main driver of decision-making. In order to meet that demand, libraries are signing up for multiple platforms (with multiple platform fees), and buying access to individual books on less-than-favourable terms.  Libraries reported that they often felt they had no choice but to agree to unreasonable prices or restrictions for in-demand books. As one put it, ‘Remaining relevant means that we are a slave to demand driven purchasing. (Don’t tell the publisher.)' But that then means they have less resources to fulfil their other missions, including collection development and supporting local and emerging writers.

In this, they are not helped necessarily by the lack of information received from platforms, which tend to be readier to share numbers on waiting lists rather than on use, potentially in order to encourage more sales. This makes it difficult for libraries even to calculate costs per loan, and many libraries reported not having the skills or resources to do so.

Some of the potential improvements to the situation already appeared in the previous work, notably greater consistency in offer from one platform to the next, and an approach to licensing and pricing that reflects likely demand for books.

The new research identified further suggestions, including most importantly, the need for libraries to have a choice between licensing models, including pay-per-loan.

This would help libraries to promote more local content, in particular from new and emerging authors, and so both ensure deeper and more balanced collections and continue libraries’ role as a supporter of literary diversity.

It could also make it easier for libraries to serve minority groups by buying books that may be of less interest to the rest of the population. This would help realise the potential of eBooks as a means of giving access to a much wider range of content that better meets the needs of all readers.

There are many powerful lessons to be taken from this work, many of which may be familiar to libraries in other countries.

Despite increasing spending – indeed, library eLending is one of the rare growth areas in the wider eBook market – libraries and their users are not necessarily seeing the benefits, and indeed are struggling to fulfil traditional missions to offer wide, deep collections that respond to the needs of all members of the community while helping new writers find an audience.

This research underlines, again, the need for serious reflection on the way the library eLending market operates, in the interests of authors and readers like. 

You can download the full research report as a pdf.

Dear friends,

We present to you the January 2020 issue of our IFLA Asia and Oceania Regional Quarterly Newsletter.

Hope you have enjoyed it so far.

~Please open the PDF newsletter to access the links.~

Thank you and have a great week ahead!

Happy Reading! 

With warmest regards,

Soh Lin Li
Regional Manager
IFLA Regional Office for Asia and Oceania

Dear LIBER network, The coronavirus is having an unprecedented effect on life and working routines around the globe. Research libraries are also impacted by this crisis. With many physical buildings forced to close, virtual library teams are working harder than ever to provide digital support to students and researchers. On behalf of LIBER’s Executive Board…

The post Coronavirus: A Message for Our Libraries from LIBER’s President appeared first on LIBER.