A delegation from IFLA will attend the 40th Session of the UNESCO General Conference, held 12-27 November 2019 in Paris, France. As NGO partners of UNESCO, we are committed to growing our partnership, and ensuring the voice of the library profession is represented during the General Conference proceedings.

The agenda of the 2019 General Conference reflects the wide range of issues on which UNESCO works which are relevant to libraries, from promoting early-years literacy to safeguarding our cultural heritage, from open education to internet governance.  

We have provided our Members with an overview of key issues and relevant topics which will be discussed. We called on Member States to take action, by giving an indication of how delegates can intervene in order to support the work of their libraries. Here are some key issues being discussed:

 

Combatting the Illegal Trade in Cultural Items

The General Conference will be invited to take a decision on a draft resolution to strengthen the implementation of The 1970 Convention on The Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property.

IFLA stresses the importance of combating the illegal trade of cultural property and invite Member States to support this draft resolution on behalf of library associations and institutions. 

 

Supporting for the Preservation of Documentary Heritage

The General Conference will hear a consolidating report on the implementation of UNESCO’s 2015 Recommendation concerning the Preservation of, and Access to, Documentary Heritage, including in Digital Form.

IFLA supports this resolution and invites our Member States to promote domestic implementation initiatives that can help to strengthen documentary heritage preservation and access, including in digital form.   

We also recommend that, upon future review of this recommendation, UNESCO put forward a Convention affirming its basic principles to be ratified by Member States.

Other Issues to be Discussed

We have identified other agenda points which are of interest to the library and information profession. We urge you to follow along with the discussions and think about where you can promote the role and contribution of libraries in these areas.

 

• Report on the World Summit on the Information Society Outcomes
• Framework for the implementation of education for sustainable development (ESD) beyond 2019
• UNESCO Strategy for Literacy
• Proclamation of Global Media and Information Literacy Week
• Forum of Ministers of Culture: Summary of Discussions
• UNESCO’s Global/Regional Coordination of and Support for the Implementation of SDG4 – Education 2030
• Technical, Financial and Legal Aspects of the Desirability of a Recommendation on Open Science
• Preliminary Study on a Possible Standard-Setting Instrument on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence
• Proposal of a Draft Text of a Recommendation on Open Educational Resource
• Fourth Consolidated Report on the Implementation by Member States of the 2003 Recommendation Concerning the Promotion and Use of Multilingualism and Universal Access to Cyberspace

We look forward to reporting on outcomes from these agenda points as they are discussed.

You can see the full agenda and get more information about the General Conference online: UNESCO 40th Session of the General Conference  

EIFL has renewed its current agreement with Edward Elgar Publishing until December 2022. Under this renewed agreement, libraries and consortia from 30 EIFL partner countries are eligible for free access Edward Elgar’s 10 journals, over 750 development studies and environment e-books, and can publish at a discounted APC (Article Processing Charge) rate in open access in their journals.

EIFL has renewed its current agreement with Edward Elgar Publishing until December 2022. Under this renewed agreement, libraries and consortia from 30 EIFL partner countries are eligible for free access Edward Elgar’s 10 journals, over 750 development studies and environment e-books, and can publish at a discounted APC (Article Processing Charge) rate in open access in their journals.

EIFL has renewed its current agreement with Edward Elgar Publishing until December 2022. Under this renewed agreement, libraries and consortia from 30 EIFL partner countries are eligible for free access Edward Elgar’s 10 journals, over 750 development studies and environment e-books, and can publish at a discounted APC (Article Processing Charge) rate in open access in their journals.

EIFL has renewed its current agreement with Edward Elgar Publishing until December 2022. Under this renewed agreement, libraries and consortia from 30 EIFL partner countries are eligible for free access Edward Elgar’s 10 journals, over 750 development studies and environment e-books, and can publish at a discounted APC (Article Processing Charge) rate in open access in their journals.

Deborah Jacobs, former director of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Libraries Initiative celebrates 10 years of the EIFL Public Library Innovation Programme (EIFL-PLIP) in this guest blog for EIFL.

Deborah Jacobs, former director of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Libraries Initiative celebrates 10 years of the EIFL Public Library Innovation Programme (EIFL-PLIP) in this guest blog for EIFL.

Deborah Jacobs, former director of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Libraries Initiative celebrates 10 years of the EIFL Public Library Innovation Programme (EIFL-PLIP) in this guest blog for EIFL.

Latest ACD Annual Report is now available!

Latest ACD Annual Report is now available!

There has been tremendous growth in the amount of digital content created by libraries, publishers, cultural institutions and the general public. While there are great benefits to having content available in digital form, digital objects can be extremely short-lived unless proper attention is paid to preservation.  In this webinar, taking place on World Digital Preservation Day,…

The post Webinar Video: Digital Preservation Opportunities & Challenges Ahead appeared first on LIBER.

While librarians have been describing books manually for decades, several libraries are now experimenting with methods to automatically create metadata.  Thanks to the growing volume of publications in electronic format, and the increase of artificial intelligence (AI) applications such as machine learning, there is a growing possibility for computers to interpret electronic texts and assist…

The post Webinar Video: Generating Metadata With AI – Experience of the National Library of the Netherlands appeared first on LIBER.

In June 2019, the European Union’s new Copyright Directive entered into force. Member States must implement this Directive into their national laws by 7 June 2021. 

Some countries such as the Netherlands and Germany have already held public consultations to collect the recommendations of the various stakeholders, including libraries. Library professionals from Finland, Hungary and Ireland are entering into consultations with their governments.

IFLA is committed to supporting libraries and library associations achieve the best possible implementation and thus support the achievement of their mission, working with our partners EBLIDA, LIBER and SPARC Europe.

Below we answer some key questions: what is in the Directive, why it is important to get involved, and what steps to follow to get do so.

What's in the Directive?

As set out in our news story when the Directive was adopted, there are new possibilities for libraries to support text and data mining, education, preservation, and access to out-of-commerce works.

There are also of course concerns about the impact of new rules for platforms and news aggregators on free expression and access to information.

There are many other materials about the different parts of the Directive on our resources page.

Why it important to get involved in implementation?

The potential of the Directive can only be fully realised if the voices of library professionals are heard – they are the most relevant people to discuss the problems of the profession and the legal needs related to their mission.

There is enough flexibility in the Directive to mean that many of its provisions will be useless if poorly applied. However, good library engagement can make a real difference

What are the first steps to get involved in the follow-up of this implementation?

1. Identify who will be responsible for the legislation or regulation to implement the Directive in your government.
2. Let this person (or these people) know that libraries are key stakeholders for the implementation of the Directive. You could potentially look to set up a meeting.
3. Identify where information about the legislation or regulation is available.
4. Identify which committee in your Parliament will be responsible for reviewing the legislation or regulation to implement the Directive.
5. Identify members of parliament who could be favourable to the interests of libraries. Set up meetings with them.
6. Identify other stakeholders with whom you could work to influence the implementation (Archives, Museums, research and education organisations, users’ rights organisations for example).
7. Understand the government’s timeline for the process (deadline for consultations, dates of the workshops)
8. Understand where your current law may need to change, and what else you want to obtain

If you are interested to find out more, don’t hesitate to contact us in order to discuss how you could get involved in the process, and what tools and other materials could be useful for you!

The Mexican DSpace Users Group is pleased to offer the community the opportunity to register for a virtual course on “Installation, Configuration and Customization DSpace 6.3” with Sheyla Salazar Waldo y Julian Timal Tlachi from the Mexican DSpace Users Group.

The objective of this course is to explain how DSpace software (version 6.3) is installed on an operating system,  in this case Windows. The user will be able to configure and personalize DSpace, as well as have control of testing and seeing the complete installation process.

The course will begin on Friday, November 8, please to register: https://wiki.duraspace.org/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=176490109

En español

El Grupo Mexicano de Usuarios de DSpace se complace en ofrecer a la comunidad la oportunidad de registrarse para un curso virtual sobre “Instalación, Configuración y Personalización de DSpace 6.3” con Sheyla Salazar Waldo y Julian Timal Tlachi del Grupo Mexicano de Usuarios de DSpace.

El objetivo de este curso es explicar cómo se instala el software DSpace (versión 6.3) en un sistema operativo, en este caso Windows. El usuario podrá configurar y personalizar DSpace, así como tener el control de las pruebas y ver el proceso completo de instalación.

El curso comenzará el viernes 8 de noviembre, por favor regístrese: https://wiki.duraspace.org/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=176490109

The post Invitation from the Mexican DSpace Users Group: “Installation, Configuration and Customization DSpace 6.3 appeared first on Duraspace.org.

From Susanna Mornati, 4Science

4Science, together with The Library Code and other organizations in the DSpace-CRIS community, such as the Hamburg University of Technology, the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, the Georg-August-University Goettingen, the Otto-Friedrich-University Bamberg, the University of Bern, the University of Trieste, invite all  institutions interested in DSpace-CRIS, the free open-source Research Information Management System (aka CRIS/RIMS), to join in the first International DSpace-CRIS User Group Meeting to be held in Muenster (Germany, EU) on November 18, 2019.

The event is free and is organized in the framework of the euroCRIS Membership Meeting that will be held on November 18-20, 2019 at the University of Münster, Germany, EU. At https://eurocris.uni-muenster.de there are details about the euroCRIS registration, program, venue, transport, and accommodation. Participation also in the euroCRIS event is strongly encouraged.

The DSpace-CRIS User Group Meeting is scheduled for Monday, November 18 from 14h to 17h, at: Johannisstr. 8-10, room KTh IV, Muenster (click here for the map), with thanks to the generous hospitality of the University of Muenster.

Agenda:
14:00 – 14:10 Introduction
14:10 – 14:30 DSpace-CRIS roadmap
14:30 – 15:30 Experiences from participants
15:30 – 15:40 Break
15:40 – 16:40 Discussion with participants
16:40 – 17:00 Future plans and conclusions

Speakers:

• Introduction and DSpace-CRIS roadmap, future plans and conclusions: Susanna Mornati and Andrea Bollini, 4Science (Italy), Pascal Becker, The Library Code (Germany)

• Experiences from participants and discussion:

Beate Rajski and Oliver Goldschmidt, Hamburg University of Technology (Germany)
Daniel Beucke, Georg-August University of Goettingen (Germany)
Michael Erndt and Dirk Eisengräber-Pabst, Fraunhofer Gesellschaft (Germany)
Steffen Illig, Otto-Friedrich-University Bamberg (Germany)
Anna Keller, University of Bern (Switzerland)
Jordan Piščanc, University of Trieste (Italy)

Other participants are invited to share their experiences and wish-list (open discussion)

Registration and details at:

https://wiki.duraspace.org/display/DSPACECRIS/DSpace-CRIS+User+Group

Looking forward to meeting you at the DSpace-CRIS User Group Meeting!

The post Announcing the First International DSpace-CRIS User Group Meeting appeared first on Duraspace.org.

Check out our latest blog post on trends in academic and research libraries

The IFLA Document Delivery and Resource Sharing Section (DDRS) proudly announces release of the 16th IFLA ILDS (Interlending and Document Supply) Conference Proceedings.  

Proceedings of the 16th IFLA ILDS conference: Beyond the paywall - Resource sharing in a disruptive ecosystem
held at National Library of Technology in Prague, Czech Republic
9-11 October 2019

The impulse came from the 2018 Kuala Lumpur DDRS Committee Business Meeting. The initial idea was to encourage more so-called “quality authors” to submit their research papers and to prevent their disappearance into the thin air of the elusive IFLA ILDS conference web sites—as well as their lockout from the vast majority of the IFLA DDRS audience “beyond the paywall” in commercially-published journals.

We believe that we all in DDRS have created and published a focused, accurate, and freely-accessible testimonial reflecting the state-of-the-art in the areas of thinking through, reacting to and proactively engaging in the most emergent challenges of todays' global resource sharing and document delivery movement. This is our legacy and a proof of our involvement.    

 

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Without a strong commitment to multilingualism underpinning our core work, IFLA would not be able to bridge the cultural differences across the library community and wider environment in which libraries operate. Two new translations of the IFLA Strategy help expand our reach by more than 400,000,000 people.

Engagement by the global library field is key to the development of the IFLA Strategy 2019-2024 and this is manifesting itself in a fundamental way: language.  Besides being already available in all seven official IFLA languages, two new translations of the IFLA Strategy into Portuguese and Urdu are now online.

IFLA Secretary General Gerald Leitner said:

   

Having the IFLA Strategy available in more languages is crucial to bettering our reach and understanding, and we applaud the grassroots effort to bring the Strategy to a wider audience. We are so excited to see such an enthusiastic response from across our global community.  Keep them coming!

Together, we are building a strong and united library field, powering literate, informed and participatory societies. What can you do to share its message—and to inspire and engage others—just as you have been inspired and engaged? One step is to help us make a strong starting point for those outside our official languages so we can become more inclusive reach even more people. Everyone has a role in building our future, no matter the location or language.

If you would like to translate the Strategy into another language, please contact communications@ifla.org and we will provide you with a template and instructions. We will add your translation to our website so that more people can develop actions to strengthen our field and achieve our vision.

The Government Libraries Mid-Term Conference in London is now open for registrations.

See the Events webpage for further details. 

This European Policy Debate was organised by Europa Nostra in partnership with the Fondation du Patrimoine and the Collège des Bernardins, with the support of the European Commission and the French Ministry of Culture. It was part of the European Heritage Summit, which celebrated cultural heritage projects from across Europe. 

Speakers included French Minister of Culture, Franck Riester, French Secretary of State for European Affairs Amélie de Montchalin, and other high-level representatives of EU Institutions and French Government, as well as heritage experts from across Europe.

The Role of Cultural Heritage 

The sentiment was clear: in the face of rising Euroscepticism and intolerance across Europe, cultural heritage has a vital role to play in reviving the European project.  

Projects big and small demonstrate the emergence of an open, participatory society that allows people to exchange knowledge and celebrate the cultures of others without fearing for the conservations of one’s own.

IFLA was there to ensure that the dialogue reflected an inclusive definition of cultural heritage, and that the vital roles of libraries, archives and documentary heritage practitioners were acknowledged.  

 

Mobilising for Climate Action 

Beyond this, the Policy Debate featured a lively discussion on the responsibility for cultural heritage institutions to mobilise for climate action within their professional practice.

Acknowledging that climate change is the most critical threat to our cultural heritage, the message was clear: there is no time to wait for climate action. Speakers agreed that we have enough knowledge, case studies and experts; the time for research is over and the time for action has come.

We were proud to see IFLA named among the founding members of the Climate Heritage Network. We are committed to continue working alongside our partners in this network to enact real change. Advocating projects that help educate, create sustainable communities and encourage knowledge sharing is vital to showing policymakers the vital role of cultural institutions.

We urge all members of IFLA to explore how they can contribute to climate action in their professional practice.

The main outcome of the Policy Debate was a unified urging of European politicians to prioritise cultural heritage. We emphasise the importance of establishing legal framework at the international level to ensure the provision for cultural heritage preservation is upheld within Europe and beyond.

See the European Policy Debate event page for the full programme of speakers and topics discussed.