The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education, Dr. Koumbou Boly Barry, has submitted a report to the Human Rights Council, underlining how the right to education is a cultural right.

In parallel, it is essential to consider the cultural dimension in order to  deliver on the right to inclusive and quality education, as called for by Sustainable Development Goal #4. Access to diverse cultural resources in education systems is critical for the cultural relevance of such systems, and impacts on the ability of learners to make the most of knowledge. As the report underlines, libraries can be crucial to achieving this.

IFLA Response

This report, which can be read online here, was informed by a questionnaire circulated to member states, agencies, and civil society stakeholders in early 2020. IFLA submitted a response highlighting good practices and lessons learned through library efforts to ensure access to culture in educational contexts.

The inclusion of libraries in the resulting report and recommendations by the Special Rapporteur is a testament to the importance of library collections and services in ensuring universal human rights. This includes providing access to cultural resources, allowing users to participate in cultural life, enabling participatory processes, and ensuring access to relevant cultural knowledge for all.

Recommendations

The report mentions that school and public libraries, for example, may work in tandem with education providers to help facilitate creation of materials that reflect the cultures of the community, including marginalised and/or underrepresented cultures. Libraires have special knowledge of and connection to their communities and can help identify and act on these needs.

To this end, the Special Rapporteur recommends that member states encourage cooperation between libraries, educational institutions, and other relevant actors in order to ensure access to educational materials drawn from diverse cultural experiences.

Most notably, the Special Rapporteur recommends that non-formal and informal education actors (such as libraries) be considered full participants in educational life.

IFLA upholds the role of libraries as critical actors in ensuring lifelong learning for all people and commends the Special Rapporteur for advancing this recognition through this recommendation.

We also stress that access to information includes access to culturally relevant materials, both traditional and digital, as well as material in diverse languages. We encourage education actors and all relevant stakeholders to partner closely with libraries to ensure access to these resources, within the context of plans to ensure inclusive and quality education for all.  

Read more about IFLA’s position on the role of libraries as cultural rights defenders here. 

Empowering research by connecting libraries and facilitating access to knowledge; the international HERMES project responds with research, training, and brand new software.

In spite of the pandemic, or rather thanks to it, the HERMES Strengthening digital resource sharing during COVID and beyond project was born. The project, funded by the Erasmus Plus Programme, will be delivered by an international partnership made up of the Bologna Research Area Library at Italian National Research Council CNR (Italy), three universities in the Mediterranean area - Balamand University (Lebanon), University of Cantabria (Spain), MEF University (Turkey) - and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA).

Why thanks to the pandemic? In 2020, the COVID-19 forced academic libraries to move their work almost exclusively online. This both created a new challenge for the scholarly community - the sudden unavailability of physical collections - and gave new urgency to the need to address existing ones - the lack of digitization of library holdings, inadequate catalogs, lack of information about e-books and availability of electronic resources, legal problems in delivering digital documents to users, and a general lack of expertise in searching and retrieving digital documents.

In response to the emergency, in a very short time a group of librarians under the auspices of IFLA created "Resource Sharing during COVID-19" (RSCVD https://rscvd.org/): the first experiment in free digital sharing of bibliographic resources worldwide.

RSCVD has been based on the voluntary contributions of a hundred librarians around the world, who worked with the tools available at the time to share documents from their libraries with the global academic community.

After a very successful first reaction to the COVID emergency, the time was ripe to put in place an action capable of creating long-lasting impacts. This is what : a group of library experts have done in conceiving of the HERMES project, which will provide an opportunity to facilitate the work of librarians around the world by addressing the challenges COVID has created or intensified.

The project has just begun and will last 18 months, during which the group will work with the dual objective of refining the document sharing tools that libraries already use in Italy and around the world, making them more stable and efficient, and facilitating their use.

In complement to this, it will educate professionals on issues around wider access to knowledge. In this training , in addition to learning about the technicalities of operation of the software for librarians, crucial topics such as how to find quality scientific documentation, how to orient users with respect to open science, what ethical and legal implications are to be considered when using and sharing scientific documentation.

HERMES will produce open source software, strictly open educational materials and free training courses for librarians, university students and researchers in order to provide high quality, fast and free access to knowledge through the development of specific skills on the topic of digital resource sharing.

If you are interested, you can keep an eye on developments of this ambitious project on the project website https://www.hermes-eplus.eu/ and related social media.

Empowering research by connecting libraries and facilitating access to knowledge; the international HERMES project responds with research, training, and brand new software.

In spite of the pandemic, or rather thanks to it, the HERMES Strengthening digital resource sharing during COVID and beyond project was born. The project, funded by the Erasmus Plus Programme, will be delivered by an international partnership made up of the Bologna Research Area Library at Italian National Research Council CNR (Italy), three universities in the Mediterranean area - Balamand University (Lebanon), University of Cantabria (Spain), MEF University (Turkey) - and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA).

Why thanks to the pandemic? In 2020, the COVID-19 forced academic libraries to move their work almost exclusively online. This both created a new challenge for the scholarly community - the sudden unavailability of physical collections - and gave new urgency to the need to address existing ones - the lack of digitization of library holdings, inadequate catalogs, lack of information about e-books and availability of electronic resources, legal problems in delivering digital documents to users, and a general lack of expertise in searching and retrieving digital documents.

In response to the emergency, in a very short time a group of librarians under the auspices of IFLA created "Resource Sharing during COVID-19" (RSCVD https://rscvd.org/): the first experiment in free digital sharing of bibliographic resources worldwide.

RSCVD has been based on the voluntary contributions of a hundred librarians around the world, who worked with the tools available at the time to share documents from their libraries with the global academic community.

After a very successful first reaction to the COVID emergency, the time was ripe to put in place an action capable of creating long-lasting impacts. This is what : a group of library experts have done in conceiving of the HERMES project, which will provide an opportunity to facilitate the work of librarians around the world by addressing the challenges COVID has created or intensified.

The project has just begun and will last 18 months, during which the group will work with the dual objective of refining the document sharing tools that libraries already use in Italy and around the world, making them more stable and efficient, and facilitating their use.

In complement to this, it will educate professionals on issues around wider access to knowledge. In this training , in addition to learning about the technicalities of operation of the software for librarians, crucial topics such as how to find quality scientific documentation, how to orient users with respect to open science, what ethical and legal implications are to be considered when using and sharing scientific documentation.

HERMES will produce open source software, strictly open educational materials and free training courses for librarians, university students and researchers in order to provide high quality, fast and free access to knowledge through the development of specific skills on the topic of digital resource sharing.

If you are interested, you can keep an eye on developments of this ambitious project on the project website https://www.hermes-eplus.eu/ and related social media.

The recording (55 minutes, with optional English subtitles) and slides are now available:
https://www.ifla.org/publications/node/93945
There are also links to all the featured resources, and a selection of questions and answers.

At the request of the Human Rights Council, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights convened a workshop with the goal of taking steps towards developing tools for the “dissemination of an approach to the protection, restoration and preservation of cultural heritage that promotes universal respect for cultural rights by all”.

This workshop was held virtually on 14-15 June, and featured a collaboration between Ms. Karima Bennoune, the Special Rapporteur in the Field of Cultural Rights and a spectrum of other stakeholders and civil society representatives.

Participants were encouraged to provide input on any issues which should be covered by such tools. IFLA attended to bolster recognition of libraries as defenders of cultural rights – including through their role in preserving and providing access to cultural heritage.

Cultural Rights

In 2009, the first Special Rapporteur in the Field of Cultural Rights established a definition for Cultural Rights as being those rights that protect:

• human creativity in all its diversity and the conditions for it to be exercised, developed and made accessible
• the free choice, expression and development of identities
• the rights to participate in the cultural life of their choice
• the right to interact and exchange culture
• the rights to enjoy and have access to the arts, to knowledge, including scientific knowledge, and to cultural heritage
• the rights to participate in the interpretation, elaboration and development of cultural heritage [source]

Protecting the conditions required for the enjoyment of cultural rights plays a vital role in upholding universal human rights at large. Cultural rights have a critical role in forming identity, peacebuilding, combatting extremism, and creating resilient societies.

Taking a Rights-Based Approach

The agenda of the workshop explored how to mainstream a rights-based approach to the protection, restoration and preservation of cultural heritage. In a rights-based approach to cultural heritage, culture is an active experience for people – one that is about using, accessing, creating, and interpreting it to better their lives.  

Mainstreaming a rights-based approach to cultural heritage can be done through highlighting how cultural heritage is a fundamental resource for the fulfillment of other rights, including that to education, expression, religion, and economic possibility. It should be promoted as a tool to prevent conflict and build peace.

A rights-based approach fits libraries particularly well. As champions of access to information and freedom of expression, libraries have long acted as conduits between people and knowledge, connecting their users to information they can benefit and learn from, use, transmit, and preserve for the future.

To note - the Special Rapporteur has identified a key issue to be explored by the future mandate-holder to be the importance of public space as a forum for the enjoyment of cultural rights. Libraries can certainly play a central role in this facet of cultural rights enjoyment.

Libraries as Cultural Rights Defenders

Cultural Rights Defenders are defined by the Special Rapporteur as “human rights defenders who pursue the elimination of violations of cultural rights and promote respect for and protection and fulfilment of these rights” [source].

Supporting these individuals and groups who uphold cultural rights around the world is vital for the enjoyment of cultural rights for all.

Supporting cultural rights defenders in times of crisis is even more challenging. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, armed conflict, and natural disasters were all identified as exacerbating the need for governments to support cultural rights defenders.

IFLA submitted the following written statement to highlight the role of libraries as cultural rights defenders, and call for the consideration of featuring a cross-sectoral approach in the tools that are developed as an outcome of this workshop:

IFLA’s Statement

Libraries have a vital role in ensuring the right to participate in cultural life for their communities – preserving and providing access to cultural heritage, enabling access to diverse expressions of culture, and championing the right of access to education, information, and expression.  

Threats to cultural rights are complex and require a cross-sectoral approach, where memory institutions like libraries and other cultural actors work together, but also in coordination with government and other sectors.  

We welcome input on ways that we can reach beyond our sector to highlight the necessity of respect for cultural rights both in upholding human rights and as an enabler of sustainable development.

As a federation of library associations, institutions, and individuals, we are interested to work at the international level to find new possibilities and knowledge-sharing opportunities that can better equip our network working at the national level to advocate for greater support for their work as cultural rights defenders.

What can you do now?

• Collections-holding libraries are invited to explore how preservation of and access to your collections can impact on human rights, and cultural rights in particular. How does your work help your users participate in the cultural life of their choosing? Highlight this, and embrace your role as cultural rights defenders.
• All libraries are invited to explore how their collections and programmes might help people connect to the cultural heritage sites, expressions, and traditions in their region and beyond in a dynamic way. How do your collections and programmes help bolster other human rights, such as the right to education, information, and economic possibility?
• Connect to Blue Shield National Committees in your country to ensure the representation of libraries and documentary heritage collections in national-level cultural property protection effortsLet us know!

Let us know! What tools or support do you need to further your work as cultural rights defenders? Email: claire.mcguire@ifla.org 

The results of a survey about serving people with special needs during COVID-19 has been published in the latest issue of International Leads, a publication of the International Relations Roundtable of the American Library Association.

“Serving People with Special Needs During COVID-19: Stories from Around the World” was co-authored by Nancy Bolt, Chair, IFLA Section: Library Service to People with Special Needs, and Aly Velji, Adult Services Manager, Toronto Public Library, Canada.

In the fall of 2020, LSN conducted a survey to get examples of how libraries were reaching out to marginalized populations to continue services to during the pandemic.  The committee received 49 responses. From the responses, the authors gleaned examples of various efforts libraries implemented to serve their varied populations.

These populations included: services to children with disabilities, services in prisons, people with dyslexia and visual disabilities, refugees and immigrants, people with visual and print disabilities, people experiencing homelessness, older adults.

Libraries responding included Vancouver Public Library, Canada; a New Zealand prison; Listening Point Library, Belgium; Greeley Public Library, Colorado, USA; and the Toronto Public Library, Canada.

Read the full article online.

This year's World e-Parliament Conference 2021 organized by the Interparliamentary Union (IPU) covered five main themes:
 1. Towards the digital parliament
 2. Infrastructure
 3. Data in digital parliaments
4. Enabling digital parliamentarians
5. Artificial intelligence  

The IPU invited the IFLAPARL section to organize a panel on June 17 on the topic "Virtual parliamentary research services" under the conference subtheme "Tools and techniques for the digital parliamentarian."

IFLAPARL Information Coordinator, Ellie Valentine moderated the roundtable session discussion of colleagues from three parliamentary library and research services: 

• Janice de Oliveira E Silva Silveira, Library Director, Brazilian Chamber of Deputies
• Christine Ivory, Senior Director, Parliamentary Information, Education and Research Services, Library of Parliament, Parliament of Canada
• Balazs Mellar, Senior Administrator, Policy Department for Structural and Cohesion Policies, European Parliament

This discussion covered recent innovations in library and research services in parliament related to meeting the changing needs of parliamentarians in the technology-rich environments in which they operate, as well as management issues regarding human and technology resources in library and information services. The panelists also addressed some of the technology solutions they employed in facing service challenges caused by the 2020-2021 global pandemic. 

The recording of the session is online here.

The Preservation and Conservation (PAC) Centre hosted at the National Library of Sri Lanka specialises in preserving the country's unique documentary cultural heritage.

Featured among these materials are Palm Leaf Manuscripts – a method of recording knowledge dating back to ancient times. These manuscripts contain inscriptions on subjects ranging from Buddhism, to history, archaeology, traditional medicine, folktales, astrology, and more.

Palm leaf manuscripts are a vital aspect of the cultural heritage and memory of the country. Given their delicate nature and the tropical climate of Sri Lanka, proper storage and handling of palm leaf manuscripts is a critical aspect to their long-term preservation.

PAC Centre Director Udaya Cabral and R.M Nadeeka Rathnabahu, Senior Lecturer, Department of Library and Information Sciences, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, have published this new Report detailing best practices for the conservation of Palm-Leaf Manuscripts.

Download the report here.

This report will be highly informative for any institutions around the world that include palm leaf manuscripts in their collections, or for conservators who are interested in methods to safeguard this unique form of documentary heritage.

Find out more about PAC Sri Lanka and access additional guides created by the PAC Centre here.

More questions or requests for information can be directed to the PAC Centre: Information and Contact

The webinar materials page links to the slides from the lightning reports, the Q&A transcript, and to the full recording from the event held May 27, 2021.

This is the first recording made available through the Bibliography Section's new YouTube channel. The recording can also be accessed through the IFLA Professional Units Virtual Events playlist on the IFLA YouTube channel.

For many years, IFLA has monitored the emergence of issues around copyright and digital lending, in particular the ability of libraries to purchase and lend eBooks under reasonable licensing terms, as well as to give access to their collections remotely.

While digital tools have created new practical possibilities to support education, research and cultural participation, laws and markets have not always kept up.

Too often, even where they exist, the market fails to provide access to works in digital form on a consistently fair basis. In too many cases, libraries face the non-existence of digital works, or the refusal of publishers to allow libraries to buy their works.

Clearly, these challenges are not new, but the COVID19 pandemic has exposed them in a systematic way.

In response, Controlled Digital Lending has emerged in the last few years as a specific means of enabling libraries to fulfil their missions. It involves libraries lending digital copies of physical works in their collections, using technological safeguards to ensure that no more copies are loaned than the library itself owns. This prevents any unreasonable harm to markets.

As such, Controlled Digital Lending can represent an important tool for libraries. IFLA therefore supports this, underlining its ability to offer libraries the freedom to provide access to their collections, both during the pandemic and beyond.

To achieve this, IFLA argues that all countries should recognise the possibility for libraries to lend works, that laws should be adapted to the digital environment so that libraries can continue their mission to provide access to information and knowledge in the modern age, and that the combination of exceptions - for example to digitise and lend - should not be restricted unnecessarily.

These provisions, together, would allow libraries to realise the possibility that Controlled Digital Lending creates. 

IFLA supports Controlled Digital Lending in its ability

This statement was approved by the Governing Board in May 2021. IFLA is very grateful to the drafting team - Ben White and Christina de Castell - for their work in preparing the statement.

IFLA has endorsed the WikiLibrary Manifesto, aimed at connecting libraries and Wikimedia projects such as Wikibase in order to promote the dissemination of knowledge in open formats, especially in linked open data networks.

Libraries and Wikimedia, two types of sister organizations, one aim: sharing information and knowledge

The heart of libraries' mission is to enable all citizens to access information and knowledge in order to be able to build informed opinions and perspectives in their life.

Every day, millions of librarians around the world choose books, advise users in their research through books or websites, reveal pluralities of perspectives, and support the development of individual opinions and the exercise of freedom of expression.

On its side, the Wikimedia Foundation is a non-profit organization which aims to share knowledge openly. They believe that each citizen has information and knowledge that they can share openly on Wikimedia projects, based on reliable and verifiable sources.

As such, on both sides, there is a strong desire to allow open access to information and knowledge via reliable sources while respecting the will of communities such as indigenous groups.

Beyond this, there is the will to share to ensure the sustainability and preservation of this knowledge, as well as to bring together different perspectives to ensure a more nuanced, better informed story of the world. The importance of open, interoperable tools that can facilitate the work of linked data libraries like Wikibase, is part of this.

The WikiLibrary Manifesto, open principles

Within this context, the WikiLibrary Manifesto aims to promote the development of principles and the establishment of strong digital policies which are open, and therefore reusable for libraries.

This initiative, born of discussions and collaborations between libraries and Wikimedia Germany, is also the opportunity to continue these discussions between our structures.

The manifesto supports the application of the principles of FAIR (free, open, accessible, re-usable) data and proposes other principles such as:

• Promoting free licenses for data and their software environment. 

• Shaping spaces where diverse communities thrive (community gardening). 

• Providing structured data based on FAIR data principles in order to be able to transparently transform data into information to create FAIR knowledge. 

• Promoting common core standards created consensually and collaboratively. 

• Providing open governance structures and embedding them into existing systems. 

• Dedicating resources to obtain user interfaces that are accessible to and user ‑ friendly for everybody who wants to contribute and actively care for data and knowledge. 

• Fostering data literacy in the digital transformation on the three stages: data, information and knowledge.

 

Sponsored by PressReader, the IFLA PressReader International Marketing Award is presented by the IFLA Section on Management and Marketing, Now in its 18th year, this award honours organizations that implement creative, results-oriented marketing projects or campaigns.

The top three winners are:

1. Monash University (Australia) and Penn State University (USA) libraries: The Monash and Penn State Great Rare Books Bake Off

sites.psu.edu/greatrarebooksbakeoff and monash.edu/library/rare-books-bake-off

2. The City Libraries of Jinan (China): Quancheng Study – “Delivery” Buddies Post

jnlib.net.cn

3. LGMA / Libraries Ireland (Ireland): Your Library – Take a Closer Look

librariesireland.ie

Monash University and Penn State University share 1st place for their Great Rare Books Bake Off, a friendly competition that engaged their communities by inviting participants to bake featured recipes from their collections and post to social media. The project provided an enjoyable, creative outlet during the pandemic. The 1st place winner receives 3000€ towards purchasing new technology.

 

The City Libraries of Jinan (China) is the 2nd place winner for Quancheng Study – “Delivery Buddies” Post. This program helps library service delivery workers by understanding patrons’ needs and offering reading resources in a multi-functional manner. The 2nd place winner receives 2000€ towards purchasing new technology.

LGMA / Libraries Ireland (Ireland) takes 3rd place for their campaign, Your Library – Take a Closer Look. This national campaign promoted Irish public libraries by encouraging everyone to “take a closer look” at the modern and innovative library services on offer. The 3rd place winner receives 1500€ towards purchasing new technology.

Submissions were received from all over the world, with entries from Australia, Belarus, Brazil, China, Colombia, Croatia, Egypt, Germany, Ghana, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Nigeria, Poland, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Ukraine, the United States, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Norway. Applications were selected based upon criteria that demonstrated innovative and original project marketing strategies. The top ten entries include the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners and seven unique projects.

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) is the leading international body representing the interests of library and information services and their users. It is the global voice of the library and information profession, with more than 1,300 members in 140 countries worldwide. The headquarters is based in The Hague, Netherlands.

“We hope that libraries around the world will learn from and be inspired by these award winners,” says Anya Feltreuter, chair of the IFLA Section on Management and Marketing. “With such diversity of projects and campaigns, we think most library organisations can find something useful regardless of their budget size or target audience.”

As the leading digital and print-on-demand newspaper and magazine platform, PressReader (about.pressreader.com/) helps IFLA to recognize and support creative, inspired, results-oriented marketing campaigns. In addition to sponsoring the 1st, 2nd and 3rd  place awards, PressReader is proud to provide the top 10 winners with an exclusive one-year VIP account with PressReader.

“In spite of the myriad challenges experienced over the last year, libraries worldwide showed remarkable resilience and adaptivity in the wake of sudden-lockdowns”, says James Fairbotham, Senior Area Manager, EMEA - Libraries, PressReader. “The exceptional measures libraries embraced ensured the continuation of services for their patrons. As with any challenge, however, comes great innovation and creativity, and this is certainly exemplified by this year’s award recipients. Congratulations to the winning libraries and all those that participated.”

Along with the top three winners, the next seven organizations and their marketing campaigns are recognized for their innovative and creative approaches to marketing (in alphabetical order):

Centralized Library System of Moscow District (Russia): “Big Bang” Exhibition Space

www.cbs-msk.ru

 

Ghana Book Development Council (Ghana): Learn to Read; Read to Learn

facebook.com/gbdc.moe

 

Morgantown Public Library (USA): A Wild and Weird Calendar Fundraiser: Raising Money for a Good Claws

mympls.org/CALENDAR/

 

Pikes Peak Library District (USA): All You Need Is Your Library

ppld.org/MyLibrary

 

Public Library Cultural Center (Colombia): Maker20 – Communication in the Library has no limits!

facebook.com/BiblioCentroCulturalC20

 

Shanghai Library (China): My Battle against Covid-19, Online Pop Up Reading Marathon

library.sh.cn

 

Wenzhou Library (China): The Comics of Wenzhou Library

wzlib.cn (official website not accessible in all countries; for more info, visit their Wikipedia page)

 

Media inquiries:

Jeremiah Walter, IFLA Management & Marketing Information Coordinator JWalter@ppld.org

Eva Wu, PressReader, evaw@pressreader.com

 

About PressReader

PressReader is on a mission to improve the way people discover stories that matter to them. With offices in Vancouver, Dublin and Manila, the company provides the largest all-you-can-read platform of newspapers and magazines where people can discover relevant and trusted content from anywhere in the world, and read global titles like The Guardian, The Independent, Los Angeles Times, and Le Figaro.

Using their phone, tablet or computer, readers can browse content online or download entire issues using the PressReader app. They can subscribe for unlimited access, or get the full experience sponsored by one of its brand partners, businesses that leverage the premium content platform to enhance their customers’ experience – household names like British Airways, Turkish Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Air Canada, Marriott, Fairmont Hotels, Seabourn Cruise Lines, Princeton University, and the New York Public Library.

The key theme of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda is “Leaving No-one Behind”; the pandemic has highlighted the urgency of addressing disproportionate barriers and disparities that various minority groups are experiencing. An IFLA input to a United Nations Human Rights Council consultation examines the role of access to information in facilitating minority rights within the sustainable development context, and ways that libraries support it.

A recent call for inputs by the UN Human Rights Council centred on the persistent issues of discrimination, exclusion and marginalisation experienced by various national, linguistic, ethnic and religious minorities. From outsized negative impacts of nascent technology trends on specific groups to more severe health outcomes and disproportionate economic impacts from COVID-19 pandemic response measures, it is now as crucial as ever to accelerate efforts to address these disparities.

The consultation aims to look at these inequalities through the lens of sustainable social and economic development. Drawing on the library field’s experiences with leveraging access to information as a key driver of development, this submission discusses:

Inequalities in access to information experienced by ethnic religious, linguistic and national minorities:

• Unequal access to ICT and connectivity
• A lack of access to relevant content, particularly for linguistic minorities; and disparities in access amnd representation in media
• Inequalities in access to information which enables use of key services, the realisation of fundamental rights, and overall wellbeing

Good practices from the library field which seek to address these disparities:

• Tailored initiatives to meet the information needs of specific minority groups
• Access to educational and cultural materials
• Initiatives that facilitate access to learning opportunities, inclusion and empowerment.

You can access the submission on the publications page.

The key theme of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda is “Leaving No-one Behind”; the pandemic has highlighted the urgency of addressing disproportionate barriers and disparities that various minority groups are experiencing. An IFLA input to a United Nations Human Rights Council consultation examines the role of access to information in facilitating minority rights within the sustainable development context, and ways that libraries support it.

A recent call for inputs by the UN Human Rights Council centred on the persistent issues of discrimination, exclusion and marginalisation experienced by various national, linguistic, ethnic and religious minorities. From outsized negative impacts of nascent technology trends on specific groups to more severe health outcomes and disproportionate economic impacts from COVID-19 pandemic response measures, it is now as crucial as ever to accelerate efforts to address these disparities.

The consultation aims to look at these inequalities through the lens of sustainable social and economic development. Drawing on the library field’s experiences with leveraging access to information as a key driver of development, this submission discusses:

Inequalities in access to information experienced by ethnic religious, linguistic and national minorities:

• Unequal access to ICT and connectivity
• A lack of access to relevant content, particularly for linguistic minorities; and disparities in access amnd representation in media
• Inequalities in access to information which enables use of key services, the realisation of fundamental rights, and overall wellbeing

Good practices from the library field which seek to address these disparities:

• Tailored initiatives to meet the information needs of specific minority groups
• Access to educational and cultural materials
• Initiatives that facilitate access to learning opportunities, inclusion and empowerment.

You can access the submission on the publications page.

In particular, we show filmstrips to children as part of our entertaining and learning activities Miracles of Fairytales. Meetings for children from age 4 to 8 last 50 minutes each and take place four times a month.

At the meetings children train their main soft skills: memory, attention, develop imagination and communication skills, independence and creative thinking.

This short video about the program at RSLYA is a good example for spreading an inspiring idea throughout the library field. Do you have an idea you want to share with your colleagues around the world? Here is your chance!

If you want to join the Best Practices Project of the IFLA Section Libraries for Children and Young Adults, please meet the following conditions:

1. Make your own video for the project about one interesting program of your library aimed at children and/or young adults.
2. The video must be about 3-5 minutes. But not longer than 5 minutes!
3. The language for all videos is English. Don’t worry if English is not your first language – watch the other videos on our channel!
4. The video must start with a logo screen. You can download it here.
5. Please send a link to the video via this form.  

Library and Research Services for Parliaments Section will conduct a Standing Committee Open Meeting on June 25, 2021. The virtual meeting will be held  via Zoom:

June 26th, 2021, 08h00 Montréal (check what time this is for you) [PLEASE NOTE THIS DATE CHANGE!!]

Join Zoom meeting: https://zoom.us/j/93190506350

• Meeting ID: 931 9050 6350

• Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/aS18CSkaX

In June 2019, the European Union’s Digital Single Market Directive entered into force. This Directive contains several articles dedicated to cultural institutions such as libraries, archives, museums and research and educational institutions.  7 June 2021 marks the deadline for the transposition (i.e. making the necessary changes in national law) of the Directive for the European Union’s Member States, although it is one that all but a small number will miss, taking the transposition process to extra time.

 

What does the Directive contain and why does it matter for libraries? 

 

The Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (DCDSM) sets out a number of goals Member States should achieve, but leaves them some flexibility in how they get there. This means that the legal texts leave room for countries to organize themselves nationally while respecting the European Directive.

 

A number of the articles in DCDSM aim to address specific needs of cultural institutions such as libraries, archives, museums and educational and research institutions. They allow the creation of the legal procedure to identify what is legal, what is not, the procedures to remunerate the creators fairly.

 

• Articles 3 and 4 - Text and Data Mining
• Article 5 - Use of Works in Teaching Activities
• Article 6 - Preservation of Cultural Heritage
• Article 7 - Contract Override and Technological Protection Measures
• Articles 8 - 11 - Out-of-Commerce Works
• Article 14 - Works of Visual Art in the Public Domain
• Article 15 - Press Publishers Right
• Article 17 - Use of Protected content by online content-sharing service providers.

If you want to know more, discover our guidelines. 

 

Countries on the finish line and those playing overtime

 

Only 3 countries, The Netherlands, Germany and Hungary, have already transposed the full Directive before the deadline. The Netherlands was the most reactive team in this process, followed by Hungary. 

 

Germany mobilised towards the end of the time limit, while other countries started to transpose articles sporadically: France validated articles 15 and 17 of the Directive in record time, even ahead of the publication of Guidance by the European Commission giving recommendations on the latter article (EU’s recommendations).

 

Many countries have admitted that they are going into extra time on the transposition field, with more time needed for  the parliamentary process (Croatia, Estonia, Italy), studying final drafts laws (Finland, Slovenia, Romania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Lithuania, Denmark, Slovakia), or preparing pre-drafts (Greece, Latvia, Malta, Norway, Poland, Spain and Sweden), while some are not yet on the field (Portugal).

 

When will the game end?

 

It is not yet clear how much more time countries will need to complete transposition. In particular, some countries that have rushed to implement Article 17 may have to rethink their plans in the light of the Commission’s guidance.

 

IFLA will remain vigilant and assist its members in the remaining consultations.

 

Even in those countries which have already passed laws, there may well be more to do, for example in passing regulations to provide necessary details, as well as the practicalities of implementing the new rules. 

 

One piece of this puzzle has fallen into place today, at least, with the the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) launching its new portal for non-commercial works which you can find here.

 

Library Services to People with Special Needs Section is pleased to announce the publication of the section’s brochure in Croatian.  It was translated under the direction of Maela Rakocevic Uvodic and joins 10 other translations of the brochure.  It can be found at:  IFLA — Library Services to People with Special Needs (LSN) Section Brochure

Thanks to all of the contributors who made these translations possible.

The Conference of Parties to the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (2005 Convention) held their biannual meeting last week. IFLA attended as an observer, underlining the importance of showing culture's contribution to development, and promoting equitable access for all.

While the Parties themselves are national governments, the Convention recognises the fundamental role of civil society in protecting and promoting the diversity of cultural expressions. Parties are therefore committed to encourage the active participation of civil society in their work to implement the Convention. Part of this engagement is the biannual Civil Society Forum, the third edition of which was held on 31 May.

Civil Society Forum Outcomes

IFLA took a central role in this year’s Civil Society Forum, namely in the following thematic breakout sessions:

• Culture and sustainable development – building on the work of IFLA and partners towards upholding culture as the fourth pillar of sustainable development.
• Digital environment, rights, and trade – upholding the importance of meaningful access to information in both the creation of and access to cultural expressions.

The outcome of the Civil Society Forum was a list of recommendations representing the perspective of civil society, which were presented to the Conference of Parties on 2 June. Several of these recommendations to the Parties align closely with areas of IFLA’s work:

• Incorporate culture and creative industries explicitly into the plans, instruments and reporting mechanisms (Voluntary National Reviews and Voluntary Local Reviews) around the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs. See more on how libraries engage in VNRs here.
• Fully seize the opportunity to build back better, designing policies that allow culture and creative industries to fulfil their role as the fourth pillar of sustainable development. See more on IFLA’s position on culture at the heart of the COVID-19 response here. 
• Pave the way at international level for the inclusion of a goal on culture in the post 2030 international debate on sustainable development, based on the evidence collected through UNESCO, regional, national and local authorities, civil society, academia and the private sector. See the report on Culture in the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda here.
• Take note of the best practices observed by civil society while implementing the UNESCO Open Roadmap for Implementation of the Convention in the Digital Environment. See more on how libraries help bridge the digital divide here: Leveraging Public Access to Connect Underserved Users - IFLA@WSIS 2021.
• Further use the Internet Universality indicators to ensure meaningful access to cultural content. See IFLA’s briefing on UNESCO's Internet Universality Indicators here.

The Forum further recommended that all stakeholders acknowledge that cultural participation, a vibrant and inclusive cultural life in communities, and access to culture represent a precondition to achieve all Sustainable Development Goals.

 

Engaging Further

The Conference of Parties called for all Parties to take steps towards creating national plans to protect and promote cultural diversity in the digital environment. As stated in the Convention’s Operational Guidelines for Implementation in the Digital Environment, this includes such activities as:

• encouraging the implementation of digital preservation measures and the development of infrastructure to ensure universal and continuous access to cultural content
• ensuring access to cultural content by suppling the necessary digital equipment to public institutions such as schools, libraries and cultural centers
• setting up programmes for digital literacy, public education and awareness on using the Internet and on mastering digital tools

Parties are further invited to highlight such efforts in their periodic reports, to which civil society actors are encouraged to contribute.

Libraries can play an important role in helping to bridge the digital divide, transfer digital skills, and enable meaningful access to help protect and promote cultural diversity in the digital environment.

What you can do: Email your national point-of-contact and ask to discuss how your library’s activities may be able to contribute to the next annual report. IFLA can help with this.

Do you have experience and stories that can help build a strong body of evidence on how libraries promote and protect diverse cultural expressions – both traditionally and in the digital environment?

Let us know!Share with: claire.mcguire@ifla.org

Find out more about the 2005 Convention here.

You are invited to attend the 13th Conference of the Association of Parliamentary Librarians of Asia and the Pacific (APLAP) on 15-17 June 2021 from 1:00 - 5:00 p.m (Philippine Standard Time/UTC+8) via Zoom.
 
The conference aims to assist in the development of parliamentary libraries and research services units in the region by providing a venue for participants to share their knowledge and experiences, and discuss new developments in support of the expansion of innovative practices and processes. This year's conference is open to parliamentary librarians who are non-APLAP members.

 This conference is free of charge and e-certificates will be provided. Kindly confirm your participation by 8 June 2021 at this link.