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.

Library and Research Services for Parliaments Section has launched a second survey on service operations during the COVID-19 global pandemic. The first survey was conducted in 2020 and the results were presented in December 2020. 

This second survey is open now and will remain open to 30 June 2021. Parliamentary libraries and research services are encouraged to participate.  Please see this link for more details.

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The 2021-2023 IFLA Professional Council, responsible for guiding and supporting the work of IFLA's Professional Structure, has been elected by its Members and Officers.

Professional Division Committee Chairs (formerly Division Chairs) take on an expanded leadership role of direct support and coaching to ensure success and to increase the profile of the Professional Structure's committees and their work.

An exciting change in accordance with IFLA’s new governance structure, are the eight new Professional Division Committees.  The Chairs of these Professional Division Committees will bring together and lead Officers of 6-8 Professional Units, as they develop resources in response to the professional and practical needs of their library sectors.

Taking up their roles after our General Assembly in August, they will play a key role in delivering on the IFLA Strategy 2019-2024, in particular by strengthening the library field – and IFLA’s work – at the professional level.

I am happy to announce that the candidates below (in alphabetical order) have duly been elected, in accordance with IFLA’s rules:

Professional Council Chair

Adjoa Boateng (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)

Professional Division Committee Chairs

• Dilara Begum (Bangladesh)
• Camille Callison (Canada)
• Man Yi Helen Chan (China)
• Patrick Danowski (Austria)

• Anoja Fernando (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)
• Te Paea Paringatai (New Zealand)
• Jan Richards (Australia)
• Leslie Weir (Canada)

 

See more: IFLA Elections 2021 results

Information on the allocation of the Division Committees to specific Chairs will be published at a later date.

Thank you to all Professional Division Officers and Division Chairs who nominated to serve in these positions, for your commitment to IFLA and continued service to the profession. My congratulations to those elected – we look forward to working alongside you in support of IFLA's goal of building a strong and united global library field.

Gerald Leitner
Secretary General
The Hague, The Netherlands
4 June 2021

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Inspired by the IFLA Strategy, the IFLA Asia and Oceania Section (IFLA AO Section) is bringing the profile of libraries in Asia and Oceania to a new level, with a dynamic focus on advocacy around the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).

Closely aligned to IFLA Key Initiative 1.1 “Show the power of libraries in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals", the IFLA AO Section organised a webinar on “Libraries and the SDGs” and a complete makeover of the IFLA Asia & Oceania Regional Newsletter, both of which were enthusiastically welcomed by the library community regionally and internationally.

 

IFLA Asia-Oceania Regional Webinar on Libraries & the SDGs

The Library and Information Association of New Zealand (LIANZA) hosted a mid-term virtual event for the Asia and Oceania Section's Standing Committee at the National Library of New Zealand.

The 2-hour event ‘Libraries and the SDGs’ saw great success with guest speakers from the USA, Singapore, India, Fiji and New Zealand, and registrants from a wide range of countries across the region. The webinar highlighted the 17 interlinked Global Goals which serve as our “collective blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all”.

It showcased grass-roots SDG stories from libraries regardless of their locality, size or resource level and provided practical examples of how libraries contribute to attaining the SDGs. Lively discussion ensued in the ‘question and answer’ session.

Felicity Benjes, a staff member of the National Library of New Zealand gave a personal perspective on the event:

I confess I didn’t know much about the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) other than that they existed, and that New Zealand was involved in contributing to them. I was expecting to hear how these were being achieved at a very high-level, perhaps describing international leadership and inter-government support programmes.

In reality, the stories told were grass-roots examples which brought to life the way libraries are contributing in very real ways to the SDGs through serving their communities. There was a project to save bats in Alaska, salary negotiation boot camps for women in New York, the recording of stories, voices, and traditional clothing of the Punjab community in Auckland.

Professor Ramesh Gaur told us of the Accessible Online Book Library in India which provides free access to over 1 million books for people with visual impairment. Those were just a few of the inspiring practical examples reported.”​

Read more information on the webinar here.

Read the brief report on the webinar here and here.

 

Watch the recorded event on the LIANZA YouTube channel.

  IFLA Asia & Oceania Regional Newsletter

Last week, the Section published its latest Asia & Oceania Regional Newsletter, which included a dozen tangible examples of how the UN SDGs are used in everyday library work. These, along with other regional news, can be found in a newsletter waiting to be discovered by the worldwide library community. Not to be missed!

It is wonderful work done by IFLA's Regional Office for Asia and Oceania.

Check the newsletter here.

Soh Lin Li, Regional Manager of the IFLA Regional Office for Asia and Oceania, and Tina Yang, Chair of the IFLA Regional Standing Committee of Asia and Oceania, co-highlighted their emphasis on SDG work:

We are excited to work on the UN SDGs in our region; both the Office and the wider Asia and Oceania region believe that we have a lot to showcase and offer to the world as examples.

Alongside this, we are heading towards a makeover of the Regional Section due to the newly formed Asia and Oceania Regional Division Committee. Moreover, we’ll be hosting an SDG-focused session at the upcoming virtual WLIC 2021, so do not miss an opportunity to stay connected with the work of our region, past-present-future.”​

What's coming next

As a basis for effective library advocacy, the AO Section Standing Committee is currently working on the production of a high-quality, high-impact tool in the form of a case-studies booklet to demonstrate to external audiences the contribution of libraries to development in all its dimensions. The aim is to provide at least one case study for each of the 17 SDGs. Members of the Section Standing Committee will contribute case studies from their country, detailing the activity and its impact.

In line with the IFLA WLIC 2021 theme "Let's work together for the future", the IFLA AO Section invites speakers to share the initiatives undertaken by libraries in Asia and Oceania to support the SDGs. The speakers will bring forth projects and activities carried out by libraries or in partnership with libraries, addressing community needs and making a significant impact on the life of their community at local, national, and regional levels. This will provide an insight to others from beyond the region to explore the various SDG-related projects and activities that are in place within Asia and Oceania.

 

Follow the IFLA Asia and Oceania Section online

• ifla.org/asia-and-oceania
• Facebook
• Twitter

 

Read more about the IFLA Strategy 2019-2024

How is your library or library association engaging with the IFLA Strategy? Let us know! Post on your social media, using the hashtag #IFLAStrategy and #WeAreIFLA or send an email to Despina Gerasimidou, IFLA’s Strategic Development Officer at despina.gerasimidou@ifla.org.

 

      

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We're live! The World Library and information Congress 2021 platform is now open.

Visit www.ifla-wlic2021.com

IFLA WLIC 2021 will be held across three days - Tuesday, 17 August to Thursday, 19 August, spanning three time zones. On the website, you'll find information about the theme and subthemes and of course, how to register and take advantage of the Early Bird rates. IFLA has lowered its fees to widen inclusivity and encourage the broadest possible attendance to its first virtual conference.

This year, IFLA is providing a World Library and Information Congress (WLIC) experience like never before. We invite you to take advantage of this exceptional opportunity. Be a part of this unique event to connect with colleagues and internationalise your professional perspective.

Our industry partners can read about opportunities to sponsor and exhibit at the conference. The sponsorship booklet is now available and offers an array of options to showcase products and services and embrace a global audience.

Sign up to our IFLA WLIC Newsletter to receive regular updates on sessions, speakers and more.

Kind regards,

Gerald Leitner
Secretary General
The Hague, Netherlands
3 June 2021

These tables and graphics are updated to include all 48 NBR profiles and their latest updates, and are available at the bottom of the NBR page.

NBR sections covered in the tables include:

1. Identification, History, Size

3. Organisation & Administration

4. Online Services

5. Pricing & Licensing

6. Standards

The graphics file includes a map of the bibliographies contributing to the NBR, and pie charts or bar charts illustrating data from the related tables.

A recent report from Denmark has shone a new light on the different ways in which public libraries make a difference to people's lives, and how we can measure this. We interviewed Christian Lauersen, Director, Roskilde Library, to find out more.

Being able to understand and demonstrate impact is not only important for advocacy, it's also crucial if we want to know whether what we are doing is working. Yet while data about usage can offer some insights, it is often harder to build an idea of the difference being made to people's lives.  

In the below interview, Christian explains the results of his work with Seismonaut to carry out research into how users are benefitting from libraries in their daily lives. Find out more on Christian's own website and on Twitter.

IFLA: What are the merits and limits of current indicators, such as footfall in libraries or numbers of loans?

Christian Lauersen: I’ve been accused of disliking statistics and data because of this impact study, but that is not the case.

Key figures like lending numbers and foot traffic in libraries are great at saying something about the use of libraries which obvious is important knowledge but they come short when you want to look at the value and impact the public library gives individuals and communities.

So I use statistics and data on usage a lot in my daily work but they don’t give me the full picture of the difference we make in our communities -  we cannot see the role libraries play in fighting inequality, polarization and loneliness from a spreadsheet. We cannot see the impact a shared reading sessions at a library has on a kid from the number of kids who attended. We need insights and understandings beyond usage to have a sound and constructive debate about why libraries matters and how we should shape them to lift future challenges.

What was the genesis of your study?

In Denmark the public library is quite often debated publicly. This is important and basically healthy – no debate would indicate that people didn’t care about the library and our role and purpose being in the spotlight of various opinions is what fosters progress and critical thoughts about the work we do.

The problem is that the debate often finds fuel in the context of key figures of usage like lending numbers, foot traffic etc. or by ‘experts’ and other ‘opinion makers’ that have some thoughts to share. Both statistics and the opinion of experts are very welcome in the debate about the public library, but I always thought something very important was missing in that picture; the only reason that we have public libraries - the citizens and communities we serve. 

We take the ‘public’ in the public library very seriously and wanted to expand the language about the value and impact of the public library by putting the citizens at the centre of the discussion. 

How well do you see the results supporting the argument that libraries have become spaces for creativity and community, as well as safe and quiet spaces, focused on information?

Very well. The study shows that the public library has a very diverse impact on citizens ranging exactly from a haven in everyday life where one find time for one selves to places that sparks creativity and community. 

To citizens, the public library supports creativity and are a source of inspiration, helps stimulate the imagination, and motivates people to try new things and acquire new skills. At the same time they help form and maintain com­munity, both directly – by being a place where you can meet and experience togetherness with each other – as well indirectly by citizens looking at libraries as communal property in society.

Public libraries are places where you learn to take care of society in a concrete, materialistic sense by taking care of the materials you borrow, the newspapers you read and the facilities you use.

We talk a lot about libraries providing skills, as well as information. Is this borne out by the results?

I think so yes. Libraries are not only storage houses for information – they link free and equal access to information and cultural activity with different kinds of literacy and skills that empower citizens and communities.

A great example on this in the study is the significance of the impact of the perspective that public libraries provide as a credible communicator of knowledge that give citizens an enlightened and critical perspective on life, and the impact of creativity where citizens find the public library a source of inspiration that stimulates users' imagination and can also help motivate users to try something new and acquire new skills

Similarly, there’s a lot of focus on libraries as places for community and creativity, as well as having more traditional roles as a haven where you can find information. What do the results say about this?

The results say that citizens embrace and value the different roles that libraries take, and also say that the individual might change the purpose and the use of the library over years.

What has been learnt by looking individually at collections, events, buildings and staff?

Overall that these services of public libraries are complementary and affect people and communities in many ways.

Looking more individually at the impact of collections, events, buildings and staff, the study shows that the collection is the most-used library service and is especially impactful on users as a source of new knowledge and information. In addition, the collection gives users a sense of well-being to a great extent.

It shows that participating in public library events is very important and that citizens find that these events are highly impactful across many different parameters. However, the events especially matter in relation to building stronger community, and are rated much higher on this aspect than other library services are.

The libraries’ physical facilities have a varied level of impact on their users. In addition to creating a space for concentration and immersion, the facilities also contribute to the users’ well-being, creativity and the ability to reflect. Furthermore, these facilities also create a truly special atmosphere, according to the users.

Interactions with public library staff are highly impactful on library users, and in more ways than one might assume. Staff guidance is impactful in terms of the users’ search for information and relevant readings, but it also contributes to community, conversations, immersion and new motivation.  

The work also engages with non-users – what lessons do you get from surveying them?

On a general note I think it is extremely important that we reach out to current non-users when we make studies on public libraries – libraries serve communities and not only those who use them, so non-users are important voices.

The study reveals that being a non-user is not a static term. A non-user may have used a public library in the past and/or expect to use one in the future, and that has great value. We often have an understanding that you are either a user of libraries or you are not, but reality is more nuanced than that. The study shows that 96.5 % of Danish citizens have used a library, are using a library or are expecting to use a library in the future and it depends on needs and life situations wither they will use it.

In other words even though citizens might not use a library right now they still value having libraries in their community because they are expecting to use them sometime in the future e.g. when they have kids, start to study, get a new hobby, retire etc.      

The survey also asked about the value of libraries at a time of growing use of online entertainment such as Netflix. Is there good news?

I’m not sure why growing use of online entertainment should be labelled either ‘good news’ or ‘bad news’ in the context of libraries. General media usage is important for libraries in terms of knowledge for development, collaboration and so on but I don’t think it is libraries’ responsibility to point out growing use of Netflix as a bad thing for libraries or communities.

Anyhow the study shows that 4 out of 5 citizens believe that public libraries still have relevance today despite the rise of digital services such as Spotify and Netflix and this is also linked with the finding that the vast majority of citizens in Denmark believe that public libraries are important because they offer free and equal access to knowledge and culture – online entertainment is not free and equal - and the impact of libraries being places of trust.

In an age where it is difficult to distin­guish information from misinformation, it is of great impor­tance to citizens that the public library curates and disseminates knowledge and information - physically and digitally     

What sort of reactions have you had from colleagues and others?

I’m stoked by how much positive feedback we have got on this work, both from the sector but also from a lot of people outside the sector as well as media and politicians. What really thrills me is that I can see that other libraries and cultural institutions adopt the logic and method of the study to look at value and impact of libraries to citizens locally and in different aspects – e.g. the impact of collaboration with schools   

How can these results be used in convincing decision-makers of the importance of libraries?

By putting the findings in the context of society and communities. A library is not an end in itself – it is way to empower people, make communities stronger and a solution to some of the problems and challenges that societies face. It is the same with the findings in this work; they are only interesting in the context of society and the answers and opportunities that they point at for citizens and communities.

When we look at the growing problem with loneliness in society, we now have citizens’ words and opinion that public libraries foster community and togetherness, so how can that knowledge be a part of different solutions? If we discuss the challenge of misinformation, fake news and social media echo chambers it is highly relevant that we now know that citizens find the public library to be a place where you can trust what you see and hear

What can be done with these results in terms of your own programming?

First of all, the results have raised awareness of what is really important for citizens and how it affects them, and especially the impact from collections and events; these will be used to shape and develop what we do.

Second it will be used to improve the way we talk about the things we do. We also sometimes gets happy if we get a full house at an event and then forget to focus on the impact we wanted to create or that we have created. You are always more satisfied if 50 people come instead of 15 but what it the event changed the life of 7 out of the 15? Should we not be extremely happy and proud about that?

What lessons does this work offer for libraries elsewhere in the world?

Hopefully it has a huge potential to put citizens and communities at the centre of both studies and language about the impact and value of libraries. I truly hope many libraries across the world will adopt parts of the findings, design and method to create new studies, new insights and a new global language and understanding of the impact of public libraries

IFLA Environment, Sustainability and Libraries (ENSULIB) and Preservation & Conservation Sections held a joint webinalr on May 6 2021.

"Environmentally Inspring and Engaging Buildings, Research, Education and Library Services"

Video recording is now available at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei_UBo4uQ84

 

An exciting innovation in IFLA’s new governance structures will be our new Regional Division Committees for Asia-Oceania, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, North America and Sub-Saharan Africa.

These will bring together representatives in each of these six world regions in order to support the development and delivery of action plans that respond to the needs of their library fields, in particular around strengthening advocacy for libraries.

Taking up their roles after our General Assembly in August, they will play a key role in delivering on the IFLA Strategy 2019-2024, in particular by strengthening the library field – and IFLA’s work – at the regional level.

Find out more about the role of IFLA’s Regional Division Committees.

I am happy to announce that the below candidates (in alphabetical order) have duly been elected, in accordance with IFLA’s rules, and reflecting the caps on numbers of representatives per country. Those regions with fewer than 15 candidates will subsequently be able to co-opt additional members.

Each Committee will subsequently be asked to elect a Chair, who will also represent them on IFLA’s new Regional Council, which will be chaired itself by Nthabiseng Kotoskoane (South Africa).

Asia-Oceania Regional Division Committee

• Al Mamun, M. (Bangladesh)
• Augias, Christophe (New Caledonia)
• Begum, Dilara (Bangladesh)
• Che Nasir, Nor Edzan (Malaysia)
• Chen, Ying (China)
• Cokanawai, Tulia (Fiji)
• Gamage, Premila (Sri Lanka)
• Helieisar, Atarino (Micronesia (Federated States of))
• Iwasaki, Rei (Japan)
• Kar, Debal Chandra (India)

• Lapuz, Elvira (Philippines)
• Mamtora, Jayshree (Australia)
• Nakaora, Nina (Fiji)
• Nomura, Misako (Japan)
• Roberts, Winston (New Zealand)
• Tan, Gene, Hwee Yong (Singapore)
• Tunupopo, Avalogo Togi (Samoa)
• Weber-Beard,Sabine (New Zealand)
• Yang, Tao (China)
• Zain, Labibah (Indonesia)

  Europe Regional Division Committee

• Alvandian, Laurie (Armenia)
• Blin, Frédéric (France)
• Bording Andersen, Steen (Denmark)
• Çimen, Ertugrul (Turkey)
• Duda, Vadim (Russian Federation)
• Frey, Jeannette (Switzerland)
• Glossiotis, Georgios (Greece)
• Gruszkowski, Tomasz (Poland)
• Hajdu Barát, Ágnes (Hungary)
• Hamilton, Stuart (Ireland)

• Holcer, Dunja Croatia)
• Hopkins, Marcie (United Kingdom)
• Klauser, Hella (Germany)
• Lammens, Sara (Belgium)
• Linder, Karin (Sweden)
• Ninkov, Jasmina (Serbia)
• Parise, Stefano (Italy)
• Sellés Carot, Alicia (Spain)
• Simonishvili, Maia (Georgia)
• Stasselová, Silvia (Slovakia)

  Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Division Committee

• Cabrera Portillo, Evangelina (Paraguay)
• Castro Moreno, Marisela (Mexico)
• Ferrari, Adriana Cybele (Brazil)
• Fuentes Martinez, Maria Angelica (Chile)
• Guzmán Muñoz, Ruth J. (Costa Rica)
• Lacorazza, María Silvia (Argentina)
• Lebrón Ramos, Jeannette (Puerto Rico)
• Maigua, Verónica (Ecuador)
• Menjivar Pleitez, Jonathan Ernesto (El Salvador)
• Moisés Kroll do Prado, Jorge (Brazil)

• Morales Bellido, Hugo (Bolivia (Plurinational State of))
• Quirós, Micdonia (Panama)
• Rodríguez, Karla (Costa Rica)
• Santa, Alejandro Lorenzo César (Argentina)
• Seroubian, Mabel (Uruguay)
• Torres Vargas, Georgina Araceli (Mexico)
• Vélez, Alejandra (Colombia)
• Vergara, Carmen Elena (Colombia)
• Viciedo Valdes, Miguel (Cuba)
• Zucchini Almorón, Fabrizzio Javier (Paraguay)

  Middle-East and North Africa Regional Division Committee

• Al Shawabkeh, Younis (Jordan)
• Abushulaibi, Eman (United Arab Emirates)
• Albayati, Faiza, (Iraq)

• Aljabri, Saif (Oman)
• Bachir, Imad (Lebanon)
• Ismail, Heba (Egypt)
• Kuwari, Abeer (Qatar)

  North America Regional Division Committee

• De Castell, Christina (Canada)
• Ghafouti, Loubna (Canada)
• Hervieux, Sandy (Canada)
• Huang, Michael (United States of America)
• Jefferson Jr, Julius C. (United States of America)
• Kear, Robin (United States of America)
• Koen, Diane (Canada)
• Lannon, Amber (Canada)
• Lasda, Elaine (United States of America)
• Lewis, Vivian (Canada)
• Manganiello, Francesco (Canada)

• Mering, Margaret (United States of America)
• Mitchell, Shawn (Canada)
• Paiva, Marie (United States of America)
• Sapon-White, Richard (United States of America)
• Scheeder, Donna (United States of America)
• Shuva, Nafiz (Canada)
• Tabb, Winston (United States of America)
• Thibault, Nathalie (Canada)
• Zhang, Ying (United States of America)

  Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Division Committee

• Chibanda, Nyarai (Zimbabwe)
• Hagwelele, Allen (Zambia)
• Kaddu, Sarah (Uganda)
• Kavuri, Purity (Kenya)
• Kinyanjui, Mary (Kenya)
• Lebele, Ayanda (Botswana)

• Magocha, Bongiwe (Botswana)
• Nalumaga, Ruth (Uganda)
• Ndiaye, Mandiaye (Senegal)
• Norbert, Tangmo (Cameroon)
• Osuchukwu, Ngozi (Nigeria)
• Oyedele, Damilare (Nigeria)

 

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
1 June 2021

The pandemic has underlined the importance of access to information for all, but at the same time, the risks of misinformation. Libraries have a huge potential to contribute, as highlighted in a webinar organised by participants in the IFLA-Goethe Institut Emerging International Voices Programme.

Already in the early weeks of the pandemic, senior officials at the World Health Organization and elsewhere were talking about the risks of an infodemic.

Tackling this, they argued, needed to be a priority, in order to prevent misinformation from weakening the impact of policies and initiatives designed to slow or stop the spread of the pandemic.

A key part of the response to misinformation circulating is the provision of high-quality, easily accessible facts, based on research, something that the open access movement looks to ensure. However, open access publishing is not universal, and the simple availability of reliable information does not guarantee that it is used.

These are the challenges that participants in the Emerging International Voices webinar looked to address on 26 May. The Emerging International Voices programme is a joint initiative of the Goethe-Institut and IFLA, designed to support promising new professionals in the library field to build their experience and reach.

Introductory words came from IFLA Secretary-General Gerald Leitner, who underlined the need to provide positive solutions to cerns about infodemics, and Brigitte Döllgast, Head of the Library at the Goethe-Institut, who welcomed the ongoing engagement of the participants.

Following this, five speakers from around the world offered their perspectives.

Tina Purnat, WHO highlighted the scale and threat of the infodemic, and the need to act to counter its impact. She underlined the need for people to develop good information hygiene, alongside personal hygiene, in order to keep themselves and those around them safer, with libraries able to play a key role.

Victor Ejechi, StatiSense, Nigeria, urged participants to develop the right instincts when receiving information, and to be ready to check on other sources. Libraries were well placed to support this, but in turn required support and training to do so effectively.

Dr Feda Kulenovic, University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Hercegovina, focused on the role of libraries in being proactive in getting information into the hands of users. They could be a sort of hactivist, shaping the policies and infrastructure that determine how information is produced, shared and accessed.

Professor Yasar Tonta, Haceteppe University, Turkey stressed how libraries can go beyond just checking facts on behalf of others to developing the skills in among users to be their own fact-checkers, ready to deal with new information. This provided, also, a more sustainable, long-term solution.

Finally, Dr Dasapta Erwin Irawan, Universiti Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia, emphasised that for open access to be truly universal, and so provide relevant opportunities and information for all, there needed to be a meeting point between different models of creation, sharing and assessment. Through this, we can support the drive to make more relevant information available for all.

A lively discussion at the end, drawing on questions from the audience, helped reinforce the importance of focusing on building individual skills, rather than trying to censor individual items of misinformation.

Participants nonetheless raised the question of what changes may be needed to the way in which information is shared, and in particular the risk of distortion by commercial interests. A more publicly-orientated information infrastructure could help re-promote freedoms.

Furthermore, panellists also highlighted the need for investment in this infrastructure – both libraries themselves and their staff, and the tools needed to promote open access for all.

Thanks go to the Emerging International Voices team who organised the webinar: Nilay Cevher, Damilare Oyedele, Madiareni Suleiman, Rita Aleixo, Ejla Curovac, and Naomi Smith, as well as to the Goethe-Institut.

You can view the webinar on YouTube. Find out more about the Emerging International Voices programme.

IFLA Environment, Sustainability and Libraries (ENSULIB) and Preservation & Conservation (P&C) Sections joint webinar on 6 May 2021

 

 

"Environmentally Inspiring and Engaging Buildings, Research, Education and Library Services"

 

The recording is available now

https://youtu.be/Ei_UBo4uQ84

 

 

Our speakers presented papers on a wide range of sustainability and library issues, such as environmentally sustainable libraries and library services, sustainable library and LIS projects, library educational programs, and sustainable technologies (both digital and physical) for library material preservation and conservation.

 

Level of interaction: Webinar - discussion with Q&A

 

Speakers:

Fenella G France Ph.D., MBA FAIC & Andrew Forsberg, Library of Congress, USA

 

Giuseppe Vitiello, European Bureau of Library, Information and Documentation Associations (EBLIDA)

 

Leo F.H. Ma, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, China

 

Muhammad Sajid Mirza Ph.D., Islamic Research Institute, International Islamic University, Pakistan

 

Leonor Gaspar Pinto & Paula Ochoa, Centro de Humanidades, Portugal

 

Laurie Kutner, Howe Library, University of Vermont, USA

 

Elaine Harrington & John Hough, University College Cork, Ireland

 

Minna Männikkö, Oulu City Library, Finland

 

Duration of event: 120 Minutes

 

Language(s) subtitling and translations available: English with subtitles in the event language

 

Accessibility: Live AI Closed Captioning and transcription

On 26 May 2021, IFLA Division IV – Support of the Profession and SET held the second webinar in the “Webinar Series for Library and Information Science Students”. May’s theme was “Projects in the Libraries – Ideas, Innovations, Initiatives”.

It was an honor for Division IV, as well as for LIS students, to have Erik Boekesteijn, Senior Advisor at the National Library (KB) in the Netherlands, as the moderator of the webinar. Four students from Norway, the Philippines, and the United States gave impressive presentations about the innovative and interesting projects they developed for libraries.

The recording is available on the IFLA Section on Education and Training YouTube Channel. You can also see this booklet with abstracts to learn more about this webinar.

The next webinar is scheduled for 23 June 2021. See the Call for Proposals and stay tuned!