08.27.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 3:27 am by Leonard Kniffel
ALA Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels, President Camila Alire, and President-elect Roberta Stevens at the IFLA General Assembly in Milan.
The General Assembly of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions met August 26 during the IFLA World Library and Information Congress in Milan, Italy. Formerly known as the Council, the General Assembly has been re-engineered to reflect a swifter, streamlined IFLA, with an emphasis on the core activities and priorities of its active members.
IFLA President Claudia Lux of Germany convened the Assembly, numbering one voting delegate (delegates are allotted according to organizational membership status) over the 68 required for a majority (although there were probably four times that many observers in attendance). Lux reviewed the new IFLA structure, as adopted at last year’s conference in Canada, and talked about strengthening relationships with other organizations, notably the World Intellectual Property Organization, the International Committee of the Blue Shield, and UNESCO. She noted that IFLA membership is growing. “It has never been easier than now to be a member,” she said, thanks to the work of the IFLA staff at its headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands. The congress daily newsletter, IFLA Express, is now available in all seven of IFLA’s official languages—as was simultaneous translation during the congress—English, French, Spanish, German, Chinese, Russian, and Arabic.
IFLA Secretary General Jennefer Nicholson pointed to a new IFLA annual report and to a continuing emphasis on advocacy for libraries as central to the federation’s mission. The revitalized IFLA website continued to draw praise from delegates. She noted that IFLA is constantly in pursuit of sources of stable funding to supplement membership fees, which constitute only 40% of the budget; registration fees for the congress provide only about half of what the five-day event costs. The total IFLA annual budget is a mere 2.1 million euros. Nicholson also noted that part of the reorganization of IFLA meant viewing professional groups with “a life-cycle approach.”
IFLA Treasurer Gunnar Sahlin of Sweden reported that the federation’s “financial situation is stable” this year, as it was last year, but “we can see some clouds on the horizon” due to the “global financial situation and its impact on libraries and IFLA.” He praised the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for supporting IFLA’s advocacy efforts. “A solid financial situation is a good basis for facing the challenges ahead,” he noted.
Representing the American Library Association in Milan are ALA Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels, Office for International Relations Director Michael Dowling, and ALA President Camila Alire, all of whom gave presentations at one of the 218 sessions that constitute the congress. Alire was one of four panelists at a Women, Information, and Libraries Discussion Group program titled “Libraries Creating Futures for the Women of the World,” hosted by IFLA President-elect Ellen Tise of South Africa. Fiels emceed the American caucus and attended a panel titled “Management of Library Associations: Continuing Professional Development and Workplace Learning,” organized by Sylvia Piggot of Canada, which also featured former ALA president Barbara Ford of the University of Illinois/Urbana-Champaign’s Mortenson Center for International Library Programs. ALA President-elect Roberta Stevens of the Library of Congress was also in Milan for IFLA.
The Assembly agenda included a moment of silence in memory of IFLA members who have died since the last congress in Quebec, and that included ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom Directory Judith Krug, who served on IFLA’s Committee on Freedom of Access to Information and Freedom of Expression (FAIFE).
Also noted at the Assembly was the election of Ingrid Parent of Canada to the IFLA presidency. She will serve as president-elect during Ellen Tise’s two-year term. U. S. delegate Donna Scheeder of the Library of Congress was one of 10 elected to the IFLA Governing Board.
Meanwhile, some of the IFLA delegates disinclined to sit through the General Assembly attended what must be an IFLA first: an international soccer tournament featuring four teams of librarians—one from the Bavarian State Library in Germany, one made up of Italian librarians, one from the Catholic University in Milan, and an international team made up of IFLA delegates from different countries.
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08.26.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 5:09 am by Leonard Kniffel
Those who wondered why the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions would meet in Italy in the heat of August got their answer last night, August 25, when the city of Milan opened its treasures to IFLA. At a time of year when half the city has left for vacation, it felt as if the entire Duomo, La Scala, and the city’s businesses and museums belonged to us librarians.
Among the delights was what was billed as a “social dinner,” and by its description many delegates wondered how the local organizers were going to pull off a dinner at “all the major restaurants of Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II and surroundings” when at last count IFLA conference registrants numbered at 3,000. But pull it off they did, with Italian style. Registrants received a voucher good for a complete meal at a restaurant of their choice in the Galleria shopping arcade, a splendid iron and glass construction that was one of the first of its kind in Italy when it opened in 1867.
IFLA-goers view sketches by Leonardo da Vinci in Milan's Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II.
Following the dinner—which in this case included wine, saffron risotto, veal scaloppine with roasted vegetables, lemon sorbet, and espresso—the Duomo, Milan’s massive cathedral, offered a free harp and violin (a Stradivarius, no less) concert. After the concert, IFLA-ites could stroll from the Duomo to Palazzo Marino, where two of the sketches of Leonardo da Vinci’s Atlantic Code were on display along with digital versions of the entire work. From there they could take in the Monet show at the Palazzo Reale and stroll till midnight back to the shopping arcade, at the center of which was a well-guarded display of De Divina Proportione, dating from 1497 and containing sketches by Leonardo.
All the while, a gigantic electronic billboard on the center square shone bright with “Welcome IFLA: World Library and Information Congress.”
The evening’s events capped off a day of activity at the convention center that included the ongoing presentation of selected papers on all aspects of library service, and the presentation of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Access to Learning Award.
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08.25.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 7:07 pm by Leonard Kniffel
Award winners from Colombia with IFLA President Claudia Lux (left) and the Gates Foundation's Global Libraries Director Deborah Jacobs (third from left).
One of the most misunderstood aspects of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s annual $1-million Access to Learning Award is the fact that it is given not for ideas but for achievements, and not for potential but for sustainability. This year’s winner, the Fundación Empresas Publicas de Medellín (EPM Foundation) in Colombia, which was recognized for its Network of Public Libraries, makes the concept clear. As Deborah Jacobs, director of Global Libraries for the Gates Foundation, said in announcing the award August 25 at the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions’ (IFLA) conference in Milan, “They’ve been a good model for not just a city resolving its longstanding problems but in seeing that libraries belong at the table, that they are partners in the initiative.”
The EPM Foundation received the award for “its innovative use of technology in public libraries to promote community development.” Jacobs noted that “the EPM Foundation’s efforts have contributed to the revitalization of Medellín by providing residents with access to information and training, and creating new hope and a renewed sense of community.”
EPM Foundation Executive Director Clara Patricia Restrepo accepting the Access to Learning Award.
Because the winning library is kept secret until the IFLA conference, the Access to Learning Award presentation has become something of a media event, with the Gates Foundation guarding the secret until it is released to the world simultaneously with the IFLA program. Italian media showed up for the announcement, doing interviews with Jacobs and the EPM representatives who came to Milan to accept the award: Horatio Vilez de Bedout bringing greetings from the mayor of Medellín, Paula Restrepo Duque, and EPM Executive Director Clara Patricia Restrepo, who said through an interpreter that the EPM Foundation’s goal was “to close the digital divide and make us the most educated city in the country.”
Jacobs noted that the library’s success was already becoming legend in South America, with other countries hoping to model Medellín’s success. “Their work is a stunning example of how a country can use the power of public libraries and technology to transform people’s lives.”
Bill Gates Sr., cochair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, gave a brief prerecorded message explaining that the EPM Foundation had been selected to receive the award because of its ability to transform Medellín through the resources offered in its 34 libraries. “The fact that these resources are available for free is not just a bonus, it’s an absolute fundamental,” he said. “To anchor a community the library must be equally open to all people within the community. That is what the Access to Learning Award is about, to give all people the opportunity to build great futures for themselves. The EPM Foundation and its libraries are helping Colombians to build great futures.”
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Posted in Uncategorized at 3:30 am by Leonard Kniffel
The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) began its Monday World Library and Information Congress agenda with a press conference attended by some 50 people. The biggest announcement came from IFLA President-Elect Ellen Tise, who introduced Deborah Jacobs, director of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Libraries Program. Jacobs then confirmed that the foundation was presenting IFLA with a $1.5-million three-year grant for continued support of the federation’s advocacy efforts.
“IFLA plays an invaluable role in the library community and its continued success will strengthen libraries throughout the world,” Jacobs said. “IFLA’s efforts to promote vibrant libraries with information services and public access to the internet help open the world of knowledge, information, and opportunity to many more people.” The Gates Foundation will present its annual Access to Learning Award tomorrow in Milan, when the name of this year’s winning library will be revealed.
IFLA President Claudia Lux, President-Elect Ellen Tise, Secretary General Jennefer Nicholson.
IFLA President Claudia Lux, Secretary General Jennefer Nicholson, Committee on Copyright and Other Legal Matters Chair Winston Tabb, and Mauro Guerrini, chair of the National Organizing Committee for the Milan conference, also talked about the work of IFLA. Tabb announced the release of a Joint Statement of Principles, guidelines for the 184 countries who are members of the World Intellectual Property Organization containing 12 principles for library provisions in copyright law that would acknowledge libraries as having an equal stake with publishers and rights holders.
Other awards announced at the press conference were the OCLC/Jay Jordan Early Career Development Fellows for 2010, the de Gruyter Saur Award for Excellence in Library and Information Science, the IFLA International Marketing Award sponsored by Emerald Group Publishing, and the Shawkey Salem Conference Attendance Grant. Els van der Plas, director of the Prins Claus Fund, introduced Li Chun, director of the Beichuan Library in China, who was rescued from the rubble after being buried for 75 hours after an earthquake struck Sichuan province in west central China May 12, 2008, killing nearly 20,000 people. The Prins Claus Fund gave 120,000 euros to build a storage room for important collections from the destroyed Beichuan library, which was an important repository for materials related to the Qiang minority in China.
Els van der Plas, director of the Prins Claus Fund, with Chinese earthquake survivor, librarian Li Chun.
Prior to the press conference, I had an opportunity to talk with Mohammad Abbas, head of the parliamentary library in Iraq. He was frank in his assessment of the dire situation in his country, noting that international assistance to libraries was most needed in two areas: technology training and the recovery of stolen or looted books. Abbas said his library had been established in 2006, “starting from zero.” Located in what is known as the Green Zone, it now contains some 10,000 books and 1,000 periodicals.
“Our colleagues in Parliament are being targeted,” Abbas said. “A car bomb could explode at any time.” He said there seemed to be a growing threat of violence leading up to the elections scheduled for next January. He pointed to the recent explosion in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building and observed that “foreign forces” as well as “forces from the past regime“ are trying to interfere in Iraqi affairs. He said that while he believed the U.S. invasion was a mistake, a unilateral withdrawal before being sure that Iraq has a strong military would be equally disastrous.
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08.23.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 4:18 pm by Leonard Kniffel
Mauro Guerrini, president of the Italian Library Association, was the first to welcome some 3,000 delegates from 136 countries to Milan for the August 23 opening session of the five-day World Library and Information Congress. Themed “Libraries Create Futures: Building on Cultural Heritage,” the conference is the 75th in IFLA’s 82-year history and the first in Italy since the federation met in Rome in 1964.
IFLA President Claudia Lux at the podium and onscreen.
Noting that Milan, with its 200-year-old stock market, is the financial capital of Italy, IFLA President Claudia Lux of Germany observed that libraries are being “heavily affected by a global economic and financial crisis” caused by “financial speculators” who ”have taken advantage of their clients,” including foundations and universities that had hoped to use their gain to support social and cultural causes like libraries. Lux emphasized that IFLA is redoubling its advocacy efforts “to stabilize the library’s role in a critical time like this and to be prepared for the coming years.”
“Is it more important to have clean water or to have internet access?” Lux asked. This is the type of question librarians must consider, she said, when they take part in the new online “Train the Trainer” courses offered by the Committee on Free Access to Information and Freedom of Expression on IFLA’s revamped website. Lux observed that a conference located in Italy was a logical reminder that “it is like a Renaissance when access to knowledge is opened up to everybody and libraries contribute to it by digitizing materials otherwise ‘hidden’ in libraries.” She concluded, “Milan is renowned as one of the world capitals of design and fashion, and that is what libraries need, worldwide. Libraries need not only newly designed buildings or newly designed catalogs, they also need fashion, meaning current styles that reflect how libraries are developing along with their customers’ needs.”
Following greetings from other local dignitaries, Nicoletta Maraschio delivered a history of the Italian language as represented by the holdings of the Accademia della Crusca, of which she is president, and based on her assertion that ”communication is central in today’s world.”
Teatro Alkaest Associazione Culturale
Interspersed with the speeches were five multimedia tableaus, performed by the Teatro Alkaest Associazione Culturale and titled “The Book of Books.” Highlighting moments from Italian history, the performances featured actors interpreting the coronation of Constantine the Great, the Renaissance and the invention of printing, Commedia dell’Arte, and opera and Italian musical publishing. The final tableau on modern Italian design and the digitized book featured a mock fashion show with models wearing clothing and accessories that appeared to have been made from books; it was the morning’s biggest laugh-getter.
Sunday afternoon sessions included a presentation by UNESCO, followed by the opening of the exhibit hall, and many delegates then went on to La Scala, Milan’s famous opera house, where they enjoyed a “Concerto Lirico.” Others spent the evening strolling through central Milan, visiting the Duomo and other historic sites, and catching up with IFLA friends and colleagues.
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08.22.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 5:08 pm by Leonard Kniffel
The five-day 75th IFLA General Conference and Assembly in Milan, Italy, began for most delegates on Saturday, August 23, with a caucus. These dozen annual one-hour pep rallies, bewildering to beginners who don’t know quite what to expect from the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, are designed to update attendees on issues specific to their region. Grouped by language (and there are three for English speakers: U. K., Canada, and U. S. A.), these caucuses are an opportunity to get the inside scoop, so to speak, on what the international agendas are for the various library associations and institutions represented in IFLA.
ALA Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels.
American Library Association Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels played emcee for the U. S. caucus, introducing key representatives from American associations that are part of IFLA. Nancy Gwinn, a member of the IFLA Governing Board, talked about her work in helping to streamline IFLA´s governance and conferences. She noted that the revamping of the federation’s website was the best of all the recent changes that have taken place within the organization. Barbara Ford, also a member of the Governing Board, reported that so far 3,200 attendees had registered for the Milan conference from 136 countries. She urged American delegates to take advantage of the opportunity to “meet at least five” of the some 340 Italian delegates in attendance and to visit local libraries.
Nancy Gwinn also raised the question that was on every IFLA delegate’s mind: Why was the 2010 annual conference moved from Brisbane, Australia to Gothenburg, Sweden? Tactfully, she explained the discussions that went into the decision but said that it was essentially an economic one. It costs some 2 million euros to hold the IFLA annual conference, with the host country required to raise at least 600,000 euros from the government or corporations in that country. The current economic crisis made it impossible for the Australian librarians to do so. She said that the runner-up in the bidding for the conference, Malaysia, was considered, but the dates were not available. Gwinn also said that the cost of travel to Australia would have jeopardized registration revenue. It was not a decision made lightly, she said, noting that most IFLA members, including herself, had been looking forward to visiting Australia.
U. S. delegate and IFLA Governing Board member Nancy Gwinn.
James Neal, representing Columbia University, asked Gwinn about what fundraising problems Puerto Rico might be facing as 2011 host for the IFLA conference, and what other equally cash-strapped associations and institutions might be able to do to help. Gwinn replied that the Puerto Rican organizers had assured IFLA that the money could be raised. She added that, contrary to rumors that last year’s IFLA in Quebec City had lost money, “it came out fine.”
Gwinn also noted that the IFLA Governing Board was working hard to ensure that when cuts in the conference program had to be made, they would be made last to the cultural events that draw so many attendees to the host country. Tomorrow morning’s Opening Ceremony will, according to the program, “showcase the traditions of Italian history.”
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08.03.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 4:23 pm by Leonard Kniffel
The ALA Washington Office released its final push today to remind librarians that August 14 is the deadline for the first-round of Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) grants. It will hold the third in a series of webinars Wednesday, which will focus on the fundamentals of the application process.
Libraries serve as broadband access anchor institutions across the country and are the sole source of no-fee Internet access in 71% of communities, says Washington Office Director Emily Sheketoff. “In today’s economy, public demand for high-speed internet at libraries is overwhelming, as people turn to their local libraries for assistance with online job searching, online and distance learning, e-government services, and much more,” she observes. This factor was a major consideration as ALA worked with Carnegie Corporation of New York to launch the new @ your library website for the public, where interest in information about how to get a job has soared since the site went up during National Library Week in April.
ALA’s Washington Office has created and compiled many economic stimulus resources for libraries including webinars, instructional guidance, key links and a list of frequently asked questions page. The BTOP’s Public Computing Center Program has many opportunities for libraries to innovate and expand services. The Washington Office will also release an instructional document titled, “A Note on Resources about Jobs and the Economy: Assistance for the Library Community in Their Applications to the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program,” later this week.
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07.20.09
Posted in 2009 ALA Annual Conference at 11:39 am by Pamela Goodes
ALA members approved two resolutions—one supporting “Civil Marriage Equality Regardless of Sexual Orientation” and the other on “Libraries and the Continuing Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan”—at two Membership Meetings during the Association’s Annual Conference in Chicago.
Larry Romans, who coauthored the civil marriage resolution with Locke Morrisey, said some gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered librarians are not permitted to take advantage of tax breaks for couples, multiple car discounts, insurance and retirement benefits, and hospital visitation rights. “Brittany Spears can get a marriage license for a marriage that lasts for a weekend,” Romans noted. “I can’t get a marriage license even though I’m ready to celebrate my 39th anniversary with my partner. It’s not equitable and it affects a lot of us who are library workers.”
Calling the antiwar resolution “a continuation of what we’ve been doing for years,” cosponsor Al Kagan said, “We need to reorient our budget from fighting wars, killing people, destroying cities, destroying people’s homes and livelihoods, and build libraries, support libraries, museums, and cultural institutions in both the United States and in the country that we fought wars in.”
In addition to questions about the Association’s finances, including whether members of the Executive Board were streamlining expenses, a discussion on libraries in hard times was lead by Committee on Library Advocacy representative Patty Wong and Washington Office consultant Chris A. McLean. ALA past president Carol Brey-Casiano and Washington Office consultant John Windhausen also talked about the work of the Office for Library Advocacy in a discussion titled “Libraries in Tough Times.”
The two resolutions were sent to ALA Council, where the one on civil marriage passed and the one on war failed, primarily because the majority of councilors found it outside the role of the Council.
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07.17.09
Posted in 2009 ALA Annual Conference at 10:06 am by Leonard Kniffel
The central concerns expressed by the American Libraries Advisory Committee, which held one of its two annual face-to-face meetings July 11 during the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago, related to the magazine’s ever-changing role as a communications vehicle, a membership perk, and a revenue generator. The objective was to advise the editorial and marketing staff in matters of content development, strategy, and reader engagement.
Associate Editor Sean Fitzpatrick, who joined the staff in February, gave the group its first glimpse of the redesign of the AL website, which he is overseeing. The redesign will also serve as a test case for Drupal as a possible replacement for Collage, the current content management system for ALA’s website. The objective of the redesign is to present a more magazine-like look with the complete contents of the print magazine available with comment capacity in HTML (as opposed to PDF, as it is now).
Much of the discussion was devoted to the future of American Libraries and how it fits into the Association’s long-range strategies and with the reorganization of ALA Publishing that is currently underway. Members of the committee were well aware that AL is more of a suite of products than simply a print magazine, but these products warrant continuous evaluation to measure their success, both in their ability to deliver content as well as generate advertising revenue. The message I took away from the meeting is that the development of valuable professional reading for the magazine should take top priority—with the delivery mechanism, print or electronic, secondary. In other words, American Libraries will maintain its central role by delivering what members want and need. It must also position its various forms, including the new themed quarterly digital supplements, as part of a “brand” that is not paper-centric.
I talked with the committee about our decision to combine the forthcoming August-September issue of print AL, which was partly a one-time response to the financial crunch and staff reductions ALA recently experienced. But it also means that in 2009 there will be nine print issues. Members of the committee cautioned that there may be a perception on the part of some readers who may think that they are getting less from AL for their membership dues. The same is true for advertisers, especially the handful whose ads appear in every print issue.
Since I became editor of American Libraries in 1996, everything about publishing has changed. Technology enabled us to bring production in-house; we developed a website, created an online news feed, started the weekly AL Direct e-newsletter, began producing videos, blogging, and so on. Change has been constant and will continue, but the major change we’ve made in print is to make everything shorter. That may not be the best idea for the future. More and more, I’m hearing that readers want more depth and breadth from print reading, and the future of print is likely to be longer features, more trends and analysis and less trying to present pure “news,” most of which will be old by the time it hits print. Of what real value is it, the members of the committee seemed to be saying, unless we can present it less as “this happened” and more as “this happened and here’s what the best minds in the profession say it means.” What an emphasis on depth infers is that we need to look at fewer, fatter issues of AL print and a more vibrant website to back up the weekly AL Direct. More and more, the central question for us is going to be: What kind of content really needs to be delivered in print, and how frequently?
Noting that American Libraries sponsored Auditorium Speaker Wanda Urbanska of Simple Living on PBS, some of the people at the committee meeting pointed out the need for American Libraries to pick up on the momentum created by her April articles (one for print, one for the spring digital supplement) on greening in libraries and to deliver more and simpler methods whereby ALA members can convince the powers that be to support environmentally friendly buying and programming at the local level. Content doesn’t start or stop with print, it’s part of a dialogue that should move between print and online.
Meanwhile, we also began negotiations at this conference with JSTOR for the retrospective digitization of American Libraries back to 1907, when it was first published as the Bulletin of the American Library Association.
Members of the Advisory Committee present at the meeting were Laurel Minott (chair), Jill Grogg, Melanie Metzger, Amber Prentiss, and Andrew Pace, along with incoming members John Sandstrom (2009-2010 chair), Jim Teliha, and Paul Signorelli.
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