Author Archives: arl

Announcement: joint session program for Academic and Research Libraries with Knowledge Management in Singapore, 17-23 August 2013.

Joint session:  Knowledge Management  and Academic and Research Libraries at the IFLA World Library and Information Congress

Monday 19 August, 2013.  09.30-12.45

Session theme:  Agile management: strategies for achieving success in rapidly changing times

We will explore the ways that libraries around the globe have displayed ‘agile’ approaches to respond to a range of challenges. The current challenges we intend to examine include the restructuring of education, alternative models of scholarly communication, the growth of private/for-profit institutions, the onset of new modes of delivery, knowledge management and content management, the expansion of online learning and the rise of MOOCs (massive open online courses), new spaces and new roles. We will give special focus to best practice in the Asia Pacific region.

Program details:

 Who is looking after your e-journals?: Telling tales about the keepers registry & your digital shelves.  Peter Burnhill, EDINA, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland UK

 Implementing agile management through collaborative social computing. Margaret Tan, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

 From search to discovery. Tamar Sadeh, Ex Libris, Jerusalem, Israel.

 Agile management: strategies for success in rapidly changing times.  Andrew Wells, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.  

MOOCs  in the library: addressing the changing needs of students and faculty in the age of online learning.  Mariellen F. Calter, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.

 The opportunities and challenges of MOOCs : viewpoints of Asia countries. Joyce Chen, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan.

 

ARL Attendance Grant – applications close 1 March 2013!

It is now less than one week until the closing date for applications for the ARL Attendance Grant.  For full details see our Blog post on 20 January 2013.  http://blogs.ifla.org/arl/2013/01/20/arl-attendance-grant-for-the-ifla-congress-sngapore-2013/

Applications close 1 March 2013.

ARL Attendance Grant for the IFLA Congress, Singapore 2013

The Academic and Research Libraries Section (ARL), with generous sponsorship by ExLibris and Sage, is offering THREE (3) Attendance Grants for the IFLA Congress in Singapore 2013 to an information professional from each of these regions:

  • Africa
  • Latin America
  • Asia/Pacific region

Each grant covers the registration fee of Euro 445 as well as support for travel and/or accommodation up to Euro 800.

So – get writing now… you could join your international colleagues in Singapore in August 2013!

International Librarians Network (ILN) peer mentoring program by Kate Byrne, Clare McKenzie, Alyson Dalby.

The International Librarians Network (ILN) peer mentoring program is a facilitated program aimed at helping librarians develop international networks. We believe that innovation and inspiration can cross borders, and that spreading our networks beyond our home countries can make us better at what we do.

Participants in the program are matched with others outside their country, based on the information they provide to the program coordinators. Partnerships are made for a fixed term, and during this period the partnerships are supported by regular contact and discussion points led by the program coordinators. Supported partnerships have an end date, however it is our vision that participants would develop a widening network of on-going, independent professional relationships.

The vision for the International Librarians Network is that it will be run by volunteers all around the world. Currently, the International Librarians Network is in a pilot phase with sign-ups for the pilot round closing on the 15th of February 2013. The response so far has been terrific. In under three weeks since the soft launch, 55 participants signed up from 11 countries, whilst the website has received nearly 3000 views from 37 countries across 6 continents.  The aims of the pilot are to test the model for both its effectiveness and sustainability before launching a full round following the 2013 IFLA WLIC. Welcoming participants from any type of library and any point in their career, the program is keen to attract librarians from as many different parts of the world as possible to give it a true international flavour and ensure a widespread sharing of ideas. Much more information about the program, including how to get involved, can be obtained from on the program website – see http://ilnetwork.wordpress.com/

New book: Empowering people: collaboration between Finnish and Namibian university libraries

The book is the outcome of the collaboration between three university libraries, those of the University of Namibia, the University of Tampere and the University of Helsinki. This collaboration started and developed under the Human Resource Development Project at the University of Namibia Library, financed by the Higher Education Institutions Institutional Cooperation Instrument (HEI ICI) programme of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Finland. As the editors of this book we hope that it will capture the essence of this development project: the inspiration to develop one’s own work and the desire to learn something new.

Empowering People

Empowering people:  collaboration between Finnish and Namibian university libraries – edited by  Mirja Iiovenen, Paiivi Helminen, Joseph M Ndinoshiho, Outi Sisatto.  ISBN 978-951-44-8977-8

 

ARL Attendance Grant for the IFLA Congress, Singapore 2013

The Academic and Research Libraries Section (ARL), with generous sponsorship by ExLibris and Sage, is offering THREE (3) Attendance Grants for the IFLA Congress in Singapore 2013 to an information professional from each of these regions:

  • Africa
  • Latin America
  • Asia/Pacific region

Each grant covers the registration fee of Euro 445 as well as support for travel and/or accommodation up to Euro 800.  Please see the Conference website for further details.

Applicants must be able to attend the Congress and will be responsible for all other costs associated with Congress attendance.

The winners will be required to attend the ARL Hot Topics session to receive their certificates. They will also be required to take part in various publicity events during the conference, such as photo shoots and events organised at the two sponsors exhibition stalls. Their essays may be published on the ARL Section blog before the conference.

Recipients will be required to write a brief article about their Congress experience (approximately 500 words) for publication on the ARL Section blog within 3 months of the end of the Congress.

ELIGIBILITY

  • Applicants must be eligible to obtain a visa for travel.
  • Applicants must declare they are able to fund all other costs beyond the grant that are involved in attending the Congress, e.g. all other hotel, travel and subsistence expenses  NOT covered by the Grant.
  • Those who have previously received this Grant (formerly known as Essay Contest) cannot apply again.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES  

Your application will include:

(A)   A covering letter providing:

  • your contact details (e.g. name and email address)
  • short summary of your employment and/or student status

First-time IFLA attendees, young professionals, students of Library and Information Studies (LIS) and those working in LIS jobs for the first time will have an advantage in the competition, so make sure you mention this if you belong to one of these categories.

(B)   A written statement of up to 500 words (any non-English applications will be translated into English for the purposes of judging):

  • how attending IFLA will benefit you in a personal and/or professional capacity, with reference to the 2013 theme of the conference
  • how you intend to apply the benefits that you have outlined in a practical way after the Congress, either for you personally or for the library/information unit you work in.
  • a budget/cost estimate for travel and hotel up to Euro 800, that would not normally be funded by other grants or your place of work.

Your application must be received by Friday March 1st, 2013

  • All applications will be acknowledged upon receipt.
  • All applicants will receive notification of award status no later than May 1, 2013

Please send your application with your address, telephone number, and email address no later than March 1st 2013 to Ane Landoy:

  • Via attachment in email – ane.landoy@ub.uib.no
  • Via facsimile – Attn:  Ane Landoy – + 47 5558 9703
  • Via post:
    Attn: Ane Landoy
    University of Bergen Library PB 7808N-5020 BERGEN   Norway

This Attendance Grant is generously sponsored by both ExLibris and Sage

We humbly request your support in encouraging applicants to respond by forwarding the information to other list managers, colleagues and other associations.

Any translation of this request is also appreciated, particularly for the Asia/Pacific region, Africa and Latin America

 

Library Strategies for New Generation Users: The 33rd Annual IATUL Conference by Leo F.H. Ma – New Asia College Ch’ien Mu Library, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Founded in 1955, the IATUL (International Association of Scientific and Technological University Libraries) is an international forum for the exchange of ideas on library matters related to technological universities around the world. In its early years, the IATUL members mainly consisted of European universities of technology and American institutions. During the past two decades, the IATUL has developed into a truly international non-governmental organization with members coming from all parts of the world. The IATUL is now one of the successful international networks connecting libraries with similar type of services and user portfolios.

Organized by the Nanyang Technological University Libraries, the 33rd Annual IATUL Conference was held on June 4-7, 2012 at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. In its 57-year of history, it was the first time for the IATUL to mount its conference in Asia which indicates the increasing engagement of member libraries in the region. Emphasizing the emerging technologies and new learning approaches, the theme of the conference this year was ‘Library Strategies for New Generation Users’. The three keynote speakers, Prof. Rakesh Kumar (Professor of Pathology and Director of Academic Projects, Faculty of Medicine of the University of New South Wales), Mr. Joe Murphy (Librarian & Technology Trend Spotter Consultant) and Dr. Susan Gibbons (University Librarian of Yale University), addressed the importance of library engagement in academic work, emerging technological trends in libraries, and the findings of a case study on building up an user-centred libraries respectively. Apart from the keynotes speeches, there were four plenary sessions, nine parallel sessions and one poster session packed in 53 presentations. There were altogether 185 participants coming from 31 countries.  

 With an aim to develop new strategies and services to engage users more effectively in a multifaceted and rapidly changing information environment, the conference focused on the following three major areas:

  • Technology and innovations in libraries and their impact on learning, research and users.
  • Changes in learning, research and information needs and behaviour of users.
  • Trends, possibilities and scenarios for user-centred libraries.

One of the main themes of the conference this year was the application of social media in learning, teaching and research environment for new generation users. In addition to a number of presentations on social networking applications, an interactive social media forum was held to share views from librarians, faculty members, students and social media professionals.

The 34th IATUL Conference will be held from April 14-18, 2013 in Cape Town, South Africa. Conference website: http://active.cput.ac.za/iatul2013/public/index.asp?pageid=640

 

IFLA 2012 experiences by María Violeta Bertolini [Argentina]. Recipient of the 2012 Academic and Research Libraries Section Registration Grant

I am one of the winners of the “2012 IFLA Registration Grant” offered by the IFLA Academic and Research Libraries (ARL) Section. Thanks to its generous support I was able to attend IFLA World Library and Information Congress (WLIC) 2012 for the first time in August 11-17, 2012.Many times I had imagined what it would be like to attend IFLA WLIC, but never had I thought that it would be such an amazing experience! Meeting librarians from all over the world, sharing experiences, learning about libraries in an international perspective and making new friends from almost every continent were just a few of my IFLA WLIC takeaways!

Finland is without any doubt an unforgettable place! Everything is organized, clean, and on time! I was amazed to meet Finns and learn that they are very kind and welcome. Everyone speaks English, so even though I do not speak Finnish (Suomeksi) or Swedish (Svenska) it was not hard at all to find my way during the whole trip.

 When I knew I was going to be able to attend IFLA WLIC I was sure that I would make the most out of this experience. First of all, I had registered to “IFLAcamp”, organized by the IFLA New Professionals Special Interest Group (NPSIG), so I arrived two days before the conference to attend this great unconference that I will never forget. It allowed me to meet other new professionals with whom I shared many great moments afterwards during the whole IFLA week at Helsinki!

My experience at the conference was extraordinary. The first day I arrived at the venue hall I was so excited to be there! I registered, got my programme and carefully organized my schedule to be able to attend to a lot of presentations and standing committee meetings throughout the conference.

It was very exciting to receive my award at the IFLA Academic and Research Libraries Section Hot Topics-session. I had the opportunity to describe some major points of my experience being a first timer at IFLA WLIC. Also, I met and thanked personally Andrew McDonald, Chair of the Academic and Research Libraries Section, for choosing my essay, and Vicki McDonald and Ane Landøy, for giving me all the information and guidance before and after the conference.

Also, since I am a cataloguing teacher in Argentina I am totally passionate about cataloguing, so I took this unique opportunity to attend as many IFLA Cataloguing Standing Committee (CATS) meetings as I could. It was a wonderful experience and I felt so blessed to be able to attend these meetings first hand and even more to meet personally all the members of the standing committee of whom I had read and heard about so many times.

Moreover, I very much enjoyed library visits and museums of the city of Helsinki. I was also able to participate in the awesome “Cycling for libraries mini tour in IFLA Helsinki” organized by Jukka Pennanen and Mace Ojala that included a 20 km bike tour to a traditional Finnish sauna with a swim in the cold waters of a river, a typical custom of that country.

I am so grateful to the IFLA Academic and Research Libraries Section for giving me this opportunity to participate of IFLA WLIC 2012 in Helsinki for the first time. I hope to be able to attend many IFLA WLICs in the future!