Monthly Archives: October 2020

CPDWL goes to WeChat

Are you a WeChat user? Connect with CPDWL members and librarians through WeChat!

We are excited to have you join us in this conversation! Open to all interested in LIS professional development work!

Search the WeChat Group Name: IFLA CPDWL SC

or search in the QR code (it expires every 7 days, so message us if you have any questions at cpdwl.ifla@gmail.com !)

#WeAreCPDWL Video in IFLA’s 7 Official Languages

We are excited to showcase #WeAreCPDWL video (2 minutes) that highlights our Section’s 2019-2020 activities and collaborations.
Our CPDWL standing committee members Ulrike Lang, Heba Ismail, Juanita Jara De Sumar, Constance Lehro Koui, Carmen Ka Man Lei, and Svetlana Gorokhova translated the video respectively.

Library of the year in Sweden 2020 – not a library by Catharina Isberg

Every year a library in Sweden is nominated as Library of the year. This year there were huge changes.

The nomination is carried out by DIK, the Swedish union for library, culture and information. And this prize has been given for the last 30 years. The purpose of Library of the Year is to draw attention to the libraries’ important role in a democratic society. Every year libraries are highlighted which in different ways and according to their unique conditions, have excelled a little extra.

For the first time – Library of the Year 2020 is not a library. Instead, the prize goes to the people behind it – all librarians in Sweden.

This year, due to the pandemic, DIK has seen creativity and forward-thinking spirit in the libraries and initiative beyond the ordinary and traditional approaches.

With scarce funds and their own concerns for infection, the country’s librarians have used their skills and competences and ensured that libraries are open, switched up their digital activities and delivered books to those who, due to the risk of infection, could not pick them up themselves.

The importance of libraries becomes especially apparent in times of crisis and librarians have shown an enormous willingness to spread culture and information. Together they have proven that a library, it is so much more than a physical place. The librarians have a huge skill and competence which the society benefits from.

Therefor DIK wanted to pay a tribute to this effort and therefore award Library of the Year 2020 to all librarians in Sweden.

Further information is found at: https://dik.se/om-oss/stipendier-och-utmarkelser/arets-bibliotek

Turn the page and start advocating for your library

In 2011, I was one of the librarians who enrolled in e-training course entitled: Turning the page 2.0. It was originally developed in 2007 by the Public Library Association (PLA) in the USA in collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Turning the page is one of the great courses in advocacy, which I highly recommend if you intend to conduct a training on advocacy at your library.

Turning the Page: Supporting Libraries, Strengthening Communities! Is an advocacy training for librarians and public libraries. The training curriculum -as mentioned in the website- was designed for the public library community – librarians, library directors, library staff, and partners – to help effectively advocate for funding, policies, and other support that will allow libraries to continue to meet the needs of their communities.

The curriculum contains 15 training sessions’; the website identified five sessions as “core” sessions based on your needs, – rather, than the full 15- that are essential to any training.

  1. Introduction
  2. Value of the Public Library (Core)
  3. Defining Advocacy (Core)
  4. Developing Your Advocacy Goal (Core)
  5. Identifying Target Audiences (Core)
  6. Using Library Perception Information and Impact Data
  7. Creating Library Advocacy Messages (Core)
  8. Creating a Library Story
  9. Telling Your Library Story
  10. Effective Presentations
  11. Media Planning and Outreach
  12. Social Media and Advocacy
  13. Making a Library Funding or Policy Request
  14. Building and Sustaining Library Partnerships
  15. Putting Advocacy Plans into Practice

Although the curriculum and the other resources on this website are, free to use and to share, but you are requested to review the licensing agreement and to attribute the curriculum before using. To find more about this course please visit:

https://www.publiclibraryadvocacy.org/

References:

  1. https://www.publiclibraryadvocacy.org/
  2. publiclibraryadvocacy.org/about/

UNESCO Global Media and Information Literacy: Singapore style

 

 

 

 

 

Singapore celebrates UNESCO’s Global Media and Information Literacy (GMIL) Day on 30th October 2020

The Council of Chief Librarian’s Information Literacy Interest Group (CCL IL-IG), with the support of the Library Association of Singapore (LAS), is organising an online conference:

Information Literacy – The Singapore Way
Friday, 30 October 2020
2pm – 5pm (SGT)

The conference will feature a PechKucha event, with CCL IL-IG member institutions sharing case studies on how the COVID-19 pandemic has pivoted online teaching including instruction. The keynote address will be given by Dr Alton Grizzle, Program Specialist – Section for Media and Information Literacy and Media Development. Communication and Information Sector, UNESCO, Paris.

Don’t miss this opportunity to learn more about media and information literacy initiatives in Singapore.
For further details and to register for the event, please visit https://library76.wixsite.com/singaporemil

The CCL IL-IG is chaired by Rajen Munoo, Head of Learning and Information Services at Singapore Management University, and member of the CPDWL Standing Committee.

 

 

 

IFLA – A Call to Action and Save the Date for Upcoming Webinar

IFLA announced this new pledge:

“Libraries in Response: Every Community Connected

The global health crisis has made the pre-existing global connectivity crisis more evident – and action more urgent – than ever before. Broadband access is critical to the health, safety, education and economic well-being of communities. Public Access is proven to be an economical and equitable way to connect every community.

We pledge to do all within our power to ensure every community is connected. In turn, we call on decision-makers at all levels to:

  1. Ensure that each community has access to at least one publicly-available, adequately connected, no-fee internet access point, and that every school has access to an online or offline library.
  1. Mobilize libraries to act as community labs for action research, improving how we connect, protect and respect each other, and work together to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
  1. Ensure adequate trained staffing and access to equipment for libraries and other community anchor institutions to provide a safe and secure access point to networks, respectful of privacy, and support for digital skills and education throughout life, enabling people to learn, earn and thrive.

Pledges

Electronic Information for Libraries:

The EIFL Public Library Innovation Programme (EIFL-PLIP) advocates for equipping public libraries with computers and internet connections for free public use. Public libraries – trusted institutions, staffed by skilled information professionals – are uniquely placed to provide public access to information and communication technology and train people to use it. Through the EIFL-PLIP capacity building initiative in Africa we empower public librarians to use public access computers and internet connectivity creatively to provide digital literacy training and other services in communities, addressing critical needs and contributing to achieving local and global development goals.

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions

Maximising Access Now: A Library Pledge to promote digital inclusion and access to information during COVID-19 and Beyond

To the best of our abilities, and with full respect for the law and public health:

  • We pledge to promote the best possible internet access for communities, reliably and at no or low cost, so that no-one should lack connectivity for financial reasons
  • We pledge to promote the widest possible access to relevant digital content and services, supporting education, research, and economic, social and cultural participation
  • We pledge to promote the strongest possible support for the development of digital skills, giving users the ability to be successful and confident internet users
  • We pledge to promote equitable broadba​nd policies at all levels.​”

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CPDWL has an upcoming webinar on this very topic:

14 – December (time TBC) – Librarians Supporting Universal Broadband to Continue Providing Essential Service to Communities Everywhere

IFLA has championed the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals for a long time. The Internet Governance Forum has called attention to the Internet as a vehicle for human resilience and solidarity. They have stated that inclusion achieved by access to the Internet is a key contributor towards a stronger economy and enhanced economic development through shared wealth, shared employment, and equal opportunity for all, and is an enabler towards the fulfillment of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. UNESCO has indicated that broadband is “the missing link” in global access to education. COVID-19 propelled a massive shift to digital which made evident the reality of inequality of access to the Internet which also plays into the mission and operation of libraries. As per the ALA, broadband in libraries is needed by patrons to access devices, collections and information, and a myriad of services. It is also used by librarians to create and develop content accessed by patrons and provide access to transformative resources to better the education and lifelong learning of communities deeply impacted by COVID-19 in all regions of the world. Join us and hear from library leaders from IFLA, UNESCO MIL,and libraries in different regions share considerations on how to move forward towards this urgent goal.

Date/Time: December 14 /10:00am ET USA | 4:00 pm Sweden, 8:30 pm India

Moderated by Loida Garcia-Febo, CPDWL Consultant, International Library Consultant

Speakers:

Dr. Jesus Lau, Co-Chair UNESCO Global Alliance for Partnerships on Media and Information Literacy (GAPMIL)

Catharina Isberg, Library Director Helsingborg City Libraries, IFLA Governing Board Member

Sanjay Kumar Bihani, Library and Information Officer, Ministry of External Affairs, Patiala House Annexe, Tilak Marg, New Delhi, India and IFLA Governing Board Member

Register here

Stepping into leadership

CILIP -the UK’s library and information association- believes that “leadership” is not confined to people at the “top” of organizations. Leadership qualities are found at all levels” which is very true.

CILIP is currently hosting a course in leadership entitled “Stepping into leadership”. The program was originally developed as part of the Carnegie Library Lab (CLL), created by the Carnegie UK Trust (CUKT) to encourage creativity, innovation and leadership in public libraries in the UK and Ireland. This course can be accessed by those working in the library and information sector worldwide. The program will help you:

  • Increase your understanding of key leadership concepts.
  • Encourage you to reflect on your own leadership qualities.
  • Help you to develop a personal action plan to improve your effectiveness as a leader.

It consists of the six modules:

  1. Thinking about Leadership
  2. Why?
  3. Power
  4. Creativity and Innovation
  5. Change
  6. Becoming the leader I want to be

There is no deadline for the program, everyone can follow and learn at their own pace and since this is not a formal program, it does not lead to a qualification or certificate.

Reference:

  1. https://www.cilip.org.uk/page/CarnegieLeadership
  2. https://www.cilip.org.uk/page/CarnegieLeadership2#rightBtn4