Monthly Archives: November 2020

Library Stat of the Week #45: Where There are More Public and Community Libraries and Library Workers, There is More Trust in Government

Trust in government matters.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the level of confidence people have in the ability of those that rule to be taking the right decisions, in the interests of the country, has arguably had a significant impact on the likelihood of following health advice.

Yet this is also important in more ‘ordinary’ times, with the effectiveness of policies often depending, at least in part, on whether people have trust in those making and implementing them.

This is one of the reasons why the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) include SDG16, focused on questions of good governance and strong institutions.

What drives this trust?

A number of factors can come into play, starting of course with the behaviour of politicians and officials. However, information can play a role, with more informed citizens feeing more involved in decision-making. Similarly, a feeling of having access to public services can also help.

Libraries can, arguably, play a role in both of these, helping people to inform themselves more readily, as well as being a visible example of public service in the community.

So what does the data say? To find out, we crossed data from the IFLA Library Map of the World with data from the Gallup World Poll on trust in government (measured simply by asking a representative sample of adults whether they trusted national government), reported through the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Government at a Glance publication.

Graph 1a: Public and Community Libraries per 100K People and Trust in Government

Graph 1a starts by looking at the relationship between numbers of public and community libraries per 100 000 people and the share of the population declaring that they feel trust in government (data from 2019). Each dot represents one country.

Overall, this indicates a small but negative relationship here, although one with a very loose correlation.

To explore further, and following the finding in a previous blog focused on social capital that the correlation between numbers of libraries and affective outcomes (such as trust in other people) can tail off after a certain point, we therefore also looked at the correlation only for countries with up to 20 public libraries per 100 000 people. To note, the average number of public and community libraries per 100 000 people in Western Europe is 14.6, in North America, 5.7, and in the world as a whole, 6.4.

Graph 1b: Public and Community Libraries per 100K People and Trust in Government

Graph 1b does this, immediately showing not only a positive relationship, but also a stronger degree of correlation. In effect, this supports the idea that, at least up to an above-average number of public libraries per 100 000 people, more libraries tends to mean stronger levels of trust in government.

Graph 2a: Public and Community Library Workers per 100K People and Trust in Government

Graph 2a repeats the analysis, but this time looking at numbers of public and community library workers per 100 000 people. Considering all countries for which data is available, there is a positive, but weak correlation between numbers of library workers and trust in national government.

Graph 2b: Public and Community Library Workers per 100K People and Trust in Government

Graph 2b then focuses in only on countries with up to 50 public and community library workers per 100 000 people. For reference, this compares to an average of 28.7 for Western Europe, 29 for North America, and 11.8 for the world.

Once again, this indicates a stronger positive connection, indicating that where there are more public and community library workers, there is stronger trust in government.

 

As ever, correlation does not mean causality – governments that invest in libraries may well also invest in other services that lead to higher levels of confidence and trust among citizens.

Nonetheless, the data presented here indicate that, at least among countries which do not already have a high number of libraries and library workers already, a stronger library field tends to be associated with greater confidence in government.

 

Find out more on the Library Map of the World, where you can download key library data in order to carry out your own analysis! See our other Library Stats of the Week! We are happy to share the data that supported this analysis on request.

The 10-Minute International Librarian #26: Identify something you’re not sure about, and look for an answer

Librarians are used to receiving questions from other people.

As a profession focused on service, it is part of the job to be able to respond to queries, and to help people access the information they need.

Yet simply having a qualification does not always mean we have all of the answers.

Indeed, assuming that we do is a great way of missing opportunities to learn.

So for our 26th 10-Minute International Librarian exercise, identify something you’re not sure about, and look for an answer.

Think through your work, and moments where you simply aren’t sure of what the best thing to do is.

Or take something you’re used to doing, and challenge yourself – are you sure it can’t be done better?

Once you’ve identified something, look online to see if others have faced the same challenge, for example on the IFLA website or library.

Share your best examples of learning from others in the chat below.

Good luck!

 

This idea relates to the IFLA Strategy! 3.2 Support virtual networking and connections.

You can view all of our ideas using the #10MinuteInternationalLibrarian tag on this blog, and of course on IFLA’s Ideas Store! Do also share your ideas in the comments box.

 

Access to Information, Access to Connection: libraries countering intolerance

Our world is faced with a range of challenges linked to intolerance, and its consequences. These have dominated the headlines in 2020: large-scale demonstrations demanding racial justice, inequalities facing the LGBTQ+ community around the world, terrorist activity, the rise of nationalist groups, and the ongoing xenophobia that threatens the livelihood of the world’s most vulnerable communities. Existing tensions have been compounded in 2020 as the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic.

There is a great deal of progress that must be made in order to create a world where every person’s human rights are upheld – despite differences between us.

What can libraries do to help counteract these challenges that feed a climate of intolerance?

For UN International Day of Tolerance (16 November) let’s take a look at the role of libraries in countering intolerance, and discuss how library professionals can advocate for their role in building tolerance within individuals and communities.

Countering Intolerance: The UN’s Perspective

The UN outlines the following key areas for countering intolerance:

  • Laws: Governments are responsible for enforcing human rights laws, for banning and punishing hate crimes and discrimination and for ensuring equal access to dispute settlement.
  • Education: Laws are necessary but not sufficient for countering intolerance, greater emphasis needs to be placed on educating more and better.
  • Access to information: The most efficient way to limit the influence of hatemongers is to promote press freedom and press pluralism, in order to allow the public to differentiate between facts and opinions.
  • Individual awareness: Intolerance breeds intolerance. In order to fight intolerance individuals should become aware of the link between their behaviour and the vicious cycle of mistrust and violence in society.
  • Local solutions: When confronted with an escalation of intolerance around us, we must not wait for governments and institutions to act alone. We are all part of the solution.

Libraries are champions of access to information and life-long learning, as well as being community gathering places.

Therefore, if education and access to information can counter the fear of the “other” that drives intolerance, then we – the global library community – have a vital role to play.

Read on for some advocacy tips on how libraries can make a difference in several of these key areas.

Education

Over the past five years, there has been a troubling rise in xenophobic sentiment. Gallup’s 2020 update of its Migrant Acceptance Index found that the world has become less tolerant of migrants since the Index was launched in 2015.

As worrying as this trend is, it is important to remember that no one is born harbouring feelings of intolerance. This behaviour is learned, and therefore, it can be unlearned, or at least countered, through education.

In 2020, the IEA (International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement) reiterated results from their International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) carried out in 2016. These results show a positive correlation between the civic knowledge of young people and their level of tolerance towards immigrants in Europe [Source, page 1].

As young people with higher levels of civic knowledge tend to be more tolerant, the IEA urges policymakers and educators to strengthen efforts to provide learning opportunities that focus on building this understanding. Key competencies include the importance of ensuring equal rights for different groups in a democracy, as well the ability to identify potential threats to democracy [Source, page 8].

Although focussed on migrant acceptance, it follows that these lessons are also relevant in terms of marginalised groups within an existing population.

Advocacy point:

Libraries provide learning opportunities outside of the formal education system. They can build on the skills students learn in the classroom, enhancing them with a variety of materials, resources, and opportunities to engage with others in the learning process.

Libraries also provide lifelong learning opportunities – which can be a vital way to deliver civic knowledge to adults who may not have had access to these lessons in their schooling.

If education on civic participation and democratic society is essential for social cohesion, then library educators can help these learning opportunities reach people at all ages.

Access to Information

We live in an information society. On average, people have access to more information than at any other point of human civilization. However, the past years have seen a growing trend of “fake news”, conspiracy theories, distrust in the media, and a rise in disinformation campaigns that erode the foundations of democracy. Many of these campaigns gain power by capitalising on people’s fear of the “other”, deepening mistrust and intolerance.

In 2020, we have seen the impact that misinformation can have towards people’s health and livelihoods, and the dangerously powerful effect it has on public opinion. UNESCO has dubbed this the “disinfodemic”.

Beyond personal health choices, misinformation around the Coronavirus also has an impact on rising intolerance. For example, it has caused an increase of anti-Chinese sentiment [source] and hate-speech directed at Asian people [source]. This reflects trends of past health emergencies, such as the association of homophobic sentiment with the emergence of HIV/AIDS in the 1980s [source].

Accessing health information, as well as information about other cultures, beliefs, and world events is vital to a society that is equipped to handle the challenges of today. However, this access to information also comes with a responsibility to learn to navigate the current climate of misinformation that seeks to deepen societal divides.

UNESCO’s Media and Information Literacy Programme seeks to fight the trend of misinformation by helping communities engage with media in a ways that promotes equality, intercultural and interreligious dialogue, peace, and freedom of expression.

See the Five Laws of Media and Information Literacy for more background on UNESCO’s position.

Advocacy Point:

The importance of critical thinking in regard to the media we consume is more important than ever. A tolerant information society cannot be achieved without it.

Note Law #5 from UNESCO: “Media and information literacy is not acquired at once. It is a lived and dynamic experience and process.”

Libraries play a vital role not only in access to information, but in building media and information literacy skills. Libraries enable media and information literacy to be a lived experience for learners at all levels, providing tools, resources, and assistance in accessing information, thinking critically about sources, and using it ethically.

For more resources, start with the IFLA Media and Information Literacy Recommendations.

For countering Fake News, see IFLA’s How to Spot Fake News – COVID-19 Edition

Local Solutions

The UN stresses that every individual has a role to play in building tolerant societies.

Although complex, global issues can seem insurmountable, change begins at the local level. Libraries are welcoming public spaces – free of charge – that in some parts of the world, have seen a marked social turn, “changing focus from collections to connections” [source].

In this unique role in society, libraries can be on the front lines in promoting not just tolerance, but an appreciation for multiculturalism. The IFLA/UNESCO Multicultural Library Manifesto reiterates the role that libraries can have in promoting cultural and linguistic diversity at the international, national, and local levels.

IFLA has also stressed that racism has no place in the society libraries are working to build. Libraries reject discrimination and actively promote inclusion, working at all levels to provide everyone a meaningful opportunity to realise their rights to information, culture, information and science.

Advocacy Point:

IFLA has found that countries with more public and community librarians tend to have higher levels of social cohesion.  By crossing statistics from IFLA’s Library Map of the World with those from the OECD’s Society at a Glance 2016 publication, we can begin to visualize the role that libraries have in building social cohesion through general societal trust in one another.

Graph: libraries and tolerance

For more, see Library Stat of the Week #26: Countries with more public and community librarians tend to have higher levels of social cohesion

What can you do?

For librarians working at the local level, here are some ideas of steps you can take to help combat intolerance within your community.

  • Share resources on tolerance and anti-racism
  • Help raise awareness within your community on world events, discuss reasons for migration and immigration from a global perspective.
  • Ensure your collection features a wide variety of stories, and storytellers of different backgrounds
  • Offer programmes targeted at reducing inequalities in your community. See IFLA’s SDG Stories on Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities for inspiration.
  • Engage with local NGOs, citizen movements, and educational institutions to celebrate the diversity of communities and promote positive, inclusive discussion.
  • Enhance your library’s offering of media and information literacy resources. See this guide for low/no-cost ideas.

Do you have other ideas on how libraries can help their communities fight intolerance and build social cohesion? We’d love to hear from you! Share your thoughts below.

Decisions, Decisions: The Options Ahead at the Next WIPO SCCR

Next week, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) will meet, virtually, for the first time in over a year.

This is an opportunity not only to take stock of work to date on the exceptions and limitations agenda, but also to consider the implications of the COVID-19 on the issues under discussion.

It is also a time of renewal, with a new Director General, and chair of the Committee, creating possibilities to think again about the role that the Committee can play.

The below sets out six roles that the Committee could take on. The choice of which – if any – will be down to Member States.

For further background about the work of SCCR, please see the pages on the IFLA website.

 

The First Responder: it is clearly arguably a little late to be talking about a first response to the pandemic, but it seems likely that the virus – and so measures to stop or slow its spread – will be with us for some time. With it comes the potential for SCCR to make clear that extraordinary times may require extraordinary measures, or at least that it is legitimate to interpret existing rules in a way that allows for education, research and access to culture continue at difficult times.

 

The Guiding Light: a permanent problem in the current copyright system is that under international law, exceptions and limitations other than a couple of very specific examples are optional. As such, governments  can face uncertainty when passing laws in order to support education, research and access to culture. WIPO can play a valuable role here by making clear what is allowed, and so excluding the risk of challenge by different actors. For example, model provisions on key issues can offer helpful guidance.

 

The Teacher: WIPO clearly also has an important role in supporting reflection about copyright and its interrelation with other policy areas around the world. While there are certainly a lot of strong opinions around copyright, we can gain a lot from looking past the hyperbole, and building up a stronger idea of the evidence on the ground. The evidence around COVID-19 is of course still coming in, but one way in which WIPO could provide a helpful service is by developing a clearer picture of how copyright frameworks – changed or unchanged – have fared during the pandemic.

 

The Leader: SCCR also has a unique position as a global forum for tackling questions around copyright. Through the Marrakesh Treaty, it has shown its potential to take concrete action at the global level, enabling cooperation across borders, and promoting national reforms in an area of clear public interest. Arguably, while SCCR can just be a discussion space, its potential to lead in changing laws in areas of market failure cannot now be denied. Recent work has underlined consensus around issues such as preservation, digital readiness, and work across borders. In particular with COP26 next year, work on preservation could make an important contribution to efforts to safeguard heritage threatened by extreme weather.

 

The Hedgehog: there are, however, also less positive paths that SCCR could choose to take. The first of these is to roll up, or even to hibernate, until the COVID-19 pandemic is over. While hibernation can be a safe way of passing a winter, it also risks meaning that the Committee is seen as missing in action at a time when there are calls to do something, or being seen as less relevant. While it is true that there is little point in taking action for the sake of taking action, there is sufficient evidence of challenges around copyright during the pandemic to mean that claiming that there is no need to do anything risks looking like denialism.

 

The Dodgy Car Salesman: worse, arguably, than doing nothing would be to move things backwards by trying to make activities of libraries which have previously taken place without barriers subject to new restrictions. Discussions about exceptions and limitations have, unfortunately, often seen efforts to present licensing as the solution, despite this having long been rejected for uses in the physical world. In effect, like the stereotypical dubious car salesman, there is a risk that the customer ends up with a product that they neither want nor need.

Library Stat of the Week #44: In particular in Central and Eastern Europe, Libraries Are Well-Placed to Combat Inequality in Home Computer Access

The Internet Governance Forum has continued this week, taking place, for the first time, in virtual format. With a focus on inclusion and resilience, it has been an opportunity to emphasise the need for action to allow everyone to connect, meaningfully, to the internet.

Last week’s Library Stat of the Week started to look at the data around the numbers of households not just connected to the internet, but also who enjoy adequate speeds (broadband), and have the devices necessary to make use of it.

The data presented underlined that in a number of countries, a large share of those officially connected did not enjoy sufficient speeds or have the equipment needed – in other words, a second class type of access.

In particular, it also highlighted that these issues were more commonly experienced by those living in poorer households, compared to richer neighbours.

This week’s post looks further at these questions of inequality, and how they compare with numbers of libraries offering internet access possibilities. The data used comes from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s data on household internet access, and IFLA’s own Library Map of the World data on public and community libraries offering internet access.

Through this, we can start to think about the potential of libraries to help people who may be at risk of having only a ‘second-class’ internet access, or none at all.

Graph 1: Public Access in Libraries and Inequalities in Household Internet Access

Graph 1 starts by looking at the number of public and community libraries per 100 000 people offering internet access, and the gap in household internet access rates between the richest and poorest 25% of the population.

Each dot represents a country, and is labelled. The further to the right the dot is, the more libraries there are offering access, while the further up it is, the higher the gap in household internet access  rates between the richest and poorest.

The Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia and Lithuania, we can see, have both high numbers of libraries offering access, and high inequalities in household access. In general, across the countries for which data is available, where gaps are higher, there are more libraries.

This is encouraging, indicating that libraries can be well placed to address the access gaps experienced by people in less well-off households.

Graph 1: Public Access in Libraries and Inequalities in Household Broadband Access

Graph 2 repeats the exercise, but for broadband – i.e. higher speed internet that opens up different possibilities for meaningful connectivity. The picture is similar overall, although it is possible to see that in some countries, relative inequalities are greater when it comes to broadband than when it comes to basic internet access.

Graph 1: Public Access in Libraries and Inequalities in Household Computer Access

Graph 3 looks instead at household computer access. As set out last week, many uses of the internet require computers – preparing CVs, using different programmes and services, or other tools.

This shows countries in different positions relative to each other, notably with countries like Slovenia, Korea and Spain having relatively high levels of inequality when it comes to computer access related to overall incomes.

Nonetheless, the overall trend among countries still holds that in those countries where inequality in household computer access is highest, there are more libraries ready to provide an alternative.

 

As IFLA is arguing at the Internet Governance Forum, libraries form a vital part of the connectivity infrastructure, including the possibility of access at an adequate speed, and with the possibility to use devices that may not be available from home.

From this week’s library stat of the week, it seems clear that often in the countries that need this alternative the most, in order to avoid those on lower incomes being stuck with second-class internet, libraries are available to help.

 

Find out more on the Library Map of the World, where you can download key library data in order to carry out your own analysis! See our other Library Stats of the Week! We are happy to share the data that supported this analysis on request.

Treating Knowledge as a Utility: One Suggestion for Rethinking Human Development

There are things that are seen as so essential for human development that, in many countries, they are not treated as normal markets.

Electricity, water, transportation – all are fundamental to ensuring a basic standard of living. As such, governments intervene to ensure that, where private companies are involved, they do not act in a way that leads to populations being cut off, or disadvantaged.

This is because even when providing (full) service to someone is not profitable for the company, there is a recognised wider interest in doing so. This can be both on the grounds of equity (these are basic rights that all should enjoy), and on the basis that this would be an investment (without these services, people have fewer chances of improving their situation). In these situations, we can talk about these services being ‘utilities’.

Much of the debate around net neutrality, in particular in the United States, has focused on this point – of whether the internet should be treated as a ‘utility’, or whether internet service providers should be allowed to influence what people receive on their computers and how. Similarly, there has been debate about the strength of obligations on telecommunications companies to serve people in rural areas, or those who are less wealthy.

Those who argue for the internet as a ‘utility’ underline both that steps should be taken to guarantee good quality internet for all, and that this should not be subject to activities like ‘paid prioritisation’. See IFLA’s own net neutrality statement for more.

With it more and more common for internet access to be described as a human right (including, most recently, by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen), there is hope that we are moving towards a world where governments take the necessary regulatory and financial steps to bring everyone online.

However, the internet is not just about cables and masts, it is also about content. As a post last week suggested, thinking holistically about what makes for a complete connectivity infrastructure means that we need to think more broadly.

Can we then think about knowledge and information in the same way as we think about electricity, water, or bus services, as a utility? Especially today, on International Science Day, which this year is focused on Rethinking Human Development, this seems relevant, given the importance of knowledge information for development at all levels.

This blog sets out three characteristics that could support such a way of thinking about information.

 

Clearly, knowledge and information – and access to it – are a recognised human right, as set out in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and backed up in Article 27: Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.

This right has been echoed in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, whose target 16.10 underlines the importance of access to information as a key cross-cutting driver of development. Crucially, other SDG targets do the same, focusing on areas such as health, agriculture, and research.

 

Secondly, it seems fair to say that while there definitely is a role for private companies here, the market alone will not meet all the potential demand. Drawing on copyright protections, companies will naturally (and entirely justifiably) seek to maximise returns, and indeed when they have shareholders, be legally obliged to do so.

While to some extent, higher sales mean higher revenues, it is also the case that it will often be more profitable to sell few units with a higher mark-up than lots of units with almost none, even if this leaves some excluded.

This applies as much for basic access, as for secondary markets such as licensing for education, or research purposes. Similarly, companies cannot be expected to bear in mind all of the wider benefits of activities such as preservation.

While it certainly may be possible to create a market here, this is likely to be highly dysfunctional, leaving many excluded and harming the overall public interest. In short, intervention is required to ensure that copyright does not lead to exclusion.

 

Thirdly, we also have a precedent of creating means for people who wouldn’t otherwise have access to knowledge and information to do so – namely libraries. Our institutions do not just provide this access, but also carry out those activities that are not appropriate for market solutions.

Libraries can, in effect, be seen as a form of universal service supported by governments at different levels, in order to ensure that something as vital as information does not become a minority good, but can rather help all to flourish.

Of course, in a digital world, there is a need to ensure that this role can continue to be fulfilled.

To some extent, it is done so by the drive towards open access and open science. These help ensure that it is not only those attached to major institutions who can benefit from the fruits of research, but everyone with internet access.

However, outside of the scholarly journal sector, the dominant business model remains is to charge for access. In this case, we need institutions like libraries to be able to buy and give access to works, without facing restrictions which would in effect leave library users less informed than others.

 

As we think about how we measure human development, and in particular, how we measure the degree to which everyone has access to the services and possibilities they need – and deserve – in order to thrive, knowledge and information should be at the heart of our concerns.

In particular, with International Science Day this year coinciding with the Internet Governance Forum, there is an opportunity to try and apply emerging thinking about how we provide connectivity to the broader question of how we provide access to information.

Seeing knowledge and information as a utility – and being ready to act accordingly to ensure that everyone has access – offers one potential way forwards.

The 10-Minute International Librarian #25: Learn and Tell a Library Story

The two key types of evidence in building the case for libraries are data and stories.

Data reaches out to the ‘right’ brain, appealing to the logical, the rational.

But sometimes, you need to be able to reach out first to emotions, to help them to see themselves in a particular situation.

You need to attract the ‘left’ brain as well

Stories, featuring people rather than just statistics, can help do this, engaging the person you are talking to, ensuring that they pay more attention to the numbers afterwards.

Of course, this is not to say that statistics do not have their place in stories. They can back up your arguments, demonstrate real-world change.

So for our 25th 10-Minute International Librarian exercise, learn and tell a library story.

You can find great examples of course on IFLA’s Library Map of the World, or in articles in newspapers or online.

Choose a story with a strong human element, even with names if that is possible. Make sure you can tell it confidently and quickly – it can be a great way of starting a conversation.

Share your favourite example in the comments below.

Good luck!

 

This idea relates to the IFLA Strategy! 2.1 Produce, communicate and distribute key resources and materials that inspire the profession .

You can view all of our ideas using the #10MinuteInternationalLibrarian tag on this blog, and of course on IFLA’s Ideas Store! Do also share your ideas in the comments box.