Monthly Archives: September 2021

The 10-Minute International Librarian #65: Be able to explain why access to information matters

Tomorrow is the International Day for the Universal Access to Information, which highlights the importance of access to information of all sorts for development.

However, this access is often only seen narrowly – for example around access to government information for the purpose of supporting transparency.

This is of course an important aspect, but does not cover all of the other types of information and uses that can contribute to better lives and stronger societies.

Access to information matters in agriculture, health, education, innovation, climate action and beyond, but is all too often seen as only a marginal issue, or even forgotten entirely.

Libraries of course know that this should not be the case, and that to achieve sustainable development, there need to be comprehensive, and properly supported strategies to ensure access to information.

A key challenge in our advocacy is to convince decision-makers, and those that influence them, of the same thing.

So for our 65th 10-Minute International Librarian exercise, be able to explain why access to information matters.

If it helps, imagine a particular person you need to convince, and adapt your arguments to match what you think will be most effective for them.

Just as in in our 13th exercise (develop your 1-minute pitch for libraries), you should try to make your argument as short and convincing as possible.

Don’t assume that your interlocutor understands what libraries do, and so try to make it real for them, underlining the impacts of your work.

You can share the arguments that work best in your experience in the comments below.

Good luck!

 

This idea relates to the IFLA Strategy! 1.1 Show the power of libraries in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

As we publish more ideas, you will be able to view these using the #10MinuteInternationalLibrarian tag on this blog, and of course on IFLA’s Ideas Store! Do also share your ideas in the comments box.

The 10-Minute International Librarian #64: Look for a learning opportunity

In order to keep up with new ideas, new tools and new techniques, it is vital to be a lifelong learner.

This is as much a question of personal and professional development as it is one of how best to serve library users.

However, too often, we associate learning only with being in a formal setting – a school or university – or with a formal structure.

This ignores all of the other situations we are in where we can challenge ourselves, and so develop new knowledge and skills, if we are open to this and ready to take lessons on board.

So for our 64th 10-Minute International Librarian exercise, look for a learning opportunity.

As highlighted above, this doesn’t need to be a formal course or something similar.

It can be any activity which is new to you, and where you think you can learn, either from your own experience, or through working alongside someone who can share their knowledge and skills.

Try to be conscious of yourself when doing this – take notes about what you are hearing or seeing, or the conclusions you can draw.

Try then to apply these lessons in future – it will help them stick in your mind.

Let us know about your most recent learning opportunity in the comments box at bottom.

Good luck!

 

This idea relates to the IFLA Strategy! 3.4 Provide targeted learning and professional development.

As we publish more ideas, you will be able to view these using the #10MinuteInternationalLibrarian tag on this blog, and of course on IFLA’s Ideas Store! Do also share your ideas in the comments box below.

The 10-Minute Digital Librarian #9: Think about how to respect privacy

The second set of posts in our 10-Minute Digital Librarian series has focused on helping users to stay safe online, through adopting good digital hygiene, as well as good cybersecurity in libraries themselves.

At the heart of cybersecurity in particular is the effort to avoid unauthorised access to – or use of – important information, including of course personal information.

In turn, a good way of reducing risk is by reducing the amount of such personal information that is gathered and stored in the first place – in short, the less you have, the less you can lose!

You may of course face calls to gather data in order to demonstrate, or improve performance. However, given the risk of a lack of privacy chilling people’s willingness to search for the information they need, or to express themselves, it is important to remember that privacy itself can be a driver of better results.

IFLA itself issued a statement on the subject in 2015, and there has been a lot of very good work done in institutions and associations around the world in order to promote good practices here.

These include, for example, guides produced by the Carnegie Trust in the United Kingdom, ALA’s guidelines on privacy and the Choose Privacy Every Day site. Please do share other great resources in the comments at bottom!

Key principles set out, which can already be a basis for reflection as part of this 10-Minute Digital Librarian exercise include:

  • Think about which activities you carry out that involve the collection of data about people. This includes both information about them (names, addresses etc) and/or about their behaviour
  • Think about whether you really need to collect and use this data (and of course if you have permission to)?
  • Think about how you are storing data – is it in a safe place (certainly not a GoogleDoc)? How soon can you delete it?
  • Think about where services are provided by a third party and could involve the collection of data – such as databases, other services, or even simply internet access. Do the terms under which you access these services maximise privacy? Are you ensuring that the most private settings are used by default, for example on browsers?
  • If you need to gather data to monitor and improve performance, think about how you can do this in a way that maximises anonymity, that gives users a meaningful choice about taking part, and that ensures that data is not retained for longer than needed.

Take a look at the examples given above, and as underlined, share your own in the comments box below.

Good luck!

 

If you are interested in issues around digital safety and privacy more broadly, you should take a look at the work of IFLA’s Libraries for Children and Young Adults Section, as well as our Advisory Committee on Freedom of Access to Information and Freedom of Expression.

Discover our series of 10-Minute Digital Librarian posts as it grows.