Author Archives: catharina

Communication on an international arena

As part of IFLA, all of us are communicating on an international arena. This is not always an easy task, since we all live in different environments which have an impact on our communication. Impact which is so deeply integrated in us so we don’t even notice it.

One issue in our different environments (which might be the easiest one to develop), is to concider the differences between the northern and the southern hemisphere and their different seasons. Then writing a winter message can be kind of peculiar when the hot summer sun is shining outside (as a colleague from New Zealand pointed out the other day).

But even more difficult are the differens in culture, religions, gender and age.  We might for example say  “Merry Christmas” on the section FB-page (I’ve done that.), but what about other religions? Does a person with another belief feel involved in the IFLA work when their culture or religion is invisible? Are we open to different people with different backgrounds, religion, gender, age etc?

To improve and develop a communication built on inclusion, where everyone feel involved in the IFLA work and where everyone feel that their competence, their input and their work is being used by it’s full potential, we all need to concider different aspects on the environment we come from. To get all IFLA languages more used and visible is one important step, but the more difficult and important one is to get a communication built on inclusion in place.

What do you think about this? Do you have any suggestions on how to develop this work?

/Catharina Isberg (Information Coordinator, CPDWL)

Letter from the co-Chairs

Sylvia Piggott
Ulrike Lang

Dear CPDWL members and friends,

After a very active and successful year 2012 with a well attended pre-conference in Tampere, Finland and very good conference presentations at our session in Helsinki, Finland, we are now on the way preparing the 2013 Singapore Conference.

The high standard of the Tampere Conference can be seen in the papers contained in IFLA publication No. 157 The Road to Information Literacy and also in one of our presentations in Helsinki which will be published in the IFLA Journal.

We intend to keep delivering the same high quality in our future programmes, as we use the creativity and knowledge of our section members to create an interesting programme for Singapore in August.

CPDWL will host a workshop session. The theme is “Taking charge of your career”. The format will be of round table discussions, each lead by a team leader with some experience on the topic who will facilitate sharing and recording of information. Our information coordinator Catharina Isberg will start with an introduction “Competence wheel: communication and personal skills”.

The different tables will deal with intercultural competencies, publishing of papers, self managed careers, personal skills and competencies, the use of social media, alternative careers, internationalizing your career and jump starting career and, finally, professional ethics.

We hope you will be able to visit several tables but we will also prepare some flyers with the most important information from each table so you can carry home an overview of all the topics.

Additionally, and in collaboration with SET (Education and training section) we are planning a session with the theme “Libraries as learning organisations: how to nurture growth in our staff and our communities”. The Call for Papers is out with the expectation that submissions will be received by the end of January 2013.

And last but not least, together with NPSIG (New Professional Special Interest Group), CPDWL is planning the session “New librarians global connection: best practices, models and recommendations”, presented also in a workshop style.

Please check the IFLA programme for conference details and times at the end of March.

In addition to these professional topics, CPDWL is also very much interested in the modernization and enhancements of the IFLA organization.

We are also pleased to report that our Information Coordinator Catharina Isberg and Co-Chair Ulrike Lang are founding members of the IFLA DIAL Working Group and will help to promote the updating of communication in IFLA.

The strong connection with the New Professional Special Interest Group (NPSIG) spearheaded by Loida Garcia Febo, is also a significant part of our work. The webinars which Loida hosts with the support of ALA are a very good example of this. The sessions consisting of international participants with topics of global interests are generally well attended. The timing is very convenient for the different time zones worldwide and the entrance to the chat room is very easy.

Some of the section members will end their terms in Singapore. They will leave a huge gap of professional competency and we surely will miss their support. Therefore, if you are interested in working with an active international group please do not hesitate to contact us.

Finally, I, Sylvia Piggott, Co-Chair and Treasurer, have completed my two terms with CPDWL and will be moving on to another Section of IFLA at the end of the first CPDWL Section meeting in Singapore. It has been a pleasure to work with such a dynamic group. Having been coordinator each year of a CPDWL programme session I know how much we can count on our Section members for support of these sessions. I coordinate my final session in Singapore. I pledge continued support of your programme sessions despite the fact that I am moving on.

We wish you a happy and successful year and hope to see you in Singapore!

Ulrike Lang
Sylvia Piggott

WLIC 2013, Singapore – The CPDWL section sessions

“Taking charge of your carrier”, “New librarians global connection: best practices, models and recommendations” and “Libraries as learning organisations: how to nurture growth in our staff and our communities” are the themes for the three sessions which CPDWL are involved in at the WLIC 2013 in Singapore. One of these is a workshop, one is a session together with NPSIG and one is a session together with SET

The workshop session theme is “Taking charge of your carrier”. The format will be round table discussions each lead by a team leader with some experience on the topic and who will facilitate sharing and recording of information.

Together with NPSIG (New Professional Special Interest Group) CPDWL is planning the session “New librarians global connection: best practices, models and recommendations”. The call for papers is available at http://conference.ifla.org/ifla79/calls-for-papers/new-librarians-global-connection

In collaboration with SET (Education and training section) we are planning a session with the theme “Libraries as learning organisations: how to nurture growth in our staff and our communities”. The call for papers for this sesstion is available at http://conference.ifla.org/ifla79/calls-for-papers/libraries-as-learning-organisations-how-to-nurture-growth-in-our-staff-and-o

If you are interested in all the call for papers at the WLIC 2013 in Singapore, they are all available at:http://conference.ifla.org/ifla79/calls-for-papers

Minutes from CPDWL virtual officers meeting

In December a virtual meeting was held with the standing committee officers of  CPDWL.  We discussed among other things the Singapore program, the co-chair model, our use of social media and the standing committee membership list.

The meeting minutes are now availabe at the CPDWL web. Please read the minutes to get a full picture of the meeting.

Call for Papers – Libraries as learning organisations: how to nurture growth in our staff and our communities

 World Library and Information Congress:

79th IFLA General Conference and Assembly

‘Future Libraries: Infinite Possibilities, 17-23 August 2013, Singapore 

IFLA Sections for Education and Training (SET) and

Continuing Professional Development and Workplace Learning (CPDWL)

Call for Papers

Session Title: Libraries as learning organisations: how to nurture growth in our staff and our communities

The concept of the Learning Organization (LO) is a model that can help organizations become successful and grow in a fast changing information environment.  Learning organizations are agile and flexible with the ability to challenge the role of entrenched bureaucracy and rigid rules.  There is a clear focus on continuous improvement: this means that workplace learning is actively encouraged at all levels of the organization, with the open exchange of information enabling managers and staff to share their ideas and experiences. 

While the concept of learning organizations has been discussed in management literature for more than 25 years, it is clear that in recent times the concept has become ever more relevant to the library sector.  The powerful combination of individual learning and collective learning in the library environment contributes to the process of stimulating creative ideas which can transform our institutions and support the development of innovative programs and services for our users.   In turn, our communities look to the library as the source of formal and informal learning opportunities to improve their own lives and livelihoods.  The connections between libraries and learning are widely acknowledged, but we actually know very little about how these connections are shaping today’s public libraries, academic libraries and special libraries.  Beyond the theory – what is the practice?  How do libraries effectively nurture growth in their staff and in their communities?

The IFLA Sections for Education and Training (SET) and Continuing Professional Development and Workplace Learning (CPDWL) are seeking papers on the topic of learning organizations in the context of the library and information management profession.   Paper proposals are invited that address the following range of topics:

• Has your library actively used the learning organization model to help it achieve continuous improvement?

• Can your library be described as a ‘learning organization’?   Does it thrive on change?

• What strategies does your library have in place to help both staff and the community adapt to the rapidly changing socio-cultural and technological environments?

• How is learning mapped to your institution’s strategic planning process?

• Has your institution developed policies and practices that promote the integration of learning concepts through libraries?

• Do your communities recognise the library as the centre of learning because of the programs it delivers and the services it offers?

• How are LIS education programs developing a new generation of library and information professionals who are committed to embracing change as a positive force?

• What internal learning programs does your library have in place to promote a shared vision of individual and collective learning?

The takeaway from this session will be a series of vibrant examples where the broad concept of the learning organization is either in operation or where the idea has been tried and evaluated.  The ultimate objective is to build a body of literature on this topic that will help to guide librarians who want to implement this concept.

To submit a proposal

Proposals should include:

• An abstract of paper approximately 500 words

• A summary of the author(s) details (name, institution, position) and brief biographical statement of no more

Proposals should be submitted electronically to Sylvia Piggott at spiggott@sympatico.ca with a copy to Gillian Hallam at g.hallam@qut.edu.au  no later than January 31, 2013 and indicate ‘IFLA proposal’ in the subject line. 

 Selected presenters will be notified by March 28, 2013.

Full papers

The deadline for the final version of the full papers accepted for the session is May 14, 2013.  Papers should be in English (or in one of the official IFLA languages1, with an English translation attached).  The language of the session will be English. Presenters will have 20 minutes in the programme session to deliver their papers, and time will be allowed for an open forum to allow audience interaction.

Please note that the Programme Committee has no funds to assist prospective authors: abstracts should only be submitted on the understanding that the expenses of the attending the Singapore conference (including travel, expenses and conference fee) will be the responsibility of the authors(s)/presenter(s) of accepted papers. At least one author will be expected to attend conference to deliver the paper. Some national professional associations may be able to help fund certain expenses, and a small number of grants for conference attendance may be available at: www.ifla.org/III/members/grants.htm

For more information, please contact:

Sylvia Piggott spiggott@sympatico.ca or

Gillian Hallam g.hallam@qut.edu.au

References

Senge, P. (2006). The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization.  Revised edition.  London: Random House.

Smith, M. K. (2001). The learning organization.  Retrieved October 24, 2012 from http://www.infed.org/biblio/learning-organization.htm

¿Qué impresiones tienen la gente sobre la bibliotecología como carrera profesional?

By Sarah Newbutt, Barbara Sen, Estibens Espinal C.

¿Qué impresiones tienen la gente sobre la bibliotecología como carrera profesional?

Sarah Newbutt

The Grammar School, Leeds, UK, SarahNewbutt@yahoo.co.uk

Barbara Sen

Department of Information Studies, University of Sheffield, UK

Traducción de

Estibens Espinal C.

Bibliotecólogo de la Escuela Interamericana de Bibliotecología, Universidad de Antioquia.

 

Resumen: el presente estudio tiene como objetivo revelar las impresiones que tienen los jóvenes sobre la bibliotecología como carrera profesional, qué barreras se le presentan a aquellas personas que entran a la profesión y qué les atrae de la misma. Se utilizaron dos cuestionarios: el primero se aplicó a una muestra de jóvenes cuyas edades oscilaban entre los 18 y 24 años, los cuales planeaban tomar una decisión sobre su futuro profesional; el segundo se aplicó a estudiantes de maestría en bibliotecología de la Universidad de Sheffield, quienes ya habían escogido dicho programa como su carrera profesional. Los cuestionarios indagaron por las impresiones de la gente acerca de la bibliotecología como carrera y dieron cuenta de las barreras que se presentaban al momento de entrar a la profesión. En el estudio se encontró  que, tanto la falta de conocimiento sobre lo que implica el rol del bibliotecario como la falta de conocimiento de la opción de bibliotecología como carrera profesional, influyó en la percepción negativa  de los jóvenes por convertirse en bibliotecarios. Los estudiantes de maestría en bibliotecología identificaron un número de obstáculos que interferían en el acceso a dicha profesión y sugirieron posibles soluciones para abordar esa situación. La bibliotecología no atrae a los jóvenes debido las impresiones que tienen de la misma. Por tanto, con el fin de erradicar las ideas equivocadas que se tienen sobre esta carrera,  los bibliotecólogos deben de  promover su quehacer, ya que un mayor conocimiento de la  bibliotecología  conducirá a que ésta se convierta en una opción más atractiva para los jóvenes.

Building an information literate research community

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Conference Proceedings – The Road to information Literacy : Librarians as Facilitators of Learning

 

A new paper has been added to the IFLA website (www.ifla.org/publications/ifla-publications-series-157 ).  The paper ‘Building an information literate research community’ is by Jayshree Mamtora who is Research Services Coordinator, Charles Darwin University, Australia and was presented at the Satellite Conference held this summer in Finland.  It is a case-study of how Charles Darwin University successfully built up their research support and how library staff were developed along the way to offer this support.

Research support is very topical currently as research funding becomes harder to get and as Open Access develops across the globe.  Developing the skills librarians need to support researchers’ information literacy development was one theme running through the conference, the Proceedings also include a paper by Clare Walker on this topic.