Monthly Archives: January 2021

Using Library Map of the World Data as SDG Indicators

Alongside the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, a core focus of the United Nations 2030 Agenda is the importance of tracking progress. The two go together; there is little point in setting objectives without establishing also a means of tracing how well countries are doing in achieving them.

In order to support this at the global level, the United Nations has established a list of 231 unique indicators. Member States are encouraged to collect and present data for these (where methodologies have been agreed), as well as finding other metrics that can help track progress towards the SDGs.

This blog sets out ways in which you can propose datasets collected for IFLA’s Library Map of the World as indicators of progress towards the SDGs.

The Limits and Possibilities of Library Map of the World Data as SDG Metrics

In each case below, it is argued that library data can be used as a proxy for something that matters, such as how much a society is investing in equality or lifelong learning, or how much people are using community spaces.

Clearly, these are just proxies. First of all, in the absence of wide-ranging household surveys, it is difficult to show specific causality between library data and specific outcomes at a national or regional level, a point also made in the EBLIDA report on SDG Indicators in European libraries.

Nonetheless, there are correlations which allow us to make certain points in our advocacy about how strong and well-used library fields tend to be associated with various positive outcomes (see our Library Stat of the Week series for more).

It should be noted, in contrast, that in the context of individual projects, it is possible to gather feedback and results from participants which can indicate what is possible, as illustrated in the SDG Stories on IFLA’s Library Map of the World.

More fundamentally, the fact that the UN is using 231 indicators underlines that measuring progress towards the SDGs relies not on any one single metric or index, but on a wide range of them. As this blog argues, library data certainly can have its place in the mix.

Number of libraries

First of all, the number of public or community libraries in a country can be used as an indicator of how strong the infrastructure is for supporting literacy and lifelong learning (SDGs 4 and 8), as well as providing community space (SDG 11), a basic service for all (SDG 1), and as a place for accessing eGovernment (SDG16). With the role of culture recognised in delivering the SDGs as a whole, you can also use this data as an indicator of levels of access to culture.

You can provide figures for numbers of libraries per person in order to compare the situation in your country with those elsewhere, or calculate the average area served by each library to indicate how far people are, on average from a library.

The number of school libraries, in those countries which have not given school library responsibilities to public libraries, can be a further indicator of quality education (SDG 4). If you can find how many schools there are in your country, you can indicate what share of these do, or do not, benefit from library services. As highlighted in our analysis of Voluntary National Reviews so far, the presence (or absence) of school libraries is often seen as an indicator of the strength of the wider education system.

Numbers of academic and research libraries can serve as an indicator of the quality of the infrastructure for supporting research and innovation (SDG9), as well as for supporting success of all students (SDG4).

Finally, the existence of a national library can provide an indication of the development of institutions in general (SDG16), given the role of these libraries in supporting the wider book sector, and in ensuring the preservation of the historical record for future generations.

Number of library workers

Where available, numbers of library workers can be presented as providing a more accurate idea of the strength of the library field, and so of the infrastructure for supporting education and literacy (SDG4), skills development and job-seeking (SDG8), access to culture and other services (SDG1), community-building (SDG11) and research (SDG9).

In particular, numbers of library workers correlate much more strongly than numbers of libraries with outcomes such greater equality (both between women and men, and on other dimensions such as immigrant background and wealth). As such, numbers of libraries can provide an indicator of investment in pro-equity policies (SDGs 5 and 10).

Once again, you can calculate numbers of library workers per million people or per student in order to develop a comparable idea of the strength of libraries and library services in your country. This approach also allows you to cancel out the impact of a tendency to more but less well-staffed libraries in some countries, and fewer but better-staffed libraries in others.

Libraries with internet access

The digital divide remains a reality, defined not just as the gap between those with and without internet access, but also between those who have the confidence and competence to use the internet effectively, and those who do not.

Libraries have an acknowledged role not only in bringing people online, but also in fostering the skills needed to make safe and effective use of the internet, with a strong focus on groups which might otherwise be excluded.

As such, you can propose data on the number of libraries providing internet access as an indicator of how effectively a country is providing support for everyone to make the most of the internet (SDGs 5, 9 and 17). In particular, you may want to focus on the number of libraries offering internet access per million people (as a way of allowing comparisons with other countries), and the share of libraries which are offering internet access.

Numbers of visits and registered users

Moving from the strength of the library field to the use made of it, data about the number of visits to libraries per year, and the share of the population registered can be proposed as an indicator of the effectiveness of government policies around education, culture, research and community activities.

For example, Finland used data on library visits as a metric of engagement in learning in its 2020 Voluntary National Review (SDG4). Visits to libraries also tend to correlate with wider engagement in culture, which is relevant across the SDGs. Numbers of visits can also be used as an indicator of level of use of public spaces (SDG11).

Numbers of loans

Another indicator of levels of use of libraries, at least in their core role of supporting reading and research, is the number of loans they make. You can calculate this on a per-person basis, at least if you have national-level data.

While, arguably, lending books is only one part of the work of many libraries now, it can still be used as an indicator of engagement in reading and learning (SDG4), and research (SDG9) as well as of wider cultural engagement.

Hopefully, the ideas in this blog give you can idea of how you may be able to propose library data to the authorities responsible for tracking progress towards the SDGs. Depending on what your country is already doing – and the data you have available – you will want to adapt your message of course. In particular if your country is carrying out a Voluntary National Review, there may be interesting opportunities to engage.

Let us know how you get on!

Taming the Wild West of Digital Copyright

Understandably, the state of copyright law was not at the front of everyone’s minds in the library field in 2020. Much more immediate concerns – how to continue to fulfil missions with the doors closed, how to provide services in a way that doesn’t put staff or users at risk – were top of mind.

Nonetheless, they were felt, in the rules around online storytimes, remote access to materials, and the terms and conditions under which libraries could access digital content.

The pandemic, in effect, shone a light onto the possibilities and limitations of copyright laws, and their impact on libraries and their users, which has the potential to shape debates for years to come.

Crucially, it underlined that, as opposed to the situation around physical works for which there are pre-existing infrastructures and practices, copyright in the digital world is more of a wild west.

In other words, the way in which copyright applies it the digital space – and in particular which laws and principles should apply – remains contested, and even unclear. In effect, the law has yet to move in, leaving those with the greatest strength in charge.

To go into more depth – and in line with the idea of digital copyright as a wild west – this blog looks at different aspects of the situation through the medium of Westerns.

The Searchers

… or at least more correctly, the researchers – alongside other groups who rely on libraries – students, teachers, readers in general. Because throughout, it’s important to remember who are the ones affected here.

It is these groups who suffer when it is not possible to access, or make use of works in a library collection because of restrictions, or a lack of clarity over what is permissible.

Activities such as document supply or lending – relatively well accepted and established in the physical world, are not always in the digital. They can be simply blocked – made impossible through technological tools or contract terms – or made subject to a requirement to pay additional fees – an obligation that can be enough to put off many.

When these activities are prevented, this has a cost, felt in the results of research carried out, the possibility for teachers to use the best possible materials for teaching, and the experience of learners.

While it may not be easy to put a monetary value on such costs, this does not mean it can be disregarded. Just as a lack of access to education or to healthcare causes harm, so too does a lack of access to information.

For a Few Dollars More

This is an issue, as hinted, because the shift to digital media gives rightholders much greater control over what a user can do with a book or other type of material.

In effect, whereas it would not have been possible to try to oblige payment of a licence fee in order to quote from a physical work, or to read and analyse it, this possibility does appear in the digital world.

Certainly, trying to licence such activities could represent a money-spinner for those organisations managing licences and collecting administration fees. However, this fails to take account of the harm that can be done by excluding those who aren’t able to pay (as set out above).

In short, while there may be a temptation to see new possibilities to raise money through licence fees, it is important to ensure that the societal costs of such an approach are also clear.

Yet without intervention, decision-making power is left with those who can set the terms, without much incentive to take into account the interests of users. Of course, the power of those who set the terms can then be challenged by others – not least digital platforms, whose hold over distribution and dissemination of information can be just as problematic. Either way, of course, the interests of users risk being forgotten.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The previous two sections have focused on the theoretical. The situation is obviously less clear cut in practice. Just because there is little or no regulation over the application of copyright to digital materials, this does not mean that everything is bad.

The pandemic saw many rightholders make positive steps to broaden access, for example through increasing collections available open access, or loosening controls on where students could access licenced materials.

While to some extent, enlightened self-interest may be at play – pay-walling articles about COVID-19 would have caused bad press, and of course free content can be good advertising – the results in the short term were certainly positive.

At the same time, with many of these offers seemingly lapsing well before the end of the pandemic, the limitations of relying on enlightened self-interest are clear. The high prices paid by public libraries, funded through taxation, in order to licence eBooks, and the relatively low number of books that could be bought, highlight the challenges.

In parallel, there have been more worrying stories, notably around high prices and restrictive terms for electronic content (including since the beginning of the pandemic), and more worryingly still, talk of using spyware to identify use of shadow libraries. While of course, use of such libraries cannot be condoned, the ethics of using such a response are questionable.

High Noon

It is these practical stories that, we can hope, will ensure a stronger focus among governments, on ensuring firstly that there is clarity in the law around digital copyright, and that it is effective.

In order to get there, libraries can do well to gather stories and evidence of the challenges they have faced. High prices (especially for electronic as opposed to physical content) and restrictions on how works can be used that prevent usual library activities are good examples.

It is also true that evidence from COVID times will not suddenly cease to be relevant once we can finally declare the pandemic over.

While clearly the situation now is (hopefully) unique, there are many people who depend on – or would benefit from – more meaningful possibilities to access and use library collections digitally. Furthermore, it is unclear how long COVID-linked restrictions will last, and the habit of digital use is likely to stick for many, even beyond the pandemic.

This evidence will be valuable when opportunities arise to discuss changes to the law, or even to encourage debate, for example in parliamentary committees or the media.

Once Upon a Time in the West (of Switzerland)

Examples are not just relevant for work at the national level. Indeed, in a digital world, the idea of defining purely national copyright laws is increasingly absurd, given how much content is stored on the cloud, and how regularly we access materials from outside of the country where we are.

This is where the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO based in Geneva) has the opportunity to step up.

By providing clarity about the application of public interest exceptions and limitations to copyright in the digital world, it can help bring law to the chaos that exists currently, not just from one country to the next, but indeed from one licensing contract to the next.

As set out in our newspiece looking ahead to copyright in 2021, IFLA is continuing to make the case for action at WIPO. Because while westerns are fun, the best way of protecting the interests of all is to apply the law.

Libraries on the Road to Recovering and Revitalising Education

2021’s International Day of Education (24 January) carries a different weight than it has in past years. Although universal access to education is well-established as a human right, as well as a driver of sustainable development, the COVID-19 pandemic has added a new-found urgency, as well as a new set of challenges, to its delivery.

Fittingly, this year’s International Day of Education is dedicated to the theme: ‘Recover and Revitalize Education for the COVID-19 Generation’.

From UNESCO: “Now is the time to power education by stepping up collaboration and international solidarity to place education and lifelong learning at the centre of the recovery.”

Libraries are an essential piece of this recovery.

As the world begins to look towards a post-COVID world, the theme of this year’s International Day of Education is a call to libraries to advocate for – and deliver on – their role in building back better through enabling and promoting learning.

The groundwork is there – libraries are already helping to reduce inequalities in education. One example is through their role in providing access to the internet, which increasingly is becoming a deciding factor in a student’s ability to engage in school.

In so many places already, libraries and their staff are helping their communities stay connected with the resources, support, and tools that are needed not only to recover, but also to revitalise, education, and through it, lives.

Therefore, we are marking this day with some lessons-learned during the pandemic, as well as a look to the future of education – and libraries’ role in it.

COVID-19 and Support for Remote Learning

Since March 2020, IFLA has been monitoring library responses to the pandemic. This has provided a picture of how libraries have continued serving their communities despite physical closures and other restrictions. It has also provided a trove of stories showing how libraries have upheld support for education through challenging times.

You can find many examples to inform your own initiatives on our website.

Shared Stories: Public Libraries in Egypt

Heba Ismail, Secretary of the CPDWL Section and Libraries Technical Manager at Egypt’s Society for Culture & Development has shared a look at how libraries across Egypt have found success in engaging users during the pandemic. Here are some of ways they have supported education at all stages of life during this time:

Sharing links to educational resources in science, arts, culture, and heritage
Storytelling workshops for young readers
Free training workshops for school-aged students to assist with research-based projects, which replace end-of-year exams for most students
Online training services on topics including English Language and Computer Skills, conducted via Facebook
Participation in a national initiative to provide virtual programmes to train and qualify youth for the labour market
Conducting online courses in cooperation with civil society institutions such as the Arab Women Association.
Providing COVID-19 and public health information

See her full article online here.

COVID-19 and Professional Development

Librarians are not only the providers of lifelong learning. Librarians must also be recipients of ongoing training and professional development to enable agility in the face of rapid change.

IFLA’s CPDWL Section shared experiences and explored this concept further in their January 2021 newsletter.

Shared Stories: Tips and Lessons-Learned

Rajen Munoo, of the Singapore Management University Libraries, shares a key lesson regarding opportunities that may come hidden in the challenges of COVID-19: “Continued learning and upskilling is the new vaccine in managing our own personal professional development”.

Here are some ways that Section members found they could continue their own continued professional development (CPD) and learning during the pandemic:

Attend virtual conferences and webinars. Take the opportunity to discover new topics, such as research data management, open science, advocacy, and leadership. Not needing to travel may help you get approval from your institutions’ leadership to explore new areas.
Find opportunities to upskill in areas that support your institution’s digital transformation. This may include building competency in tools such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Outlook, Blackboard Collaborate, Mentimeter, and Leganto (Ex Libris resource list management system).
Get familiar with new formats for teaching and sharing information virtually, such as creating short videos.
Focus learning on open access information, such as online databases, repositories, scientific periodical portals, electronic book collections
Don’t forget personal well-being. Training in stress management and mindfulness can be helpful for both staff and users.
Get involved with mentoring programmes to facilitate knowledge-exchange between professionals at different career stages. Involvement in a national (or international) library association may help connect you to these opportunities.

While enriching librarians’ careers, these skills go beyond personal growth. They can be instrumental in helping library and information professionals meet the challenges of a post-COVID world.

Beyond COVID-19: The Future of Education

Perhaps as much as anything, the pandemic has made the deep inequalities that persist within our societies abundantly clear.

In terms of education, this means that those who are most disadvantaged have also been impacted the hardest.

The UN refers to COVID-19 as the largest disruption of education systems in history. While closures of schools and other learning spaces have “impacted 94% of the world’s student population”, the UN reports that this impact is up to 99% in low and lower-middle income countries [source].

Pre-existing education inequalities, such as reduced opportunities for those living in poor or rural areas, girls, refugees, persons with disabilities and forcibly displaced persons, have been worsened by the pandemic. These inequalities must be addressed to both recover and rejuvenate global education.

Reimagine Education

One of the UN’s recommendations to prevent further crisis is to “reimagine education and accelerate change in teaching and learning” [source, page 3]. This includes focussing on the needs of marginalised groups, offering employability programmes, supporting educators, and remove barriers to connectivity.

Innovative methods developed during the pandemic to provide services remotely, engage the public online, and connect more people to library services can continue benefiting society in the future.

IFLA stands ready to support the library profession in this work as we look to recovery and rejuvenation.

What can you do?

Advocate! – gather stories of how your library has adapted during the pandemic in order to support education and learning, and how it will continue these services in the future. Share these stories on your communication channels, with decision-makers, and with your local library association.

Learn Yourself! – be sure to take note of lessons you have learned during the pandemic, think about how they can help others now and in the future. Take advantage of opportunities to develop skills that can help you more effectively provide access to information and education.

Start Local! – identify inequalities in learning that exist in your community and align your programmes and services to address them. Look to team up with educators at your school, university, or within your community to amplify and support each other’s work.

The 10-Minute International Librarian #35: Check out the IFLA ideas store

The New Year is traditionally a time for trying new things, or taking an imaginative approach to things you have always done in a certain way.

But with the continued lockdown in many countries, it’s not always easy to come up with novel ideas.

Many of us are simply trying to keep going until we can get back to something like normal.

However, you don’t have to have all the ideas yourself!

There are great sources of ideas that others have tried and tested, that could give you inspiration for changing what you do, or the way you do it.

So for our 35^th 10-Minute International Librarian exercise, check out the IFLA Ideas Store!

It contains around a thousand ideas from around the world. They concern how you work with others, use technology, promote emerging leaders, and advocate.

Some things you can do on your own, some involve working with others.

All will help you work towards realising the opportunities set out in the IFLA Global Vision.

Take a look, and share your favourite idea in the comments box below!

Good luck!

This idea relates to the IFLA Strategy! Key Initiative 2.1: Shape public opinion and debate around open access and library values, including intellectual freedom and human rights.

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.

10-Minute International Librarian #34: Reaffirm your library values

Having a longer term strategy can be a great way of keeping yourself focused in busy times.

It can act as a reference point, and help you choose priorities.

But in times of uncertainty, long-term planning can seem ambitious.

Even setting goals for the following week can be tough when you don’t know if you will be able to open or not.

This is where values come in, helping you to stay inspired, and work out what’s the best thing to do in any situation.

So for our 34^th 10-Minute International Librarian exercise, reaffirm your library values.

For IFLA, it’s a focus on the importance of access to information in supporting personal and societal development, and on how excellent library services can make this happen.

As identified in the IFLA Global Vision, our field as a whole has this same focus on providing universal and equitable access.

Share your values in the comments below.

Good luck!

This idea relates to the IFLA Strategy! Key Initiative 1.4: Shape public opinion and debate around open access and library values, including intellectual freedom and human rights.

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.

Preservation and Conservation Across Borders: 2021 Look-ahead

Despite the challenges the world faced in 2020, IFLA’s Preservation and Conservation (PAC) Centres continued to carry out their mission of preserving and providing access to library and archive materials – all with an emphasis on international cooperation. Click here for highlights from the past year.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic and its related hardships continue into 2021, the PAC Centres continue to adapt to new challenges and work environments. In uncertain times, the need to build capacity to improve preservation and conservation conditions and practice is more important than ever.

Here is a look at how some of the PAC Centres are planning to have an impact in their regions and beyond in 2021.

Local/Regional Cooperation

One aspect of the PAC Centres’ work is creating a strong network of documentary heritage and library professionals in their region, helping to create tools and trainings to improve their networks’ conservation and preservation practice, and address regionally specific issues relating to documentary cultural heritage.

PAC Kazakhstan, hosted at the National Library of Kazakhstan, is active in the Central Asia region, making connections with librarians in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Turkey, and Russia. In the coming year, they are planning to conduct master classes on document restoration with colleagues from Uzbekistan and Turkey on the topic, “Technology of production of oriental lacquer binding with ornaments”.

PAC Kazakhstan and PAC Russia have established a close relationship, and the Centres will continue to carry out joint work in the coming year, focussing on experience-sharing in book restoration.

PAC Trinidad and Tobago, hosted at the National Library and Information System Authority (NALIS), will continue providing technical assistance and advice on preservation and conservation issues to almost 150 librarians and other heritage keepers in the Caribbean region. These consultations usually include a site visit with assessment, documentation and measurements, followed by reports and recommendations for collection care and preservation.

PAC Trinidad and Tobago also continues in their role engaging with UNESCO as a member of the Regional and National committees of UNESCO Memory of the World. This year, their work will also include developing a Preservation Training Programme for staff at the National Public Library, Archive and Documentation Services (NPLDS) of St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Further, the centre will continue developing their collaborative work with the Caribbean Heritage Emergency Network (CHEN), created by CARBICA, the Caribbean Regional Branch of the International Council on Archives at the invitation of the National Archives of Trinidad & Tobago.

This is an exciting collaboration that will work to strengthen disaster risk reduction and response efforts for libraries in the Caribbean region.

PAC Qatar, hosted at the National Library of Qatar, carries out a wide range of activities every year that work to share knowledge, provide training, and safeguard the region’s documentary heritage.

The Centre will continue developing the Himaya project (حماية): Countering the trafficking and illegal circulation of the documentary heritage in the MENA region and neighboring countries. Qatar National Library and the PAC Center will cooperate and partner with various organizations such as the World Customs Organization (WCO), INTERPOL, UNIDROIT, UNESCO-Lebanon and others to combat the trafficking of manuscripts, books and archives in the MENA region.

For those interested in learning about anti-trafficking work, keep an eye on IFLA’s news and events for more on this project.

Beyond this, the Centre will continue supporting preservation in memory institutions in the MENA region through training on documentary heritage preservation and library preparedness in case of conflicts, observing documentary heritage at risk in the Arab region and emergency response, and exploring sustainable building construction for libraries and archives.

All upcoming PAC Qatar events are shared on IFLA’s website, so stay tuned for opportunities to join training sessions in 2021.

PAC Japan, hosted at the National Diet Library, plans to continue in their role on the Preservation Committee of the Japan Library Association (JLA), which works to ensure preservation of Japanese materials and collections.

The Centre also cooperates closely with the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties and the National Archives of Japan and provides training programmes on preservation and conservation through these organisations.

International Cooperation

Beyond working in their specific regions, one important aspect of the PAC Programme is the ability to share knowledge on an international scale. Although many of our host libraries continue to be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, here is a look at some international activities planned for 2021.

PAC Japan is involved in a UNDP-funded project involving the training of cultural heritage experts in Syria. However, 2020’s programme in Japan had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When the global situation improves, the PAC Centre looks forward to continuing with this work.

The Centre is interested in inviting preservation specialists from other national libraries worldwide for experience-sharing and training opportunities. If the situation permits, this will be a goal for 2021.

Beyond their work with PAC Kazhakstan and libraries in Central Asia, PAC Russia, hosted at the Margarita Rudomino All-Russia State Library for Foreign Literature, is planning activities with international libraries on topics relating to preservation and conservation of books. This includes inviting specialists from the Library of Catalonia and the Library of Congress to facilitate workshops on bookbinding.

The Centre is planning professional exchange programmes and workshops on the preservation and conservation of books with the Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts and the National Library of the Czech Republic.

PAC Qatar continues their ongoing effort to ssafeguard the Arab world’s sound and audio-visual heritage through a programme implemented in the framework of the cooperation project between University College London-Qatar, the British Library and the Qatar National Library. This programme includes online and on-site trainings and cooperation and an agreement with the International Association of Sound and Audio-visual Archives (IASA) to translate and distribute publications.

Training

An important aspect of PAC Centre’s work that IFLA members can often engage with directly are the training sessions carried out by the Centres. While some are on-site, an increasing number are offered online.

For those upcoming events that invite an international audience, be sure to check IFLA’s online events page and subscribe to the PAC mailing list.

Here’s a look at the training projects the PAC Centres are planning for 2021:

Trinidad and Tobago are developing preservation training sessions to include:

Dealing With Mould
Caring For Your Family Heirlooms
Introduction to the Care of Photographs

PAC Qatar has a full programme of training throughout the year that invites libraries in the region and beyond to attend. Watch IFLA’s events page for upcoming invitations to participate.

PAC Japan has delivered their annual Preservation Forum in an online format for the first time, with a focus on protective enclosures. Upcoming workshops and events will depend on the COVID-19 situation. Opportunities to connect with the Centre, especially for other libraries in the Asia-Oceania region, will be shared as they arise.

Engaging with the Centres

Beyond joining training sessions, you are invited to access materials developed by the PAC Centres that may help you in your own preservation and conservation efforts.

This includes a wide range of materials available online, from videos on the history and preservation of various audio-visual materials from PAC Chile [available here], to IFLA’s Risk Register resources for reducing risk [available here].

Start here: The PAC Frequently Asked Questions share tips for common questions relating to material preservation, storage, risk reduction, and more. This is a great resource to directly access the knowledge of the PAC Centres and apply it to your collections.

Join the Preservation and Conservation mailing list for regular updates, opportunities, and more.

Do you have questions about the PAC Centres and their work? Get in touch: Claire.mcguire@ifla.org

Library Policy and Advocacy Blog

an informal forum for sharing ideas about the key policy and advocacy challenges and opportunities for libraries around the world