Monthly Archives: April 2022

The 10-Minute International Librarian #87: Explain why books matter

This Saturday will be World Book and Copyright Day, launched by UNESCO in 1995 on 23 April – the day on which both Cervantes and Shakespeare died. It is also the day, in Catalonia, where it is traditional to offer books and roses as gifts.

Of course there are many international days, but this is a particularly important one for libraries, and is strongly celebrated by our field around the world.

Yet books are often taken for granted.

They have arguably faced tough competition in the attention economy, with streaming platforms and others looking to occupy time that previously would have been spent reading.

They are also, sadly, sometimes forgotten in cultural policies which focus more on ‘live’ arts than on giving a central role of literature, despite the deep reach that this has, not least through libraries.

Meanwhile, despite the importance of combatting illiteracy being clear, there can be a focus on shiny technological solutions, rather than promoting the wider reading of books that develops deeper skills.

So for our 87th 10-Minute International Librarian exercise, explain why books matter.

How can you, in a sentence or two, set out why it is important to invest in books, and in their promotion to communities?

How is it possible to do this in a way that appeals to all, rather than just to existing book-buying and book-reading populations?

What story can you tell of how books – and access to them – have changed people’s lives.

Share your ideas in the comments box below.

Good luck, and happy World Book Day!

 

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

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 International Librarian #86: Put yourself in a colleague’s position

As already highlighted many times in this series, collaboration is both a feature of the library field, and a priority.

It is an essential part of so much of our work, both within and outside individual institutions, enabling activities such as cooperative preservation projects, document supply, and the creation of many digital libraries.

We can of course always be doing more, making new connections, in order to learn, to think differently, and to create solutions.

Going into collaboration, it is useful to think about how to make this as effective as possible for all involved.

And so, just as we do with library users, we need to change our perspective, looking at things through their eyes.

So for our 86th 10-Minute International Librarian, put yourself in a colleague’s position.

What are their priorities, and what are their needs? What motivates them, what tires them out?

Crucially, what does this mean for how you go about making collaboration happen? What can you change, and what can you leave the same.

Share your experiences of great collaborations with colleagues in the comments below!

Good luck!

 

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

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 #12: Explore Digital Brainstorming Tools

The third round of posts in our 10-Minute Digital Librarian series focuses on digital productivity tools – things that allow you to be more effective in your work.

As highlighted in IFLA’s Global Vision, a key characteristic of the library field is collaboration. Libraries and library and information workers are naturally open to working with each other and sharing, in order better to support the needs of users. That’s why we have associations with committees focused on bringing together people to share ideas and experiences.

We also rely on successful engagement with users in order to design services that work for them. We need to hear their views and ideas to know how best to help them.

Of course, seeking views can also take time, so there’s a real interest in finding ways that are fun, interactive and easy to do this. The result will be stronger strategies, plans and outputs.

Digital brainstorming tools can be really helpful as means of doing this, and so exploring these is the focus of our 12th 10-Minute Digital Librarian post.

One option is a service like Jamboard, offered for free by Google to anyone with a Google account. It effectively acts as a digital whiteboard, where you can add in images, lines or text. It can, for example, act in a similar way to a board where you attach post-it notes with ideas. Other free services online include Mural and Miro.

You could also look at tools focused on mind-mapping, using diagrams to try and write down and organise ideas in order to work with them. Options here include MindMeister and MindMup, both of which allow you to generate an attractive output that can be used later.

These tools allow a number of people to contribute at the same time, opening possibilities for group work, or simply giving people time to come up with and contribute their ideas in a way that can easily be read and accessed by others. In particular, they can be helpful for potential contributors who may feel uncomfortable speaking up, or not be so confident in the main language used. They can also allow people to build off each other’s ideas of course.

In this way, you can hopefully make seeking and generating ideas from colleagues as easy and exciting as possible.

Let us know about the digital brainstorming tools that you have found most useful in the comments below!

 

If you are interested in issues around digital tools in libraries in general, you should take a look at the work of IFLA’s Information Technology Section.

Discover our full series of 10-Minute Digital Librarian posts, as well as our infographics.

The 10-Minute International Librarian #85: Think of a library myth that you can debunk

Libraries have long been key institutions in communities.

While this means that we have strong name recognition, it’s not always the case that people know what we’re about. There are a lot of library myths out there.

Look up library stereotypes on the internet, and there’s plenty of material. Although of course, you have probably come across many of these yourself in your work.

While some myths are relatively harmless, others give a dangerous false impression of what we do.

They can influence decisions about libraries – from discouraging someone from visiting the library, to giving a politician the impression that there is little harm in voting against library funding.

It is therefore important to be able to identify and correct these impressions.

So for our 85th 10 Minute International Librarian exercise, think of a library myth that you can debunk!

What false ideas do you come across that shape the way that people think about where you work?

How are they wrong? Maybe they are outdated (many people’s last experience of libraries was from their student days or childhood, which may be a long time ago)? Maybe they ignore the diversity of libraries?

Think then about how you can show why they are wrong – either in words or in your actions – and how to do this in a way that will change someone’s mind, for example with humour, or by remaining positive.

Share your best examples of debunked library myths in the comments box below.

Good luck!

 

This idea relates to the IFLA Strategy! Key Initiative 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 below!