Author Archives: clairemcguire

Libraries Provide a Window to the World: UN World Day for Audiovisual Heritage

The UN World Day for Audiovisual Heritage (27 October) raises awareness of the urgent need to take action towards acknowledging the importance of audiovisual material and preserving it for future generations.

These materials record and transmit stories, sharing the cultures, creativity, and memory of people from the past and today, from all around the world. Ensuring that this material remains accessible, and that people can benefit from it, is one way that libraries contribute to promoting multiculturalism.

As the IFLA/UNESCO Multicultural Library Manifesto sets out, the missions of multicultural library services include safeguarding linguistic and cultural heritage and giving support to expression, creation and dissemination in all relevant languages, and supporting the preservation of oral tradition and intangible cultural heritage [read the full Manifesto here].

These values are central to the theme for this year’s World Day for Audiovisual Heritage celebrations – “a Window to the World”.

The UN values audiovisual heritage as an “affirmation of our collective memory and a valuable source of knowledge”. The contribution of libraries helps people engage with the cultural, social and linguistic diversity of their communities and beyond, to celebrate it, and through this, to promote a culture of peace.

IFLA PAC Centres Preserving Audiovisual Heritage

IFLA’s Preservation and Conservation (PAC) Centre hosted at Qatar National Library has been engaging in a project to safeguard the Arab world’s audiovisual heritage.

Hear from Stéphane Ipert (Director) and Maxim Nasra of the PAC Centre at Qatar National Library for an update on what the library is doing to preserve audiovisual heritage.

Q: What are the challenges associated with preserving audiovisual material?

A: Audiovisual archival documents, given their explicit recognition as an essential component of memory and cultural heritage, pose new problems for archive professionals. This is linked on the one hand to the difficulty of understanding the characteristics of this type of documents, which are new to archivists, and which also poses challenges at the level of methods of processing and preserving them. On the other hand, the weakness and fragility of these documents is a issue for their sustainability.

Unfortunately, audio and video audio recordings are not permanent. Due to their unstable components, internal and external factors can accelerate its deterioration and shorten its life. And reading equipment is rare, especially in the Arab markets. By taking some precautionary measures, we can extend its lifespan and thus preserve its invaluable contents.

Q: What is the PAC Centre doing for AV Documentary Heritage?

A: Due to the lack of standards and guidelines in the Arabic language, we contacted The International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives (IASA) to see if they would be interested to have their preservation standards translated into Arabic (the run to approximately 600 pages). The Qatar National Library, as an IFLA PAC Regional Center, signed an agreement with the International Association of Sound and Audiovisual Archives (IASA) for the translation, production and distribution into Arabic of the following IASA technical publications:

IASA-TC 03 The Safeguarding of the Audiovisual Heritage: Ethics, Principles and Preservation Strategy
IASA-TC 04 Guidelines on the Production and Preservation of Digital Audio Objects
IASA-TC 05 Handling and Storage of Audio and Video Carriers
IASA-TC 06 Guidelines for the Preservation of Video Recordings

These standards will be published in mid-2022.

Last year, in collaboration with the Centre for Arab and Mediterranean Music in Tunisia, the British Library, and UCL-Qatar, our PAC Centre produced a glossary (English – Arabic) of key terms used in audiovisual preservation. This glossary is an ongoing project and will be updated regularly.

It was a prerequisite to start a survey of audiovisual collections across the MENA region and especially in Gulf region. The aim is to understand the needs and challenges of institutions in order to build their capacities and strengthen knowledge and information exchange.

This project is ongoing because of the pandemic and limited staff availability. Now the project has resumed and should be finished by the end of 2022. We may work in cooperation with Athar-center in Sharjah (ICCROM -Arabic region) which shows a lot of interest for that topic.

Find the survey here.

The survey is still open, and we encourage institutes to reply to it. From the responses we have received and will get in the coming months, we hope to highlight the needs and challenges for this type of collection in the region.

We also encourage the digitisation of such collections. This is a necessity because support and reading machines are fragile. Digitisation is a way to avoid the wear and tear of inevitable decades of trying to extend the life of audiovisual libraries.

Qatar National Library also acquired the adapted equipment and has started the digitisation of its collection. We also provide cheap services for other institutions in the region. In 2022 we hope to organise 1 or 2 courses on this topic here in Doha, Qatar.

Find out more about the PAC Centre hosted at Qatar National Library here.

Arabic speakers can access past events on Audiovisual Heritage hosted by Qatar National Library at the following links:

IFLA’s Audiovisual and Multimedia Section

Within IFLA’s professional structures, the Audiovisual and Multimedia Section brings together an international group of professionals who are committed to creating, collecting, describing, preserving, and providing access to audiovisual and multimedia content.

Learn more about the Section and their work here: https://www.ifla.org/units/avms/.

The Coordinating Council of Audiovisual Archives Associations (CCAAA), on which IFLA participates, has curated more information and a list of publicly-accessible events.

Find out more on their website: https://www.ccaaa.org/WDAVH2021

Take Further Action: the 2015 Recommendation

The World Day for Audiovisual Heritage is also a call for UN Member States to evaluate their performance towards implementing the 2015 Recommendation Concerning the Preservation of, and Access to, Documentary Heritage, Including in Digital Form.

Did you know IFLA provides a checklist that can help you assess the progress being made in your country, and potential gaps to which libraries may be able to contribute?

Mark World Day for Audiovisual Heritage by taking action:

Are you familiar with UNESCO’s 2015 Recommendation? Refer to IFLA’s briefing to learn more about the Recommendation and how libraries can make an impact.
Use IFLA’s 2015 Recommendation Checklist to assess the progress being made in your country to preserve and provide access to documentary heritage
Share what your library is doing to preserve and provide access to audiovisual material on social media using the hashtags: #AudiovisualHeritageDay #AudiovisualHeritage

Get in touch for assistance: claire.mcguire@ifla.org

Getting Involved in Cultural Heritage Advocacy: European Days of Conservation-Restoration 2021

The European Confederation of Conservator-Restorers Organisations (E.C.C.O.) sets aside a week every year to celebrate Europe’s cultural heritage and the professionals who work to preserve and provide access to it.

It is inspiring to see the preservation and digitisation of books, papers, manuscripts, photographs, and other documentary heritage materials feature during this week. IFLA especially highlights those working to preserve materials that make up the memory of the world, as libraries and library professionals are essential keepers of this cultural heritage. We explored this further in our blog post for European Day of Conservation-Restoration 2020, which you can read here.

For this year’s European Days of Conservation-Restoration, a social media campaign highlighted good practices and the professionals and institutions involved in this work. However, it also explored other themes, such as heritage at risk, sustainability, and the importance of reaching out and building networks.

This provides a great example for cultural heritage professionals around the world of an accessible way to get involved in advocacy.

Storytelling for Advocacy

Cultural heritage provides a gateway to the vast collective knowledge of humankind; it inspires connection and fuels creativity and innovation.

Cultural heritage professionals can help promote recognition of the potential of cultural heritage for bettering society through engaging in advocacy on how their work makes a positive impact.

The importance of incorporating advocacy and storytelling into cultural heritage conservation practice was among the topics presented by IFLA in a keynote address to the Institute of Conservation (ICON) Book and Paper Group Conference 2021 titled: Inspiring and Informing Development: Advocating for culture in sustainable development.

An important theme of this address was that no one person is too small to make a difference.

The IFLA speaker urged cultural heritage professionals to act boldly – individually and within networks – as advocates, telling stories that help illustrate the value that cultural heritage has for people now and into the future.

Examples – European Days of Conservation 2021

Using online platforms to proactively reach out and tell stories can be effective means by which to connect with community members, policymakers, and fellow professionals.

Participating in celebrations like the European Days of Conservation-Restoration is an excellent opportunity to join voices with others and increase one’s reach.

The E.C.C.O. called for its community of European conservation and restoration professionals to take part in a social media campaign – highlighting stories that invite viewers into their workspaces and highlight the important role they have in safeguarding cultural heritage.

There were several fascinating posts that feature documentary cultural heritage. These posts bring conservation and restoration practice to life, and help other understand the work that goes in to ensuring these materials remain accessible.

Some examples include the Association of Conservator-Restorers in Bulgaria highlighting several institutions that specialise in conservation of works on paper; information-sharing on how documents are preserved from the Samuel Guichenon Collection, Historical University Library of Medicine, Montpellier University; and the National Archives of Malta demonstrates a treatment for paper that has been damaged by iron gall ink.

For more, visit E.C.C.O. on social media: Facebook & Twitter.

Sustainability, Cooperation, and Networking

Beyond highlighting good practice, a goal of this year’s European Days of Conservation-Restoration was also to raise awareness of key aspects of cultural heritage’s role in society, including access and sustainability.

Participants were encouraged to explore this through themes on the preservation of tangible cultural heritage in the view of climate change and the importance of reaching out beyond the sector – involving politics, education, training and research as pillars for cooperation towards sustainability and development.

The social media campaign took this opportunity to raise awareness of several initiatives that are linking cultural heritage with broader development intiatives, such as EU-funded project CLIMATE FOR CULTURE, the Joint Programming Initiative on Cultural Heritage and Global Change, and the Climate Heritage Network.

For example, as part of its #ClimateHeritage Mobilisation @ Climate Fridays webinar series, Climate Heritage Network delivered a webinar on the theme: Building Reuse is Climate Action. A wider audience was invited to attend this programme, which offered a compelling environmental case for building reuse and its part in the goal for zero carbon emissions.

IFLA is a founding member of the Climate Heritage Network. Follow more on IFLA’s involvement with Climate Heritage Network in the coming weeks in the lead-up to COP26.

Everyone can be an advocate

Joining networks, reaching out beyond the sector, and highlighting connections between cultural heritage practice and social issues like sustainability are all ways to get involved in advocacy.

Participating in events such as the European Days of Conservation-Restoration by taking part in social media campaigns and joining virtual events is a low/no-cost action that individuals or institutions can do to begin increasing their involvement in advocacy.

To go back to the key message in IFLA’s recent keynote address on advocating for culture in sustainable development, no one is too small to make a difference.

Library professionals around the world are encouraged to seek out opportunities to highlight their work, and to get in touch with IFLA HQ for help showcasing their own stories.

Contact: claire.mcguire@ifla.org for more.

Strengthening Relationships, Empowering Communities: Library Reflections on International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples

On 9 August, we mark the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples.

Through the 2021 theme: Leaving no one behind: Indigenous peoples and the call for a new social contract, the UN calls for a new approach “based on genuine participation and partnership that fosters equal opportunities and respects the rights, dignity and freedoms of all”. Learn more about this year’s theme here [link].

Of course, meaningful change must come at every level, including in policies. However, creating community by fostering learning and partnership can be an important driver of positive change. Libraries are spaces for such participatory processes to happen. They can be nodes for education and conversation, for ensuring that voices are heard and that the lived experiences of marginalised peoples are centred in the narrative.

Engagement with Cultural Heritage

Access to knowledge, information, and resources are central to the mission of the library and information field. Critically, access includes access to cultural-relevant materials. This includes materials in a diverse range of languages and concerning the cultural expressions and life of the community of one’s choosing.

Accessing and interacting with cultural heritage and expressions are essential for the passing-down of knowledge within a community. They also enable meaningful encounters across cultures in the spirit of fostering multiculturalism.

We saw examples when IFLA’s Cultural Heritage Programme Advisory Committee organised the virtual event, Libraries Inspire Engagement with Cultural Heritage. This webinar invited speakers working with their institutions’ collections, visitors, community groups, and the larger public to help people experience, appreciate, learn from, and share cultural heritage.

Some perspectives shared centred on an Indigenous view of cultural heritage librarianship, and highlighted examples of how memory institutions can work on engagement with collections in partnership with concerned communities.

Here is a look at highlights from these conversations.

Indigenous Worldviews in Libraries

Camille Callison, chair of the IFLA Indigenous Matters Section and Librarian at the University of the Fraser Valley, Canada spoke about steps libraries can take to create relationship with Indigenous communities, towards building a cultural hub and a heart within our institutions.

An important step is including Indigenous worldviews in libraries and acknowledging the Indigenous communities who are the traditional stewards of the land.

The land itself can be a library – telling the story of the community’s creation and linage and the origin of nations. Community elders, the keepers and tellers of stories, are themselves living libraries and archives.

Translating this knowledge into library institutions can be done through building relationships with the communities. This can include inviting elders to give story-times and making opportunities for Indigenous artists to display, share and speak about the art they create. It also includes using appropriate terminologies in classification systems and subject headings, and by respecting the ownership of knowledge by Indigenous peoples, such as by correctly citing Indigenous knowledge – including knowledge transmitted orally by Indigenous storytellers.

She stresses the importance of training – both aimed at encouraging Indigenous peoples to enter the library profession, and through cross-cultural learning to enable library and information professionals of all backgrounds to work together to create more inclusive systems. These efforts are critical to ensuring the cultural relevance of libraries for Indigenous communities.

Watch Camille’s full address online here: LINK

Community-Driven Collections Engagement

Heidi Swierenga, Senior Conservator and Head of the Collections Care and Access Department at the Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, Canada, shared several examples of how the institution enables Indigenous communities to access collections in a way that values the intangible heritage of community knowledge and tradition.

An important aspect of this work are the three types of access visits that the museum has developed. The first invites community groups or individuals to interact with collections at the museum itself, offsetting the costs of their visits through a granting programme. The museum also carries out study visits, in which collections of material are brought directly to communities. She highlights that these are reciprocal learning exchanges, where museum conservation staff enhance their own understanding about the objects, their creation and their meaning, from the community members.

The third type of access she detailed is loaning for activation. In this programme, objects from the museum collection that serve, for example, as traditional evidence of important rites and privileges are brought to communities to fulfil the function for which they were created.

These loans push hard again the traditional view of museum collection standards, as the usual requirements around environmental control and handling procedures of the objects are dropped to allow meaningful engagement with the object. This is made possible by aligning institutional practices with the key principle that Indigenous peoples have the right to manage and control their own material culture and information about that material culture.

We encourage you to find out more and see examples of these access programmes in action here: LINK

Leave No One Behind

Libraries are spaces for community, education, storytelling, cultural transmission and sharing. They are spaces where the narrative of our communities can be revisited, revised, and made more inclusive. They are hubs for community activation and participatory processes that push for meaningful legislative change.

Ensuring libraries are culturally relevant for Indigenous communities, creating connections that centre Indigenous worldviews and perspectives, and empowering Indigenous librarians, community leaders, artists and storytellers are all important aspects in ensuring libraries are active champions of development that leaves no one behind.

We encourage the international library community to work in partnership with Indigenous communities to create this space together.

Follow IFLA’s Indigenous Matters Section for more information about their work towards supporting the provision of culturally responsive and effective services to Indigenous communities throughout the world.

Learning, Making, Doing: Libraries as Incubators of Creativity and the Creative Economy

A vital component in realizing cultural rights, including freedom of expression and participation in cultural life, is supporting cultural actors. This includes those working in the creation, production, and distribution of, as well as access to, expressions of culture.

So, with 2021 being the International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development, IFLA has explored how libraries open the door to cultural participation and make space for cultural diversity.

This includes work to do so by providing access to lifelong learning opportunities and addressing gaps in the ability to participate in culture on digital platforms, as well as fostering environments where diverse cultural expressions are encouraged, valued, shared, and protected.

To prepare this overview, IFLA engaged with several of our Professional Units and carried out desktop research to find concrete examples of how libraries put these values into action. We have found examples ranging from libraries participating in national cultural strategies to carrying out community-level programmes. Some examples help elevate established creators, while others create spaces where new creators can explore and grow.

Let’s take a deeper look at how libraries can act as incubators of creativity and the creative economy in their national contexts.

Libraries as Partners: Contributing to Government Initiatives

Brazil: National Reading and Writing Policy

In 2018, the Brazilian Special Secretariat for Culture established, within the National Reading and Writing Policy, a permanent strategy to promote books, reading, writing, literature, and publicly accessible libraries (Law No. 13,696/2018) [source]. The Brazilian National Library Foundation is engaged as a partner in this strategy.

The Policy’s objectives include promoting access to books and reading, disseminating Brazilian literature, and valuing and encouraging national authors with an emphasis on bibliodiversity.

Initiatives carried out within this framework have helped stimulate the creative economy by supporting national authors through funding and participation in international literacy fairs.

For example, in 2018, a public call for original works in Portuguese on select themes regarding the history of Brazil was circulated. Fifty works were selected for funding, which contributed to promotion and dissemination efforts.

Colombia: Reading Colombia

The National Library of Colombia partnered with the Ministry of Culture, Vice-ministry of Creativity and Orange Economy and the Colombian Book Chamber on the “Reading Colombia” strategy [source].

A key focus of this strategy was to support the distribution of works by national authors in the international market in order to help increase visibility of contemporary Colombian writers.

In 2018, the scheme awarded 12 scholarships to support translation of the work of Colombian authors into six languages. In 2019, this increased to 50 works of Colombian literature.

Ireland: Decade of Centenaries Programme

The Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 has been an ongoing programme administered by the Irish Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the most difficult and transformative period of Irish history, 1912-1923.

The National Library of Ireland is partnering with Department and the Decade of Centenaries Programme to appoint a poet in residence to engage with this theme and create original works [source].

This year-long post is supported by a stipend. During this time, the poet will not only create original literary works, but contribute to masterclasses for practitioner-led, experimental or interdisciplinary programmes, participate in workshops to help engage new audiences with the Library’s collections, and work to develop good practice outreach models to connect their creative works with a public audience.

United States of America: Library of Congress National Book Festival

The National Book Festival is hosted annually by the Library of Congress, the national library of the USA. Over past years, more than 100 authors, poets, and illustrators had the opportunity to connect with over 200,000 attendees for book talks, discussions, book signings and other engaging activities.

This has historically been the largest annual literary gathering held in the nation’s capital but in 2021 will reach a much wider audience through a hybrid in-person / online programme.

Content will be available through videos on-demand, author conversations in real time and live question-and-answer sessions, as well as a podcast series, a national television special, and in-person events at the Library.

This Festival will also engage authors from across the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, who are each invited to choose a book to represent their state or territory’s literary heritage. The Library of Congress will amplify these authors by holding conversations to discuss their books and what they mean for each State or Territory.

Libraries as Hosts: Artists in Residence

Jamaica: National Library of Jamaica Poet Laureate Programme

The Poet Laureate selected by the National Library of Jamaica carries out a three-year term, during which time he or she is tasked with stimulating a wider appreciation for Jamaican poetry. During this time, the Poet Laureate also helps encourage public involvement in poetry and spoken word arts, including by involving young people in appreciating and writing poetry. The scheme supports the poet during their term through a grant [source].

Within this programme, the Poet Laureate presents their own creations both locally and abroad, is involved in national events, and carries out participatory programmes to encourage developing poets, such as poetry competitions and school poetry reading tours [source].

United States of America: University of California San Francisco Library Artist in Residence program

This programme, carried out by the University Library, invites artists to promote health humanities through creative use of the historical materials preserved in the Library’s Archives and Special Collections [source].

The current Artist in Residence, Farah Hamaden, is a biomedical illustrator and animator, whose interactive storytelling project, “The City is a Body”, seeks to collect and bring to life San Franciscans’ experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Find out more about her project here.

Singapore – The National Library Board Creative Residency

This programme invites creatives from all different artistic disciplines to use the National Library Board’s collections to inspire their own works, and to reimagine them in ways that help engage a wider community with the collection [source].

Creative work produced in this role can take the form of videos, publications, literary works, artworks, musical compositions, or more. The 6-month post is supported by a stipend, and is open to all Singapore-based creative practitioners (individuals or collectives) working in any discipline or form of expression to apply.

Libraries as Enablers: Supporting New Creators

Trinidad and Tobago – NALIS First Time Authors Programme

National Library and Information Systems Authority (NALIS) highlights first-time authors of Trinidad and Tobago nationality or descent through their First Time Authors Programme [source].

Held on World Book and Copyright Day, this programme celebrates the accomplishment of first time authors, encourages new national writers, and raises public awareness of issues relating to intellectual property and copyright.

During the annual ceremony, national first-time authors of all genres are presented with appreciation tokens and their work is promoted online. See a recent example here.

Australia: Yarra Plenty Regional Library Maker Spaces and Maker Month

Yarra Plenty Regional Library (YPRL), a public library service located in Melbourne, Australia, has established Maker Spaces in 6 of their 9 branches. These spaces allow users to create, connect, collaborate, and learn in a fun and supported environment, and specialise in areas of textile and craft, mental health, gardening, writing and publishing, science and technology, and design

In 2020, the library launched a month-long, region-wide Maker Month programme. This went beyond the Maker Spaces, with a focus on entrepreneurs and events to support and empower those starting out in business or making the leap from hobby to “side hustle”.

This addressed an identified gap for support systems aimed at such microbusinesses, with many not knowing where to start in launching their own creative small business. Built on community feedback, the programme offered local makers opportunities to connect and network, get creative, and upskill. It provided tools to learn about business needs – from developing their idea to running and marketing their business.

Although hampered by the outbreak of the pandemic, many programmes were held online. These included topics such as: Using WordPress to make your own webpage, How and why to create digital content for your business, and How to plan for small businesses.

A number of sessions, including Turning Your Passion into Profit and How to Market Your Business Using Social Media continue to run in an online format.

The library is planning a smaller-scale Maker Month for July 2021, with a mix of online and in-person events including 90-day Business Planning and is launching a co-working space which will have an ongoing focus on business support.

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This is just a look at different ways libraries can make a difference for creative actors, connecting them with opportunities to create, elevating and promoting their work, and encouraging learning and exploration.

Through their position in the social fabric and their role as champions of access to information and freedom of expression, it is clear that libraries are an essential piece in a thriving creative economy.

Through examples such as these, libraries contribute to the fulfillment of cultural rights and link them to economic opportunity for creative actors – both of which are needed to enable sustainable development.

This list is by no means exhaustive – we welcome additional cases from all types of libraries around the world! Send your stories to: claire.mcguire@ifla.org

25 Years of Cooperation for Cultural Property Protection

On 6 June 1994, the International Committee of the Blue Shield was established in a spirit of collaboration by the International Council on Archives (ICA), the International Council of Museums (ICOM), the International Council of Museums and Sites (ICOMOS), and IFLA.

To celebrate the 25^th anniversary of Blue Shield, we look back at its history and a few examples of how it has provided support and opportunities for libraries, at the international and national levels.

A Look Back

The Blue Shield is rooted in the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, as well as its First Protocol (1954) and Second Protocol (1999), which created rules to protect cultural property during armed conflicts [see IFLA’s briefing on this Convention here].

The intention was to bring the four key international organisations in their domains together to consult on matters relating to the protection of cultural heritage in the case of natural and human-caused threats and emergencies, particularly that of war.

The goal was to better facilitate an international response to threats and emergencies through cooperation between the key international organisations and participating national organisations. This included the objectives of facilitating professional action to prevent, control, and recover from disasters, consulting with other bodies such as UNESCO and the International Committee of the Red Cross, and encouraging higher standards of risk preparedness.

The International Committee of the Blue Shield (ICBS) and the Association of National Committees of the Blue Shield (ANCBS) were combined in 2016 to form Blue Shield International. This brought together the Founding Four organisations together with a network of National Committees made of up dedicated individuals, all working together to protect cultural property.

Today, Blue Shield International is as an official partner of NATO and cooperates with armed forces on training exercises concerning cultural property protection in armed conflict. This takes an important step towards raising awards within armed forces of their critical role in cultural property during conflict.

Blue Shield and IFLA

Libraries around the world hold irreplaceable books, manuscripts, and other materials. Together, they form a network which collectively safeguards much of the world’s historical record.

Tragically, libraries around the world – including many of our members – have seen first-hand the destruction that conflict and disaster can bring to their institutions and collections.

IFLA believes that these threats are best faced through capacity-building for prevention and preparedness, as well as through enabling a rapid and effective response if the worst happens. This can be achieved best with the help of a network. Within IFLA, our Preservation and Conservation (PAC) Network has been essential in both sharing knowledge on disaster planning and preparedness and in taking action to support response in times of crisis and subsequent recovery.

Combining these efforts with those of Blue Shield has enabled more effective response, facilitating critical information-sharing and integrating the needs of libraries on the ground into international response and recovery frameworks.

Haiti 2010

One case that sticks with us in the response to the devastating 2010 Haiti earthquake. Days after the earthquake struck, Blue Shield established an online platform to invite volunteers from around the world to support measures necessary to rebuild libraries, archives, museums, monuments and sites. IFLA and ICA planned, funded, and sent representatives to take part in a mission to inform the establishment of a rescue centre for damaged cultural heritage, including damaged documents [report here].

This rescue centre also provided preservation workshops to members of the National Library of Haiti (NBH) and Archives of Ministry of Foreign affairs of Haiti (MEA).

More information on IFLA’s involvement in the response to the 2010 Haiti Earthquake can be found here.

Beirut 2020

The response to the Beirut Blast in August 2020 gives a more recent example how this partnership has allowed joint action to help libraries following disaster. The Lebanese Library Association (LLA), working closely with Blue Shield Lebanon, took the critical first steps towards recovery of the city’s libraries.

The LLA carried out assessments to gather information on the extent of damage at libraries and archives across the city and shared this information with IFLA. This coordinated effort allowed us to provide critical information on damage and needs to Blue Shield International, as well as with other international partners, including UNESCO through participation in the Coordination Meetings for Emergency Response on Culture in Beirut.

In the months that followed, a collaborative response was carried out by Blue Shield Lebanon, Blue Shield International, Directorate-General Of Antiquities of Lebanon, IFLA, ICOM-Lebanon, ICOMOS-Lebanon, Lebanese Library Association, UNESCO Beirut Office, ICOM – University Museums and Collections, Biladi and UNIFIL, with generous financial support of the ALIPH Foundation, British Council Cultural Protection Fund and the Prince Claus Fund.

You can find videos here for a closer look at Blue Shield’s Emergency Response for Cultural Property in Beirut.

Working for Libraries

In addition to the Founding Four organisations, Blue Shield International is also made up of a network of National Committees, through which dedicated cultural heritage professionals carry out work addressing local priorities.

A prerequisite for establishing a National Committee is gaining support from the national library association and/or national library association in the country. This helps ensure that a connection between national Blue Shield committees and the nation’s libraries has been established. IFLA members are represented on Blue Shield national committees and contribute to activities that benefit national libraries in disaster planning and preparedness.

Australia

In 2019, the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), together with Blue Shield Australia, launched the 2nd Edition of the ALIA Disaster Management for Libraries Guide, Templates and Scenarios.

This tool is designed to help library staff respond quickly and effectively to disaster, minimise loss of collections and equipment, ensure staff safety and well-being of staff, continue providing services when possible, and recover quickly.

See more on the website of Blue Shield Australia.

To further build preparedness capacity, the State Library of South Australia hosted the symposium, Disaster Preparedness and Our Cultural Heritage and Collections, in late 2020.

Georgia

Blue Shield Georgia carried out the project, Emergency response to mould outbreak at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University Library, in 2016-2017. This project was made possible by the Prince Claus Fund Cultural Emergency Response (CER).

The project evaluated general storage conditions affecting special collections at the library to halt a large mould outbreak, defined a protocol for handling and cleaning damaged rare books, and corrected the storage problems causing the outbreak.

The outbreak threatened 200,000 rare books at the library. This project avoided further damage to the collection, while improving awareness among institutions holding documentary heritage collections in Tbilisi of how to manage and avoid such hazards. Read more here.

Iceland

In early 2020, Blue Shield Iceland hosted the symposium: response plan of cultural institutions; what is the situation and what is the future goal? This event invited several experts in institutional disaster planning and response to share knowledge of good practices among cultural heritage professionals.

Within the programme, Blue Shield Iceland invited Nelly Cauliez, Director of the City Library of Geneva, to share information on the response plan and preservation of cultural heritage in Switzerland, with an emphasis on disaster response planning in a library context. Read more here.

Looking Ahead

The spirit of collaboration for the sake of cultural property protection which brought the founding four organisations together in 1996 continues to be at the heart of Blue Shield International.

Disaster and conflict are always complicated and multifaceted, and the cooperation of our international organisations, together with the dedication, expertise, connections, and local knowledge of National Committees of the Blue Shield engaging library associations and other professionals, helps enable an effective response.

Through the continuation of this collaborative effort, we can work towards a holistic safeguarding of the world’s diverse cultural heritage, enable international exchanges, and promote good practice.

IFLA is committed to ensuring that the cultural heritage protected by institutions and sites around the world continues to be available for future generations to access, learn from, and enjoy.

We encourage you to check if there is a Blue Shield National Committee in your country, and to get involved in their work.

For more on IFLA and the Blue Shield, see our Get into the Blue Shield Guide.

Learning, Encountering, and Exploring: Libraries Making Space for Cultural Diversity

On World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development (21 May), the UN invites reflection and recognition of the importance of ensuring the ability to create and access diverse cultural expressions.

This is critical for implementing the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (2005). Libraries have an important role to play in fostering an environment where diverse cultural expressions are encouraged, valued, shared, and protected. Find out more about the 2005 Convention through IFLA’s Get into Guide here.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made it more important than ever to reflect on the value that access to and engagement with culture has for society. It also is an urgent call to work collaboratively to identify the gaps which must be addressed to ensure this access.

In 2020, IFLA marked this day by helping launch the #culture2030goal Statement on Culture and the Covid-19 Pandemic, a joint effort by IFLA and partners organisations. This statement called for culture to be at the heart of the COVID-19 response and reaffirmed the value of culture in the 2030 Agenda.

To build on this statement, we will take a deeper look at some examples of how libraries contribute to socially sustainable development by enabling culture to be accessed, explored and shared – including in the virtual space. Thank you to IFLA’s Library Services to Multicultural Populations Section, as well as to the wider library field, for sharing your stories!

Culture, Dialogue, and Social Inclusion

Promotion of a diversity of cultural expressions also includes creating space for dialogue among people and cultures, building respect and mutual understanding.

Many libraries offer programmes to inspire this dialogue in a literal way – through language learning programmes. These are often targeted at the most vulnerable members in society, and act as a means to promote social inclusion and cultural exchange. See examples from Norway and Germany for more.

The Bibliothèque Publique d’Information (BPI) Paris, France found that forging connection through language learning could continue despite closures due to the pandemic. A series of online FLE (français langue étrangère / French as a foreign language) workshops arranged by the library in 2020 connected French learners from both within France and beyond, including participants from Brazil, the United States, the Czech Republic, and Colombia [more here].

Like language learning, arts and art education can also be a tool for social inclusion – a vital aspect in towards the development goal “leave no one behind”.

The Invisible Youth Project (Finland) is one such example of an art-based initiative that targeted youth at risk of social exclusion by promoting creative self-expression.

Through this project, public libraries in the cities Jyväskylä, Seinäjoki, and Turku created space for participants to learn about a variety of creative activities such as design, cartoons, creative and therapeutic writing, digital storytelling, rap music, and video producing.

As social exclusion can stem from a variety of social issues, including poverty, disabilities, limited education, and migrant/marginalised backgrounds, addressing this is an aspect of sustainable development.

Libraries reaching out to those at risk of exclusion, while also promoting cultural expression as a means for social inclusion, can therefore be a driver of sustainable social development.

Cultural Dialogue Through Library Programming

During the pandemic, many libraries were faced with the challenge of connecting with their communities in the virtual space. For more, see our blog: Virtual Engagement / Actual Connection: building community around digital collections.

We can find many examples of virtual programmes that seek to help their audiences learn about different cultures and traditions through storytelling, such as this recent example from Qatar National Library: Eid Around the World: Unique Traditions from Different Countries.

These programmes can also help connect people to arts and cultural expressions – despite physical distance.

Connections through Poetry

In 2019, Bremen Public Library (Germany) established the project, Lyrik grenzenlos (Poetry without Borders). The goal of this programme was to create an open space for people to come together and enjoy poetry from all over the world.

In addition to building appreciation for the art form, this event included an element of cross-cultural exchange, as participants were invited to recite poetry in their mother tongue, and were accompanied by local musicians with international backgrounds. Poetry was shared in Arabic, Turkish, French, Spanish, Bulgarian, Igbo, Persian, Russian and a variety of German dialects during the in-person event.

The library did not want to lose this community they had built in the face of the outbreak of COVID-19. Therefore, they went digitial, asking participants to create short videos of recitations. You can view the final video online [introduction in German].

As literature like poetry can be a vehicle for cultural exchange, it can also be a means to establish and celebrate a cultural common ground.

Recent hybrid in-person/virtual events at the State Public Library of Guadalajara included a celebration of poetic improvisation as a creative expression shared by Spain and Latin America.

This event explored the tenth, a form of poetry which originated in the Spanish Golden Age and has since become an important poetic-musical phenomenon, uniting Spanish-speakers on both sides of the Atlantic [more here].

Cultural Heritage and Modern Creators

Libraries can help connect unique expressions of intangible cultural heritage to contemporary creators, helping enable the continuation of tradition, while opening the door to modern interpretations.

The National Library of New Zealand Te Aotearoa included in its recent lecture series an event featuring researcher Michael Vinten, and his project collecting and publishing pre-1950 New Zealand art-song. The goal of this project, and the library’s session, was to help facilitate exposure to this form of traditional music to help modern musicians and music students include New Zealand material into their repertoire.

Another example of this was the National Library of France (BNF) participation in the Europeana Sounds project [more here]. The BNF provided metadata to help increase opportunities for access to and creative re-use of Europeana’s audio and audio-related content.

These examples showcase how libraries can help their communities discover and share diverse cultural expressions. Moreover, they exemplify how this goes beyond enjoyment of culture itself. Cultural programming in libraries can be a platform to build connections, facilitate cultural exchange, and enable the creation of new cultural expressions.

GLAM collaboration and cultural education

For International Museum Day (18 May), IFLA reaffirmed the importance of the GLAM (galleries, libraries, archives, museums) sector working together to achieve goals relating to sustainable development (see more on our blog).

One example of libraries and galleries collaborating to connect contemporary art to library users, and find new audiences for both institutions, is the project How to Speak Art (Croatia). This was a cooperative initiative between Silvije Strahimir Kranjčević Library, part of Zagreb City Libraries, and Windows (Prozori) Gallery.

This project combined the curatorial expertise of the gallery with the library’s position as public community space to build exposure to and appreciation of contemporary art. It included an educational aspect for school children, which developed artistic literacy, and fostered an understanding of the role that art can have in their life.

Collaboration between cultural actors can present new opportunities for enhancing the social capital of the arts and those institutions which provide access to it.

Community Heritage Grants

Connecting resources to cultural actors and helping build capacity for community-level cultural activities is an important aspect of access to diverse expressions of culture. Libraries can play a key part in ensuring they achieve their goals.

Australia’s Community Heritage Grants are administrated by the National Library of Australia and funded by the Australian Government through the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications (Office for the Arts); National Library of Australia; the National Archives of Australia; the National Film and Sound Archive and the National Museum of Australia.

These grants are aimed at helping community collections-holding organisations such as libraries, archives, museums, historical societies, and Indigenous groups make their materials more publicly accessible.

Past grant recipients have included community galleries, arts and creative communities, such as the Anangu Uwankaraku Punu Aboriginal Corporation’s Maruku Arts Collection, the Papunya Tjupi Arts Indigenous arts gallery, and the Naracoorte Regional Art Gallery – all community-based galleries showcasing unique cultural heritage and contemporary creative expressions.

Through such programmes, libraries, especially National Libraries, who have the ability to collaborate with national and regional governments can have a real impact on the ongoing accessibility of arts and diverse cultural expressions.

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Libraries are key components in a sustainable ecosystem for creators and cultural actors. They are platforms for the arts to be experienced, enablers of multicultural and multilingual exchange and learning, and facilitators of initiatives that connect creators to opportunity.

IFLA will continue our work in advocating for the library field’s role in preserving and providing access to cultural heritage during the Third Civil Society Forum of the 2005 Convention (31 May 2021).

Get involved! As 2021 is the International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development, we welcome more examples of libraries creating space for diverse cultural expressions! You are invited to share your own.

Recover and Reimagine: Museums and Libraries Building Back Better Together

For International Museum Day 2021 (18 May), the International Council of Museums (ICOM) has invited their community to create, imagine and share new practices and innovative solutions to present challenges under the theme: “The Future of Museums: Recover and Reimagine”.

GLAMs (galleries, libraries, archives, and museums) have been self-evaluating over the past year perhaps more than ever before. The acute challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in many institutions temporarily closing their doors, has driven professionals in the sector to look to the future for new and emerging forms of community engagement, service, and value-creation.

In the very immediate term, joint initiatives for information and knowledge-sharing made a critical difference in the first year of the pandemic, as institutions were closing their doors without a clear view of the path back to normality. For example, the REopening Archives, Libraries, and Museums (REALM) project, a joint research partnership between OCLC, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), and Battelle, combined resources to answer critical research questions that could lead to institutions reopening safely.

But also taking a longer view, looking beyond the immediate recovery, this is a critical time to engage deeper and reimagine the role of memory institutions in the societies we want to create – and to advocate for this role.

As ICOM calls for reflection on the future of museums for International Museum Day, we underline that this is a shared challenge, and we have much to gain from engagement between libraries, museums, and the rest of the Sector in working together to build a better future.

A Sustainable Future for All

At the international level, civil society organisations representing libraries, museums, and other memory institutions have been working to articulate how our institutions contribute to sustainable development.

At the heart of this work is the answer to the question: how do our institutions help create a better world for tomorrow? This can be through the acceleration of SDG delivery, by connecting people to education opportunities, bolstering the creative economy, inspiring multicultural exchange and respect, and safeguarding our cultural heritage for future generations. Both IFLA and ICOM have done extensive work on identifying where our areas of the Sector can impact on Agenda 2030.

As we advance this work, one critical point to remember is that our voices are stronger together.

The Culture 2030 Goal Campaign is an excellent example of how civil society representing a range of cultural stakeholders can come together to amplify one another’s message. The strong response and endorsement of the #culture2030goal Statement on Culture and the Covid-19 Pandemic is testament to the power of such collaboration. As we come up to the anniversary of this statement, its strong call for culture to be at the heart of the COVID-19 response, and the efforts to rebuild our societies following the pandemic, is more relevant than ever.

In a similar spirit, IFLA will work with a wide swath of civil society representing cultural actors during the upcoming Third Civil Society Forum relating to the UNESCO 2005 Convention for the Protection and Promotion of Diverse Cultural Expressions. Through our participation in this Forum, we will join voices with other cultural stakeholders to make recommendations to governments for action to uphold the role of culture in sustainable development.

Building back better together starts now, but cannot stop once the pandemic is behind is. Looking to 2030 and beyond, museums, libraries, and all cultural actors must join together to champion culture in sustainable development – for the future of our sector and institutions, but also for the benefit of our communities we serve and the societies in which we live.

Culture in the Digital Environment

Although memory institutions are now reopening their doors, the landscape for information exchange and audience/user engagement has been perhaps permanently changed. COVID-19 has accelerated digital transformation – with the UN affirming that the pandemic has made universal digital access essential.

Looking to the future, museums, libraries, and other memory institutions should continue to foster capacity building and knowledge exchange to meet the challenges and opportunities presented by the digital shift.

For libraries, the digital transformation is raising questions of remote access and digital literacy skill transfer. Answers will be necessary for libraries to fulfil their potential to connect people to the internet, digital resources, and the learning opportunities needed to meaningfully use them.

Meaningful access can also include the ability to re-use and transform digital material in ways that fuel creativity and open up the possibility of new economic models. In a previous blog, IFLA has explored how both libraries and museums are opening up collections to support creativity.

These cases follow the OpenGLAM principles, another example of a consortium of like-minded creative actors coming together to call for meaningful engagement with cultural heritage through building consensus and working towards greater accessibility. They allow us to reimagine the way that our audiences interact with cultural heritage, such as the possibility to use cultural heritage as a jumping-off point for new ideas and creative enterprises.

Clearly, doing this effectively and ethically also requires shared reflection also, both in other to understand the relevant ethical issues, and to advocate for copyright laws that do not place unnecessary barriers on access and reuse. Museums, libraries, and the entire GLAM sector can make a stronger case for legal frameworks that allow these possibilities to flourish when making a case together.

Many Voices in the Narrative

In the future we want, no one is left behind. This includes ensuring that those whose voices, stories, and cultural heritage have traditionally been marginalised are no longer left out of the narrative.

With the past year bringing a cultural shift and increased calls for reckoning with social injustices, those institutions in which culture is experienced and exchanged, where memory and stories are accessed, are important transfer points. Embracing the role of sites of cultural exchange – in which stories are co-created and new narratives can be accessed and explored – will be a critical way for memory institutions to provide value to their communities now and in the future.

Museums and libraries can work together to use their collections in new ways and to promote new interpretations. An interesting model can be found at the University of Miami, through the Andrew W. Mellon CREATE Grants Program. This partnership between the University of Miami Libraries and Lowe Art Museum invite grantees to use the collections of both institutions in education-focussed projects that “advance diversity, equity, and inclusion and address the ways in which the projects promote anti-racism and social justice”.

Collaboration and resource-sharing between memory institutions, especially with the focus on advancing scholarship, education, and co-creation, can be a meaningful way to build on the power of both institutions in creating platforms for new narratives.

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International Museum Day 2021 provides a great opportunity to remind ourselves of the value of strengthening partnerships with fellow memory institutions in their networks. When making plans for the future, be it COVID-19 recovery or longer-term goals, doing so in partnership with the GLAM sector can bring mutual benefits. Although our missions differ, the value we bring to our communities is aligned, and the future we want to reimagine is one in which we work together to better our communities and bring their stories to life.