In the last couple of Library Stat of the Week posts, we have explored data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Programme for International Student Assessment (OECD PISA) which gives an insight into how much different groups use libraries. We have seen, already, that students from immigrant backgrounds, and those who do not […]
Read moreOne of the most worrying aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences has been the deepening of the educational divide. As highlighted in the Gates Foundation’s Goalkeepers report, there is a significant risk that the closure of school buildings will increase inequalities. In effect, groups that previously faced risks of worse educational outcomes face […]
Read moreIn recent weeks, we have looked at how numbers of academic libraries and library workers stand around the world, and what correlations there are between these, in relation to total populations, and indicators of innovation such as publishing and patenting. Another angle worth exploring is the relationship between numbers of academic library workers, and those […]
Read moreIn our Library Stat of the Week mini-series on libraries and equality, we have looked so far at economic inequality, educational equality, and gender equality. Through different blogs, we’ve explored the interaction between these and numbers of public and community libraries and librarians. One factor which all too often correlates with poorer outcomes is immigrant […]
Read moreThe International Council on Museums and Sites (ICOMOS) has named the theme of this year’s International Day for Monuments and Sites as: Shared Cultures, Shared Heritage, Shared Responsibility. Shared heritage brings to mind the many stories that make up a place – the different memories, perspectives, and experiences that are woven into the history of […]
Read moreIn last week’s Library Stat of the Week, we looked at eLending in public and community libraries, both in terms of loans per user, and the relationship with physical lending. This underlined that while eLending continued to represent only a relatively small share of total lending – arguably due in part to the conditions under […]
Read moreThe 10th World Urban Forum is taking place in Abu Dhabi next week, bringing together representatives of villages, towns and cities from around the world. Given the powerful role of local government in decisions about libraries – and public libraries in particular – this is a key audience. IFLA will be attending, and will use […]
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