Tag Archives: #10MinuteInternationalLibrarian

The 10-Minute International Librarian #76: Update your references

In advocating for libraries, it is always powerful to have data or stories to hand.

As mentioned in previous posts, these can make your message stronger and more credible, both in terms of making your arguments real for others, and adding hard facts for the more statistically-minded.

Crucially, it means that you are not just sharing opinions, but that you can reinforce what you are saying with facts.

Of course, stories and data don’t last forever.

In particular, the experience of the last two years with the COVID pandemic has changed the way we perceive what is ‘normal’.

With it not sure whether we will ever return to previous ways of doing things, we cannot only refer to that world in making a relevant case for libraries.

So for our 76th 10-Minute International Librarian exercise, update your references.

Think about the stories and data you use in your advocacy. How old are they? How relevant are they still?

Can you bring them up to date, for example with evidence of the contribution of libraries, or the need for them, during the pandemic?

Can you find stories and evidence that responds to the issues that are highest on the agenda now?

Share your favourite examples of recent library impact 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 com

The 10-Minute International Librarian #75: Think about a barrier to use of your services

Libraries have a universal mission.

Our goal is to make sure that every person has the possibility to access the information that they need in order to fulfil their potential and realise their rights.

In particular, people in difficult situations may be the ones who need information most – to find out about opportunities and support open to them, to seek well-being, to launch a business, or simply to communicate.

Yet universal access to information remains a goal – something to aim for – rather than something we can claim to have achieved already.

Far too often, people who could benefit from library services are not doing so.

In order to progress towards our goal, we need to be able to understand what is stopping us.

So for our 75th 10-Minute International Librarian exercise, think about a barrier to use of your services.

You could think both about factors that are within your control, and those that are outside of it.

Are there aspects of your buildings, or the way you organise your services, which risk preventing some people from using the library?

It could even be a small thing that risks, otherwise, making some people feel unwelcome or unable to use the library.

Looking more broadly, are there challenges in law, for example to providing remote access to works? Or to providing library cards to certain groups?

Once you have identified a barrier, you can think about how to overcome it, either through direct action or advocacy.

Share your ideas in the comments box below.

Good luck!

 

This idea relates to the IFLA Strategy! Key Initiative 2.3: Develop standards, guidelines, and other materials that foster best professional practice

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 com

The 10-Minute International Librarian #74: Think of a way in which you can promote intellectual freedom

Libraries have a clear commitment to promoting access to information as a key pre-condition for the fulfilment of the rights to education, research, culture, democratic participation and development in general.

We work to combat barriers to this access, linked not just to resources, but also to policies which may risk censoring content.

Yet access is only one part of the broader concept of intellectual freedom. This also includes the possibility to share information – freedom of expression.

Indeed, the ability to apply existing information and create new knowledge is arguably just a logical continuation of the possibility to access. It is also of course what guarantees that there will be new works in future.

Libraries therefore have a strong interest in promoting broader intellectual freedom, with many already seeing promoting creativity and expression as central to their mandates.

So for our 74th 10-Minute International Librarian Exercise, think of a way in which you can promote intellectual freedom.

What can you do, not just to help readers access materials which they wouldn’t otherwise be able to read, but then to draw on this information, to express themselves?

Is it a question of skills, or of confidence? Are there restrictions that are holding people back, and which need to be removed?

What platforms can you provide for people to think freely, and realise their potential?

Share your ideas in the comments box 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

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.

The 10-Minute International Librarian #73: Think of a communications tool that works well on you

Communication is an important part of impact.

It allows us to engage more effectively, both with users and with the decision-makers who determine the future of our institutions and profession.

Improving our ability to talk about what we do and why it matters is therefore essential.

Fortunately, it’s also an area where there is plenty of experience and inspiration out there.

From advertising to political campaigning, and from education to public information, we come across good – and potentially bad – communications all of the time.

Crucially, we can be reflective. Given that we are the target of so much communication ourselves, each of us can bring to the table our own experience of what is most effective, and draw on this in our work.

So for our 73rd 10-Minute International Librarian exercise, think of a communications tool that works well on you.

What have other people done that made you pay attention, better understand an issue, or even change your mind?

Was there a specific tool, approach, or format that made thus communication more effective?

Is this something that you can do in your own work to communicate the value of your work?

Let us know about what you have learnt from others about communication in the comments box below.

Good luck!

 

This idea relates to the IFLA Strategy! Key Initiative 4.4: Increase our visibility through excellent and innovative communications

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.

The 10-Minute International Librarian #72: Be able to explain the costs of not having libraries

It’s normal to try and be positive in advocacy!

Decision-makers will often hear people complaining about not getting what they want, or asking them to come up with solutions.

It is understandable, then, that they are keen to find stakeholders who, instead of offering problems, bring answers.

However, it is always useful to be able to make clear that institutions and communities stand to lose if libraries are cut, or disappear altogether.

This can be a great way of focusing minds, and avoiding worst-case scenarios.

So for our 72nd 10-Minute International Librarian exercise, be able to explain the costs of not having libraries.

Think about what it could mean for education, research or culture. What opportunities would not be open for different members of your community?

What long term consequences could there be for development?

As ever, make sure you can make your arguments clearly and simply, so that they are easy to understand!

Do share your strongest arguments 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.

 

The 10-Minute International Librarian #71: Reassess a service or activity

While the missions and values of libraries are lasting, the way in we deliver them varies over time.

New technologies and tools can obviously trigger change, from allowing some activities to be automated, freeing up time for other work, to opening new possibilities to achieve impact.

User expectations can evolve, for example to expect services to be faster or online, or on the contrary to value more the opportunity to meet and do things in person.

New challenges can emerge where libraries have a role to play, bringing our institutions into new areas of work and focus.

And the nature of the communities that we serve themselves also changes, with population ageing, and people moving in and out of areas.

All of these mean that the basis on which services and activities in libraries were designed in the past may no longer be optimal today.

So for our 71st 10-Minute International Librarian exercise, reassess a service or activity.

Remind yourself of its goals and intended impacts on communities, and think about whether there is any reason to look again.

Could there be more effective ways of achieving these goals? Are there other types of activity which it would be better to focus on?

It’s of course perfectly possible that you continue with what you are doing now – at least then you will know that you’re doing it for a reason.

But maybe you’ll find an opportunity to save time and resources in order to be able to do other things that will bring benefits.

Let us know about when you have reassessed services or activities, and the results, in the comments box below!

Good luck!

 

This idea relates to the IFLA Strategy! 2.2 Deliver high quality campaigns, information and other communications products on a regular basis to engage and energise libraries

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.

The 10-Minute International Librarian #70: be able to explain why Open Access matters

The Open Access movement has radically changed the face of access to scholarly knowledge over the last twenty years.

While it is far from universal (both as concerns disciplines covered, and geography), it has seen a growing share of research published without barriers to access and use, meaning that readers are not dependent on belonging to a (wealthy) institution in order to be able to participate in science.

However, it remains contested. Some still argue that the products of research should still be paywalled, or at least subject to restrictions on access, for example in order to prevent researchers in other countries from having access.

Others point to questions around different business models, and in particular how different ways of covering the costs of publication may risk disadvantaging some, and leading to the (continued) dominance of research outputs from a small sub-set of countries and cultures.

Still others underline risks of reduced impact with insufficient investment in research, the rise of questionable journals,  and underline, correctly, that copyright status should not be the only thing deciding whether it is appropriate to publish something or not.

However, such discussions should not mask the fundamental point that the concept of open access – that no-one should be unable to enjoy their right to benefit from science because of paywalls – remains valid!

It is therefore useful, both for ourselves, and for those around us, to be able to be clear about this goal.

So for our 70th 10-Minute International Librarian exercise, be able to explain why Open Access matters.

There are of course plenty of materials available, with a rich range of organisations already active around OA, preparing explainers and advocacy tools.

Take a look at these, including of course LibGuides produced by colleagues around the world! If needed, try to condense them down into a few powerful sentences.

Think what arguments will work best in your own context – is it about equity, possibilities to work across disciplines, or greater reach for research produced in your context?

Share your favourite resources in the comments box below!

 

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

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.