Tag Archives: SDGs

Libraries at the Heart of Better Cities

World Cities Day 2019 focuses on the fact that to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals, it will be necessary to succeed in cities, where more than half of the world’s population lives.

Cities, in concentrating people, can also concentrate both opportunities and problems. They can be places where new possibilities emerge, new collaborations form and new ideas develop. However, they can also be marked by economic and social divides, as well as severe environmental damage.

The difference between the good and the bad is often associated with the ability of the members of communities to work together. When people living in an area have strong social connections, trust tends to be higher, and cooperation becomes easier.

The sum of these connections is sometimes described as social capital. Different levels of such capital have been cited as explaining variation in growth rates between cities and countries, or resilience in the face of disasters.

Given the major efforts required to deliver on the SDGs, we will need as much social capital as possible. Libraries can help!

Libraries as Social Infrastructure

Sometimes, these connections are only between people belonging to a certain family or group. While these can help in some ways, they can also risk being exclusive. As has been pointed out, the strength of mafia groups, for example, is an example of social capital at work, just not in a good way.

In a modern, diverse city, what is needed are connections that link together all people living in the space.

For this, it is important to have common reference points, and common spaces. Common reference points can come in many forms, such as culture, history, or simply information.

Common spaces are places where everyone can come and feel welcome, outside of home, work, or social life within a particular group.

Libraries, in providing both, represent a key part of the ‘social infrastructure’ of any town or city.

They ‘provide the setting and context for social participation’. This is the thesis of Eric Klinenberg, whose book ‘Palaces for the People’, has been strongly welcomed in the library field for its clear explanation of what libraries can offer.

Taking the Message Further

One of the reasons Klinenberg gives for writing his book is the sense that despite this contribution, libraries are not always recognised for their role.

They are less glamorous than other cultural institutions, but are also too often seen as less urgent or less necessary than other core public services such as the police or schools.

In effect, they – and the benefits they can bring to the cohesiveness, the inventiveness, and the resilience of cities – risk being overlooked.

This is a concern. There are few public services which offer such welcoming spaces, provide such a rich range of references, or are as inclusive as libraries.

It is certainly hard to imagine any that can claim to provide the combination of all three that libraries do. Clearly this is not to say that libraries are more important than other services, but rather that they make an irreplaceable contribution.

Therefore, as cities look to work out how they can promote inventiveness, change behaviours, and improve economic, social, cultural and political life, they should look to make sure that they are making the most of their libraries.

Happy World Cities Day!

A Foundation for Change: Celebrating World Development Information Day

World Development Information Day may not be the best-known date on the international calendar.

First celebrated in 1972, it was the result of a UN General Assembly Resolution which recognised the importance of information, both in raising awareness of development challenges, and in providing the tools to respond to them.

The date chosen was significant – the anniversary both of the UN itself, and of the launch of the second decade of development in 1970.

In effect, it signalled that information needed to be a component of any comprehensive effort to deliver change, from the UN down. This blog explores this shift, and how libraries can both support, and benefit from it.

Recognising the Role of Information

Back in the 70s, giving such a focus to information was a relatively big step. Decision-making in many countries remained elitist. The importance of evidence in politics – and in other domains such as medicine – was still under-appreciated.

While the importance of access to information as an individual right had been made clear in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, there was less of a focus on the role of information in enabling engagement in broader public debate and mobilisation.

Similarly, efforts to use evidence systematically in order to inform cross-border policy-making remained limited, with bodies such as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development only created in the late 50s.

Therefore, by placing such a focus on information at the macro level, the UN was making a powerful statement in favour of informed societies as catalysts for change, and informed governments as essential for success.

This message is of course just as valid today as it was 47 years ago.

We have certainly made progress. Mass mobilisations on issues such as climate change are a great example of how the results of scientific research, when presented accessibly, can get the public engaged.

But there are plenty of other issues where an informed, active public, could help accelerate change.

Understanding The Role of Libraries

Libraries have supported individual information, study and research throughout their existence. In doing this, they have allowed people to improve their own lives, as well as to innovate, for the benefit of their communities.

But libraries also have a potentially important role in enabling public debate by providing the resources and the space necessary for people to come together.

This can be true for adults, as was the case in Taiwan, China, when libraries acted to help inform citizens in the context of public protests, allowing them to understand more fully controversial issues. Similarly, Toronto Public Library runs a rich programme series, allowing participants to hear from a range of speakers on topical issues.

They can also help younger people engage with key issues, for example through initiatives like the SDG Book Club, or the Rights for Right programme run by the public library in Seixal, Portugal.

There are many other examples in our blog on libraries and civic engagement.

But in turn, libraries also benefit from the availability of information, not least about themselves. Through IFLA’s Library Map of the World, there is already a wealth of data about libraries and their use.

In due course, this will make it possible to come to new insights and understandings about the impact of libraries on their societies.

But such efforts depend to a large extent on the readiness of governments to collect and publish data in order to inform the debate.

With it, it becomes possible to reflect on where and how library systems can contribute to development more effectively. Without it, the potential that libraries have to improve lives is wasted.

World Development Information Day – and the Resolution that brought it to life – remain a helpful reference for libraries in making the case for their role in creating richer, fairer and more sustainable societies.

While the celebration is rapidly approaching its half century, the value of providing information remains as strong as ever, not least in terms of advocacy for the library field itself.

We encourage all governments to respect the Resolution, and not only support the dissemination of information through libraries, but also, crucially, the publication of information about libraries themselves.

Engage through the Page: Libraries and Books Help Young People become Full Citizens

The climate marches that have marked the news in so many parts of the world over the last few months are, to a large extent, thanks to the mobilisation of young people.

The logic behind this is simple – this is the generation that will face the consequences of inaction today. But is it also reassuring to see a response to the cliché of younger people being disaffected or uninterested in global issues.

This is because democracy depends on people not only having opinions, but being ready to stand up and debate these in public. And as the climate marches have shown, the process of becoming a confident, informed, engaged citizen can start young.

This blog – on the first day of International School Library Month – looks at how libraries contribute to this.

Wider Horizons – School Libraries and Citizenship

School libraries – or other libraries providing school library services in some countries – have a mission not only to support teachers by helping develop literacy and a love of reading, but also to go further.

As set out in the IFLA-UNESCO School Libraries Manifesto, which turns 20 this year, they should also be gateways to the wider world, helping young people discover and engage with diverse ideas, experiences and opinions.

Just as any other library, in effect, school libraries provide a platform for young people to access information about the world, to build their awareness and sensitivity, and to exercise their intellectual freedom as an essential foundation of effective and responsible citizenship and participation in a democracy.

There are many great examples of this at work, for example in Portugal, where the Rights for Right project looks to make the link between literacy and citizenship, with an early focus on human rights. In the United States, school librarians work to build awareness of ethical issues among students, while in Brazil, libraries have stepped in where schools have been unable to help young people come to terms with the economic and social issues they face.

Starting the Conversation – the SDG Book Club

Of course, it isn’t necessarily easy to know where to start in order to get a discussion going about issues outside of the curriculum. Books can offer a way in – and indeed they do in all of the examples mentioned above. By telling a story, they can provide a less direct way of getting young people thinking, especially when they look to make the links between what they are reading, and their own experience.

The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Book Club is one way of finding books that allow this to happen.

Set up by the United Nations in cooperation with IFLA, the International Publishers Association, the International Board on Books for Youth and the European and International Booksellers’ Federation, this provides a sample of books in each of the six official languages of the United Nations for each of the SDGs, month by month. The most recent list focuses on SDG 5 (gender equality), with SDG 6 (water and sanitation) up next.

The website, in addition to ideas for books, also has a number of other tools, for example how to set up a local book club, communications materials, a newsletter, and a blog – take a look!

With the need for – and potential of – engagement by young people shown by the recent climate marches, there is a window for school libraries to show what they are doing to create the citizens of the future. International School Library Month provides a great opportunity, and the SDG Book Club a great tool, to do this.

Find out more about the work of IFLA’s School Libraries Section.

Knowledge for Development: Libraries and the Global Sustainable Development Report

Image: hourglass shape with image of the sky and earth. Text: Why knowledge is critical for sustainable development The Global Sustainable Development Report was released last week in time for discussions around progress on the United Nations 2030 Agenda at the UN’s General Assembly. The result of a collaboration between experts from different disciplines, from different parts of the world, is arguably the most complete knowledge contribution to work on the SDGs.

It is an effort to make the most of ideas and insights in order to build an understanding of where we stand in the effort to promote sustainable development. Crucially, and in coherence with the SDGs themselves, it aims to look across the board, and identify cross-cutting actions that are necessary to accelerate success.

As the prologue by Gro Harlem Brundtland underlines, it was by bringing together knowledge that it was possible to develop the concept of sustainability in the first place, and put the world on the way to the SDGs. And, as this blog sets out, the new report stresses that the role of knowledge is as great as ever.

Sustainability Insights

Thanks to the variety of perspectives brought by its authors, the report offers insights into the threats and opportunities which will determine whether we achieve the SDGs. Alongside climate change – the subject of the summit that ends today – loss of biodiversity, and increase in both waster and inequalities are particular concerns.

In response, coordinated policies focusing on human capacities and well-being, sustainable and just economies, food systems and nutrition, energy access and decarbonisation, urban and peri-urban development and the global environmental commons.

In all of these areas, as highlighted by IFLA’s Library Map of the World and Development and Access to Information report, libraries have much to contribute.

The Report stresses that underpinning the success of work in these areas will four levers –governance, economic and financial policies, individual and collective action, and science and technology. If used effectively, these can accelerate progress. The key to effectiveness, the authors argue, is having the knowledge and understanding of how our societies are working at all levels:

‘Decision makers need to act based on current knowledge and understanding of the linked human-social-environmental systems at all levels. That knowledge also needs to be more widely available to all countries and actors, motivating innovative coalitions and partnerships for success’.

Knowledge Matters

This emphasis on the importance of knowledge serves to underline the contributions that libraries can make. The need to gather, organise, give access to and apply information is as great as ever.

This is true, first of all, in the research context, where the report underlines concern that academics in developing countries too often cannot access the same range of materials as those in richer countries. This makes them less able to support local development, risking deepening global inequalities.

It also makes it harder to take the findings of research and apply them to real-world situations. As the report suggests, there is a need to intensify the science-policy interface, but this is made more complicated when paywalls stand in the way.

The authors therefore make a clear call on libraries, alongside governments, universities and research consortia, to take additional steps in order to provide open access not only to research, but also to underlying data (Recommendation A15). This, it argues, is a key way of addressing inequalities.

Linked to this, it also calls for efforts to promote cross-border research collaboration between countries in order to support knowledge flows, and suggests that development agencies should invest more in building science and research capacity in beneficiary countries. Libraries, inevitably, are a key part of this.

Among the many reports and papers released around the SDGs – and in particular the discussions at the General Assembly – the Global Sustainable Development Report is to be welcomed for its clear advocacy for the role of knowledge, and those who produce and give access to it.

The 10-Minute Library Advocate #36: Get Your Work Recognised

10 Minute Library Advocate #36 Text: Get your work recognised. Image: hands clapping Your advocacy is stronger when you can show the support of others.

Being able to point to other sites or sources that talk about your work helps build credibility.

It sends the message that it’s normal for people to think that your library is important!

But how to make this happen?

Sometimes it’s a case of getting a newspaper to write about what you’re doing, or getting on TV or radio.

But sometimes, you can do things directly.

So for our 36^th 10-Minute Library Exercise, get your work recognised.

Find a site or platform where you can profile your work.

In particular, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Action Week offers the possibility to put your actions on a map.

Go to this page, and add in what you are doing, for example, to raise awareness of or deliver the SDGs.

And then use the profile created in your own daily advocacy work!

Good luck!

See the introduction and previous posts in our 10-Minute Library Advocate series and join the discussion in social media using the #EveryLibrarianAnAdvocate hashtag!

Information for Youth: Celebrating World Youth Skills Day 2019

It is a cliché to say that children are the future. However, what is certain is that the experiences of young people today will stay with them for years.

The skills they learn, and how they apply them, have the potential to shape the rest of their careers and personal lives, and the societies they live in.

This is why the United Nations has chosen to dedicate an international day to youth skills – World Youth Skills Day.

This blog explores the reasons behind this, and makes the case for focusing, in particular, on information skills. This, it concludes, is an area where libraries can make a crucial difference.

Why youth, why skills?

As the United Nations’ own website sets out, youth represent a major part of the world population. One in every six people on the planet is aged between 15 and 24 – that’s 1.2 billion people in total.

Such a huge population implies both major opportunities and major challenges.

Get things right, and there is a huge generation of people who are capable, confidence, and ready to tackle global challenges.

Get things wrong, and there will be a wave of young people who are disaffected, disconnected, and frustrated.

Currently, the risk of a negative scenario is high. Young people are almost three times more likely to be unemployed than adults, and face poorer quality jobs, greater inequalities and more insecurity.

As set out in the introduction, negative experiences in these formative years can have ‘scarring’ effects, leaving many young people permanently disadvantaged and disconnected, socially, economically and democratically.

The goal, then, of World Youth Skills Day is to underline the need to invest in helping youth make the transition from school into the labour market, from childhood to adulthood, and to become active and engaged citizens.

The growing need for information skills

It is perhaps another cliché to talk about the growing importance of the internet and information. Yet this is also a truth, not only when it comes to jobs, but also to broader social, cultural and civic life.

As highlighted in a previous blog, there is a risk of information poverty becoming a factor that reinforces income poverty.

Those who don’t have access to information, and the skills and confidence to use it, are more likely to struggle to find work or benefit from government schemes. They are less likely to be able to take the right decisions, or call for better conditions or laws.

They are also at greater risk of falling victim to some of the negative aspects of online life, such as a loss of privacy, cyber-crime, or the sharing of deliberate misinformation.

In short, if we are thinking about the skills that young people need in order to stay safe and succeed in future, information and digital skill are certainly an important part of the picture.

The contribution of libraries

This is where libraries come in, bringing two key advantages.

First of all, they can offer a valuable complement to the work of schools. In many situations, the education system has not kept up with the digital world. Young people may develop valuable knowledge of academic subjects, but nothing that can be easily operationalised.

In Kenya, for example, the library in Kibera complemented the work of skills by giving young people access to technology and skills training. This paid off in terms of better exam result, and the first ever admissions to prestigious national schools from the town.

For young people who have finished formal schooling, the library can be the only gateway to skills development.

Secondly, libraries have a particular expertise in the way that information is managed, shared and used.

While this has, in the past, primarily been applied to helping researchers choose between resources to use, there is a growing awareness that the ability to find, understand, evaluate and use information – information literacy – can be applied in all areas of life.

While this role is still developing, it is clear, in the US for example, that young people already see libraries as a place to come in order to make better use of information.

The success or not of efforts to support young people to make a successful transition to adulthood will have a major impact on our future economies, societies and democracies.

With an ever-greater role for information in all parts of our lives, the capability and attitudes to make best use of this must play a part in any comprehensive youth skills strategy.

Libraries are already working to make this a reality.

Happy World Youth Skills Day!

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