Monthly Archives: April 2014

Public Library Satellite Program Released!

Satellite

In a rapidly changing environment please join us explore and examine the opportunities surrounding public libraries.

Hosted by the new and highly anticipated Library of Birmingham, the IFLA Public Libraries Satellite  will provide the opportunity to meet with colleagues from around the world, and explore the synergy between physical and virtual spaces.  You are invited to hear about how colleagues have successfully broken these barriers and positioned new library spaces as drivers for regeneration and community capacity building.

Speakers have been handpicked from leading practitioners around the globe, and the Public Libraries Section of IFLA look forward to meeting you in Birmingham this August (12-13).

Early bird registration now open! Places for this conference are limited therefore we advise you to book early to guarantee your place BOOK NOW.

Important Snail Mail!

Small Library Flame

Over the next few months a small booklet called The Library Flame may arrive in your letterbox. Created by Bournemouth Libraries in Dorset, UK, it was conceived as part of the Holocaust Memorial Day 2014 and reflects this year’s theme of ‘Journeys’. This little book was sent out to the world of public libraries with a request for each library to add its stamp and pass it on. Bournemouth Libraries are keeping track of its progress.

The Library Flame first ventured outside of the UK in late April , sent by a member of the Public Libraries Standing Committee. At the time of blogging it’s resident in Australia but where will it go next? If it comes to you keep the flame alive.

e-lending Landscape Report Released

ereader

In December 2013, the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) commissioned Brussels-based Civic Agenda to produce a worldwide e-lending landscape report, identifying public library-led initiatives to secure ebooks for borrowers. The report is now available.

This report is the latest step in a project, delivered in collaboration with the National and State Libraries of Australasia (NSLA) and the Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL), that has involved think tanks held around Australia; formal discussions with library leaders, including the ALIA ebooks and elending reference group, and the publication of a series of papers on the ALIA website .

These activities have helped move the conversation with other book industry stakeholders forward, but Australian public libraries continue to experience great difficulty in obtaining ebooks for elending and finding a platform that will meet the desired criteria:

  • A secure, trusted repository that contains ebooks from the big publishers, as well as from authors direct, and from local publishers
  • Content procured at a fair price
  • Providing access to local history content
  • Library branded
  • Providing content that can be accessed from all sorts of devices
  • With a clever discovery layer
  • The options of loan or buy

This landscape report on elending platform developments internationally is intended to help identify practical solutions for Australian public libraries.

For more information about the ALIA ebooks and elending project, please visit our website or email advocacy@alia.org.au.

2014 State of American Libraries

 NLW14_Blume_leaderboard

In conjunction with National Library Week in the United States this week (April 13-19) the American Library Association has released its report on the 2014 State of America’s Libraries , detailing library trends of the past year. Its findings include:

  •  More than 90% of the respondents in an independent national survey by the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project said that libraries are important to the community.
  • School libraries continue to feel the combined pressures of recession-driven financial tightening and federal neglect, according to the survey, and school libraries in some districts and some states still face elimination or deprofessionalization of their programs.
  • 96% of Americans agree that public libraries are important because they provide tech resources and access to materials, and the same number find libraries valuable because they promote literacy and a love of reading.
  • More than 90% of traditional public schools have a school library, but public schools continue to struggle with the impact of funding cuts and reductions in professional staffing.

 

AC

Library in the Tram – Tram to the Library

 

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Congratulations to the Jiří Mahen Library in Brno, Czech Republic, represented by Libuše Nivnická
who have been awarded first place in the 12th IFLA International Marketing Award for 2014., for its innovative partnership program, Library in the Tram – Tram to the Library. We’re all particularly excited as Libuse is a valued member of the Public Libraries Standing Committee. Continue reading →