Abstract
Future Libraries: Infinite Possibilities
Minister Yaacob Ibrahim, Ambassador Chan Heng Chee, Mrs Elaine Ng, honoured guests, members of the national organizing committee, and Congress delegates – I join my colleagues in offering you the warmest of welcomes to IFLA’s annual World Library and Information Congress.
It is wonderful to be back in Singapore. As Dr. Ibrahim so eloquently noted in his welcome letter to this Congress, Singapore is a small nation where East meets West, where the traditional co-exists with the modern, and where people of different races and religions live together in harmony. That description is very apt when I think of my visits with IFLA members and librarians around the world who work with patrons from all walks of life, cultures and religions – providing them with efficient and empathetic access to information and expertise.
As you can imagine, as President of IFLA, I have given many keynote speeches – and have been interviewed by local media countless times. I have been referred to by many names – including the “Queen of Librarians” – and even as the “Pope of Librarians!”
Now – not even on my best days do I feel like a Queen or a Pope! But I can tell you I was secretly pleased when during my first visit to Singapore last March, The Straits Times referred to me as a “Library Crusader”. That's a label I can live with!
Because that is how I have seen my role. To be a very visible and active promoter and champion for libraries and the work that they do so well in communities around the world.
To that end, this past year, I particularly focused my activities on the IFLA regions. I went to South Africa, Chile and Argentina, Australia, Malaysia and Singapore, and just last month I was in Brazil and China. All were excellent venues for exploring issues of mutual concern, and planning for future joint activities.
And of course I met with many library associations and colleagues in Europe and North America.
Being from Canada, I chose to have my Presidential Meetings in the Americas. This year, in Mexico City, the theme was Our Digital Futures. We addressed the impact of digital developments and how libraries might best serve their communities. Our discussions were far ranging and of course encompassed such key issues as equitable and comprehensive access to information and copyright exceptions and limitations.
Of course, two years is not a long time to achieve what I hoped might come to pass when I took on the job. When I chose my Presidential theme – Libraries: A Force For Change – with its principles of inclusion, transformation, collaboration and convergence, I had no idea how people would respond. I hoped and believed this was a theme that I would see play out across the global library stage in very real terms. But measuring success is difficult to quantify.
But I can tell you this – without fear of contradiction. While we can and should rejoice in our linguistic and cultural differences – we should equally rejoice in the similarities we share in the work we do in our chosen profession. It doesn't matter the type or size of library, nor whether it is in a developing or developed country, we all embrace similar professional values and want to provide access to as much information as possible – to as many users as possible. These commonalities are the glue that binds us together.
The libraries I had the privilege to visit were so very different in their physical size and structure, but so similar in what they were trying to accomplish. Two examples come to mind.
In Brisbane, Australia there is a unique service provided by the State Library of Queensland. Called The Edge – its aim is to provide young people with the opportunity and inspiration to explore creativity across the spectrum of the arts and sciences. They use the latest technologies in innovative ways to get youth excited about possibilities for their futures.
Then, when I was in South Africa in September for The African Public Libraries Summit, there was a young librarian from Botswana who said her library offers courses in crafts and other practical skills to the women in the community. And one of those women who took advantage of this service told that young librarian how her self-esteem had increased because of the program, and how she felt she could now make a positive contribution to her community.
It’s interesting, isn’t it? Two very different libraries: One ultra-modern, the other smaller and not so cutting edge when it comes to technology. And yet, the librarians in both had the same approach and similar results when it came to offering unique services to their users and their communities.
If I had to choose which of my visits most exemplified how IFLA and libraries can be an incredible catalytic force for change, it would be my recent visit to Qatar. I was there last November, meeting with the AFLI – the Arab Federation of Libraries and Information. Never before had a current IFLA President been invited to speak to them, and I was asked, “why IFLA had never had a conference there”. And I replied that we had never been asked! So together we decided to rectify the situation by having a regional IFLA conference in Doha.
And that is exactly what took place in June of this year. It was a pretty amazing session with excellent representation from the region. I am told there was passionate discussion and debate. It is just this sort of passion that IFLA events can generate, and that is incredibly satisfying because more often than not, that passion gets taken back to participants’ home institutions.
The conference was followed by a two day Building Strong Library Associations workshop – attended by representatives from 15 countries in the region.
It was very gratifying to hear that there was great interest expressed in pursuing future projects together. The region is so large, diverse, and important and we are absolutely delighted to have them as partners, sharing information about global library issues that affect us all.
As I reflect on the AFLI experience, and when I think of one of the supporting principles to my theme – convergence – it is evident that it is so much more than sharing of converging technologies. There is the convergence of ideas, of exchanging views and pooling collective knowledge and experience.
In this regard I was recently made aware of the work by noted Singaporean academic and author Kishore Mahbubani. In his book “The Great Convergence: Asia, The West, and the Logic of One World”, he makes a very persuasive case that “never before in history has humanity been so interconnected and interdependent.” Economically, socially, and even politically. He notes the rise of the global middle class that brings an unprecedented convergence of interests and perceptions, cultures and values.
Certainly, in our world, libraries are seeing the inevitability and merit in embracing a similar convergence of attitudes, values, and standards. But of course convergence doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It needs the active participation of those who can encourage it and those who will benefit. In the case of the former, it becomes increasingly important for library associations and organizations to participate in multi-stakeholder forums and to develop non-traditional alliances. Only by working together will our voices be heard (including the need to speak with one voice) particularly on the international stage.
And this is where IFLA works closely with library associations through our advocacy work.
Copyright protection and limitations, and e-lending issues are but two examples that come to mind when it comes to the need for showing a common front. Our proactive approach – lobbying for copyright exceptions for libraries through international negotiations has been critical. We were so gratified that the Visually Impaired Persons Treaty was recently signed in Morocco by national delegations to the World Intellectual Property Organization.
Of course issues like copyright protection are only one of many that influence our ability to effectively deliver services to our patrons. It is more important than ever that we remain aware of the ever-changing environment libraries will be working under in the years to come.
That is why IFLA embarked on the Trend Report, which will be launched during tomorrow’s plenary session at 8:30 in the morning. The report is not concerned with what libraries will look like in a decade’s time, but rather focuses on what society might look like – and how libraries may adapt to best meet the evolving needs of their communities.
Since it is the nature of technology to change so rapidly, there will never be a final report. Rather it will be a living resource that will evolve over time. And of course, it will be available online – providing ongoing opportunities for discussion and debate over the next several years.
Finally, since I have referred throughout my talk to the multi-cultural and multi-lingual world we live in, I did want to mention what we are doing at IFLA to bridge linguistic divides that can put distance between and among a membership that comes from all over the world.
We are continually working on increasing the number of standards, guidelines and other documents made available in IFLA’s seven official languages. In a similar fashion we are continuing to develop our multilingual websites. I was delighted to announce the launch of the Spanish version of our website in February of this year, and the French edition in July. The other language versions will follow. Coming from a bilingual country myself, I have been personally committed to this project for the past two years. And I know members of our Board are equally dedicated to this mission as we move forward.
Colleagues, we are living in tumultuous, exciting, and sometimes anxious times. Nobody can predict the future with certainty. But I am convinced that libraries are going to play a pivotal role. In fact, never before have libraries and librarians been in such a key position to help and guide their users to better and more prosperous lives.
Although every generation can say their time was special – it is difficult to imagine a more interesting time to call ourselves “librarians”. It will, as our conference theme suggests, be a time of infinite possibilities.
Some of those possibilities will be discussed at this congress over the next few days. Your agenda is packed. Whether this is your first conference, or your tenth, or more, I know you will go home tired, but inspired by the ideas you have shared, by the new friends you have made, and by the excitement of being with a group of like-minded participants who love what they do, and just want to do it better.
Thank you very much. Have a great conference.
Ingrid Parent
IFLA President 2011–2013
IFLA Trend Report
IFLA President Ingrid Parent provided an overview of the just released Trend Report, which was prepared through an extensive process of consultation.
Good morning everyone. It's with great pleasure that I welcome you to the launch of the IFLA Trend Report, here at the 79th World Library & Information Congress in Singapore.
This occasion is the culmination of several months of work on behalf of many experts and stakeholders. I would like to thank everyone who worked so hard on this document – your efforts are greatly appreciated. And I'd like to note what a privilege it was to participate in the process. I was able to attend the March roundtable session of key experts in Mexico City, and I greatly enjoyed meeting everyone who gathered there to discuss the ideas behind the document that I am introducing today.
I'd like to speak now about the Trend Report, to highlight its significance as a broad-based resource.
The IFLA Trend Report isn’t the first study to consider the impacts of new technologies on our global information environment. How citizens, sectors and governments adapt in the Internet age is a question that is being considered in many contexts, with many voices, around the world.
Our intention in compiling the IFLA Trend Report was to do more than add one more static report to the digital archive. We wanted to do something to harness the unique perspective IFLA offers, as an international voice for library and information associations. The Trend Report isn’t looking at libraries in the information environment – it’s looking across society. The Trend Report is the starting point for libraries to work back from, and consider how they fit in to the new global economy.
The IFLA Trend Report is perhaps more aptly described as the IFLA Trend ‘Resource’ – a comprehensive, and ever evolving, repository of information and forum for discussion among IFLA members. With the Trend Report platform, we want to initiate a conversation with IFLA members around the world: how are information trends affecting libraries in Chile, as compared with libraries in Singapore or Kenya or Lithuania? The IFLA Trend Report being launched here today is just the tip of the iceberg – and it’s now for you to explore what’s under the water.
Over the past 12 months a number of components have been drawn together to develop the Trend Report:
In November 2012 IFLA commissioned a comprehensive literature review surveying recent studies and reports on emerging trends. This was completed in January 2013.
In February and March 2013, a panel of ten key experts prepared submissions based on these materials and participated in a round table meeting in Mexico City.
In May and June the experts continued to discuss and expand on the trends via the online discussion forum, with input invited from a wider pool of experts.
In July, all of these different resources were drawn together to produce the web platform and the document Riding the Waves or caught in the tide? Insights from the IFLA Trend Report.
Which brings us to today…and the next phase of discussion between libraries.
Our expert contributors spanned social scientists, economists, education specialists, lawyers and technologists. Some of the experts included:
Olivier Crepin-Leblond, Chairman Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) At-large Advisory Committee (ALAC)
Divina Frau-Meigs, Professor, Université du Paris III: Sorbonne Nouvelle
Deborah Jacobs, Director, Global Libraries Development Programme, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Kate Russell, Presenter, BBC Click Online
Fred von Lohmann, Legal Director, Copyright, Google Inc.*
You can find a full list of all our expert contributors to the IFLA Trend Platform in the Insights Document and on the web platform, trends.ifla.org.
So what is the Insights Document? It synthesizes the enormous amount of information that has gone into discussions over the past twelve months. It’s a snapshot of the broader IFLA Trend Report, and can be downloaded from the Trend Report platform after this session.
The Insights Document summarizes five high level trends emerging in the global information environment, based on discussions with our experts.
The IFLA Trend Report looks in detail at five key trends which will change our information environment. I’m going to summarize the five trends briefly – they’re expanded on in the Insights Document:
New technology will expand access to information, but also present barriers
The IFLA Trend Report acknowledges access to information as having a profound influence on future developments in the information economy. This trend looks at the importance of information literacy skills – not only digital tools but also basic literacy – to online inclusion. It also considers barriers to access for the visually impaired – as information becomes more abundant, but restricted through technological means. It looks at new online business models and their impact on how information is owned, profited from, shared or accessed in the future.
Online learning will transform and disrupt traditional education
Online educational resources are making learning opportunities cheaper and more accessible. There will be an increased value placed on lifelong learning and recognition of non-formal and informal learning. Trends in online education will profoundly change demographics in employment in the areas of age, cultural background and geographical location.
Boundaries of data protection and privacy will be redefined
The value in personal data for companies and governments, coupled with increasingly sophisticated methods of monitoring and filtering communications data by those entities, are challenging the boundaries of privacy and data protection. I have some fascinating issues for libraries to consider when it comes to privacy that we’ll go through in a minute.
Hyper-connected societies will recognize and empower new voices
Mobile technologies are connecting people and enabling the rise of new voices and groups–single-issue movements are emerging to challenge traditional political parties; there are new opportunities for collective action and protest; and new connections across geographic and language borders.
The gap between developing and developed countries will continue to diminish – mobile technologies are enabling greater participation by diaspora communities and education opportunities are more widely available. And while the developed world continues to struggle with the challenges of an aging population, the connected developing world will be able to exploit demographic advantages associated with having young and growing populations.
Our global information economy will be transformed by new technologies
The evolution of new technologies is the connector between all other information trends. The spread of hyper-connected mobile devices, networked sensors in appliances and infrastructure, 3D printing and language-translation technologies are transforming the global information economy, and are the force behind other trends identified in the IFLA Trend Report.
By themselves, we may look at these trends and think, ‘and? So what? We knew that already’. But these trends are evolving rapidly and set to collide, or already colliding, with one another – with reverberations that ripple through the services, and very identity, of libraries around the world.
We’ve been looking at questions that arise for libraries at the points that these trends come into conflict. We tried to ask ourselves, what impacts could these trends have on the way libraries operate currently, and into the future?
For me, when I look at the trends, I see that they all have a connection to technology. Even if the trends are education or privacy or heritage, they are all shaped by “technology” in some way. In this respect the trend report could really boil down to how evolving technology impacts our lives, our societies. Technology is the key connector.
Let’s take a look at some of the collision points for libraries:
Google Glass
Google Glass is a hot topic right now. For those of you who might not be aware of Google Glass, it’s a tiny wearable computer attached to a pair of glasses, with information projected on its lenses. It has a camera, is connected to the Internet at all times and is voice activated. These are:
Mobile and increasingly wearable technology like Google Glass are redefining the boundaries of privacy.
According to Cisco’s Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast, by 2016 there will be over 10 billion mobile devices connected to the Internet, with the Middle East and Africa alone experiencing a 104% increase in mobile data traffic.
The next generation of wearable computers, like Google Glass, have the computer turned on, and its camera turned outwards, all the time. Putting that in the library setting for a moment: a user walking into a library wearing Google Glass has, in a fashion, put all their fellow library users under surveillance. Everything he or she sees is captured by its lens.
What does the library do about it? Libraries position themselves as ‘safe’ spaces for the benefit of the whole community. Can this be maintained once Google Glass is in the reading room?
Or, to put it another way, as new generations of technology users embrace wearable tech, will they even care about privacy?
Let’s look at another scenario:
Personal data in libraries
The online economy is increasingly built on ‘information mining’ – using personal data like our most visited websites, our Google searches, our geo data, to produce better-targeted goods and services.
Let’s put this in a library setting:
Just before the Congress, I came across a fascinating article. A couple of years ago, librarians at the University of Huddersfield realized that analysing the electronic trail left every time a student swiped into the library, borrowed a book or looked something up online, and then combining that information with other student records could not only help to improve library services but also answer more fundamental questions about the way students learn. Was use of the library, for example, related to how well students performed academically? The answer proved emphatic. By plotting library usage against academic achievement they discovered that students who did not use the library were more than seven times more likely to drop out of their degree than those who did.
Universities around the world are waking up to the value of student data and discovering how it can help them better develop course modules, term timetables and ways of responding to the needs of different students.
Is there a point, though, at which too much information about our students is being collected? How do libraries manage this treasure trove of personal data? What about their obligations to their students/users?
Things get even murkier when libraries are acting as conduits for access to digital content subscriptions and e-books owned by publishers.
Another collision involves e-lending in libraries:
E-lending
Reading an e-book today reveals a lot about you – how fast you read, your favourite parts, your spending habits. This kind of data is immensely valuable to authors, publishers and distributors producing and selling new content. If libraries are providing publishers with a rich pool of personal information on user reading habits, have they become part of the business model?
The algorithm has all the answers – so what’s a library?
A recent study by the Oxford Internet Survey found that “trust in people providing Internet services” exceeds trust in other major institutions including newspapers, corporations and government1.
Today, automated search technologies limit information available to us based on our search habits, language and geographical location. Can the results returned by our search engines really be trusted? A big question libraries around the world have been discussing, is discovery:
Serendipitous Discovery
How can libraries and educators ensure students and users are accessing the information they need, and not simply the information their data tells the algorithm they’re looking for?
This leads to more unsettling questions for libraries, like:
If the primary vehicle for information seeking is a privately owned algorithm, how do libraries engage with that? Build a competing algorithm? Or should they focus on building digital literacy skills to help users navigate to the most authoritative information returned by existing search technologies?
Fundamentally, can libraries actually deliver different vehicles for serendipitous discovery if everyone is getting from A to B using a search engine?
And who bears responsibility for information online that is false, or manipulative?
Many more questions are posed of libraries in the Insights document accompanying the trend report.
Digital preservation
A priority for libraries, with several challenges. How do libraries identify content of historical or cultural significance in the information deluge? How to deal with copyright restrictions? Preserving obsolete formats?
In an era where libraries are increasingly turning to automated technologies like web harvesting and search algorithms to identify and record our digital output – what have we lost in turning curation and preservation over to algorithms?
Machine translation
Automated machine translation, like Google Translate, is changing the way we communicate with one another and breaking down language barriers.
We’ll soon be able to read in their own language any book, article or online blog ever written, from any location.
The likes of Google Translate are breaking down barriers, but they pose questions too. If we are relying on machines to translate, say, Alexandre Dumas’ works into our own language, what will we be reading? We can translate it, but do we understand it? What is the cultural impact of using machine translations without the benefit of cultural context?
And in an age where anything can be translated, copy and pasted, taken out of its original context, how do libraries and archives manage this as “recorders” or “preservers” of this information? Should we be following the excerpt or the translation back to its original source? Or follow the information as it is used in new contexts? In the Internet economy, what is “information” and what is a “record?”
While new creative partnerships and business models will emerge as language barriers dissolve, what impact will it have on existing business models and regulatory frameworks? If you can run any work through an automated translator, what impact could this have on publishing?
What about education?
Education going global and mobile
What impact will automated translation have on education? In an environment where students can theoretically access content from anywhere in the world in their own language, what impact will this have on literary analysis and cultural understanding?
Open access and automated machine translation together pave the way for the global classroom. But what impacts will global access to content have on the production of local content? Will students be learning from resources originally produced in their own language, in their own country? What will be lost?
Emergence of new voices in surveillance society
Mobile technology and automated machine translation are also helping new voices and groups connect across the globe. We’ve witnessed the power of mobile technology in successful campaigns against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the US, and the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) in the EU as well as the rise of the Arab Spring.
Knowing, however, that these technologies can also be used for harmful ends, governments around the world are taking steps to monitor and control the flow of information. How far should information surveillance go to protect the public interest? Can fringe/grassroots activism movements have an impact in a society where nothing is private?
Governments around the world, even those seen as democratic, are taking steps to filter online access to information that is extremist, criminal, sensitive or deemed otherwise “immoral”. Libraries have historically opposed government censorship – have our responses to Internet censorship been adequate? If filtering is becoming a standard government practice, what impact could that have on libraries’ ability to adequately collect and preserve our digital history?
Conclusion
Certainly, these are all pressing concerns. Each collision that I've highlighted for you today raises all sorts of questions and challenges. And while we may not have all of the answers, it's imperative that we recognize the changes going on around us, prepare and transform ourselves accordingly, and stay flexible – because Internet time waits for no one, and that includes libraries.
Again, I'd like to stress that while the Trend Report is now public, the process for us as librarians is just beginning. Let's use this document as a valuable starting point for our libraries as we navigate our way through the information environment of today and tomorrow. And let's also remember to use this as a resource – one that I hope leads to an array of discussions, actions and ultimately, outcomes that will enhance our lives, our communities and our societies.
Thank you.
Note
1. Oxford Internet Survey ‘Trust on the Internet now exceeds Trust in other Major Institutions’ (2011) http://microsites.oii.ox.ac.uk/oxis/blog/2010/trust-interet-now-exceeds-trust-other-major-institutions
IFLA Statement on Libraries and Development
Access to information is a fundamental human right that can break the cycle of poverty and support sustainable development. The library is the only place in many communities where people can access information that will help improve their education, develop new skills, find jobs, build businesses, make informed agricultural and health decisions, or gain insights into environmental issues. Their unique role makes libraries important development partners, both by providing access to information in all formats and by delivering services and programmes that meet the needs for information in a changing and increasingly complex society.
As the United Nations moves to establish a post-2015 framework to guide development worldwide, IFLA calls upon all stakeholders to recognize that libraries, in every part of the world, can be reliable mechanisms for underpinning the delivery of sustainable development programmes. IFLA affirms that:
Libraries provide opportunity for all
Libraries are found in all locations – in the countryside and in the city, on the campus and in the workplace. Libraries serve all people, regardless of their race, national or ethnic origin, gender or sexual preference, age, disability, religion, economic circumstances or political beliefs. Libraries support vulnerable and marginalized populations and help ensure that no person is denied basic economic opportunities and human rights.
Libraries empower people for their own self-development
Libraries underpin a society where people from any background can learn, create and innovate. Libraries support a culture of literacy and foster critical thinking and inquiry. Through libraries, people can harness the power of technology and the Internet to improve their lives and their communities. Libraries protect the rights of users to access information in a safe environment. Libraries are socially and culturally inclusive. They can help all people engage with the public institutions they need to access services, and can act as gateways to civic participation and new e-government services.
Libraries offer access to the world’s knowledge
Libraries are an essential part of a critical infrastructure that supports education, jobs and community growth. They offer meaningful, convenient access to information in all its forms, whether it is manuscript, printed, audio-visual or digital. They can support formal, informal and lifelong learning, the preservation of folk memories, traditional and indigenous knowledge, and the national cultural and scientific heritage. When national information policies aim to improve telecommunications and provide high-speed broadband networks, libraries are natural partners for the provision of public access to Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and networked information resources.
Librarians provide expert guidance
Library staff are trained, trusted intermediaries dedicated to guiding people to the information they seek. Librarians provide training and support for the media and information literacies people need to better understand and participate in the information society. They are also cultural stewards, curating and providing access to cultural heritage and supporting the development of identity.
Libraries are part of a multistakeholder society
Libraries work effectively with many different stakeholder groups in varied situations. They deliver programmes and services alongside local and national governments, community groups, charities, funding organizations, and private and corporate enterprises. Librarians are agile actors who are able to work alongside others in governments, civil society, business, academia and the technical community to help deliver policy goals.
Libraries must be recognized in development policy frameworks
As libraries have a natural role in providing access to the information content and networked services that underpin sustainable development, policymakers should encourage the strengthening and provision of libraries and utilize the skills of librarians and other information workers to help solve development problems at community levels.
IFLA therefore urges policymakers and development practitioners to leverage these powerful existing resources and ensure that any post 2015 development framework:
Recognizes the role of access to information as a fundamental element supporting development
Acknowledges the role of libraries and librarians as agents for development
Encourages UN Member State support of the information frameworks underpinning development – providing networks, information and human resources – such as libraries and other public interest bodies
Approved by the IFLA Governing Board in Singapore, August 16th 2013.
Winners of SAGE co-sponsored ARL attendance grant for IFLA WLIC 2013
The IFLA World Library and Information Congress (IFLA WLIC) is a pivotal conference for the library and information services sector, and having been the publisher of IFLA journal for over ten years, we were delighted to support the Academic and Research Libraries Section (ARL) attendance grant for the annual Congress this year. Each travel grant supports a librarian or information professional with a free place at the IFLA WLIC, taking place in Singapore from 17 to 23 August 2013. Each winner will also have their Congress experience published as part of The Academic and Research Libraries Section (ARL) blog, to be published three months after the conference.
The three winning recipients; Joseph A. Semugabi, Librarian at the Law Development Centre, Uganda; Sasekea Harris, Academic Librarian at the University of the West Indies; and Aditya Nugara, Head of Library at Petra Christian University, Indonesia, were all selected for their insightful and creative take on what impact the conference will have on their professional development.
Joseph A. Semugabi
For the first of the three interviews we spoke to Joseph A. Semugabi, Librarian at the Law Development Centre, Uganda.
Thank you! Yes, of course. When you are awarded grants like these, you are reassured that all your efforts were not in vain and it provides a sense of accreditation to the work that we are doing. Winning has greatly improved my standing with my employer and confidence in my profession has definitely been invigorated. This recognition has also given me the confidence in my ability and has opened my eyes to the opportunities that both this grant and other grants can offer me on the international level to help me obtain greater achievements in my profession.
I have always been interested in undertaking research. With such a grant my confidence is renewed to pursue my dream. Moreover with this support, I now have the rare opportunity of interacting with other researchers whose experience and guidance will inevitably influence and materialize my own research work. I even intend to pursue a Doctorate, and this opportunity to interact at the international level will expose me to people who I can gain advice and assistance from, an opportunity which I see as invaluable.
As I mentioned earlier, the conference will be an opportune time for me to interact with international members of the librarian community and gain invaluable knowledge and guidance. The conference, I believe, will also lead to the appreciation of the vital role that librarians play in harnessing the infinite possibilities that today’s technologies avail for effective and efficient information access and service delivery, as appropriately captured in the theme: “Future Libraries: Infinite Possibilities.” It will constitute a forum for discussion of insights that will lead to the much needed paradigm shift and shape policy to address challenges affecting our careers and profession. Discussion of the unlimited possibilities availed by advancement in information and communication technologies will definitely lead to the rethinking of the whole idea of librarianship dominated by manual systems in my country. I believe therefore that there is great possibility for understanding new strategic directions that we can obtain for libraries, such as ours, that urgently require an overhaul if they are to continue to be relevant, efficient and effective in the era of information deluge and unprecedented technological sophistication.
The conference will also provide a firsthand opportunity to further understand and appreciate the role of such international organizations as IFLA and SAGE.
I believe the conference will also contribute to my professional development as I interact with best practices and well researched presentations in the context of the new information and communication technologies that are inevitably shaping a rather different library of the future. Providing me with the opportunity to meet other fellow professionals/researchers and share with them experiences, knowledge and opinions will undoubtedly augment my vision and experience and stimulate and inspire my own research.
Such grants as this provide the much needed stimulus for researchers to go ahead with their work, or for those that have never conducted research, to start thinking seriously about it. There is definitely a lot to research about in developing countries but due to financial constraints little or nothing is done. These grants also expose researchers, who hitherto could not finance themselves, to even greater possibilities and assistance as they interact with other accomplished researchers/scholars. They are a great incentive to potential that has until now not been exploited. They also provide the much needed exposure of one’s work and abilities for constructive criticism from others. One is exposed to a global audience as well as being able to meet fellow professionals/researchers and creating mutually beneficial relations. All professionals and upcoming researchers would immensely benefit from such arrangements and I would encourage them to always try their luck. Personally, I will forever be grateful for being a beneficiary and being availed such an invaluable opportunity.
A brief about the conference experiences – by Joseph Semigabi
Introduction
The theme for this year’s conference was
How I found the Conference
There is no doubt that the 79thIFLA General Conference & Assembly was an exceptional event – more so this being my first time in attendance. It was an outstanding learning and networking experience. The programme was well balanced with both academic and social activities as well as tours that contributed to the understanding of Singapore. Such arrangement was invaluable and simply a memorable experience. Neither could one come here and fail to make acquaintances at a business, professional and social level. The facilitators – balanced between accomplished scholars in various disciplines and librarians on the other hand – undoubtedly contributed to professional development and ensured that we left with enough knowledge to understand the new role of the library in an increasingly technologically sophisticated world.
What I learned/found most informative
By and large, the congress effectively provided new insights on how the future library should be managed to remain relevant and useful in an era of information and communication technologies that can avail information to people anywhere and anytime. Our eyes were also opened during the exhibitions to the new technologies that can facilitate the library of the future.
The following are some of the issues presented/discussed during the various sessions that most caught my attention providing a rich learning experience in connection to new developments and best practices affecting academic institutions, research and libraries:
Libraries like any other organizations should be keen to use the
We were also educated on the concept of
Traditional library systems, we were informed, are lagging in popularity behind non-library information systems. This is because what shapes expectation of users when seeking for scholarly materials includes “immediacy of information, availability of communication channels, abundance and diversity of tasks that people routinely accomplish online, and the effects of social networks.” The reality is that library users have shifted from searching and accessing content via library services to attempting to satisfy their information needs through non-library services, such as web search engines, online bookstores, blogs, online news, and e-mail.
Examples of discovery systems/services which have been adopted at a rapid pace by several institutions around the world were given and they include Ex Libris Primo, Serial Solutions Summon, EBSCO Discovery Service, and OCLC WorldCat Local.
A range of challenges around the world that call for Agile Management were indicated as “the restructuring of education, alternative models of scholarly communication, the growth of private/for-profit institutions, the onset of new modes of delivery, knowledge management and content management, the expansion of online learning and the rise of MOOCs new spaces and new roles.” Agile management among other things could be implemented through
We were educated on the fact that
It was also wonderful to learn that social media can be used to
What i will be taking back to practice
I intend to suggest the introduction of online legal education, that is, Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCs) especially that demand for legal education in my institution has dramatically shot up and yet the physical infrastructure to accommodate all prospective students is grossly inadequate.
Cloud computing could also be adopted in my institution to save on the costs of on-site storage and management of computer applications and services.
Increasingly adopt non-library information systems to effectively and efficiently aid learning and research in addition to the traditional structured library systems. So emphasis should be on discovery systems as well as social media networks and the like.
Progressively enforce where possible Open Access to scholarly materials. Actually, just like Zhang effectively argues, our library should be “an Open Knowledge Service Platform.”
My organization is involved in legal aid projects to members of the community who cannot afford legal services. Access to and use of Information Communication Technology should also be part of these programs in the community. I intend therefore to write a proposal in this direction in a bid to obtain funding from the Bill Gates Foundation for this purpose.
The papers which fortunately were also downloadable from the IFLA Website are precious tools for further reference, research and implementation. The knowledge/information therein shall also be shared with management, Library staff and members of the local Association to help shape a new conceptual outlook.
All in all I have taken back a paradigm shift whereby managers like myself should be more agile, accommodative, innovative and pragmatic to ensure that the library stays relevant and useful in the era of information communication technology. Whatever the new technologies can offer can be adopted in the library as long as resources allow. Proposals for donor funding can actually be prepared and submitted for this purpose.
The digitization technology should be adopted in my organization. I was able to obtain the contacts of the vendors and the details about these products for possible procurement. We should also give a shot at obtaining e-books to supplement the hard copies which are never adequate.
Benefits from the conference
I was not a mere delegate attending yet another IFLA/WLIC event. I had the honor and privilege of being awarded a certificate by the Academic & Research Libraries (ARL) Section having submitted one of the best essays and recognized before other professionals from all over the world.
The event was also a long awaited opportunity to understand IFLA and its functions as well as operations having had a firsthand experience of this global Association. It will therefore be much easier for me to persuade and convince members of our local Association to obtain and sustain membership to IFLA.
The presentations, responses and discussions by well travelled and experienced professionals were very inspiring as well as stimulating and they broadened my understanding and articulation of such pertinent issues in the library and information profession. I got to learn about the myriad of options zavailed by information and communication technologies regarding knowledge/information management as well as dissemination. Terminologies like cloud computing, MOOCs, Discovery Systems, Open Access, etc., which hitherto were very complicated to fathom became very clear to me. These are concepts we were never exposed to in college.
It is because of this conference that I was able to have the opportunity to visit such a beautiful country like Singapore which apparently is developing very fast.
The exhibition was also beneficial in that it brought me in direct contact with some products which hitherto I did not know they existed and yet would be very useful for my organization which is currently undergoing transformation to cope with problems related to increased numbers of students. Such products and applications used in digitization like book/document scanners can go a long way in solving the problem of document loss, inadequate storage space, etc. The exhibition also opened my eyes to a lot of technological developments especially with regard to acquisition and use of e-books.
It was again through this conference that I learnt about Bill Gates Foundation that supports computer literacy programmes in third world countries. My institution which is already involved in aiding poor communities would apply for such funding.
I was privileged to interact and make acquaintance with several participants. This was even easier given that I was one of the three beneficiaries of the ARL Attendance Grant. Naturally everybody wanted to check us out and congratulate us. You can bet that I left with my bag full of business cards as well as contacts of a couple of sales representatives exhibiting various products. The Conference gave me the rare opportunity to literally interact with people from almost every continent.
I was able to freely obtain all the papers presented during the Congress thus enhancing my knowledge regarding best practices, innovations and new developments in the field of library and information science. These papers will definitely constitute an invaluable source of information for literature reviews when undertaking research in related fields of library and information science. The papers also constitute benchmarks for us who have plans to make well researched presentations in the future.
Concluding remarks
There is no doubt this conference has effectively demonstrated and led to the appreciation of the vital role that libraries can still play in harnessing the inestimable possibilities that today’s technologies avail for equitable, effective and efficient information access and service delivery as appropriately captured in the theme: “Future Libraries: Infinite Possibilities.” It constituted a forum for debate regarding ideas, innovations and current trends that will lead to the much needed paradigm shift and shape policy to address challenges facing our careers and profession. Discussion of the unlimited possibilities availed by advancement in information and communication technologies within the context of learning and research has definitely led to the re-thinking of the whole idea of librarianship dominated by manual and traditional systems in my country. A new strategic direction has therefore been obtained for academic libraries that urgently require an overhaul if they are to continue to be relevant, efficient and effective in an era of an information deluge and unprecedented technological sophistication.
References
Sasekea Harris
In the second of our IFLA WLIC winners’ interviews, we spoke to Sasekea Harris, Academic Librarian at the University of the West Indies, to find out more about what this travel grant means to her and the ways in which new strategies can help advocate the role of the library and librarianship.
Yes of course, thank you! I was delighted to receive the travel bursary to attend IFLA as it is enabling me to attend my first IFLA WLIC, which I am very much looking forward to. Not only will it give me the opportunity to interact with an international network of librarians and information professionals but it will also enable me to attend several information sessions of interest which will enhance my knowledge in cataloguing, marketing, STEM and academic/research libraries. Based on the line up of cataloguing sessions I will be exposed to international best practices and new trends, which will certainly enhance my cataloguing lectures. Further, the marketing session will provide new insights, which I will share with my library's marketing and customer service teams upon my return home. The STEM session as well as the academic and research libraries hot topic session will inform my delivery of STEM library and information services in an academic context.
Secondly I am looking forward to meeting with representatives of SAGE, where I am looking forward to getting the opportunity to learn more about their library support products and services, which I will then be able to disucss with my colleagues on my return home with the objective of using this knowledge to help improve our library services in Jamaica.
Lastly on a personal note, I am looking forward to experiencing Asian culture!
Yes, as you mention I am a passionate believer in cataloguing – without it access to information would be thwarted. I have a great interest in STEM academic libraries, cataloguing and customer service and the programme content suggests the sessions that I will attend as a result of this grant will inform my future research topics, objectives and methodology as well as highlight further options of inquiry in these areas. I am convinced that the sessions will help us and the other local libraries to align with international best practices. This travel grant therefore helps support my career development, allowing me to meet with experts in my areas of interest and thereby opening up the possibility of research relationships.
Attendance at IFLA I believe will be a great opportunity for me to build new relationships and partnerships with likeminded individuals in my professional field. By being able to make the most of the conference agenda and networking opportunities, I feel it will help to develop both my understanding of how others adapt to serve their user communities, as well as developing my knowledge of the challenges that others face and the wider field that we work in. Introducing me to new library and information products and services, as well as new trends and issues in global librarianship, will go a long way to enhancing my own professional development, and therefore will provide me with invaluable insight to take back to my library team.
It enables professionals and researchers to get the opportunity to attend enriching sessions in our research areas and areas of interest to our careers. The conference presentations, I believe, will bring to the fore new areas of knowledge where more research is needed and thus can help us understand more about where we can support this and what we should be doing.
In addition we also get exposure to international studies and discussion, that we can learn from and take back to our own home libraries, or even replicate such studies in our own areas, thereby enhancing the local library and information studies literature in our own country.
What I always find most beneficial, however, is the exposure to the research forums for discussing issues relating to various branches of librarianship – this is always of great benefit to understanding more about the wider sector in which we work in.
Aditya Nugara
For the final of our IFLA WLIC winners’ interviews, we spoke to Aditya Nugara, Head of Library at Petra Christian University, Indonesia.
I am very happy to get the 2013 IFLA Attendance Grant (sponsored by SAGE). The IFLA Congress in Singapore provides a very good opportunity for Southeast Asian (SEA) librarians and researchers to attend, to network and learn more about the wider issues affecting our community, two aspects which I am greatly looking forward to benefiting from.
For librarians and researchers in South East Asia, a lot of these larger conferences are inaccessible to us due to the high rate of registration fees, thus making it almost impossible for us to get permission, and secure funding, from our institutions. Thus the availability of grants, such as the IFLA WLIC attendance grant, is very crucial and helpful.
Attending conferences always give us several advantages. Besides the new ideas and knowledge we gain, we can always meet new people and develop new networks. The additional benefits of attending conferences on a grant is that you will get rare opportunities to meet selected people during the events organized by the sponsors. You will be connected instantly to the sponsors' network or circle of friends/colleagues. I think this is invaluable since expanding networks will open new horizon and open new opportunities for collaborations.
As I mentioned above, not only to grants like this help with exposure to new knowledge and valuable networking opportunities, but they are also a great accreditation to have on your resume. Having this external accreditation of your work helps not only with your confidence and understanding of how to develop your career (by being exposed to other professionals and these conferences), but it also helps with building and understanding more about your own personal development and what you want from your career.
Further comments by Aditya Nugara
How you found it
I found IFLA World Library and Information Congress to be enlightening, both professionally and personally. Besides acquiring new knowledge from the speakers and presentations, I got to know and talked to colleagues from around the world.
What you learned/found most informative
What I found to be most interesting is the IFLA’s atmosphere of networking and passing the torch to the next generation of leadership.
What you will be taking back to practice
I am impressed by the various best practices and fresh ideas from colleagues all around the world in tackling problems in the field as well as improving access to information and relationship with library users. What I found particularly enlightening is best practices in using social media in reaching out to college-level library users and how to create an engaged community of users by utilizing the social media properly. My library has been trying to engage our college-level users. However I realized that we only use the social media with the mindset of traditional media. From the presentations I realized that we need to ‘talk in the language of social media’.
I was also very impressed by the concept introduced in the congress on libraries as placemakers and the need for libraries to formulate “mobile strategy” (utilization of mobile devices by library users). I believe that I should take back home these issues and share them with my colleagues in the hope that we can put them into practice to enhance our existing products and services.
What benefit you felt that it had
I believe that IFLA WLIC has particularly broaden my worldview of international libraries and librarianship. Practically, it has also broaden my international network of colleagues. The Congress has refreshed my commitment in librarianship and the spirit of sharing.