Abstract
With the next World Library and Information Congress (WLIC) coming up in August this year, the first contribution to this issue deals with libraries in the host country – France. In their paper, ‘Libraries in France: an overview’, eight French librarians have collaborated to present a typology of French libraries, including the national library, public libraries, academic and scientific libraries, and other libraries serving specific audiences. The paper also presents the French government’s library policies, library education and training and professional associations. We hope this well-illustrated paper will provide WLIC participants with a foretaste of what to expect in Lyon, and give readers who cannot attend the congress some idea of the French library scene.
The next paper takes us a long way from France. In ‘Promoting a reading culture through a rural community library in Uganda’, Espen Stranger-Johannessen, of the University of Oslo, discusses what is meant by “reading culture”, and how the Caezaria Library in central Uganda can contribute to promoting it. Based on semi-structured interviews, observations and library records, the findings show that the library, which is based on local initiative, is relatively well resourced and fairly well integrated in the community. Together, these indicate the gradual development of a reading culture. The article stresses the need to take on a critical view of the role and function of community libraries in developing countries, and suggests a framework for doing this.
The question of the ‘Required skills for children and youth librarians in the digital age’ is the subject of the next paper, by Dalia Hamada and Sylvia Stavridi of the Biblioteca Alexandrina in Egypt. After a literature review of the key skills required for librarians in the digital era and the ALA competencies of librarians working with children and young adults, the paper presents the feedback of nine children and young adult librarians from the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, on the essential skills they require to serve their users in the best possible way. Finally, the paper presents a list of skills and competencies essential to librarians’ roles in providing access to information in a fast-changing digital age.
Library buildings are the subject of the next paper; more specifically, one particular building in Toronto, Canada. In ‘The library, the city, and infinite possibilities: Ryerson University’s Student Learning Centre Project’, the university’s Chief Librarian, Madeleine Lefebvre, describes the philosophy, the landscape, the planning, the design, the collaborations, and the challenges of the project for the Student Learning Centre (SLC), to be built in Toronto. The new building will focus on student learning support, individual study and collaborative space, with no bookstacks. The project is planned for completion in 2015.
We remain in North America with the next paper, ‘Salaries of special librarians in the United States’, by James Matarazzo of Simmons College and Toby Pearlstein of Bain & Company, Inc. The paper reviews the salaries of the US members of the Special Libraries Association who have responded to the Association’s Salary Surveys and compares them to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from 1982 to 2012. These salaries are also compared to the average salary for all librarians in the United States. The paper also comments on the salaries paid to holders of other advanced degrees which have similar educational requirements.
The final paper takes us back to Africa, this time to Namibia. In ‘Mentoring librarians for scholarly publishing’, Ellen Ndeshi Namhila of the University of Namibia (UNAM) describes the university library’s experiences in demonstrating that librarians in its employment are academic staff in terms of research and publications and by performing academic support functions for researchers, students, faculties and centres. This was achieved through a capacity building project carried out by the UNAM Library in partnership with Helsinki University Library and Tampere University Library. The project aimed to improve the competencies of UNAM Library staff to able to function effectively in an academic environment and assert their position as academic staff. The project included staff exchanges, joint seminars, meetings and mentorship programs with research as a cross cutting issue. One of the outcomes of the project is a book, Empowering People – Collaboration between Finnish and Namibian University Libraries, which provides evidence that research and scholarly communication is part and parcel of librarians’ work.
In the next issue
The next issue of IFLA Journal (Vol. 40, no. 3, October 2014) will be a special issue on ‘Innovation in National Libraries’, edited by Guest Editor Jerry Mansfield, Chair of the IFLA Journal Editorial Committee. The papers will cover innovative developments in national libraries in Australia, Canada, Germany, Korea, The Netherlands, Qatar, Singapore, South America, the United Kingdom and the United States. Don’t miss it!