My IFLA 2010 experience

Every IFLA Congress is different and a pretty unique experience for all people involved in this huge event. So was mine this year. Although not being a first timer, my third IFLA Congress included quite a few “firsts” such as my first satellite meeting, several meetings and duties I was committed or invited to as NPSIG Convenor, the IFLA Night Spot, Swedish food specialties, and many more. Unlike the others from our blogging team, I found no time at all to blog about all these things during the conference. Therefore here is my IFLA 2010 experience going through the whole conference week… watch out for the food.

Monday | The Global Librarian | Prologue

Without a doubt, my first highlight of this year’s IFLA journey was the NPSIG’s satellite meeting The Global Librarian, which was a big success. We were very happy to have around 70 people attending this one day event in Boras as participants and speakers – a lot of them being New Professionals and IFLA first timers.

The program was built around the internationalization of LIS careers and the profession in general. During the day we were dealing with topics such as library associations and new librarians, case studies from different countries, an innovative Library School model from the Netherlands, mobility and community building of New Professionals, mobile libraries, and how to become a global librarian.

sessions dealing with the internationalization of LIS careers

As part of the organizing team I was really busy that day, all the more we had to cope with a difficult situation, because the key person of our team arrived only in the late afternoon due to a family emergency. Therefore, we had to do most of the organizational part on the fly and improvise a little bit along the way. But this was fun actually and things worked out quite well anyway. More than once I was thinking back to organizing the BOBCATSSS symposium in 2008 which had posed quite similar challenges to the organizing team (the other similarity was the atmosphere during the sessions with so many New Professionals involved, which reminded me of being at BOBCATSSS – quite a good sign in my opinion). One thing I particularly liked was the moderation of the sessions, which gave me the possibility to actively join a couple of presentations and to get some input as well. This also included the first presentation via Skype I experienced at a conference – nice!… although Robin could not see anything of us, which must have been quite strange for her while, on the other hand, being largely displayed on our screens.

Robin Kear talking about how to become a global librarian via Skype

The daily agenda was surrounded by two great keynotes. Right in the morning, Erik Boekjestein and Jaap van de Geer took the audience on an exciting ride through the last couple of years they have been on the road with their Shanachietour and, recently, with This week in libraries. At the moment, you will hardly find better persons to ask for advice, when it comes to global librarianship. Erik and Jaap are traveling the world looking for best practices and are telling fascinating stories from local libraries in a global context. They even filmed some parts of their presentation. I am curious when this stuff will be available online… you can already watch an interview with Scott Nicholson about gaming in libraries recorded the same day at the LIS school in Boras.

Pernille Drost, closing keynote speaker

Pernille Drost, current President of the Danish Union of Librarians, held the Closing Keynote of our satellite meeting that was entitled “How library associations and library decision makers could work things out to retain, meet expectations and needs, and involve new members in their work.” In the context of an ongoing debate about the challenges of membership in many library associations around the world, she gave us valuable insights into her experiences in the case of Denmark and raised some very inspiring ideas and points to be considered by all parties involved:

• Technology and its pace are pushing the library organizations. If social media lets you meet your colleagues, why going to conferences, becoming a member of the library association anymore?

• Marketing is extremely important for library associations. Let people know about the benefits of joining them. Interesting comparison: Imagine food or beverage in a grocery store without any label about the ingredients… would you buy it anyway?

• Stakeholder analysis: Ask the people leaving the association and thereby create awareness (example from Denmark: phoner campaign).

• People are getting involved for a couple of years and then move on to another activity. This should be fine for us (maybe goals like “10-15 years” not achievable anymore).

• Danish Library Association: 1 President, 10 council members. One of them is a student – no voting rights, but very valuable input for the council.

• Generational gaps: Forming “youngster groups” could be difficult – tendency of patronizing these people and no impact on the Governing Board etc. This doesn’t solve the problem. We should rethink the hierarchical structures of library associations.

• Tendency: The young have the ideas, are innovative… but also the older generation has very valuable knowledge! They probably even have been library revoluzzers themselves in an earlier stage of their career, but maybe forgot about it meanwhile.

• Many initiatives in the Danish Library Association are addressing ALL the members. Of course, there are different attitudes amongst New Professionals and the older generations. But at the same time they just really often have similar opinions.

• A goal helps to get involved – join a section!

closing with networking drinks

After a day full of sessions and input, all the participants gathered in the lobby for some networking drinks. We were also joined by the attendees of a second satellite meeting in Boras, organized by the Sections Library Theory and Research as well as Education and Training. Finally, I think the whole satellite meeting was a perfect starter for the IFLA week, because it gave everybody lots of thoughts about the very idea of IFLA on the way (internationalization and networking) and many contacts and new faces to get back to later during the week.

It is exactly this kind of intensified exchange of experience and networking between participants in a smaller group of people that gives satellite meetings a slightly different but very agreeable flavor then the main IFLA Congress. Another strange thing for me in this context: While leaving Boras on Monday evening I was feeling like I would need some vacation… but the really big event had not even started yet.

Tuesday | IFLA 2010 | Day 1

A gathering of finnish, new library professionals at IFLA 2010

A group of finnish new library professionals at IFLA 2010

A group of finnish new professionals held a non-formal, round-table type of a gathering in Göteborg during IFLA 2010. About 25 people were present, a surprisingly large number of activists. The gathering took place in a park close to the IFLA 2010 venue.

The initiative came from Marjo Perälä, who got quite a bit of feedback on her blog Nutturat auki (“Let your hair run loose” or “Unknot your hair”), when in June 2010 she proposed in a blogpost Nuorten kirjastopäivät 2011? that young professionals should have their own professional conference. That suggestion really seemed to strike a chord, and so it was decided that IFLA 2010 is a good opportunity to meet face to face.

At the gathering after everyone introduced themselves, Veera Ristikartano summarised background information about the unformal Nuorkirjastolaiset (finnish for “Young librarians”) -group. Basically, it started as a network of a few LIS-graduates from Tampere University, who have landed in academic libraries in Finland and who have been making quite similar observations about problems of their new employers.

People from several library sectors (public, university and polytechnic, National Library) were present, and we identified several common issues that all our institutions share.

• The position of libraries in a digital world. Should we stick to the traditions, or move forward? Are we able/willing to really take the initiative?
• What do diginatives expect from libraries?
• Is the library education really relevant in everyday work?
• Recruiting has not developed, new people are still hired on out-of-date requirements
• Definition of both “a library” and “librarianship” is unclear at the moment
• Library management tends to be authoritarian and commanding, and doesn’t give room to ideas and initiatives
• Libraries must open to one another. The unnecessary competition and jealousy among libraries must be stopped
• The so-called Nuorkirjastolaiset (Young librarians) -network must not become a yet another forum for complaining and whining

In our meeting, management of libraries got quite a bit of a bashing! Recruiting – a critical function of management – was critiqued and also the bosses failure to lead libraries to any direction. Many see their own libraries as passivist and conformist, and hostile to changes. Many expressed disappointment in resource allocation in libraries, and that all research and development (R&D) has been isolated and encapsulated into projects ran by non-permanent staff.

The Finnish Library Association has been supportive of this movement from the start. In Göteborg we decided to have a meeting during Turku book fair, September the 30th. We discussed how to get our bosses and managers there too, to open a wide discourse with them about the issues listed above.

This blogpost is a summary and translation of a few posts in finnish, most importantly Marjo’s notes in her post Verkostoitumalla(ko) kirjastomaailmaa parantamaan and also on on Minna M’s conference report IFLA for Dummies – Open Accessia, jännitteitä ja nuorkirjastolaista angstia. My big Thanks to all active and brave colleagues who came to the meeting, young and old alike.

Do you know of other, similar movements elsewhere in recent times? I know something has been going on in Denmark, Germany, Sweden and Latvia. Please do write a comment below, let’s hear from you!

Two sides to every gap

Based on the discussions i had at IFLA 2010 conference in Göteborg, some sort of new or young professional identity has been on the rise in various places. At least Swedish, Danish, German and Latvian colleagues seemed to suggest, that some sort of movements had been emerging in their countries. A handful of common themes seem to emerge among these movements, if they can be seen as separate movements at all. Such themes include failure to stay relevant in the digital age, repressive organizational models, lack of quality library management, uninnovative workenvironment, poor employability and education not being relevant for the worklife.

I don’t know what this is a signal of, if anything at all.

An argument of mine is, that in the discussion about the so called generational digital divide, the divide is seen only from the point of view of the senior generation. In the library world it is not uncommon to hear someone express worries, that the digital natives are now/soon becoming library patrons, and library should become relevant in their lifes too. This is of course true.

However, it should be observed that the first generations who grew up with computers are already within the ranks of librarians themselves, and are becoming established deep within the profession. The Commodore 64 for example, was released in 1982, followed by Amiga and the legendary Nintendo Entertainment System NES in 1985. People who were born into a world with home-computers in middle-class homes, might now already have school-aged children of their own. People who were born in 1994, when the World Wide Web was introduced, are graduating from highschools very soon. People who started school that year in 1994, are now graduating from LIS-programmes in universities and entering our profession.

Above are some calculations of only the information society history. Similar observations could – and indeed should – be made about other developments, for instance Cold War, the popular InterRail -system since 1972, neoliberalism and global capitalism in the modern sense and thatcherism, gaining distance from the socialdemocrat project and so forth. Mental history and psychohistory of librarianship would be a very fascinating thing to reflect on!

To make a long story short: new library professionals might have quite a different view of the world than senior librarians. The generational digital gap is not something that looms between librarians and library patrons. It is a fact within the libraryworld itself. Thus, the digital gap must be acknowledged and taken seriously also from the younger point of view.

Of course my information from the countries listed in the beginning of this post are mere random rumours. I think IFLA’s NPSIG can have an absolutely crucial key role here, bringing together these movements and at least helping them be aware of each other. But what concrete could this mean? Perhaps some sort of a network of activists, who would regularly chat about some aspect of “new professionalism” over some instant messaging system, Skype or somesuch. New professionals could also agree on some mechanisms to solve common problems. Another idea is to compose a graphical timeline of key events, to serve as a backbone for reflection.

How does this sound to you, do you think the generational digital gap works two ways?

IFLA New Professionals remember Bob McKee

Dear colleagues:

IFLA New Professionals remember Bob McKee as a dear friend.

We were fortunate to receive his absolute support from the very beginning of our group. In 2004 when the NPSIG was established at a session during the IFLA Congress in Buenos Aires, Bob presented an encouraging call to include new professionals on the agenda of library associations and leaders. Bob’s advice represented a significant vote of confidence needed to lift off the concept of an IFLA group including new professionals. Stuart Hamilton, Andrew Cranfield and Loida Garcia-Febo were very appreciative of his advice and support.
For many years after that, Bob participated in the NPSIG programs. He advised us during long conversations in hotel lobbies, cafes and at FAIFE activities. His impact on the group will be remembered for a long time. We will sorely miss Bob.

Our condolences go out to Bob’s family, friends and colleagues at CILIP and the United Kingdom.

IFLA New Professionals SIG

Bob McKee

C’est la fin

Les bonnes choses ont toujours une fin, dans ce troisième billet concernant le 76e Congrès de l’IFLA, je relate les dernières sessions qui m’ont marquées et tire un petit bilan de la manifestation.

Le samedi 14 août s’est tenue l’intéressante session 133 organisée par les sections “Alphabétisation et Lecture” et “Bibliothèques pour populations multiculturelles” et dont le thème était : Les bibliothèques soutiennent la lecture dans une société multiculturelle, multilingue. J’ai été particulièrement intéressé par la communication faite par Maija Berndtson, Directrice de Helsinki City Library en Finlande, qui a exposé l’expérience de sa propre bibliothèque (la Bibliothèque de la Ville d’Helsinki) et son statut multilinguistique depuis 1995. Cette structure qui est en fait un réseau citadin de 35 bibliothèques, a la caractéristique essentielle de donner à des utilisateurs d’origine étrangère la possibilité  d’accéder à un fonds documentaire dans leur langue maternelle (des livres disponibles en 70 langues). Cela permet à ces utilisateurs de préserver une certaine connaissance de leur langue maternelle en plus du finnois. Cette bibliothèque fait aussi office de lien vers le pays d’origine, on peut ainsi y lire un journal de son pays et suivre ce qui s’y passe sur Internet, avec la possibilité également d’y envoyer gratuitement des e-mails à domicile. Nous voici donc devant une application concrète de l’interculturalisme en plus du multiculturalisme. L’autre intérêt de cette communication est l’apologie faite à notre profession de bibliothécaire et qui se résume à cette petite réflexion de l’intervenante : “Knowledge is power, we work with knowledge, we are powerful” tout un symbole. La communication originale est accessible en cliquant sur ce lien, en attendant la traduction que je promets d’ici peu.

L’autre session à laquelle je me suis intéressée est la N° 149 organisée coinjointement par les sections “Technologie de l’information”, “Catalogage”, “Classification et Indexation” et “Gestion du savoir” et qui avait pour thème : Les bibliothèques et le Web sémantique. Nous avons eu droit à 6 communications sur cette problématique qui intéresse très sérieusement le monde des bibliothèques qui doit s’intégrer à l’environnement du Web, plus particulièrement à son évolution souhaitée à  savoir celui d’être un Web de données. Ce qui est apparu au cours de ces différentes communications, c’est que les bibliothèques sont très outillées pour ce Web sémantique. En effet nos données sont de haute qualité, produites par des humains (langage naturel) et sont persistantes. La condition pour publier des données sur le Web est de disposer d’ontologies, ce que les bibliothèques ont aussi compris, pour preuve celles qu’elles utilisent ou projettent de le faire : RDA Element Set, FOAF, FRBR, SKOS, Dublin Core, etc..

Lors de la session de clôture notre collègue du Burkina Faso et boursière du CFI, Kabou Kambou Kadio, a été distinguée du prix du meilleur poster du congrès, ce qui au-delà de la satisfaction personnelle de l’auteur, est aussi une fierté pour nous autres africains. Un exemple de sérieux, de professionnalisme et de créativité à souligner.

Mon impression est que ce congrès a été très bien organisé. Au point de vue personnel, j’ai apprécié de pouvoir renforcer ma présence au sein des comités permanents des deux sections qui m’intéressent et qui m’ont valu d’être parmi les “convenors” d’une prochaine session conjointe entre la section “Maîtrise de l’information” et le groupe d’intérêt particulier “Access to Information Network-Africa” (ATINA) à tenir pendant le congrès de Helsinki en 2012. Aussi, l’idée mienne de créer un groupe d’intérêt particulier sur les logiciels libres pour les bibliothèques a été bien accueilli par le comité permanent de la section “Technologie de l’information” qui a, d’ores et déjà, amorcé la réflexion sur cette question et dont je ferais part des évolutions dans cet espace.

J’ai apprécié tout aussi d’arborer le ruban des bloggueurs officiels de l’IFLA et d’être l’un des nombreux relais de ce qui s’est réellement passé à Göteborg. Justement parmi les bonnes choses vécues à Göteborg, comment ne pas souligner les différentes manifestations festives dont les “IFLA Night Spot”, la soirée dansante du Vendredi 13 (c’était une séance  de danse très endiablée ), le dîner des boursiers du CFI, l’atmosphère culturellement vivante de la ville, etc. et qui ont été autant de moments d’émotion et souvent de communion entre collègues.

Adjö Göteborg

Hello Puerto Rico

Sweden needs a national library policy

Libraries and the semantic web

On Sunday early in the morning at 8:30 for me the most anticipated professional session got started: “Libraries and the semantic web”. Organized by the Information Technology, Cataloguing, Classification and Indexing with Knowledge Management sections it featured the keynote speaker Richard Wallis from Talis and many more semantic web experts.

• Keynote speaker: RICHARD WALLIS (TALIS)
  • blogpost
  • “The Semantic Web and Libraries – A Linked Data Journey“
• Initiatives to make standard library metadata models and structures available to the Semantic Web
  GORDON DUNSIRE (University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom) and MIRNA WILLER (University of Zadar, Zadar, Croatia)
  • video
• The Europeana data model
  MARTIN DOERR (Institute of Computer Science, Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (Crete, Greece), STEFAN GRADMANN ( Library and Information Science, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany), STEFFEN HENNICKE (Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany), ANTOINE ISAAC (Europeana, The Hague, Netherlands), CARLO MEGHINI (Istituto di Scienza e Tecnologie dell’Informazione Pisa, Italy) and HERBERT VAN DE SOMPEL (Research Library, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, USA)
• Linked data for libraries
  JAN HANNEMANN and JÜRGEN KETT (German National Library, Frankfurt, Germany)
• Step one: blow up the silo! – Open bibliographic data, the first step towards Linked Open Data
  PATRICK DANOWSKI (Scientific Information Service, CERN, Geneva, Switzerland)
  • “Step 1: Blow of the Silo!“
  • video
• Porting library vocabularies to the Semantic Web, and back. A win-win round trip
  BERNARD VATANT (Mondeca, Paris, France)
  • video
• CONTENTUS – towards semantic multi-media libraries
  JAN NANDZIK (Acosta Consult, Germany), ANDREAS HEß and JAN HANNEMANN (Deutsche Nationalbibliothek, Germany), NICOLAS FLORES-HERR and KLAUS BOSSERT (Acosta Consult, Germany)

RICHARD WALLIS presents the keynote "The Semantic Web and Libraries - A Linked Data Journey"

STEFFEN HENNICKE presents "The Europeana data model"

JAN HANNEMANN presents "Linked data for libraries"

GORDON DUNSIRE, RICHARD WALLIS, STEFFEN HENNICKE, JAN HANNEMANN at the Information Technology, Cataloguing, Classification and Indexing with Knowledge Management session "Libraries and the semantic web" at IFLA2010 in Gothenburg.

PATRICK DANOWSKI presents "Step one: blow up the silo!

BERNARD VATANT presents "Porting library vocabularies to the Semantic Web, and back. A win-win round trip"

ANDREAS HEß presents "CONTENTUS - towards semantic multi-media libraries"

PATRICK DANOWSKI, ANDREAS HEß, BERNARD VATANT at the Information Technology, Cataloguing, Classification and Indexing with Knowledge Management session "Libraries and the semantic web" at IFLA2010 in Gothenburg.