Links to #wlic2015

Today I was doing feedback sessions on the World Library and Information (IFLA) Conference that took place last month, and for that purpose I listed some key links, so here they are.

- 2015 Conference website http://conference.ifla.org/ifla81
- IFLA Library, where this year’s full-text conference papers are uploaded: http://library.ifla.org/ (click on “search” in the red area on the top left, and you have a form which allows you to filter in various ways, including by conference year)
- Twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/wlic2015
- Facebook https://www.facebook.com/WLIC2015
- Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/ifla/collections/72157656911097061 – in particular note the good set of poster pictures https://www.flickr.com/photos/ifla/sets/72157657395345395/
- My blog posts http://information-literacy.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/wlic2015
- Sarah Bratt’s Storify https://storify.com/sebratt/wlic-south-africa
- Thoughts of delegate Shaharima Parvin: http://connection.sagepub.com/blog/sage-connection/2015/09/01/what-are-the-global-challenges-faced-by-librarians-reflections-from-ifla/
- Interview with Lambert Heller (in German) on his thoughts on the conference and on information literacy https://biistories.wordpress.com/2015/08/21/lambert-heller-ueber-social-media-horizon-report-und-information-literacy-interview-mit-den-nachwuchsstipendiaten/ - one amongst many blog posts by the German biistories folk https://biistories.wordpress.com/tag/wlic2015/

Some statements and documents released during the conference:
- Statement on Privacy in the Library Environment http://www.ifla.org/node/9803 “This new Statement on Privacy in the Library Environment is intended to give guidance to libraries and information services in an environment that includes mass surveillance by governments and routine user data collection by commercial interests that provide content or services through the Internet. Risks to library users' privacy might arise through their use of search or social media applications on the Web or their use of library platforms and content that collect data on end users.”
- Cape Town Declaration (as already blogged) http://www.ifla.org/node/9767
- New standard: IFLA School Library Guidelines, 2nd edition http://www.ifla.org/node/9744
Photo by Sheila Webber: apples and pears, September 2015

Wrocław in 2017, Columbus in 2016 #wlic2015

Wrocław, Poland will be the venue for the 2017 World Library and Information Congress, as was revealed at the closing ceremony to the 2015 World Library and Information (IFLA) Conference, which took place in Cape Town, South Africa last week. In this picture you can just about see the Mayor of Wrocław who had flown in to encourage delegates to visit his city in 2 years time. Next year WLIC (or, IFLA) conference takes place in Columbus, USA (as you will gather, the IFLA conferences rotate to different parts of the world each year) and they already have a website here: http://2016.ifla.org/

Cape Town Declaration #wlic2015

The Cape Town Declaration was announced at the World Library and Information (IFLA) Conference taking place in Cape Town, South Africa. "Ministers and country representatives from Angola, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote D’Ivoire, Lesotho, Guinea, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, South Sudan and Swaziland met to discuss the status of libraries and implementation of access to information agenda" and they made various commitments concerning information and libraries. The declaration is here: http://www.ifla.org/node/9767
Photo of the cultural evening at the conference

Putting the IFLA Media and Information Literacy Recommendations into practice #wlic2015

Most of today was spent preparing for and delivering a workshop at World Library and Information (IFLA) Conference taking place in Cape Town, South Africa (for the IFLA Information Literacy Section). I have embedded the powerpoint below: it outlines the process we went through, where people were thinking of examples of success in information literacy, and desirable actions, relating them to key points in the Media and Information Literacy Recommendations http://www.ifla.org/publications/ifla-media-and-information-literacy-recommendations We have some notes from the workshop which we will put online when have written them up. I will also be doing some final posts about the conference tomorrow.

Putting the IFLA Media & Information Literacy Recommendations into practice in your community, library and country from Sheila Webber

The Reference Librarian’s new approach to coaching information literacy for children in Cape Town #wlic2015

Flippie Van der Walt (Department Library and Information Services at the City of Cape Town, South Africa) talked about The Reference Librarian’s new approach to coaching information literacy for children: new approach in reference and information services in the City of Cape Town, at the World Library and Information (IFLA) Conference taking place in Cape Town, South Africa. This is a liveblog from the session: the full paper is here
The aim of their Information Literacy programme was to develop something that could be used by reference service librarians in 104 public libraries across the city. As a background, he explained that there is a lack of school libraries (only 7% have a functional library) and there are low levels of literacy skills. However, more public libraries have been opened, therefore that is where children (especially primary school children) go. Also, the new South African educational system acknowledges the value of using information, but it isn’t taught at school.
Reference librarians became concerned at the increasing number of children (from this very populous city) needing help: they were not able to deal with the demand. It was felt that if the children had training, then they would be better able to help themselves. The librarians did a project to address this. Questions were
– why the public library? (this was answered by a literature search and looking at official documents e.g. the UNESCO Manifesto identifies teaching IL as part of public library service)
- what is information literacy? For this they explored various models such as the Big 6, and the LIASA information literacy guidelines for grade R-12. In the end they developed an 8 step model from these models (see below).
- who is the target group? They decided to focus on children at Grade 6 (age 10-12) as it was felt that at that age the child would be better able to learn the principles (e.g. more than a primary school child), and also on training the librarians themselves.

They developed a comic as a workbook for the information literacy programme (see picture). They picked on a zombie theme as it was currently popular. This made a “zombie challenge”. They piloted the programme with schools, and made changes based on that. They are preparing to roll out the programme. Now they need to train 600+ reference librarians so they understand info literacy and can be “zombie librarians!” There also a challenge in getting many schools involved, but it means particularly building on existing good connections with schools – they haven’t yet managed to get the local government to urge schools to get involved.

This is the information literacy model
Defining the problem
1. Information source identification
2. Information resources retrieval
3. Retrieve the information from the Source
Analyse the retrieved information
4. Synthesize
5. Organise the information
6. Present the information
7. Evaluate of the final product
8. Acknowledge the sources used

Diversity, Recognition, Respect: Embedding Indigenous Services #wlic2015

Catching up with a final post from the IFLA Indigenous Matters Special Interest Group at  the World Library and Information (IFLA) Conference. The presentation Diversity, Recognition, Respect: Embedding Indigenous Services at the State Library of New South Wales, Australia was made jointly by Kirsten Thorpe and Monica Galassi (Indigenous Services, State Library of New South Wales, Australia).

The speakers started by acknowledging the traditional holders of the land and placing themselves. They introduced the services of the State Library of New South Wales (NSW). The aboriginal studies collections are among its strengths: they provide evidence from the colonial past and from current days of resistance and protest. In NSW in 2011 2.9% of the population were indigenous, and the speaker highlighted the districts which are most disadvantaged, which often have high percentage aboriginal population.

The library has developed and indigenous services business plan, with indigenous people and communities as partners. The libararians brainstormed, had focus group sessions, did benchmarking and a literature review, and evaluated past services.

Their vision is that “indigenous people are connected, engaged and represented within the library, collections and services. The vision is everybody’s business.” They are working first to implement the ATSILIRN protocols. Secondly they are developing a collection strategy. Thirdly they are investigating needs for digital resources preservation, creation and access (with emphasis on local keeping places). Their Indigenous Languages website is here http://indigenous.sl.nsw.gov.au/ (they showed a video celebrating indigenous languages at a symposium) and their Tumblr blog (which includes a word of the week feature) at http://indigenous-services-slnsw.tumblr.com/

Curating with Community: Indigenous Knowledge Informing Cultural Collections #wlic2015

More liveblogging from the IFLA Indigenous Matters Special Interest Group session at the World Library and Information (IFLA) Conference taking place in Cape Town, South Africa. Curating with Community: Indigenous Knowledge Informing Cultural Collections was presented by Damien Webb (State Library of Western Australia, Australia). There is a paper at http://library.ifla.org/1143/ Although Webb was not present, he had recorded the presentation, starting with a traditional welcome to the country.
The State Library's four key areas are: heritage and history; creative community engagement (cultural events, outreach etc.); supporting the public library network; championing literacy and learning. He was presenting the Storylines project at the State Library of Western Australia, an online keeping place: http://www.slwa.wa.gov.au/for/indigenous_australians/storylines
They have developed software collaboratively with the community, and there is a central archive (with things kept private if it is culturally sensitive) and community keeping places (the librarians help the community set up the system locally). After digitisation, items are repatriated to communities if they wish it (digitally or sometimes physically). The speaker showed how the system allowed rich information to be presented with the photographs and documents to explain their context and place. You can see this by exploring the website.

Webb highlighted that there were geographical barriers to enabling people to have physical access to libraries. Language was also a challenge, as there were more than 100 language groups and English is often a 2nd and 3rd language. Before the storylines project, people would have had to travel far and negotiate alien systems to get access to photographs of their family that the library might have.

However, Storylines has made this material more accessible, and local language overlays are also being worked on, so a high degree of literacy is not required. The service has built in cultural restrictions and sorrow protocols, with secret or sacred material kept private. Community ownership has been vital in the success of the project. Storylines also works as a platform for digital and information literacy training.

Management of Indigenous Knowledge in Primary Healthcare #wlic2015

A new day of liveblogging from the World Library and Information (IFLA) Conference taking place in Cape Town, South Africa. Management of Indigenous Knowledge in Primary Healthcare: Bridging the Gap between Library and Alternative Healthcare Practitioners in Nigeria was a paper presented by Ebijuwa Adefunke (Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Nigeria). The setting is an inland state in Nigeria. Here the traditional doctors are important providers of healthcare, with knowledge orally transmitted through generations. The speaker saw libraries as agents of access, development and transformation, and this involved developing the role of librarians too.
She quoted the the World Bank's definition of indigenous knowledge.(IK) She defined traditional healthcare as derived science. In Nigeria 80% use traditional herbs as primary health care. Traditional healthcare providers are custodians of IK sytems. However these healthcare providers do not necessarily think of the sustainability of the herbs they use.
Adefunke identified the role of the library in preserving IK for the future, helping to manage it, so that it is not lost. Therefore she has done a study to idenify the needs and means of preserving this knowledge. 400 heathcare providers had questionnaires administered. Most were male, some had formal education, documentation was through writing in books, and preservation was mainly through storytelling and oral instruction. Barriers include language, illiteracy and financial barriers. There was also reluctance to share with outsiders. Ways out for libraries were seeing as identifying with practitioners, collaborating with them and demonstrating the need to the communities. Alternative healthcare providers could be trained in systematic management of traditional knowledge.
There is a paper at  http://library.ifla.org/1145/

Literacy as a foundation for lifelong learning #wlic2015

A final post about the Literacy session at the World Library and Information (IFLA) Conference yesterday. Lisa Krolak (UNESCO Institute of Lifelong Learning) talked about Literacy Matters! Literacy as a foundation for lifelong learning. The UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning is at http://www.uil.unesco.org/home/ and this is an interesting initiative: I only came across it recently, but it should have relevance for lifelong information literacy initiatives. They have a "Literacy and basic skills" section on the website which notes that "The right to literacy is an inherent part of the right to education. Yet adult literacy is one of the most neglected of the Education for All (EFA) goals".

To turn to Krolak's presentation, she explored definitions of lifelong learning and literacy, including UNESCO's 2003 definition of literacy (shown in the photo above). The reference to a "continuum of learning" makes a particular link with lifelong learning. Krolak said that "Literacy, as a human right, lies at the heart of basic education and is the foundation for future learning opportunities". She saw literacy as a continuous life-wide and lifelong process and identified the need for development on five fronts. These were: laying down strong foundations through early childhood care and education; universal good quality basic education for all children; "scaling up and reaching out with relevant literacy provision for all young people and adults"; developing literacy-rich environments and a literate culture; dealing with root causes of illiteracy (e.g. poverty). She mentioned a programme at Vancouver City Libraries, but I haven't been able to track down a link for that yet.

Krolak highlighted a just-published special issue of the International Review of Education: Journal of Lifelong Learning focusing on lifelong literacy: volume 61 issue 3 at http://link.springer.com/journal/11159/61/3/page/1 (priced publication). It includes articles on Literacy in the 21st century: Towards a dynamic nexus of social relations; Lifelong literacy: Some trends and issues in conceptualising and operationalising literacy from a lifelong learning perspective; Learning and literacy: A research agenda for post-2015; and (coauthored by Krolak) The potential of community libraries in supporting literate environments and sustaining literacy skills.
During her presentation, Krolak showed this nice video, on the Power of Literacy. She identified it as demonstrating some of the characteristics of literacy learning, for example that it takes place in various life contexts, and that emotional engagement is important.

Using Research to Promote Literacy and Reading in Libraries #wlic2015

Blogging from the World Library and Information (IFLA) Conference, another current publication which the IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions) Literacy and Reading section wants to update is Using Research to Promote Literacy and Reading in Libraries: Guidelines for Librarians. There was some discussion about this at the roundtable session I attended, with suggestions such as wanting advice/support on carrying out studies into user needs, finding out about your population and also looking at what they are actually doing in the library. In this context I will also mention the Centre for the Public Library and Information in Society led by my colleague Dr Briony Birdi which includes research into reader development.

Successful #literacy programmes #wlic2015

The IFLA Literacy and Reading Section's 2nd session at the World Library and Information (IFLA) Conference had some short presentations about successful literacy programmes. I will blog these briefly together. Firstly, Christina J. Nel talked about Library competitions promoting libraries, reading and literacy in a rural African environment. There were annual competitions for children, which involved having a standard form each year for children to work with or complete. They tried different things each year. For example, one year had a comic strip with speech bubbles (see example above), another year children had to illustrate the idea that "books take you anywhere". The children who won certificates were very proud and encouraged by them (see 2nd photo, below), and children enjoyed the competitions. There is a full paper here http://library.ifla.org/1173/

Libraries, literacy and technology: A new training module for public librarians in developing countries targeted at integrating libraries into literacy projects was presented by Ari Katz. He was describing an initiative, Beyond Access, supported by the Gates Foundation. There is a lot of information on the website and a paper here: http://library.ifla.org/1205/

Reading aloud as intangible cultural heritage: A German initiative to support literacy, reading and libraries worldwide was presented by Klaus U. Werner. He was advocating the value of live reading aloud as something to be preserved consciously as cultural heritage, to be added to the UNESCO official list. The paper is here: http://library.ifla.org/1177/

Library for all: Also for the print disabled was about a Finnish initiative concerning talking books (they reckon that about 5% of Finns are print disabled, and 11% of the population are poor readers). It was presented by Rauha Maarno. The initiative took talking books to the local level, and now covers 144 libraries: loans of talking books increased 50% in 2014. They included other stakeholders, such as users and disability organisations, in planning the service. Specific examples of  services were a talking book club for those with intellectual disabilities, and collaboration with a prison for talking books for prisoners. The conference paper is here http://library.ifla.org/1175/ and there is an article by the presenter here:
Maarno, R. (2014) A library for all – including people with print disabilities. Scandanavian library quarterly, 47 (4). http://slq.nu/?article=volume-47-no-4-2014-7

Finally, Atlanta Meyer talked about Technology classes for senior citizens: Creating an environment where senior citizens can develop technology skills to actively participate in a strong society (this is in Australia). These include classes e.g. in "using your android" and "using an ipad". The paper is here http://library.ifla.org/1176/

Literacy matters #wlic2015

I'm attending the 2nd session of the IFLA Literacy and Reading Section the World Library and Information (IFLA) Conference taking place in Cape Town, South Africa. This is a round table session, so I'm not sure yet whether liveblogging will be appropriate. However I wanted to highlight the "Literacy Matters" statement (see photo and below). The Section's website is here: http://www.ifla.org/literacy-and-reading . The current guidelines for Library-Based Literacy Programs are at http://www.ifla.org/publications/guidelines-for-library-based-literacy-programs, and one of the aims of the session is to work to revise these
This is the Literacy Matters! statement:
"I read, therefore I am.
I can.
- Be smart and become smarter;
- Communicate with others;
- Understand and connect with new challenges;
- Participate in family life, the workplace and community life;
- Use a range of technologies;
- Think for myself and with others;
- Keep my culture alive;
- Share with others; and
- Be creative and laugh.

I have the world and beyond at my feet.
I can read, therefore I am empowered and can learn lifelong.
I can read, therefore I am part of the future.
I can read, therefore I am,

Because literacy matters!"

Alinah Segobye: plenary at #wlic2015

The archaeology academic Alinah Segobye opened today's proceedings at the World Library and Information (IFLA) Conference taking place in Cape Town, South Africa. I'm liveblogging, so note that these are just my impressions of her thoughtful and passionate talk.

After reflecting on some of the anniversaries and current world issues, Segobye went on to consider Africa's place in the global development agenda. She mentioned Agenda 2063 which articulates a vision for the future of the continent ("A global strategy to optimize use of Africa's resources for the benefits of all Africans"). There is an issue of how to get the African citizens to own this agenda, since citizen involvement was vital. There were challenges to the region, for example HIV/AIDS, inequality, ongoing conflict, and the impact of climate change. However, the region has also seen peaceful transitions of government, some rising stars in economic terms, and a young population which can be an opportunity for development and growth.

Segobye then highlighted the South African National Development Plan 2030 which she saw as ambitious and challenging, but very hopeful. She identified "why knowledge matters" in this context (and she included libraries in supporting the knowledge agenda) - she saw knowledge reducing inequality, realising a developmental and capable state, and helping it to develop from a mineral-dependent economy to a knowledge based economy. Knowledge could also help the "rainbow nation" of South Africa broaden social cohesion and unity.

Finally Segobye talked about the issue of gender "No woman left behind: why gender matters". She emphasised women as key to knowledge development. She celebrated librarians as having strong women as practitioners and role models attaining positions of leadership, and librarianship as a discipline in transforming with the times. She saw librarians driving not only only their own development but also the development of others. Segobye talked about her personal experience of librarians helping her to get through her studies, for example by looking after her young son in the library.

Segobye saw the empowerment of female children as central to human development, including keeping young girls at school and enabling them to make informed choices about their futures (including helping them to avoid inwanted pregancy and avoiding contracting HIV/AIDS). Thus gender equality was important to the future of the continent. She saw women as custodians of Indigenous Knowledge (IK), with vital roles in health and nutrition, culture and education, and also beauty and aesthetics. Segobye mentioned here the issue of intellectual property, both in terms of acknowledging the originators of products (e.g. where it originated with IK) and in unlocking opportunities for innovation.

This brought the issue round to the importance of data, information and knowledge in all sorts ways to support sustainable development. Libraries were vital in helping transform and support citizens. This could help people learn, create, innovate and share to achieve the visions embodied in the 2030 and 2063 agenda.

Literacy Matters! Information literacy, reading and libraries #wlic2015

A catchup blog from the World Library and Information (IFLA) Conference taking place in Cape Town, South Africa. Another talk in the Literacy and Reading session was Literacy Matters! Information literacy, reading and libraries from Sharon Mader (Chair IFLA Information Literacy Section, United States).
Like others in this session, Mader started by looking at the term literacy. She identified that it could be seen at a personal, professional, national or global level. Looking at her own region, she noted that one in six people in Louisiana had literacy problems, so that even in developed countries there were inequalities in literacy levels (as is highlighted in the Lyon Declaration on access to information and development).
So, how do literacy and information literacy relate to each other? Mader first turned to Wikipedia to see what it said about the term literacy: there it was noted that the term had developed from the simple ability to read and write, to include a wider range of literacy skills. She then looked at the definition of literacy of the IFLA Literacy and Reading section, that incuded “the capacity to question, problem solve think and create” which overlaps with definitions of information literacy.

That brought Mader to information literacy. She talked about the Media and Information Literacy Recommendations developed by IFLA with UNESCO and accepted by the UNESCO General Conference. Then Mader mentioned the definition of Information Literacy that was presented in the new ACRL Framework for Information Literacy, which includes ethical engagement with information and creation of new knowledge. The Lyon Declaration talks about universal literacy being essential in order to gain access to information, which should link literacy and information literacy.There is a statement from IFLA Literacy and Reading section relating to the Lyon Declaration here, by the way

Obviously those assembled at the IFLA conference thought that literacy matters, and libraries support literacy: but not everyone seems to be so committed to that. The IFLA Toolkit: Libraries and the UN post-2015 development agenda can help librarians take the message outside of the circle of those who already know. The toolkit "provides background on the issues and practical advice on how to set up meetings with government representatives." Mader mentioned the UN2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, and particularly goal 16 where ensuring access to information is said to contribute to sustainable development. The Lyon Declaration is a response to the new agenda and several sessions at this IFLA conference look at how libraries can contribute to these new United Nations sustainable development goals.

Going back to IFLA’s Media and Information Literacy Recommendations, these urged governments to embed MIL in curricula, use MIL for employability etc. However, this needs advocacy to achieve, to lobby government to implement the recommendations. The IFLA Information Literacy section has got IFLA project funding to produce a MIL Recommendations Advocacy Brief, to help people campaign. There is also a workshop session on Thursday which is also looking at the impact of information literacy, and I’ll blog a report from that (though probably not a liveblog as I will be helping to facilitate, I think).
Photo by Sheila Webber: marimbas and librarians at the conference exhibition opening yesterday

Literacy Matters! Literacy, libraries and building strong societies in Africa #wlic2015

This is the next liveblog from the World Library and Information (IFLA) Conference taking place in Cape Town, South Africa. Victoria Okojie (IFLA Chair, Africa Section, Nigeria) talked on Literacy Matters! Literacy, libraries and building strong societies in Africa. She started by highlighting that Africa is a diverse continent, with countries at different levels of development. Generally literacy levels are low for various reasons (e.g. political instability, poverty) and there is a poor reading culture with a high school drop-out rate. Libraries are poorly resourced.
The roll out of ICTs has been low in Africa, reflected in the lack of technology in schools and libraries. However, there are opportunities to leapfrog, as new mobile tecdhnologies come along: Africa has one of the fastest growing mobile penetration.
Libraries of course have a role for literacy development, aligning with government programmes, training community leaders and trainers etc. Libraries are also identified by IFLA as helping to build strong societies, for example giving access to lifelong learning and promoting equal opportunities. Thus they can, for example, provide an enabling environment for innovation.
Okojie picked out some examples of initiatives in Africa. Generally, they were aiming to support literacy anfd reading, help children with school work and ICT skills, and encourage the community to use the library. Challenges include the lack of local language materials, funding, inadequate skills, a lack of an enabling environment, a definition of literacy, and monitoring of impact. Some initiatives:
- Reading Clinics in Ghana: this is a partnership between school and the Ghana Library Association, designed for pre-school children. An example is http://mmofraghana.org/our-work/language-club/reading-clinics/
- Bring Back the Book programme in Nigeria. This was initiated by the President, so put reading on the agenda of local government. See http://www.bringbackthebook.org/
- Use of tablets: with the eKitabu project in Kenya and Opn Imo project in Nigeria.
- National Farmers Information Network in Kenya
- Center for the Book programmes and projects e.g. Funda Mzantsi in South Africa
- Mobile library services e.g. donkey carts in Zimbabwe; services to Internally Displaced Persons camps.
Okojie concluded by identifying the need to reprofile, reposition and restructure library services, for example to be able better to meet needs, to collaborate and to market services. There were already good examples and success, but there needed to be a lot more work to make libraries a pivot for development.

Literacy Matters! The literacy and reading needs of people with special needs #wlic2015

Further liveblogging from the World Library and Information (IFLA) Conference taking place in Cape Town. Helle Mortensen (IFLA Library Services to People with Special Needs, Denmark) talked on Literacy Matters! The literacy and reading needs of people with special needs. A paper is already online at http://library.ifla.org/1231/1/099-moretensen-en.pdf.
Mortensen talked about the work of the People With Special Needs IFLA section, which includes meeting the needs of those who cannot visit the library. Literacy matters because it is crucial for education and participation. Those with special needs have particular literacy and reading needs. Firstly, easy to read publications - appropriate to different age groups, and taking account of those with intellectual disabilities, dyslexia etc. (there are IFLA guidelines for easy to read materials). There also have to be alternative ways of reading: this involves a lot of reading tools and devices. The next thing that Mortensen mentioned were materials for raising memories e.g. memory boxes: again there are IFLA guidelines for library services to those with dementia.
Techniques included guided shared reading, which could be used with homeless people, those with dementia etc. Some librarians in Denmark have been trained as reading guides. It was important that library staff were unprejudiced and were aware of the different kinds of reading needs. Mortensen emphasised that these needs were diverse.
It was important to have a physically accessible library, with an inviting space and presentation, with outreach for those who cannot visit the library. The speaker recommended partnering with appropriate organisations, and also employing those with special needs.

Literacy Matters! Digital Literacies, Reading and Libraries #wlic2015

I'm liveblogging from the World Library and Information (IFLA) Conference taking place in Cape Town, South Africa. In the session on Literacy, a paper Literacy Matters! Digital Literacies, Reading and Libraries was given by Barbara Combes (Charles Sturt University, Secretary IFLA Literacy & Reading
Section, Australia). She started talking about the vast amount of information that isn't found by search engines. It is a dynamic information lanscape and can make information decontextualised, so that there are problems along with the many benefits and convenience of online information.Coombs highlighted the multipliocity of apps and technologies available.However, many people do not have physical or cognitive access to the web. Cognitive access means not being able to read or interpret the information, even if you physically have access.
Coombs went on to consider the word literacy. She wondered - had it been hijacked, when it has been tacked on to so many other words? She posed the question whether competency, rather than literacy, was meant. She showed some definitions of literacy that included critical thinking and reading, learning, and also being actively literate (e.g. "purposeful" reading). Thus it was more than just being able to read, and including understanding and reusing.
Turning to digital literacy, she saw it as including computer and ICT literacy, Web 2.0 literacy, network/internet literacy (including "knowing where you are" on the internet), multimedia literacy and information management. However she also saw digital literacy as about ethical use of information, cultural awareness, access for the disabled, privacy and safety, and applying information to your lives. Thus digital literacy was a complex and evolving concept, and it was affected not just by technology but by the people developing and using technology. A prerequisite is literacy: being able to read, write and understand.
Coombs concluded that although "literacy" did mean competency in the context of digital literacy, it was important to think about the deeper aspects.

MOOCs, Information Literacy and the role of the librarian at #wlic2015

I'm attending the World Library and Information (IFLA) Conference, taking place in Cape Town, South Africa http://conference.ifla.org/ifla81 I'm attending a section meeting of IFLA's Information Literacy Section committee (of which I'm a member) and also presenting a poster. This is the poster. The references are at http://tinyurl.com/qddrs33

MOOCs, Information Literacy and the role of the librarian from Sheila Webber

#wlic2015 preview: graphic novel for HIV/AIDS; geospatial literacy; digital inclusion; indigenous literacy

This is the 2nd batch of links to papers due to be given at the World Library and Information (IFLA) Conference which takes places 15-21 August 2015 in Cape Town, South Africa. There are obviously lots more on other library topics in the IFLA Library as the majority of people do submit their papers in advance. As I said in my last post, if all goes well I will be liveblogging the conference.

COX, Kiersten and GREGORY, Vicki and FLESCHNER, Julius (2015) No One Left-Behind! Teaching Information Literacy in a Different Way to an Urban Population. Paper to be presented at: IFLA WLIC 2015 - Cape Town, South Africa in Session 140 - Metropolitan Libraries. http://library.ifla.org/id/eprint/1132
GAVIGAN, Karen W. and ALBRIGHT, Kendra S. (2015) A Culturally-Targeted HIV/AIDS Graphic Novel for Teen Well-Being. Paper to be presented at: IFLA WLIC 2015 - Cape Town, South Africa in Session 189 - School Libraries with Health and Biosciences. http://library.ifla.org/id/eprint/1148
SALVATORE, Cecilia L. (2015) Indigenous Literacy through Indigenous Cultural Heritage Materials and Resources. Paper to be presented at: IFLA WLIC 2015 - Cape Town, South Africa in Session 168 - Indigenous Matters SIG. http://library.ifla.org/id/eprint/1146
OJARANTA, Anu Helena (2015) A Phase between Two National Core Curricula in Finland – What Are the Implications to Information Literacy Instruction and Library Collaboration?. Paper to be presented at: IFLA WLIC 2015 - Cape Town, South Africa in Session 101 - School Libraries. http://library.ifla.org/id/eprint/1116
REARDON, Siobhan A. and MCCLINTOCK, Autumn and MORAN, Sara S. and NICHOLS, Joel A. (2015) Health Strategies for Public Libraries: How the Free Library of Philadelphia addresses health barriers to literacies. Paper to be presented at: IFLA WLIC 2015 - Cape Town, South Africa in Session 140 - Metropolitan Libraries. http://library.ifla.org/id/eprint/1131
PUN, Raymond (2015) Geospatial Literacy as Digital Literacy: Building GIS Program to Support and Engage with Interdisciplinary and Multidisciplinary Research Communities. Paper to be presented at: IFLA WLIC 2015 - Cape Town, South Africa in Session 140 - Metropolitan Libraries. http://library.ifla.org/id/eprint/1119
AHLQVIST, Elisabet (2015) Digital inclusion in Sweden done in the “Digidel way”. Paper to be presented at: IFLA WLIC 2015 - Cape Town, South Africa in Session 88 - Library Theory and Research with Statistics and Evaluation. http://library.ifla.org/id/eprint/1236
WEBB, Damien (2015) Curating with Community. Paper to be presented at: IFLA WLIC 2015 - Cape Town, South Africa in Session 168 - Indigenous Matters SIG. http://library.ifla.org/id/eprint/1143
Photo by Sheila Webber: honey bee, July 2015

Sponsorship for South African librarians with information literacy focus, for #WLIC2015

Sabinet will sponsor 10 South African librarians to attend the IFLA World Library and Information Conference 2015 (which will be held in Cape Town in August 2015). The closing date for applications is 1 May 2015. "This sponsorship comprises of funds for registration fees as well as two thousand rand (R2000.00) towards travel and/or accommodation. Priority will be given to eight public librarians as well as two academic librarians who have a focus in the area of information literacy." Applicants must provide "a motivational letter indicating how attending this conference will add value to their career, their organisation and the user population that they serve" of no more than 200 words, plus a letter of approval/permission from their employers. Application materials (motivational letter plus letter of approval/permission) should be sent to cpf@sabinet.co.za More info at http://conference.ifla.org/ifla81/node/1053
Photo by Sheila Webber, February 2015: St Pauls, London.