ISSN 0892-4546 International A Publication of the International Relations Round Table of the American Library Volume 31 September 2017 Number 3

Deutsche Delegation kehrt be- German delegation returns ener- geistert von der Jahreskonferenz gized from the ALA Annual des amerikanischen Biblio- Conference in theksverbandes ALA aus Chica- go zurück By Hella Klauser, German Library Association In Deutschland findet jährlich ein bibliothekarischer [email protected] Fachkongress statt, den rund 3500 Bibliothek- smitarbeiter besuchen, darunter einige hundert Per- Germany has a yearly library conference attended by some sonen aus anderen Ländern, meist aus den deutsch- 3500 library staff, including a few hundred people from sprachigen Nachbarländern Österreich und der other countries, mostly from the German-speaking neigh- Schweiz. Damit ist dieser “Bibliothekartag” die boring countries of Austria and Switzerland. This größte Fachkonferenz Europas, zu der übrigens '’ Day' is the largest conference in Europe, and, erfreulicherweise auch immer 2-3 Teilnehmende aus by the way, always welcomes the addition of 2-3 partici- den USA anreisen! Aber welch ein Vergleich zu dem pants from the USA! But what a comparison with the gi- gigantischen Jahreskongress des amerikanischen gantic annual convention of the American Library Associ- Bibliotheksverbandes ALA (American Library Asso- ation (ALA) with its more than 20,000 participants from ciation) mit seinen mehr als 20.000 Teilnehmenden more than 60 countries! It impressed the German delega- aus mehr als 60 Ländern! Er beeindruckte die tion, who traveled to Chicago, , to represent the deutsche Delegation, die anlässlich des Partner- country partnership between USA and Germany 2016 - landes USA-Deutschland 2016 – 2019 mit 11 Perso- 2019 with 11 people from 22-27 June 2017. nen vom 22.-27.06.2017 nach Chicago, Illinois, reiste.

Inside From the Editors 4 From the Chair 5 From the Chair Elect 6 IFLA Stories 7 ALA Stories & Awards 10

Around the World 18 The German Delegation members to ALA show off their distinctive vests while meeting with IRRT Chair and ALA President-Elect Loida Garcia-Febo Library Spotlight 20 Continued on next page

September 2017 International Leads 1

Deutsche Delegation nach ALA German Delegation to ALA

Seit 2016 haben die beiden Verbände ALA und BID Since 2016 the two associations ALA and BID (Bibliothek & Information Deutschland) vereinbart, sich (Bibliothek & Information Deutschland) have agreed stärker auszutauschen. Dazu gehörte 2016 der Auftritt einer to exchange expertise more. In 2016 there was the ap- amerikanischen Delegation während des Bibliothekskon- pearance of an American delegation during the Leipzig gresses in Leipzig. Die Kolleginnen und Kollegen aus den Library Congress. The colleagues from the American amerikanischen Bibliotheken und Verbänden hielten zu libraries and associations gave lectures on various top- verschiedenen Themen Vorträge, stellen die amerikanische Bibliotheksszene im Überblick vor und informierten an ics, presented an overview of the American library sce- einem Stand über die Bibliotheken in den USA. Als Gege- ne, and had an information booth about the libraries in neinladung kamen nun 11 deutsche Bibliotheksmitarbeiter the USA. As a counter invitation, 11 German library aus öffentlichen und wissenschaftlichen Bibliotheken und staff from public and academic libraries and the Ger- dem Deutschen Bibliotheksverband in die ‚windy city‘. Die man Library Association came into the 'Windy City' of Reisen wurden ermöglicht über BI-International, einer Chicago. The trips were made possible by BI- Kommission des Dachverbands BID (www.bi- International, a commission of the umbrella organiza- international.de), die den internationalen Fachaustausch tion BID (www.bi-international.de), which promotes fördert – und übrigens auch für Anträge amerikanischer the international exchange of expertise and by the way Kollegen für einen Aufenthalt in Deutschland genutzt also for applications of American colleagues for a stay werden können! in Germany! In vier Vortragsblöcken stellten die Deutschen Trends und The Germans presented trends and experiences from Erfahrungen aus der deutschen Bibliotheksszene zu den the German library scene in four session blocks on Themen ‚Bibliotheken in Deutschland‘ topics such as: libraries in Germany, library offers for ‚Bibliotheksangebote für Geflüchtete‘, ‚Entwicklungen im Management von WBs‘ und ‚Bibliotheken unterstützen For- refugees, developments in the management of academ- schung‘ vor. Der Kongress war nicht nur wegen seiner ic libraries, and libraries support research. The congress Größe für uns überwältigend. Die Keynote während der was overwhelming not only because of its size. The Abschlussveranstaltung hielt , die Schauspiel- keynote during the closing event was Hillary Clinton, erin Sarah Jessica Parker berichtete von ihrer Begeisterung the actress Sarah Jessica Parker shared her enthusiasm für Bibliotheken und Reshma Saujani warb in ihrer Keynote for libraries, and Reshma Saujani shared her passion während der Eröffnungsveranstaltung voller Hingabe für for helping girls learn to code. Such "celebrities" are ihr Anliegen ‚‘, um Mädchen an Computer, very rare to find at a German congress and were proof Programmierung und technische Dinge heranzuführen. Sol- that the libraries in the USA have strong advocates and che ‚celebrities‘ sind auf einem deutschen Kongress sehr sponsors and the libraries achieve this through clever selten anzufinden und waren uns ein Beweis dafür, dass die and strong marketing – we Germans can learn from Bibliotheken in den USA starke Befürworter und Förderer our American colleagues! haben und die Bibliotheken dies durch geschicktes und starkes Marketing erreichen – hier können wir in Deutsch- I was also impressed by the large exhibition space on land durchaus von den amerikanischen Kollegen lernen! the congress grounds. I did not expect, in addition to Beeindruckt hat mich auch die große Ausstellungsfläche auf library products and many publishers, such a big area dem Kongressgelände. Dass neben Bibliotheksangeboten for comics and gaming, where both board and comput- und vielen Verlagsständen auch ein großer Bereich für er games were actually played. I was familiar with the Comics und für Gaming angeboten wurde, in dem sowohl concept of the virtual playground, demonstrating many Brett- als auch Computerspiele tatsächlich auch gespielt technical innovations such as virtual reality glasses or wurden, kannte ich so nicht.. Der virtual playground, der drones. At our congresses, which also offer a large viele technische Neuerungen wie Virtual Reality- Brillen specialist exhibition at the same time, this area is desig- oder Drohnen zeigte, war mir als Konzept bekannt. Auf nated as the “Future Workshop.” For me, the absolute unseren Kongressen, die auch zeitgleich eine große Fa- highlight was the blood donation clinic! I had not imag- chausstellung bieten, wird der Bereich von der ined this at a 's conference and I found it very ‚Zukunftswerkstatt‘ gestaltet. Der Bereich zum Blutspenden clever to combine such a good cause with a conference war dann für mich das absolute Highlight! Das hätte ich nun wirklich nicht auf einem bibliothekarischen Fachkon- break. Also very interesting was the poster exhibition gress erwartet und finde es sehr geschickt, hier eine Pause Continued on next page

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Deutsche Delegation nach ALA German Delegation to ALA mit dem guten Zweck zu verbinden. and the thematic division of the posters - this is a tangi- Sehr interessant auch die Poster-Ausstellung in ihrer the- ble idea, which I will forward to the organizers of the matischen Aufteilung – das ist eine konkrete Idee, die ich an 'Library Day' in Germany. The cinema is also a good die Organisatoren des ‚Bibliothekartags‘ in Deutschland idea, but surely would not be as favorably received in weiterleiten werde. Das Kino ist ebenfalls eine gute Idee, die Germany, where cinema is rather for a relaxing evening. aber sicher in Deutschland nicht ankommen würde – Kino ist And, frankly, as a resort, I prefer a real park with real eher was für den entspannten Feierabend in Deutschland. flowers versus The Park @ ALA with its artificial Und, ehrlich gesagt, bevorzuge ich doch als Erholungsort lawns, plastic flowers and cardboard fountains, which einen echten Park mit echten Blumen als The Park@ALA mit reminded me, with my foreigners' eyes, however unbe- seinem Kunstrasen, Plastikblumen und Papp-Springbrunnen, lievably of artificial Disneyworld . der mich mit meinem ausländischen Blick allerdings wun- derbar an künstliche Disneywelt erinnerte. The themes discussed during the more than 1800 pro- grams dealt with the lending of libraries in society, li- Die Themen, die während der mehr als 1800 Programme diskutiert wurden, behandelten die Verankerung der Biblio- brary programs for the multicultural target group, new theken in der Gesellschaft, Bibliotheksangebote für die mul- spaces and offers such as Makerspaces, which also con- tikulturelle Zielgruppe, neue Räume und Angebote wie Mak- cern us in Germany. International issues such as the erspaces – Themen also, die uns auch in Deutschland bes- global community, the presentation of Chinese library chäftigen. Auch internationale Themen wie die ‚global com- developments, and the role of libraries to meet the sus- munity, die Vorstellung der chinesischen Bibliotheksentwick- tainability goals of the United Nations Agenda 2030 lungen und die Rolle der Bibliotheken zur Erfüllung der Na- were also discussed. The future of the libraries, strategic chhaltigkeitsziele der Agenda 2030 der Vereinten Nationen plans and future-oriented developments were also on wurden diskutiert. Die Zukunft der Bibliotheken, strategische the agenda - topics which also concern us in Germany Planungen und zukunftsorientierte Entwicklungen standen and which once again make clear that we are all sitting ebenfalls auf der Agenda – Themen, die uns in Deutschland in the same boat! This makes it all the more crucial to ebenfalls bewegen und die einmal mehr verdeutlichen, dass dive into the discussion in other countries. wir alle in einem Boot sitzen! Umso entscheidender, auch ein- mal in den Diskussionsstand in anderen Ländern ein- The fact that we felt so comfortable and welcome is zutauchen. due to our American hosts, especially Michael Dowling Dass wir uns so wohl und willkommen gefühlt haben, from the ALA International Relations Office. The in- verdanken wir unseren amerikanischen Gastgebern, insbe- troduction to the congress by the International Librari- sondere Michael Dowling vom ALA International Relations ans Orientation, a very delightful reception for all for- Office. Die Einweisung in den Kongress durch die Interna- eign participants of the congress and a supporting pro- tional Librarians Orientation, ein sehr sympathischer Empfang gram, which also gave us an insight into the wonderful für alle ausländischen Teilnehmer des Kongresses und ein city of Chicago from the boat - these are memories that Rahmenprogramm, das uns auch einen Einblick in die wun- we will not forget and for which we would like to thank derbare Stadt Chicago vom Boot ermöglichte – das sind Erin- you very much! nerungen, die wir nicht vergessen und für die wir uns sehr her- zlich bedanken! The German Librarians’ Day will be held from 12 - 15 June 2018 in Berlin - we hope to welcome many Ameri- Der Deutsche Bibliothekartag wird 2018 vom 12.-15.Juni in can colleagues there! (http:// Berlin stattfinden http://www.bibliothekartag2018.de/ – wir www.bibliothekartag2018.de/) hoffen, viele amerikanische Kolle- ginnen und Kollegen dort be- grüßen zu dürfen!

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Message from the Editors IRRT Officers This is our first issue in our 2 year term. In this issue, we are expanding our Chair linguistic reach - our lead report from the German delegation at the ALA Loida Garcia-Febo Annual conference is in both German and English. We recognize that we Principal, LGF International Strategies, are an international publication, and want to encourage our readers who and President, Information New Wave speak languages other than English to participate. In addition, in every issue, [email protected] we will be highlighting a unique collection from different parts of the world. Vice Chair/Chair-Elect We are always interested in hearing from our readers and receiving articles, Muzhgan Nazarova blurbs and announcements to include in the newsletter. Please contact us at Librarian, Asian & Middle East Division [email protected]. Thank you for this opportunity to serve! Library of Congress [email protected] Meet the Editors Past Chair Rebecca Miller Florence Beth Cramer Coordinator of Bibliographic Services I am an independent Mugambi library consultant, I am the African Appalachian State University focusing on libraries Studies [email protected] in developing Librarian at the countries. I specialize Herskovits Secretary/Treasurer in research, strategic Library of Jeremiah Paschke-Wood (secretary) planning, outreach, African Studies, Manager of Reference Services administration/ Northwestern Libraries management for University in libraries. I also offer tailored Evanston, Illinois, USA. I have over [email protected] professional development trainings 10 years of experience as a librarian, and presentations on these and other and a very strong interest in literacy Councilor topics. I have over 20 years of & establishment of libraries in rural Sandy Hirsh experience with libraries, as a communities of developing countries. Professor and Director, School of Infor- practitioner and professor. mation, San Jose State University [email protected]

Call for Submissions Member-at-Large Julia Gelfand Do you have news or stories about … Applied Sciences & Engineering Librarian,

 International library activities? University of California, Irvine [email protected]  People international librarianship?  international conferences? Member-at-Large

Richard Sapon-White Why not submit to International Leads? Email us at Catalog Librarian, Oregon State University [email protected] [email protected]

International Leads (ISSN 0892-4546) is published quarterly by the International Relations Round Table of the American Library Association in March, June, September, and December. IL is indexed by Library Literature and Library and In- formation Science Abstracts (LISA). The IRRT mailing address is: International Relations Office, American Library As- sociation, 50 E. Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611.

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Message from the IRRT Chair

As a researcher I have studied diverse, in-person and online events featuring multilingual, and multiethnic popula- services for these populations. You tions during my entire career. Based can join our IRRT page, on statistics, conversations, and new our alaworld listserv, and read our increasing library services developed blog. by libraries in many areas of the We can make things happen. Let’s world, my focus for this coming year continue working together! will be “Library Services for Immi- grants and Refugees.” References

The United Nations High Commis- 1 http://www.unhcr.org/en-us/ sioner for Refugees’ latest report pub- figures-at-a-glance.html lished in 2016 shows that there are 2 https://cis.org/Immigrants-United- 1 22.5 million refugees worldwide, and States that every minute, 24 people are dis- placed for different reasons. The Cen- 3 http://www.un.org/en/universal- ter for Immigration Studies estimates declaration-human-rights/ By Loida Garcia-Febo that there are 42.4 million immigrants 4 https://www.ifla.org/publications/raison-d [email protected] in the USA, which represents “the -tre-for-multicultural-library-services? highest number ever in American his- These are very exciting times for in- og=73 tory.”2 For instance, “the 13.3 percent ternational librarianship. Together of the nation's population comprised 5 http://www.ala.org/advocacy/advocacy/ with the IRRT Board, Committees, of immigrants in 2014 is the highest diversity/libraries-respond-immigrants- and members, we will bring you percentage in 94 years.” refugees-and-asylum-seekers online events, conference programs, insightful International Leads articles, All types of libraries have the poten- and opportunities for international tial to enrich the lives of each one of 2017-2018 IRRT online events members to engage with ALA. the members of the communities they serve, including immigrants and refu- As part of Loida Garcia-Febo's We will continue growing the IRRT gees. Article 19 of the United Nations Chair Initiatives, the IRRT will Endowment and will award the first Universal Declaration of Human grants from the Endowment to sup- be hosting an online series dur- Rights states that “…everyone has the ing the year 2017-2018. Here are port international initiatives and col- right to seek, receive and impart in- leagues this year —stay tuned. formation and ideas through any me- the themes. 3 As in prior years, we are looking for- dia and regardless of frontiers.”  Resources to serve immi- ward to sponsoring an ALA Emerg- IFLA’s Library Services to Multicul- ing Leader. We love to work with new tural Populations Section’s Raison grants and refugees librarians and LIS students! d'être for Multicultural Library Ser-  Libraries in the USA serving vices states that “Multicultural and I am grateful to Beth Cramer, IRRT immigrants and refugees Chair 2016-2017, and to John Hick- multilingual library services ensure ock, IRRT Past Chair 2016-2017, for equality of service and access to infor-  Libraries in Germany serving mation.”4 Recently, ALA developed their guidance and contagious enthu- 5 immigrants and refugees (as siasm while leading the IRRT. Their “Libraries Respond,” a dedicated page with resources for libraries serv- part of the ALA partnership leadership and vision paved the way with the German Library to accomplish this coming year’s ing immigrants, refugees, and asylum goals. seekers. Association) I am very excited to work with the Librarians and information workers  Advocacy resources to serve are providing programs and services IRRT Executive Board, committee immigrants and refugees chairs, and members to provide op- that build community, while enriching portunities for international librarians and saving lives of immigrants and Stay tuned for more information! to engage with ALA. refugees. At the IRRT, we want to be part of these efforts. Stay tuned for articles on our IRRT Newsletter and

September 2017 International Leads 5

Message from the IRRT Vice Chair/Chair Elect Libraries in Achieving the 2030 United coordinator (2007) at the Mortenson Nations Sustainable Development Center for International Library Goals. Program, whose core mission is to

Moreover, President Scheeder’s agenda promote international understanding aligns with the ALA’s eight key action and peace by strengthening international ties among libraries and goals (advocacy for libraries and the profession, diversity, education and librarians. Through my work at the lifelong learning, equitable access to Mortenson Center, I had the opportunity to work and engage with information and library services, intellectual freedom, literacy, library professionals from over 40 organizational excellence, transforming countries around the world. By Muzghan Nazarova libraries), as well as its four strategic In a similar vein, as a past chair of the [email protected] initiatives. Her agenda also coincides Eurasia and Central Asia with the IRRT’s core mission – to Subcommittee I took a leading role in Returning from the recent 83rd World further the international objectives of the ALA’s Library Advocacy project in Library and Information Congress the ALA in creating strong the South Caucasus. As a chair of the (WLIC) in Wroclaw, a very successful partnerships with international IRRT’s International Connections International Federation of Library librarians and library associations both committee in 2012, I initiated “Leaning Associations and Institutions (IFLA) within and beyond the organization’s International: Stories from the Field” event which gathered some 3,000 boundaries. program which became quite a library professionals from 122 These initiatives carry particular successful annual event. Though these countries, I find myself with a new kinds of international collaborations enthusiasm derived from the significance for me, a librarian whose life story has taken her around the are truly inspiring, more intimate, opportunity to to attend different smaller scale partnerships can also play professional sessions, cultural events, world. I was the USIS Librarian in the US Embassy in Baku, Azerbaijan when an important role. We need to be and library tours, and meet with and proactive! Any kind of international learn from international colleagues, I first attended the ALA annual meeting in Orlando, FL, in 1993, a cooperation and exchange at a bigger cultural events and library tours. In or smaller scale matters. addition, I participated in a 270 formative professional experience international volunteer team composed which led me to eventually join the Some personal reflections about my of WLIC participants from 20 organization in 1996 while enrolled as professional goals were summarized in countries. an MLS student at the UNC-Chapel my statement for the IRRT chair ballot, Hill School of Information and Library thus: Beyond the opportunity for Science. advancement of knowledge of the “It has been a privilege to be a part of this international issues in the library and However, I could not have imagined vital profession and a member of ALA for information science and networking, even from these early experiences the several decades. I believe as library the Congress was a big success in degree to which ALA would not only professionals we have a responsibility to addressing its titular theme - Libraries. change my own life, but also empower transform and change our communities, our Solidarity. Society - a pithy formulation me to change the lives of others. country and the world for the better. As whose social implications were Indeed, over the course of my lengthy IRRT Chair I would like to use my poignantly developed in the opening international library career, I decisively longstanding experience in international address of the IFLA’s outgoing impacted the development of librarianship and leadership to support the President Donna Scheeder “This librarianship in my home country of major international goals and objectives of theme perfectly expresses our hopes Azerbaijan, as well as adjoining regions ALA through advocating for the more than and dreams for the future. The of the South Caucasus, in addition to ever important issues of intellectual freedom, solidarity of a united library field can making similar contributions to the information privacy, information literacy, free guarantee our continued ability to make careers and institutions of librarians access and social justice. In my role as ALA's a difference in people’s lives and to use from the different parts of the world. Councilor-at-Large contributing to the process knowledge to improve the conditions For instance, I was privileged to be a of formulating policies and standards that in society.” It also coincides with fellow (1996), and later work as an affect international library and information Scheeder’s presidential agendas: Call to instructor (2000) and program services and the audience they serve. As an Action and the Critical Role of Continued on next page September 2017 International Leads 6

LIS educator and practitioner I will continue for me. In addition, my special thanks force behind all IRO and all IRRT to advocate for internationalization of the go to IRRT’s executive board; Michael related activities. library and information education and services Dowling, director of ALA’s As I work on defining a theme for my in a global society.” International Relations Office (IRO) chairmanship next year, I welcome any In conclusion, I would like to extend a and a newly elected IFLA Executive suggestions and look forward to great general thank you to those who voted Board member; and Delin Guerra, collaborations. IRO’s Program Officer and the driving

IFLA World Library and Information Congress 2017, Wrocław, Poland By Rebecca Miller, BiblioDev, LLC guide the future work of IFLA filled with Polish food and dance; a [email protected] launched. Everyone is encouraged to wonderful opportunity to start lasting The 83rd IFLA General Conference make their voice heard. friendships. and Assembly took place 19-25 Au- A special highlight was the announce- ALA’s participation in IFLA, with gust 2017 in Wrocław, Poland. Over ment of both Nancy Bolt and Terry dozens of members attending, under- 3,000 librarians from more than 100 Weech, longtime IRRT members, as lines the strong relationship between countries gathered together to share, recipients of the IFLA Scroll of Ap- these two associations. If you would learn and discuss. preciation for their respective service like to learn more about how to get Standing committees had their regular to IFLA and the international librari- involved as a representative of ALA meetings, and the General Assembly anship field. to IFLA, you are invited to contact informed members of the future of Of course it would not be a WLIC the ALA International Relations Of- IFLA. A membership survey will be without wonderful cultural entertain- fice. conducted in the next year. The Glob- ment. The opening session featured The 2018 WLIC will be in Kuala al Vision campaign is underway, with local musicians, acrobats, and singers Lumpur, Malaysia, on 24-30 August. the online voting portal to select the who walked us through Wrocław’s Hope to see you there! top opportunities and challenges to history. The Cultural Evening was

IFLA Global Vision Discussion: How a unified library field can tackle the challenges of the future

By Robin Kear, Univ. of Pittsburgh (PA) cussion has [email protected] reached 140 On 25 June 2017, at the American Li- countries across brary Association Annual Conference 6 regions. The in Chicago, approximately 50 librarians IFLA Global participated in a conversation about Vision Regional how a united library field can tackle the workshops have challenges of the future. Together we focused on how represented 471 years of library experi- to strengthen ence. Lian Ruan and I facilitated this the ties within Participants at the Global Vision discussion held at ALA Annual. session with the help of Stephen the library field Wyber, IFLA Manager, Policy and Ad- and respond to the fast-pacing globali- ed all the IFLA Regional Workshops, vocacy. zation that is opening new opportuni- said in a 20 July 2017 press release: ties and challenges. IFLA’s Secretary Since IFLA launched the Global Vision According to an 8 Aug 2017 press re- General, Gerald Leitner, who has guid- lease from IFLA, the global vision dis- Discussion I have been delighted at the

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… how a unified library field can tackle the challenges of the future

response from library professionals from all My expectations were exceeded when over the world to get involved and discuss how we had approximately 50 people in the the library field can become stronger and more session, including two newly elected connected to tackle the challenges of globaliza- IFLA Governing Board members. tion[sic]. These participants were ALA confer- The workshops were just the beginning. Now, ence attendees, many from the United the Global Vision movement reaches out to States but others from all over the everyone. We want discussions taking place in world. The libraries represented includ- all countries, all communities and all libraries ed public, academic, school (k-12), and so that every voice can be heard. state. There were also consultants, as- Lian Ruan and I attended the North sociation staff, and a non- Lian Ruan, Robin Kear, and Stephen Wyber American Regional workshop on May governmental organization representa- facilitating discussion on the Global Vision. 3-4, 2017 at the Library of Congress in tive. Washington D.C. Our group from the Stephen Wyber started the discussion An online voting platform was USA and Canada responded to the im- by reading a welcome statement writ- launched on Monday 21 August during portant questions about challenges and ten by Donna Scheeder, IFLA Presi- the IFLA World Libraries and Infor- solutions that IFLA is asking and we dent, 2015-17. mation Congress (WLIC). Visit here: learned how to run our own work- Since we only had 90 minutes, we https://globalvision.ifla.org/vote/ to shops to gather more feedback. Lian asked our important questions about vote on your top opportunities and and I decided to try and run an open challenges and solutions to the whole challenges. meeting at ALA Annual in Chicago in group and facilitated the answers from There are many ways to contribute. six short weeks. With help from the the front of the room. Overall, it was a ALA International Relations Office very energetic group, engaged and en-  Stay up-to-date on IFLA Global (thanks to Michael Dowling and Delin thusiastic about the vision process. Vision by visiting Guerra) and PLA (thanks to Scott Al- https://globalvision.ifla.org/ len), we were able to find a time during IFLA wants to hear from every library the conference to hold an open discus- in every country as to what they believe  Join the conversation on sion session. are the most important opportunities and Instagram using the and challenges of the future. There are #iflaGlobalVision hashtag. We promoted the session through our several easy ways to get involved and networks and social media accounts, already self-facilitated Global Vision but were not sure how many partici- workshops like ours are taking place pants to expect on such short notice. using IFLA’s downloadable templates.

Don’t forget to vote! https://globalvision.ifla.org/vote/

Join us! Together we create the future

September 2017 International Leads 8

2017 Development and Access to Information Report: The role of libraries in sustainable development

By Violetta Bertolini (IFLA) becomes more and more pressing. Few bution to development is recognised. from the DA2I press release are as pernicious as information pov- It has signed agreements with repre- erty – the lack of access to, or the abil- sentatives from 73 countries, commit- ity to use, the information necessary to ting to work with them to build under- foster economically and socially inclu- standing of the UN 2030 Agenda at a sive societies. IFLA President Donna national and regional level, and engage Scheeder stressed: in the planning, monitoring, and im- “There is no sustainable development without plementation processes of National access to information. And there is no mean- Development Plans. ingful, inclusive access to information without IFLA Secretary General Gerald Leit- libraries.” ner remarked: “The library field is unique. In addition to the regulatory changes A global community of millions of institu- and infrastructure investment needed tions, sharing the same values and objectives. to ensure that everyone has the practi- IFLA, as the global voice of libraries, is cal possibility to get online, the report proud to be able to bring this potential to bear calls for a coordinated drive to ensure in support of development. I believe that, to- that people have the confidence and gether, we can deliver. The library field is The International Federation of Li- skills needed to get the best out of the certainly ready.” brary Associations and Institutions Internet. This will require contribu- The report was officially launched on (IFLA), in partnership with the Tech- tions from all levels of government 17 July 2017 at the New York Public nology and Social Change Group at and across stakeholder groups. Library, during the annual United Na- the University of Washington tions High Level Political Forum on (TASCHA), has launched the first De- To monitor Member States’ progress, the report presents a set of baseline Sustainable Development. It can be velopment and Access to Information downloaded from the DA2I official (DA2I) Report. indicators, drawing on established da- tasets, as well as providing contribu- website at DA2I.ifla.org. The DA2I Report shows how essential tions from international experts show- The HLPF is the main United Nations access to information is for develop- ing how access to information is al- platform on sustainable development ment, and makes the case for coordi- ready making a difference. The report and carries the responsibility for follow nated and sustained efforts by all to focuses this year on four SDGs high- -up and review of the 2030 Agenda for guarantee it. It demonstrates how lighted at this year’s UN HLPF – agri- Sustainable Development. meaningful access to information, sup- culture (SDG 2), health (SDG 3), gen- ported by libraries, contributes to the The event was attended by Permanent der equality (SDG 5), and infrastruc- Representatives to the United Nations achievement of the United Nations ture and innovation (SDG 9). Sustainable Development Goals, and and Chiefs of various UN depart- monitors the progress countries are Libraries, as pre-existing, trusted pub- ments. Representatives from Facebook making towards fulfilling their com- lic centers, with both a global perspec- and Mozilla also attended. Library mitments under the UN 2030 Agenda. tive and strong understanding of local leaders from the , Mexi- needs, are essential partners for gov- co, Philippines, Senegal, Serbia, and As the Agenda for Sustainable Devel- ernments in achieving the Sustainable Spain were also present, emphasizing opment progresses, the need to ad- Development Goals. IFLA is working the scope and importance of the re- dress the underlying factors holding globally to ensure libraries’ key contri- port. back development in all our societies September 2017 International Leads 9

ALA Emerging Leaders partner with IRRT to enhance Sister Libraries Program

By: Lisa Blake, Arapahoe Community College ed to domestic and international part- Research also found that it is important (Colorado); Joy Bridwell, Stone Child College nerships; conducted an open-ended, to have strong, frequent communica- (Montana); Stacy Gilbert, University of Colorado - emailed questionnaire that four current tion, to use communication technolo- Boulder; Anna Sandelli, University of Tennessee - and past IRRT SL program participants gies or methods that are accessible to Knoxville; Melissa West, Kennebunk Free Li- answered; and implemented an online both institutions, and to involve multi- brary (Maine) survey of librarians both familiar with ple library employees to ensure the and unaware of the IRRT SL program partnership will be sustainable through Contact: Melissa West [email protected] to assess awareness of and interest in change. What makes for a successful, sustaina- the program. ble international partnership? In Spring Several additional factors emerged to 2017, members of ALA’s Emerging The four librarians who corresponded keep in mind for both setting up and Leaders program worked with the with the open-ended questionnaire rep- sustaining a partnership. These include: IRRT Executive Board and Sister Li- resented a public library in North fostering a feeling of equality in the braries Committee to help answer this America and three libraries from three relationship; identifying funding and question. The Emerging Leaders pro- different countries in Africa. The agreeing on a cost structure; and having gram provides leadership development online survey received 238 responses supportive administrator or institution- opportunities for newer library profes- from individuals working in a variety of al support. Multiple sources echoed the sionals to engage in problem-solving, library environments. value of sharing frequent updates to deepen their understanding of ALA’s Through their work the ELs identified keep partners engaged and energized. structure, and serve the profession. numerous factors that lead to success- Based on these factors the ELs recom- Five Emerging Leaders (ELs) selected ful and sustainable SL partnerships. mended approaches to IRRT to devel- IRRT’s “Building and Enhancing The most frequently mentioned factors op successful and sustainable partner- Global Connections Through Sister for a successful partnership were hav- ships. These recommendations cen- Libraries” for their project, which they ing a formal agreement, being in fre- tered on how partnerships are created, began working on at the 2017 Midwin- quent communication, having face-to- marketing and outreach, and partici- ter Conference and completed with a face visits, having a flexible mindset, pant resources. When creating partner- poster presentation at 2017 ALA An- and planning a trial period. ships IRRT should encourage partici- nual. IRRT tasked the ELs with the A formal agreement can help establish pants to look within their community, following goals: and manage expectations for the part- and build on existing relationships such as working with immigrant populations 1. Identify factors that lead to success- nership, such as identifying the pro- ject’s scope, each party’s contributions, and local chapters of Rotary Interna- ful and sustainable international library tional, Lions Club International, or Ki- partnerships, a trial period or end date, and the po- tential benefits. While a formal agree- wanis International. Libraries could 2. Propose new approaches to improve ment is useful, it is also important that also develop partnerships based on their needs. the sustainability of Sister Libraries participants have a flexible mindset, (SL) partnerships, and recognizing that the partnership may For example, a library could work with 3. Provide updated information about not go as planned and that the relation- another institution that has special col- SL partnerships to the Sister Libraries ship will evolve over time. Such a lections that are of interest to its pa- committee and develop/update materi- mindset can cultivate a sense of trust, trons. Potential participants should also als based on the data collected. so that both partners feel that they be encouraged to find partners at con- have the ability to discuss the relation- ferences or other in-person networking To achieve these goals, the ELs: per- ship and identify ways to make it a re- formed a review of the literature relat- warding experience for all involved. Continued on next page

September 2017 International Leads 10 ALA Emerging Leaders and Sister Libraries Program events. Similarly, if an institution ap- ber interest group meetings about the of potential funding and grant opportu- proaches IRRT with a partner in mind SL program could also facilitate interest nities for SL participants to consider. SLs may be more successful and sus- and informal discussion about the ben- As money is often a major barrier to tainable in the long term. In such an efits of a partnership. The ELs also pursuing SL partnerships, the ELs rec- instance, IRRT could then support the recommended IRRT update the cur- ommended IRRT highlight organiza- partnership as a mentor or facilitator to rent Sister Libraries brochure to attract tions that offer funding. help the relationship grow. Since the attention and direct interested parties Throughout this project, the ELs were ELs’ research determined that commu- to IRRT’s communication channels. able to identify and report key elements nication is a major factor in successful Based on their research, the Emerging for creating and sustaining successful partnerships, it is recommended that Leaders created or updated materials to Sister Libraries partnerships, including when IRRT sets up partnerships the help the SL Committee build and en- open pathways of communication, for- institutions’ communication prefer- hance SL partnerships. One resource is mal agreements, and assistance in fund- ences are taken into account. IRRT a form for updating and maintaining ing. The ELs hope the suggestions they could also provide virtual communica- SL contacts. The ELs found numerous have made to IRRT will help create tion channels for other SLs to com- outdated emails from past SL partner- relationships that enhance a valuable municate with each other, thereby ships and gave these emails to IRRT to program and provide for lasting and providing peer-to-peer support. update their records. To help in the meaningful Sister Library partnerships. In addition, the ELs recommended collection and maintenance of SL con- Acknowledgements: several approaches to increase interest tacts, the ELs recommended that a in the Sister Libraries program through Google Form or Qualtrics survey be Thank you to the International Rela- marketing and outreach. The ELs sent out each year, asking contacts to tions Round Table for the opportunity found that having a social media pres- provide their contact and institution’s to work on this project. Special thanks ence on outlets such as Facebook and information, partner’s information, and to Beth Cramer, Loida Garcia-Febo, Twitter might be beneficial to reaching updates on their SL relationship. The Alexandra Humphreys, Christopher a larger population of librarians. A so- form can also be used to collect infor- Shaffer, Angie Wiehagen, and Delin cial media presence allows people to mation on success stories. Guerra for their feedback. learn about the program on their own Secondly, the ELs’ literature review time, and can reach librarians who are found articles written in 2016, and they unable to participate in or attend offi- Interested in becoming a Sister Library? recommended IRRT highlight these Visit the Sister Libraries wiki at cial ALA conferences or events. It was articles on platforms like their website also suggested that IRRT create short http://wikis.ala.org/sisterlibraries/ to refresh its content with recent schol- index.php/ALA_/ yet informative videos that highlight arship and dialogue. the benefits of being involved in a SL _IRRT_Sister_Library_Initiative partnership, and share these videos on Additionally, since research showed IRRT’s website and social media. formal, but flexible agreements are a factor in successful partnerships, the Outside of social media, the ELs rec- ELs created a template Memorandum ommended IRRT have a visible pres- of Understanding (MOU) specifically ence at ALA conferences, as well as at for SL partnerships. A template MOU the regional and state levels, in order to could be used to help new partnerships connect with a wide variety of people. establish terms, goals, objectives, ex- A conference presence could include pected benefits, some indication of ac- having an informal table where face-to- tivities, contacts, and duration of the face connections with a SL mentor can partnership. Lastly, the ELs made a list be made. Panel discussions and mem- Libraries are waiting for partners!

September 2017 International Leads 11

The Refugee Library Project: Crowdsourced research for endangered populations

By Christian Zabriskie & Lauren Comito, Library (NY) [email protected] In Brief The goal of the Refugee Library Pro- ject is to produce a comprehensive and reliable resource for librarians to pro- vide information support to refugees and immigrants. Our focus is on the US due to the makeup of our corps of volunteers. All resources are double checked prior to publication and the standards for accuracy and currency are very high. We have been able to engage with a large group of volunteers and set up structures for teams to work asyn- Screenshot of the Refugee Library Project website: http://refugeelibraries.org chronously in geographically disparate locations. Issues and problems include tations of some of the tools used to en a general subject area to explore the scope and size of the project out- organize the work. We suddenly found then set loose to find whatever timely stripping available resources, as well as ourselves with a workforce that was ten and accurate resources they can find in the inevitable ebb and flow of a work- times what we had been expecting. that area. The topic might be geograph- force that is entirely voluntary. The ic (Northeast, Southeast, Michigan, Process project is ongoing and is seeking sup- Texas, etc.) or it could be around a par- port and new volunteers particularly in With this many volunteers working in ticular topic area (unaccompanied mi- getting content in various languages. geographically disparate areas we began nors, Federal Govt resources, resources Origin by breaking the work down into four in various languages). Once the re- teams with discrete but complementary searcher has located the resource and The Refugee Library Project came out tasks. We use Slack and Airtable very checked it to make sure that it is relia- of a series of conversations between a heavily to accomplish our work togeth- ble, accurate, up to date, and from a group of ALA Councillors, including er. Slack allows us to communicate re- reputable source that genuinely has ALA President Elect Loida Garcia- motely and manage messages to indi- these populations’ best interests in Febo, prior to ALA Midwinter 2017 in viduals or to various groups and work mind, they then put it into Airtable and Atlanta. US President Trump’s rhetoric teams, with conversations archived for sign off that the research is complete. towards immigrants and refugees dur- future use. We can also share docu- The resource is then claimed by a ing the campaign was aggressive and ments and images via Slack. rampant. It seemed important to talk member of the editorial team. The edi- about how libraries could be respond- We use Airtable to hold the resources tor double checks the content for cur- and information we find as well as tag- ing to these issues prior to it becoming rency and accuracy. They then give the a crisis. ging them with metadata. This is also resource a title and write an abstract for how we track workflow and gauge how the website. When they are satisfied When Iraqi refugees were detained at many resources we have, where they with the content of the resource and JFK airport in late January and sponta- are in the preparation process, and have generated clean and engaging neous protests shut down Terminal 4 what areas they cover. It is also useful, copy to support it, then they put the we realized that the crisis was already though not perfect, at eliminating re- title and the abstract into Airtable and upon us. We put out a call for volun- dundancy in the research. sign off as the editor. This team also teers and were quickly inundated. With- The first team, researchers, are tasked created its own stylebook and editorial in two weeks we had to cap our volun- guidelines. teer enrollment at 150 due to the limi- with doing pure research. They are giv- Continued on next page

September 2017 International Leads 12

Once the editor is done with it the re- We have gotten some great feedback people sitting around a table talking source is picked up by a member of from people serving the undocument- about this face to face. our metadata team. They check the ed and refugee population. They appre- Future Plans resource again for accuracy and use the ciate having a central place to look for original resource as well as the abstract resources. There is a real need for this In the future we will continue to amass as tools to tag it for indexing. This kind of information triage. People need more resources while redesigning the team has created a variety of tags and a lot of information, not just for their site to make these resources easier to use them to create connections be- current situation but to plan for the locate. We will also need to seek fund- tween various resources. When they future. Access to this information in ing by way of grants and fundraising to are satisfied that the tagging is thor- easy to find places could potentially offset costs. We have been using the ough and complete they input their free up resources at agencies which free versions of Airtable and Slack, but work to Airtable and sign off on it as deal with these populations. An immi- there are still costs associated with complete. gration who is advising the pro- these tools, the web hosting and any meetups or programming. Urban Li- Finally the web administration team ject wants this kind of ready infor- mation to go out as widely as possible, brarians Unite (ULU) has been acting takes all of the work and puts it up on as the sponsoring agency and has been our website. They publish the resource because if people can access the basic able to cover these costs so far, but and ensure that the link, tags, and de- information themselves, counselors and attorneys have more time to focus eventually will need to get support. sign all work. They also assign it to cat- Fortunately ULU is a 501(c)(3) in good egories, although the metadata allows a on more complicated and involved cli- ents. standing so is eligible for grants and tax lot of things to be cross accessed in a free donations. variety of ways. Challenges Funding and keeping a large body of Results There have been problems of course. people who never see one another mo- We currently have more than 120 accu- The original information architecture tivated are great challenges. An even rate and timely resources ready to help of our website was designed to support bigger challenge is the scope of the people. Due to the nature of the work, far fewer resources. The original scope work and the need for it. This is crucial some teams were larger than others of this project was narrower and we information for members of our socie- and some teams required specialized expected to have between 30-40 re- ty who are often overlooked when they skills (metadata, web admin) that most sources. Given that we already have are not actively oppressed. This project team members did not have (nor need). more than three times that number of exists to offer them strong and reliable We obviously needed a lot of research- resources, and feel like we are barely resources that they can use without scratching the surface, the original ers since we opened our research scope fear of invasion or inaccuracy. structure is falling apart and needs a to essentially “let’s find everything that We are excited by the interest and ef- we can.” Having a large group of dedi- complete rework. Our web administra- tion team is beginning to work with forts of so many people in the profes- cated researchers who would focus on sion on this issue. Many libraries are particular areas and gain experience in Library Market to explore options and create new infrastructure and design. doing innovative and courageous work, those areas was a given. such as Project Welcome from the What was surprising was the number Our entire staff are volunteers and only Mortenson Center and ALA. We have of editors that we needed for the job. about a dozen of them have ever met always been very inspired by the work The process of doing a thorough sec- face to face. The size of the team is a of REFORMA’s Children In Crisis ond check on each information re- testament to the values of our profes- Project. Libraries and librarians are source took more time than we origi- sion and the innate decency that is still claiming this issue and will continue to nally allocated. This team also holds at the core of the American character. serve everyone in our community in- itself to a very high standard of work. This is wonderful but as an administra- cluding the displaced, the undocument- It is where a lot of our friends in pub- tor coordinating this many people from ed, and people in transition. lishing ended up being assigned and all over is an interesting challenge. We they take their work as non-library pro- hope to use video chats and regional fessionals quite seriously. We are fortu- meetups as ways to keep people con- Interested in helping? Connect with the nate to have some talented professional nected and engaged. We had a meeting Refugee Library Project at writers and editors dedicating their at ALA Annual 2017 and it was really https://refugeelibraries.org/contact/ skills for compelling writing on the site. productive to actually have a group of

September 2017 International Leads 13 Amed Demirhan recognized as John Ames Humphry/OCLC/Forest Press Award Winner

Mr. Amed Demirhan received the 1)E-thinking: when 2017 ALA International Relations making decisions we Committee’s John Ames Humphry/ have to incorporate OCLC/Forest Press award for signifi- electronic opportuni- cant contributions to international li- ties in our calculations; brarianship. The award was presented and 2) M-thinking: by Irene Hoffman of OCLC. how much work and In 2006, Mr. Demirhan led the estab- services we could do lishment of the first library with inter- with mobile applica- national standards in Kurdistan (Iraq), tions. Many people al- ready are doing this, at the University of Kurdistan Hawler. In 2011, he became the director of the but not necessarily American University of Nigeria Li- consciously. Therefore Ms. Irene Hoffman of OCLC presents the John Ames brary, and transformed it into a digital there is a need to make Humphry/OCOC/Forest Press Award to Mr. Amed Demirhan library, leading to the ALA Presiden- E-and M-thinking part tial Citation for Innovative Interna- of our strategic thinking and planning. tional Library Projects in 2013. Library This will help us to expand resources and services much faster to our com- Journal recognized him as a “mover Congratulations Mr. Demirhan. We and shaker” in 2014. Mr. Demirhan is munities locally, nationally, and inter- nationally look forward to seeing what you do currently the director of the Barzani next for international librarianship! National Memorial Library in Kurdi- IL: What advice would you give to stan (Iraq). He has been a member of young members of IRRT? IRRT since 2009. Mr. Demirhan: My advice is classic in International Leads asked Mr. Demirhan the sense that I will share what I have Connect with to share some thoughts with readers. learned from my mentors, library lead- IL: What is your most significant con- ers, and coworkers whom I credit a IRRT! large part of my success. 1) Never hes- tribution, out of all that you have  Join the alaworld email done? itate to volunteer. 2) Networking. 3) Never hesitate to ask questions or help distribution list to stay Mr. Demirhan: Increase resources, from fellow librarians and library lead- informed of ALA interna- decrease cost, and expand services by ers. Librarians are the most generous tional activities. Subscribe envisioning electronic impact on re- people in the world when it comes to at http://www.ala.org/ sources, space, cost, organization, and sharing and helping. 4) Remember as a rt/irrt/alaworld transportation. librarian you have more access and

IL: What are your next big plans? more knowledge about learning re- sources than anyone else around you.  IRRT blog http:// Mr. Demirhan: When I advocated 5- Your communities should always be alairrt.blogspot.ca/ for the above vision I discovered how in the focus for your services. We are much even highly educated people are there because our communities need away from conceptualizing electronic our services. impact despite being active users. Therefore, to expand the vision we need to conceptualize two concepts:

September 2017 International Leads 14 Sara Zettervall wins 2017 Bogle-Pratt International Library Travel Fund

tunity to share our groundbreaking pected. It was a relatively small confer- work internationally. It’s also an oppor- ence but still had attendees from 67 tunity to bring social workers up to nations. It put me in a place of con- speed on WPL, which has not yet been stantly questioning my own assump- presented at a major social work con- tions about what's possible in human ference.” services. This is an area I'd like to ex- plore much more in both libraries and International Leads asked Sara to share social services. How can our collabora- her impressions of the conference with tive work be translated into different readers. cultural contexts? There's much more IL: How was the conference? What work to be done. The Bogle-Pratt International Library were your impressions or what did you IL: Any words of advice for others Travel Fund award provides $1,000 to take away from your experience to ap- thinking of going to their first overseas support a librarian’s first international ply to your own work? conference? conference, sponsored by the Bogle Ms. Zettervall: The conference was a Ms. Zettervall: I certainly don't con- Memorial Fund and the Pratt Institute great reminder to me that there are so sider myself an expert yet! But I would School of Information and Library Sci- many factors to consider in under- suggest being aware that the culture of ence. The award is in recognition of standing and serving our patrons. the conference and the culture of the Sarah Comly Norris Bogle, a promi- There was a lot of talk about how con- host country may be two different nent U.S. librarian who made notable ditions in the home country and cultur- things. If you're interested in the host contributions to international library al trauma lead to women not seeking country and not just the conference, it's service. help in their new countries of resi- important to consider how travel there dence. Part of that is a lack of under- can be part of your professional experi- Ms. Zettervall is the Founding Consult- standing of how things work in their ence. Don't try to limit yourself to what ant of Whole Person Librarianship, as new countries, and that's where librar- you think is going to be relevant to well as the Community Engagement ies, and particularly public libraries, can you, because there are more connec- Librarian for the Cedar Riverside Op- be an important point of access for tions between us than you might real- portunity Center (Minneapolis) with social services. I and my social work ize. Hennepin County Library. collaborator were there to introduce social workers, and particularly social Congratulations Ms. Zettervall and Whole Person Librarianship seeks to work faculty, to this role for libraries in good luck in your work! serve each patron based on the context connecting with social services. of their lives and the social systems sur- IL: This was your first overseas confer- rounding them. With the support of ence - what did you find most interest- the Bogle-Pratt award, Ms. Zettervall ing or challenging about it? attended the International Consortium Ms. Zettervall: In addition to this be- for Social Development’s International ing my first overseas conference, it was Symposium in Zagreb, Croatia in July. my first time traveling in continental She noted, “North America is at the Europe. It turned out that Croatia is a forefront of library-social work collab- very welcoming country to visit, and oration, so this conference is an oppor- getting around was easier than I ex-

September 2017 International Leads 15 Shali Zhang Joins Ranks of IRRT Notable Members Dr. Shali Zhang, Dean of Libraries at first ALA International Librarians Re- phrases of another language when you the University of Montana, is the new- ception then. This event introduced travel abroad; read books by authors est addition to the roster of IRRT No- me to IRRT and to the librarians who from other countries; and bring global table Members. This award recognizes had passion and commitment to inter- perspectives to your daily work. ALA members who play an important national librarianship. I got to know role in promoting understanding of some IRRT members through the re- Congratulations Dr. Zhang, you are and interests in library services around ception event. Therefore, IRRT was an inspiration! the globe, and contribute substantially the first ALA roundtable that I to ALA’s core values on the interna- joined and I have been its member tional scale. since. IRRT has opened the door for me to get involved and to par- Dr. Zhang has been a member of ticipate in many projects and initia- IRRT since 1991, and has been very tives on international librarianship. active with IRRT and IRC. She served I am very grateful for being its two terms as Editor of International member. Leads, chaired two terms of the Inter- IL: What part of your experience national Relations Committee, and with IRRT stands out the most to served as IRRT Chair. She has also you, or are most proud of? been involved with IFLA, serving on Dr. Zhang: I served two terms as the Standing Section Committee on Editor-in-Chief for International Acquisitions and Collections Develop- Leads that publishes stories and IRRT Chair Dr. Beth Cramer presents the IRRT Notable Member award to Dr. Shali Zhang ment for eight years, and is currently a reports events on ALA member- member of the IFLA Journal Editorial ship’s global engagement. I was elected Committee. She has traveled exten- by the IRRT membership as IRRT sively to visit libraries and present at Chair, which gave me opportunities to conferences around the world. Dr. connect with the IRRT members in Connect with Zhang enters the roster of IRRT No- U.S. and abroad. In fall 2015, John table Members as the 26th mem- Hickok, the IRRT chair, asked me to IRRT! ber. Dr. Beth Cramer, IRRT Chair, lead the IRRT Global Leaders Cam- Visit the IRRT Website presented Dr. Zhang the certificate of paign Ad Hoc Committee and to com- http://www.ala.org/irrt recognition at the IRRT Reception at plete the fundraising initiative that ALA Annual. started in 2009. The committee mem- bers and I worked very hard on this International Leads asked Dr. Zhang to project. With the donations from Visit the IRRT Blog reflect on her experience with IRRT. IRRT members, we reached the target http:// IL: What drew you to be a member of by the ALA Annual Conference in IRRT? 2016. I am very happy that the IRRT alairrt.blogspot.com Dr. Zhang: When I was in the LIS members will see the fruition of this program, I had an opportunity to at- fundraising project soon. tend my first ALA Annual Conference IL: What advice would you give to in San Francisco. I was also given a young IRRT members? complementary ticket to attend my Dr. Zhang: Learn a few words or

September 2017 International Leads 16

ALA Presidential Citation for Innovative International Library Projects The ALA Presidential Citation for Innovative International Library Projects was launched as a presidential initiative by Dr. Loriene Roy as ALA President (2007-2008). Citations recognize individuals, groups, or organizations for innovative projects outside the United States that are publicly highly visible, greatly improve existing library services, and are sustain- able and a model for other libraries. Since the first citations awarded in 2008, over 30 innovative projects around the world have been recognized. ALA President presented the 3 recipients with a recognition plaque at the IRRT Reception on Monday, June 26. augustana human library Project FryskLab Rural Internet Hotspot Lending Nancy Goebel, Head Librarian Aan Koostra, Joeren de Boer, and Ber- Programme Augustana Campus Library, tus Douwes Library Service Friesland Jessica Veldman, Information Services University of Alberta (Canada) (Netherlands) Librarian, and Murray McCabe, Chief Librarian, Wellington County Library (Canada)

The augustana human library is the The Project FryskLab team introduced first library in Canada to seek to ad- Europe’s first official library FabLab, a dress forms of intolerance by expand- mobile makerspace, introducing crea- The RIHLP provides free Internet ac- ing the concept and sustaining the tive, technical and entrepreneurial skills cess service to rural areas served by model of the “Human Library,” mak- to primary and secondary education Wellington County Library by leverag- ing it a part of the institution’s mission throughout rural Friesland. ing a county government agreement and culture, and assisting other libraries with a local ISP. Continued financial all over the world to implement the support is secured by extensive cover- program. age of the success of the program; Congratulations to these inspiring librarians! providing a model for other library sys- tems to replicate.

ISLD Program at ALA Annual

By Kay Cassell ture of libraries and their services, par- discussed sustainable library projects [email protected] ticularly in developing nations, with that are featured on the ISLD web Libraries and information access are recognition of differing library systems page. Peter Deekle discussed ISLD’s more important than ever for the inter- and user expectations at the ALA An- program proposal for 2018 on libraries national community. Recognizing their nual Conference in Chicago. and refugees. impact on global literacy and under- Patricia A. Wand discussed how sus- More information on ISLD is available standing, the International Sustainable tainable libraries don’t just happen. on its web page: http://www.ala.org/ Library Development Interest Group Sara C. Mansback discussed the book- irrt/irrtcommittees/isld/isld (ISLD) addressed the sustainable na- less village in rural Haiti. Joan Weeks

September 2017 International Leads 17

Conference report: 4th African Library Summit / 2nd AfLIA Conference

By Janet Lee, Regis University panels, an unconference, and exhibits. I collaborated with Dr. Shimelis Asse- [email protected] Many excellent presentations covered fa, Professor at the Morgridge College U.S.-based and American librarians themes of Libraries in the Develop- of Education Library and Information working in Africa were among the 127 ment Agenda; ICT in Academic/ Science Program at the University of Research Libraries; Research Data; Denver, on a paper titled “Public Li- attendees at the 4th African Library Role of Libraries in Building Peace and braries as a Place to Advance Toler- Summit / 2nd AfLIA Conference held in Yaounde, Cameroon, May 2017. Justice in Africa; Women, Youth, and ance,” which surveyed libraries in Col- What was the attraction that would Children’s Services in the Development orado and across the nation on pro- draw these library professionals such a Agenda; Preservation of Africa’s Cul- grams and practices that promote toler- distance? For many, the allure went ture and Heritage; and Linking the ance. Dr. Assefa also presented on beyond the professional and toward Cape Town Declaration with Africa’s “Data and Information Literacy.” I the personal, a return to Africa, an op- Future. Each attendee received a CD also partnered with newly Returned portunity to network, a starting point complete with the full text of the Peace Corps Ethiopia Volunteer, Ben for new projects. presentations in lieu of a print copy of Rearick, a student in the University of the proceedings. Michigan’s Library and Information Over 45 African countries sent repre- Science Program, on a poster titled “A sentatives to the conference, from Dr. Ismail Abdullahi, Interim Associate Dean and Professor, North Carolina Hyena’s Tale: Introducing Children to Egypt in the north and South Africa in the Power of Reading in Ethiopia.” A the south, with South Africa once again Central University School of Library and Information Sciences, led sessions version of this poster was also present- sending the largest number of repre- ed at ALA Annual 2017. In addition, sentatives. The conference was simul- on The Role of ICT, the Digital Divide and the Challenges of Education, as Dr. Assefa presented a poster titled taneously translated in English and “The Well-being of Nations and what French to serve the multilingual needs well as the Preservation of Africa’s Cul- ture and Heritage. Dr. Abdullahi has Libraries can do to Help: The Case for of conference attendees. Africa.” long served on ALA, IFLA, and AfLIA The University of Yaounde Choir committees and boards and has written There were ample opportunities to net- opened the ceremonies with a round of extensively about practices of interna- work with librarians from Africa in- musical selections. IFLA Secretary tional libraries. cluding a visit to the National Museum, General Gerald Leitner and IFLA a cultural evening with traditional danc- President-Elect Gloria Perez- ing, and an all-conference din- Salmernon opened the conference. ner closing the conference. Both noted the strong presence of The next African Library IFLA in Africa and its growing role in Summit will be held in Cape the Development Agenda: Access to Town. The combined Summit Information. Deborah Jacobs from and AfLIA conference in two Global Libraries followed and chal- years at a place to be deter- lenged African libraries to be the mod- mined. el for other regions of the world. The next three days were filled with Janet Lee discusses her poster with AfLIA President John plenary sessions, keynote speakers, Tsebe.

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September 2017 International Leads 18

Working with Arabic-script manuscripts in Africa

By Florence Mugambi, Northwestern University (IL) lite microscope analyses of texts and Attendees had additional opportunities A unique, two-part workshop held Au- sophisticated molecular-level studies to work with films and digital images gust 13-20 at Northwestern University, conducted by materials laboratories at from the UIUC Boutilimit (Mauritania) brought together both consumers and the ACCESS unit of Northwestern collection of Arabic manuscripts; man- curators of a literary tradition that 50 University/The Art Institute of Chica- uscript collections at the Newberry years ago was not known to exist: Ara- go and the Hamburg CSMC labs. In Library arranged by Lia Markey, Direc- bic-script manuscripts in Africa. The addition, there was focus on the im- tor of the Center for Renaissance Stud- workshop involved 35 participants in- portance and identification of ajami ies; the Field Museum, arranged by cluding instructors, African curators texts (African languages written in Ara- Diana Duncan, Technical Services Li- and American students and librarians. bic script). brarian for Library Collections; and It was modelled on previous interna- Thirteen percent of the Arabic-script Oriental Institute Museum at the Uni- tional workshops on the codicology of manuscripts across West Africa are versity of Chicago, arranged by Jean Islamic manuscripts held by The Is- fully written in African languages, with Evans, Chief Curator. Curating practic- lamic Manuscript Association a larger percentage found down the es, preservation, conservation, cata- loguing, and public outreach were part (Cambridge) and al-Furqan Founda- East African coast. This is a literature tion (London), but this one focused that has been largely unknown, and it of each tour. exclusively on African manuscripts. It demonstrates a level of linguistic intri- The second part of the workshop fo- also highlighted two topics not typical- cacy and originality yet to be fully ap- cused on agendas of the African cura- ly covered in codicology workshops: preciated even by specialists in the tors, including cataloguing, preserva- studying Arabic-script writings in Afri- field. Afternoon ‘hands-on’ sessions tion, digitization, and development of can languages and developing a data utilized the rich Arabic manuscript col- the Arabic-English data base of Arabic base of Arabic writings from across lection at Northwestern’s Herskovits -script manuscripts in Africa, AMMS. the continent. Library of African Studies. American AMMS is an online bi-lingual database Thanks to support from the Gerda participants, with the guidance of Afri- that was originally developed at the can curators, studied Arabic as well as University of Illinois in the late 1980s Henkel Stiftung, seven curators from African manuscript libraries in Mauri- ajami texts in sessions arranged by Es- by Charles Stewart, to describe a col- tania, Senegal, Nigeria, Mali, Ethiopia, meralda Kale, curator of the Her- lection of Arabic manuscripts in south- Zanzibar, and Mozambique were invit- skovits Library. ern Mauritania (Boutilimit). ed to help in the instruction of 15 American museologists, librarians and researchers for the first four days of the workshop. Other instructors were drawn from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), North- western University (NU), Yale, Berke- ley, Wesleyan, University of Cape Town, and Paris. The last three days focused on the needs of the African curators. The first half of the week led off with reflections on ‘container’ and ‘content’ by Yale Librarian Graziano Krātli, and went on to cover topics typical to codi- cology workshops: papers, watermarks, inks, bindings, design, and text embel- Hands-on session studying manuscripts at the Herskovits Library lishments. It also demonstrated DINO

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Arabic-script manuscripts in Africa An up-dated version of AMMS, that Daniel Gullo and Malta Project direc- public that attracted 25 students. Plans converts it to a relational database tor Claudia Garradas invited curators to repeat the workshop, hopefully in which greatly enhances its value for to apply for support for digitization Africa, were discussed as a way to con- curators seeking to identify manu- projects, and Laila Hussein Moustafa tinue and expand a network of African scripts, was demonstrated. from the UIUC Library reviewed other curators in the coming years. Now equipped for the addition of digi- international funding opportunities for The workshop was held at Northwest- tal images of the works that are cited, preserving and cataloguing African ern University in Evanston, Illinois and the current 23,000 records are expected manuscript collections. University of Illinois at Urbana- to expand dramatically during the next Evening sessions introduced partici- Champaign Libraries. It was sponsored year. AMMS is soon to be housed at pants to the basics of calligraphy, led by the Institute for the Study of Islamic the UC Berkeley Library, and curators by Parisian-based calligrapher Nuria Thought in Africa (ISITA) at the Pro- are encouraged to heighten the visibil- Garcia Masip with the assistance of gram of African Studies, Northwestern ity of and access to their collections by Mauritanian calligrapher Mohamedan University; the Center for African adding their libraries to it. The database Ahmed Salim. The calligraphy compo- Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana and the AMMS cataloguing input tool nent was provided to remind partici- -Champaign; and the Center for the are publicly available at no cost to us- pants of the deep spiritual significance Study of Manuscript Cultures (CSMC), ers. Michelle Biddle from the Wesleyan of the Word during a week that fo- University of Hamburg; and organized University Library presented on low- cused on the materiality of manu- by Rebecca Shereikis, Associate Direc- cost manuscript conservation and scripts. In a collaborative venture with tor of ISITA. preservation, and curators were given the American Islamic College of Chica- an overview of digitization projects go, one workshop lecture on calli- underway in Mali by the Hill Museum graphic traditions was held there as was Read more about the Herskovits Library Manuscript Library. Associate Director a second thee-day course open to the below.

Library Spotlight: The Melville J. Herskovits Library of African Studies

Established in 1954, the Melville J. Herskovits Library of many of which are digitally accessible. We welcome use of African Studies at Northwestern University is the largest these resources by faculty, students, staff, scholars, and re- separate Africana collection in existence. Its scope is as searchers from all over the world regardless of affiliation. wide as the continent of Africa itself; its subject matter Northwestern University is located in Evanston, larger ranges from art, history, literature, music, science, technol- Chicago area, Illinois, USA, along the shores of Lake Mich- ogy and religion to communications, engineering, manage- igan. For more about the collection, including information ment and cooking. The Africana collection is a resource for about visiting the library, explore the website (http:// the entire Northwestern University community, and most www.library.northwestern.edu/africana) or search the cata- of Northwestern's disciplinary programs are reflected in log. A guide to resources at the Herskovits is available at the collection. In addition to serving the NU community, http://libguides.northwestern.edu/africanaguide. the Herskovits Library also serves regional, national and international scholars to the extent possible. The Herskovits Library maintains and provides access to Contact : Florence Mugambi, African Studies Librarian, unique collections of rare books, archives, Arabic manu- Herskovits Library of African Studies, scripts, and photographs. The collection also includes Northwestern University maps, posters, videos, and books in African languages, as [email protected] well as art objects, ephemeral materials and other artifacts,

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