EDITORIAL Back to Our Roots

EDITORIAL Back To Our Roots

Ross Shimmon the singing of ‘Happy Birthday’ in the future. Diversity was ably during the opening ceremony, the tackled by another plenary speaker, IFLA is, as those of us involved in cutting of several cakes, and the Martin Nakata, whose ‘Indigenous its organization for 52 weeks a lecture of reminiscences by former Knowledge and the Cultural Inter- year know only two well, is much IFLA President Herman Liebaers), face: underlying issues at the inter- more than a conference. Neverthe- but also for a series of innovations section of knowledge and infor- less it is our flagship event. This and special features. The first of mation systems’ drew conclusions year the 68th IFLA conference was these was the Mobilemeet, which for the information profession of held in Glasgow, in order to cele- attracted 39 mobile libraries from the complexities arising from the brate, in the land of its birth, its Sweden, Holland, Ireland, England interface between the indigenous 75th anniversary. Everyone con- and Scotland. A Fun Run was held and academic domains. The texts cerned with the planning of this to raise funds for the IFLA/ of the papers by Seamus Heaney conference was determined that it UNESCO project ‘Books for All’. and Martin Nakata are reproduced would be a memorable occasion, The opening ceremony took place in this issue of IFLA Journal; the and so it proved. on Monday morning, closer than paper by Anne Fine will appear in usual to the beginning of the event. the next issue. More than 4,300 people attended. A piper, another characteristic fea- They came from 131 countries. ture of this year’s conference, then These and other features, such as Among them were over 1,000 first- led the participants into the exhi- the Mobilemeet, the very popular timers. As usual, the host country bition for coffee and traditional Model Children’s Library in the provided the largest number of Scottish shortbread. A poem ‘The exhibition, and the brainstorming participants with 1,443. But over Welcome’, reproduced in this is- session held by President-Elect, Kay 500 came from the USA, 158 from sue, was written for the occasion Raseroka (also reported in this is- the Russian Federation, 145 from by Edwin Morgan, Glasgow’s poet sue), as well as many of the open France, 140 from the Netherlands laureate. A very welcome special sessions and workshops, contrib- and over 100 from China. Clearly feature was the programme on the uted to what many people thought the IFLA conference is on some- final Friday morning, usually de- was a more coherent conference thing of a roll, with over 4,000 at- voted entirely to business meetings, experience this year. tending both last year’s conference with a series of presentations by in Boston and this year’s in Glas- authors and a challenging session If we are to cement the IFLA con- gow. I wonder how many will trav- facilitated by ERPANET. ference as the leading international el to Berlin next year? gathering of library and informa- Although every IFLA conference tion specialists, we will have to It is a challenge to organize an event has an official theme, the devolved continue to introduce new and in- of this size, with 220 meetings, way in which we build up the pro- teresting features – and to market 166 conference papers, 58 poster gramme means that there often the event as a ‘must attend’ profes- sessions and 25 workshops. It is appears to be little connection be- sional occasion. We can only do also a challenge for the participants tween the theme and the papers this if the professional content is to choose which sessions to attend, presented. This year we tried to re- topical, interesting and relevant to weaving a pattern made up of pro- late programme more directly to the participants’ working lives. We fessional sectoral interests, appeal- ‘Libraries for Life: Democracy, Di- need to have much earlier infor- ing speakers and topics, plenary versity, Delivery’, the chosen theme. mation on the professional content sessions, exhibition visits, network- Beginning with Nobel Prize winner so that we can promote the con- ing and, of course, the social and poet, Seamus Heaney, whose open- ference in a professional manner. cultural events. Librarians involved ing address, ‘Stiles and Stacks, Old We also have to take note of what in any way in the running of our and New’ focused on the true val- participants say about the confer- 45 professional units have an even ue of libraries, each of the plenary ence. A number of reflections are more difficult logistical task, fitting speakers reflected the main theme, reproduced in this special issue. the business meetings of the IFLA or its sub theme ‘Building on the For the last few years the Royal Divisions, Sections and Core Ac- Past, Investing in the Future’. The Danish School of Library and In- tivities in between the rest of the final plenary speaker, for example, formation Science, Copenhagen, events. was Anne Fine, the United King- has conducted an evaluation of the dom’s Children’s Laureate. Her ad- conference. Niels Ole Pors pres- IFLA 2002 was memorable, not on- dress ‘Losing Sight of the Library ents some of the main results of ly for the various ways of celebrat- Child’ discussed the importance of the evaluation of IFLA 2002, in his ing the anniversary, (for example, children as library users now and article ‘Perceptions of the Quality

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 233 Ross Shimmon

In the Next Issue other traditional component of the Naturally, the IFLA conference pro- conference recorded in this issue is gramme contains technical updates The next issue of IFLA Journal (Volume the ‘Report to the Conference’ by on professional practice. Prudence 29 (2003) No. 1) will contain more Glas- President Christine Deschamps, W. Dalrymple, in her ‘Impact of gow Conference papers, including: delivered during the opening cer- Medical Informatics on Librarian- emony. ship’ examines the potential effects Jon Bing. Depository, copyright and the of the growth of medical informat- notion of a “document”. Natalie Blanchard. Provocative Thoughts In this the final, double issue of ics on librarianship. Lois Mai of a New Generation of Librarians. IFLA Journal for 2002, the Editor Chan and Marcia Lei Zeng in their Laurel A. Clyde. Continuing Professional has sought to include some of the paper ‘Ensuring interoperability Education For The Information Society. best papers delivered at the confer- among subject Vocabularies and Mariétou Diongue Diop. Les politiques ence, representing the professional Knowledge Organization Schemes; nationales du livre : le cas du Sénégal. and geographical range of IFLA’s a methodological analysis’ survey Anne Fine. Losing Sight of the Library activities. He contacted the chairs the methods used in a series of Child. of the Coordinating Boards of each projects aimed at improving the im- Anne Goulding and Rachel Spacey. Wom- of the eight IFLA Divisions and proving the interoperability among en and the Information Society: barriers and participation. the chairs of the Advisory Boards subject vocabularies and knowl- Gunilla Jonsson. The Basis for a Record: of the Core Activities, asking them edge organization schemes. Legal in the light of Functional Require- to nominate the best papers for deposit of publications is a subject ments for Bibliographic Records. publication. In all, 47 papers were that engages those concerned with John E. Lauder. Partnerships in Preserva- recommended. The Editorial Com- the acquisition and preservation of tion: the experience of the NEWS- mittee considered them all and de- national collections. John Byford PLAN 2000 Project. cided to publish 20, some of which in his paper ‘Publishers and Legal Matthew Nickerson. Heritage through have been held over to a future is- Deposit Libraries in the United Oral History and Archival Images. sue. Kingdom since 1610: effective or Gloria María Rodríguez. Las bibliotecas de Comfenalco en Medellín y su com- not?’ combines an historical analy- promiso con la formación de lectores. Apart from those already men- sis with a consideration of possible tioned, we range from early library ways forward in the digital age. Please note that, starting with Volume 29, history, with John Crawford’s ‘The 2003, IFLA Journal will be published four Community Library in Scottish His- No IFLA conference in this era times a year; the total number of pages tory’ to modern concerns arising can, or should, avoid the digital di- will remain the same as in previous vol- from the merger of library services vide. Among the papers treating umes. in Australia in ‘Managing Cultural this topic, Denise Nicholson’s ‘The Change: the challenge of merging Information-Starved – is there any of the IFLA Conference in Glas- library services, curriculum devel- hope of reaching the ‘Information gow.’ Ruth Rikowski records her opment and academic professional Super Highway’?’ has been chosen views in ‘A First-Timer in Glasgow: development’ by Sue McKnight. for this issue. It highlights the prob- impressions of the IFLA Confer- The world suddenly became a more lems encountered by the informa- ence, 2002’. For the last four years dangerous place after the tragic tion-starved in sub-Saharan Africa the Danish government’s develop- events on the 11th September last in their quest for self-development. ment agency, DANIDA, has pro- year. Edward T. Hart in his paper Professional development is, natu- vided funds for up to 30 people ‘A Look at Changes in Government rally enough, a common concern from developing countries to at- Information Policies after Septem- at any general conference. Gwenda tend the IFLA conference. Several ber 11’ analyses the subsequent im- Thomas, in her article ‘Building of them record their experiences in pact on the availability of official Bridges: LIASA and leadership de- ‘DANIDA Grantees’ Impressions information. A growing concern in velopment in South Africa’, proof the IFLA Conference in Glas- recent years has been the ‘greying’ vides an overview of the legislative gow.’ Sadly, because of changes in of the profession. An article enti- status of continuing professional government policy, the DANIDA tled ‘Pensées provocatrices d’une development for the library and grants will not be available for this nouvelles génération de bibliothe- information service in South Af- year’s conference, but this group caires’ by Bernard Dione treats rica. of articles proves how much they the issues concerned in Africa. The have been appreciated by the re- greying of the profession simply I hope that you will agree that the cipients. Each year the Chair of the reflects the trend in the population papers chosen merit the wider Professional Committee of the IFLA as a whole in many parts of the audience which publication in Governing Board presents his eval- world. Oddgeir Synnes presents the IFLA Journal provides. They do, I uation of the conference during the experience of a Norwegian project believe, represent the quality and closing ceremony. An edited ver- comprising creative-writing courses range of coverage of a remarkable sion of Winston Tabb’s presenta- for older people held in public li- conference on the theme: ‘Librar- tion appears as ‘Reflections on the braries in ‘Ageing and Verbal Cre- ies for Life: Democracy, Diversity, Clyde: a personal view of the IFLA ativity – creative writing for the Delivery. Building on the Past, In- 75th anniversary conference.’ An- elderly in the library’. vesting in the Future’.

234 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 The Welcome

Edwin Morgan Explanatory Notes

Edwin Morgan, poet, translator, playwright and critic Line 7. Elzevirs: Louis Elzevir (1540–1617), Dutch publisher who was born in Glasgow in 1920. He is currently Poet pioneered pocket editions of classic authors. Elzevirs were Laureate for Glasgow and in this capacity, wrote The recognized for the quality of their scholarship, typography and Welcome for the occasion of the IFLA Conference, design and sold all over Europe. Glasgow 2002: Line 8. Pantagruel’s catalogue: see Rabelais, Gargantua and Pan- tagruel, Book 2, Chapter 7. Penguin, 1970. ISBN 0 14 044047 X. Pantagruel, the last giant and the principal character in this satirical work visits Paris where he finds the Library of Saint- Victor’s Abbey ‘most magnificent’. Rabelais lists comic titles of books in this library, including The Bagpipe of the Prelates A fanfare for librarians, in verse – (Line 9) and The Ape’s Paternoster (Line 9). In reality, the li- With no bum notes, whether florid or terse – brary was probably the most important in France. That’s what the poet engages to deliver, Line 11. Borges: see story by J. L. Borges ‘The Library of Babel’ in The word-enroller and the rhythm-giver. Labyrinths: selected stories and other writings. Penguin, 1989. Books have come and gone and come again, ISBN 0 14 018029 X. Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986), Argen- Though some are written by a virtual pen. tinian writer, worked as a librarian in a municipal library from Guard your Elzevirs, but also log 1938–1946, but was relieved of his post for political reasons. Titles from Pantagruel’s catalogue: In 1955, after the overthrow of the Peronist regime, he became The Bagpipe of the Prelates, The Ape’s Paternoster, director of the National Library of Argentina. Or any other monster from the roster. Line 23. Book of Hours: medieval manuscript books of devotions Borges thought the great starry array, for private use, especially during the Canonical Hours, the sev- The universe, was but a library. en hours through the day when medieval Christians prayed. Lines 34–36. Flourish: Let Glasgow Flourish is the city’s motto. Muster and master its infinite folios Mungo is the familiar name of Kentigern (c.518–603), patron And you could think you knew what no one knows. saint of Glasgow. There are many legends relating to this saint We want it all; the universe itself and images from some of them are incorporated into the city’s Expands, shelf beyond Hubble-bubbling shelf! coat of arms. Starburst of outreach – access – information – Here’s the Bird that never flew. We’re on the very edge of a space station Here’s the Tree that never grew. Where ignorance will not be bliss but drastic, Here’s the Bell that never rang. Where learning curves must learn to be elastic, Here’s the Fish that never swam. Where we must search, and find, and use the things That our search engine – oh, be patient! – brings. The Bird commemorates the wild robin which St. Mungo’s old Digitize a gilded Book of Hours, master tamed. It was accidentally killed but Mungo took the dead bird and prayed over it whereupon it was restored to life Its not the same, but there it is, it’s ours, and flew to its master. And long dead times revive and look at us The Tree in the legend was a hazel branch. As a boy in the As we interrogate their calculus. monastery Mungo was left in charge of the holy fire in the re- Page or tape or disk or means unknown fectory but fell asleep and some of the other boys, being en- Lie in wait wherever light is thrown, vious of him, put out the fire. When he woke, Mungo broke To spread that light for everyone to see off some frozen branches from a hazel tree and caused them And step by step enter immensity. to burst into flames by praying over them. The Bell may have been given to St. Mungo by the Pope. By Glasgow, London, Europe, everywhere – the 15th Century ‘St. Mungo’s Bell ‘ had become a notable ins- The poet’s words may vanish into air titution in Glasgow with citizens leaving an endowment to But they are words of welcome. May your meetings have the bell tolled to call the inhabitants to pray for their Flourish braced by good old Mungo’s greetings. souls. Its ultimate fate is unknown. A replacement purchased Perhaps he hears you, snoring by the Clyde, by the Magistrates in 1641 still exists in the People’s Palace. With tree and bird, fish and bell at his side. The Fish with a ring in its mouth is a salmon. The ring was a present from Hydderch Hael, King of Cadzow to his Queen Well, you may find his story in a book, Languoreth The Queen gave the ring to a knight and the King In a library, if you know where to look. in turn took it from the knight while he slept and threw it in From Mungo’s cell to cyberspace, reality the River Clyde. The King then demanded the ring from Lan- Is a tango of intertextuality. guoreth on pain of death. The Queen appealed to the knight, Have a fine dance with it this week, unlock who could not help; he confessed to Saint Mungo, who sent a Your word-hoards, take heart and take stock monk to fish in the river and bring back the first fish caught. Of everything a library can do This was done and St. Mungo extracted the ring from its To let the future shimmer and show through. mouth.

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 235 Stiles and Stacks, Old and New

Keynote address

Seamus Heaney It’s an honour to deliver the key- God in days gone by. And I recog- note address at this opening cere- nize too the widespread nature of Seamus Heaney won the Nobel mony. But I am not a librarian, so the experience Alberto Manguel Prize for Literature in 1995 ‘for it’s also an anxiety. What I’m going describes in his entrancing History works of lyrical beauty and ethical of Reading when he says: depth, which exalt everyday mira- cles and the living past’. As well I ... confidently rely on the ability as a brilliant poet, Heaney is a of computerized services to hunt leading literary critic and a cham- through libraries vaster than Al- pion of libraries. He has won many exandria’s for a remote piece of awards, including the Whitbread Information, and my word proc- Book of the Year Award in 1997 for essor can ‘access’ all manner The Spirit Level and again in 2001 of books. Enterprises such as for his new translation of Beowulf. Project Gutenberg in the United After gaining a first class degree States file on diskettes every- in English from Queen’s Universi- thing from Shakespeare’s Com- ty, Belfast, he lectured there from plete Works to the CIA Fact- 1966 until 1972, playing a major book and Roget’s Thesaurus, role in the rising generation of and the Oxford Text Archive in Irish writers. He was Professor of England offers electronic ver- Poetry at Oxford University 1989 to sions of the major Greek and 1994, and is currently the Ralph Latin authors, plus several clas- Waldo Emerson Poet-in-Residence sics in various other languages at Harvard University. His latest col- The medieval scholars relied on Seamus Heaney giving the keynote lection, Electric Light, was pub- their own memory of books they address in Glasgow (Photo cour- lished by Faber in April 2001. had read, whose pages they could tesy of CILIP). conjure up like living ghosts.

to do, therefore, is offer a few gen- (Alberto Manguel. A History of Read- eral remarks, give a brief account ing. Viking, New York, 1996, p. 61) of some personal experiences and quote from a couple of poems – all To put it another way, if the book of which will relate, I hope, to the of books were attempted in our central theme of the Conference, time, it would not be a Summa namely the contribution that librar- Theologica in ink on vellum but a ies can make to life in a world Summa Electronica scrawled and where democracy, diversity and the scrolled in light. delivery of equal services are the prerequisites. But leaving aside the book of books, the writer attempting (say) Libraries and librarians have to a book of poems is still going to be keep pace with the changing times in much the same position as he or and reinvent themselves in ways she always was. Boris Pasternak, that I can hardly imagine, never for example, once characterized mind discuss with any competence. talent as a capacity for boldness in Information now sifts through the face of the blank sheet, and the microchips as silently and speedily fact that many people now face a as angels once sifted through the blank screen instead has by no heavens, but I’m afraid my own means invalidated his definition. fingers are still more at home in Finding the impulse and making it the old card-catalogues than on the forever current in the work is still keyboards of the newly computer- the test of an author, just as it is ized systems. Like everyone else, still the author’s hope and trust however, I recognize that the lit-up that what is achieved will be found screen is now our symbol of knowl- worth keeping by the reader in edge and power, omnipresent and posterity and therefore also by the omniscient as the eye of Almighty librarian.

236 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 Stiles and Stacks, Old and New

The literary artist and the working Louis MacNeice conceived of the tronomical revelation, as it did for librarian have this much in com- British Museum Reading Room – a John Keats who wrote about the mon: both are involved in a hold- “hive-like dome”, he called it in experience in that other very fa- ing action. The writer devises as his poem, where “stooping, haunted mous sonnet ‘On First Looking best he can a line that will hold, a readers/ ... tap the cells of knowl- into Chapman’s Homer’: “Then felt form that will keep. John Keats, edge --/ Honey and wax, the I like some watcher of the skies” you remember, wrote in a famous accumulation of years.’’ (Louis Keats proclaimed, “When some sonnet that he had fears that he MacNeice, Collected Poems 1925– new planet swims into his ken;/Or might “cease to be/Before his pen 1948, Faber, London, 1954, p. 182) like stout Cortez when with eagle had gleaned his teeming brain,/Be- And of course the librarians them- eyes/He star’d on the Pacific –“ fore high-piled books, in charactry/ selves set the seal of approval on Whether you are a scholar in pur- Held like rich garners the full rip- this cluster of images when they suit of the recorded name or date ened grain.” And as that lovely settled upon with the word ‘stack’ that will clinch an argument or a loaded word ‘holdings’ implies, the to describe the inner sanctum of writer wanting to be stimulated librarian too is faced with the job their temple of the books. into activity by a random phrase or of building random acquisitions in- finding, your reward, if you are to a classified archive, making a There are probably those for whom successful, is going to be that sen- granary of the writer’s gleanings. the word ‘stack’ suggests aero- sation of a new dimension opening planes in a holding pattern over up, a new understanding becoming Nevertheless, it so happens that Kennedy or Heathrow, but I am available, a new sense of scope in one of my favourite images of the someone lucky enough to have the mind and body. work of holding and garnering in- grown up in a world of primary volves neither the original writer meanings. I spent the first twelve The first time I entered a library nor the custodian librarian, but a years of my life in a house with stack was in Queen’s University, third figure who once operated and haystacks and cornstacks in a Belfast, probably in my second mediated between them. This is stackyard at the gable, stacks that year, since you had to attain hon- the figure of the scribe at his desk were taller than the house and ours student status before you had in the scriptorium, making a copy were present to me as guardians as the right to go in there. But even that will be passed on to the library much as garners. Year after year then I did not have access to all and treasured for centuries. My par- they were built and used. Year af- the shelves. Paradoxically, the ticular scribe appears in a poem ter year the corn stacks began gold books in which I had a particularly written in Irish a thousand years and gradually weathered; the hay strong interest were the ones hard- ago, and now preserved among the stacks were at first a fine-dressed est to get at: often if you wanted an Laud manuscripts in Oxford. It has blond and then a matted grey. And original text of what was then clas- been translated by many hands, in- this annual stacking of the corn sified as Anglo-Irish writing, or a cluding my own, and begins with a crop, and then the threshing of it work of Irish history or criticism, reference to the hand that did the and the restacking of it as golden you had to fill in a slip at the desk original writing, Is scith mo chrob straw – all – this was a lesson in and wait for the book to be deliv- an scribainn, the first line says: both mortality and immortality, a ered from the Henry Collection. reminder of the turning and re- But at least the service was there My hand is cramped from pen- turning planet and the perpetual and it worked for us. We weren’t work, light that shines on it. And for that barred or relegated. We were, many My quill has a tapered point. reason, years after I had moved of us, scholarship boys and girls, Its bird-mouth issues a blue-black from the world of primary mean- beneficiaries of the great 1947 Beetle-sparkle of ink. ing to the world of primary imag- Education Act that changed the Wisdom keeps welling in streams ining that is poetry, I immediately lives of millions in Britain and From my fine-drawn sallow hand: recognized the beauty and truth Northern Ireland for the better, Riverrun on the vellum of the line in Patrick Kavanagh’s redirecting them from the factory Of ink from green-skinned holly. poem, ‘A Christmas Childhood’, gate through the door of the li- My small runny pen keeps going, about an Irish country child’s sense brary. Through books, through thick and of wonder on a Christmas morn- thin, ing. “The light between the ricks of The biggest threat we were likely To enrich the scholars’ holdings; hay and straw” Kavanagh says, to face there was the officiousness Penwork that cramps my hand. “Was a hole in heaven’s gable”. of desk-staff, which was a far cry from the threats offered in other ‘The scholars’ holdings’ is one way Year after year, for readers in their places and at other times by a to- of conceiving of the library. The millions, the light between the talitarian state or a fundamentalist phrase parallels and extends the im- bookshelves in the library stacks or religion or a barbarian invasion, all age of a library as a garner; or as the light of the switched-on screen of which have had, and still can a word-hoard, which is what an can also prove to be a hole in have, drastic implications for free- Anglo-Saxon poet might have called heaven’s gable. Opening a book or dom of access and of expression. it; or a honeycomb, which is how accessing a file can lead to an as- The search of the book bag at the

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 237 Seamus Heaney

exit turnstile or the electronic scan information flow, there is not only Tribes on the march, planets in as you pass through a security the possibility of much enlighten- motion. check aren’t exactly symptoms of a ment but the possibility also of lost “We are,” they said, even as their repressive regime. Real and urgent gravity, of a too bearable lightness pages as the challenges are to libraries of being. So when we think of the Were being torn out, or a buzzing and librarians in this part of the title of this Conference, ‘Libraries flame world, and necessary as the confor Life’, we might do well to re- Licked away their letters. cern must be for the alleviation of mind ourselves that in the first all economic, cultural and educa- place and in the last resort, librar- (The Collected Poems 1981–1987, tional conditions which put citi- ies are for dear life also. Much that Ecco Press, 1988, p. 458.) zens at a disadvantage, it is worth they house has been won at great counting our blessings and re- cost. Much that we take for granted, They are, as that marvellous poet minding ourselves of the luxuries from the works of Socrates to those librarian, Jorge Luis Borges, proof our state. of Solzhenitzyn, is available to us claimed in his poem entitled ‘The only because of heroic lives. The Guardian of the Books’, “on the In the world of the Internet (the books our libraries contain are high shelves,/Near and far at the world described in that extract there, as W.B. Yeats might put it, same time,/Secret and visible like I read earlier from Alberto Man- “That civilization may not sink,/Its the stars,/There they are, the gar- guel) every child who zaps his way great battle past.” They are there, dens, the temples.” But at this con- through a video game is a poten- in the words of another poem by ference we are assembled to add a tial logger-on to Project Gutenberg. the Polish master, Czeslaw Milosz, postscript to the Borges message, Books and information have be- one that will be resolved and rati- come as dazzling and summonable ... on the shelves, separate beings fied in many ways In the next few as Wordsworth’s daffodils, “Con- That appeared once, still wet days, a postscript to the effect that tinuous as the stars that shine/And As shining chestnuts under a tree the gardens and the temples are twinkle in the Milky Way”, but they in autumn, henceforth to be open to the public. have also become as potentially And touched, coddled, began to hallucinatory. In the galactic bril- live (Jorge Luis Borges, Selected Poems, liance and profusion of all that In spite of fires on the horizon, edited by Alexander Coleman, Penguin, streams past on the World Wide castles blown up, New York, 1999, p. 285)

238 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 Reflections on the Clyde: a personal view of the IFLA 75th Anniversary Conference

Presented during the closing session

Winston Tabb Madame President, Fellow Dele- of our week together, it seems most gates to this conference celebrating appropriate to focus on the fourth Having retired from the Library of IFLA’s 75th year of service to the in- of those values: ‘the commitment Congress after 30 years of service, ternational library community. As to enable all Members of the Fed- the last ten as Associate Librarian eration to engage in, and benefit of Congress for Library Services, from, its activities without regard Mr. Tabb became Dean of Universi- to citizenship, disability, ethnic ority Libraries and Sheridan Director gin, gender, geographical location, of Libraries at the Johns Hopkins language, political philosophy, race University in September. He serves or religion.’ This is a huge ambition on a number of library boards, and and one that we may never per- for many years has been active in fectly realize; but we must always IFLA , where he currently serves as press toward this critical goal. Chair of the Professional Commit- tee and a member of the Governing While not every IFLA member is Board and its Executive Commit- able – yet! – to participate person- tee. ally in the annual conference, it was wonderfully gratifying this week to see that increasing numbers of the IFLA family are finding ways to come together from all part of the globe for these annual re- unions of our professional family.

Chair of IFLA’s Professional Com- Our first-ever President-Elect, Kay mittee, which now concludes its Raseroka, made a special and spec- first year under IFLA’s new Statutes tacularly successful effort this week and Rules of Procedure, I welcome to engage ‘all members of the Fed- this opportunity, at the end of a eration’ – representing not just the highly successful conference, to kinds of diversity described in our take a few moments to reflect on core values, but also the wide di- the professional highlights of the versity of IFLA experience – in a week we have spent together. grassroots brainstorming session about what members, their institu- For the past few years our associations and IFLA can do to accom- tion has been engaged in an inten- plish our professional priorities. sive effort to transform IFLA from Her session for all members was a a relatively closed and opaque or- memorable personal highlight of ganization into one that is becom- my week along the Clyde. ing increasingly open, inclusive and transparent. To that end we have In yet another effort to encourage sought to strengthen the emphasis and recognize broad-based partici- on the core values and professional pation in the annual conference, priorities we have in common, while the Professional Committee decided encouraging the diverse divisions, at its March meeting to give, for sections and discussion groups that the first time this year, an award are the heart of this association to for the most outstanding poster apply those values and priorities in session. Several hours are allotted ways that will be most beneficial to on Tuesday and Wednesday for the kinds of libraries, activities and these sessions at which IFLA mem- customers they represent. bers have a chance to share and discuss their ideas, projects, and All four of IFLA’s Core Values are accomplishments informally with important. But in these brief ‘re- their colleagues. A jury comprising flections on the Clyde’ at the close Professional Committee member

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 239 Winston Tabb

Our professional world is increasingly complicated and challenging, and this fact of our professional lives has increasingly been reflected in our annual conference programs. Your Professional Committee, working with the Governing Board and National Organizing Committee, have sought to be responsive to the members’ somewhat contradictory requests to reduce the length of the conference program while still allowing sufficient opportunities for the sections’ programs, workshops and standing committee meetings. Thus we eagerly welcomed the NOC’s idea of using the ‘red thread’ to help program planners and conference attendees use the theme, ‘Libraries for Life: Democracy, Di- versity, Delivery’, to bring some coherence to this week’s proceedings. Beginning with IFLA Express #1 Pensri Guaysuwan and Rashidah Begum of the Asia and Oceania Sec- in March, the NOC highlighted tion receive the award for best Newsletter from Christine Deschamps. programs that related to the over- (Photo courtesy of CILIP). all theme, as well as to the sub- themes ‘Building on the Past, In- vesting in the Future’. We have John Meriton, as Chair, and IFLA ler libraries, particularly libraries in heard many favorable comments members Glynis Willars and Angela developing countries, the process about this innovation, which served Kinney accepted the daunting task of digitizing library materials. When to highlight convergences in our of reviewing the more than 60 pos- I saw this project, I could not help professional interests even while ter sessions that were offered this reflecting that it demonstrates how celebrating our diversity. year. After considering carefully the much just one single clever mem- information content; overall inter- ber of IFLA can do to contribute As we reflect on the ways in which est and relevance to IFLA’s priori- to our major concern about bridg- this conference has enabled many ties; the aesthetic quality, general ing the digital divide. members to participate in the ac- appearance and clarity of presen- tivities in IFLA, we must not forget tation; and the helpfulness of the Emerging foremost among my ‘re- that many more members were not presenters at each poster session, flections on the Clyde’ are the ex- with us this week – and in fact may the award jury selected, with some tremely inventive ways in which never be able to attend an IFLA difficulty from a very strong field, our hosts, the Scottish National Or- conference. So if we are serious as the first winner of the Outstand- ganizing Committee (NOC), have about our core value of ensuring ing Poster Session Award, Kate supported IFLA’s goal of enabling full participation in the benefits of Murray, a master’s candidate at the all Members of the Federation to membership for all, we must be Centre for Information Literacy and engage in and benefit from its ac- mindful of our obligation to remain Department of Information and tivities – for example, by offering for in regular and frequent communi- Library Studies, University of Cape the first time the ‘flying visit’ op- cation with our absent colleagues. Town (UCT), South Africa. tion, enabling librarians to partici- IFLANET is one obvious and in- pate in two full days of programs dispensable means for maintaining Ms. Murray’s project was entitled, while minimizing their travel costs; our professional links, but we are ‘Constructing the Road to Digitiza- by placing special emphasis on Car- not now or likely soon to be relia- tion at UCT Libraries’. The jury negie libraries and librarians in Car- bly connected to all of our col- noted that the design was immedi- negie’s homeland; and by offering leagues via cyberspace. Thus the ately eye-catching, using a map of financial support specially for Scot- regular and timely publication of South Africa and internationally tish librarians. Not to mention the Section and Core Activity news- recognizable road signs to entice novelty of having the opening ses- letters in both print and digital the casual observer to take a closer sion at the opening of the confer- forms remains imperative. Two look. Using the metaphor of the ence! But none of these innovations years ago the Professional Board ‘learner driver’, Ms. Murray de- may, in the long run, seem more decided to reinforce this mandate signed a ‘route planner’ for digitiza- important than the ‘red thread’, by asking its chair to offer an an- tion that helps demystify for smal- shown at the bottom of the logo. nual prize to the best newsletter.

240 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 Reflections on the Clyde

This task proved to be so difficult ticularly impressed me about the address is likely to have several of this year that I have selected five Asia and Oceania Section news- his arresting observations branded newsletters, from those received by letter was its comprehensiveness, in our memory. But returning to July 15, to receive honorable men- and its ‘newsiness’, including very the red thread of our conference tion: those of Africa Section, Art Li- timely and thorough information theme, I shall never forget how braries Section, Library Services to both about the Section and IFLA Mr. Heaney modified that theme Multicultural Populations Section, in general, but also about library as perhaps only a poet could do – Newspapers Round Table (now a programs and activities throughout telling us what we, of all people, Section), and Rare Book and Man- the region. should know: Libraries are not just uscript Section. But the winner is for life; they are for ‘dear’ life, with the Asia and Oceania Section. In closing, as I reflect on the many all the richness and urgency that stimulating and pleasant events of word connotes. So my final reflec- All of the newsletters chosen were this week along the Clyde, I feel tion on the Clyde is that we must published in both print and digi- certain that one will haunt me for never forget that we are engaged in tal form. I would like specially to many years. Each of us who was critical work, and that we can be commend the Africa Section for privileged to witness Seamus Hea- successful in that work only if we publishing its newsletter in both ney’s magnificent mind at work as approach it as a united commu- English and French. But what par- he delivered the opening keynote nity.

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 241 Rapport Annuel du Président à la IFLA Conférence de Glasgow: Extraits / President’s Report to the IFLA Conference in Glasgow: Extracts

Christine Deschamps Il m’a semblé nécessaire de vous • L’IFLA travaille avec le OMPI parler aujourd’hui d’un type d’ac- (Organisation Mondiale de la Christine Deschamps a occupé des tivités de l’IFLA qui me semble Propriété Intellectuelle). Vous postes de gestion dans plusieurs parfois méconnu, et qui est pour- n’êtes peut-être pas tous satis- bibliothèques universitaires à Paris tant vital pour notre profession. faits des diverses réglementations et au Ministère français de l’édu- et procédures traitant du pro- cation avant d’être élue président blème du droit d’auteur et du de l’IFLA en 1997. En 2001 son droit de copie, mais vous devez mandat de Président a été recon- savoir que si nous n’avions pas duit. Le deuxième mandat termine participé activement à ces négo- en 2003. ciations, la situation serait encore pire pour vous. Christine Deschamps held mana- • L’IFLA travaille depuis peu gement positions in several uni- avec l’Organisation Mondiale du versity libraries in Paris and at the Commerce, afin de négocier la French Ministry of Education be- libre circulation des biens intel- fore she was elected President of lectuels et des objets culturels. IFLA in 1997. In 2001 she was re- • L’IFLA travaille avec l’Organisa- turned unopposed for a second tion Internationale de Normali- term as IFLA President until 2003. sation pour l’établissement et la compatibilité des normes issues de cet organisme comme des normes de facto que nous déve- loppons parallèlement, en parti- Peu de membres de l’IFLA réali- culier dans le domaine biblio- sent l’utilité et la nécessité pour graphique. l’IFLA de participer au niveau • Sans oublier le fait que l’IFLA mondial aux discussions des divers est un des membres fondateurs organisations des Nations Unies, du Comité International pour le afin d’y représenter les intérêts de Bouclier Bleu, en relation étroite la profession. Ces actions sont à avec les autres membres fonda- long terme, sans que l’on puisse teurs : le Conseil International toujours voir rapidement quel en des Archives, le Conseil Interna- sera le bénéfice pour les bibliothè- tional des Musées, et le Conseil ques, elles sont néanmoins absolu- International des Monuments et ment nécessaires afin de présenter des Sites. Le Bouclier Bleu veut et de défendre nos points de vue. jouer le rôle d’un équivalent dans le domaine de la culture de Prenons quelques exemples : la Croix Rouge Internationale, pour coordonner les manières • Nous sommes représentés aux ré- de faire face aux situations de unions des Comités des Nations crise ou de répondre aux urgen- Unies quand on y discute de su- ces. jets nous concernant. L’IFLA • Depuis maintenant deux ans, travaille avec l’UNESCO pour nous travaillons étroitement avec lutter contre l’analphabétisme, l’Association Internationale des pour défendre les droits des pays Éditeurs, afin de d’étudier les les plus pauvres à l’accès à l’in- points qui nous rapprochent, y formation, pour conserver leur compris les moyens d’archiver patrimoine culturel, et pour aider, sur le long terme les archives nu- à travers les actions de biblio- mériques. thèques, à l’intégration sociale et • Nous serons également repré- économique des habitants de ces sentés à deux des futurs Som- pays. mets Mondiaux organisés par

242 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 Rapport Annuel du Président

les Nations Unies. Le Sommet profession qui a réussi à passer de Mondial sur le Développement l’ère du papier, du manuel (ou au durable aura lieu cet été à Jo- mieux de la machine à écrire) à hannesburg. Et nous avons déjà l’ère de l’informatique, des réseaux été représentés à pas moins de et du virtuel. Quand je pense que cinq réunions de consultation certains pensent que les bibliothé- organisées par l’UNESCO pour caires sont des personnages confor- préparer le Sommet Mondial sur mistes, vieillots dans leur méthodes la Société de l’Information. Nous comme dans leur approche de leur avons l’intention de participer métier, pour tout dire «poussié- aux trois Comités Préparatoires, reux», traités selon les langues de ainsi qu’aux deux sommets, à «rats» ou de «vers» de bibliothè- Genève en 2003, et à Tunis en que, je voudrais leur montrer que 2005. peu de professions ont su s’approprier les nouvelles technologies, Il m’a semblé essentiel de vous rap- ont su s’adapter avec efficacité, ont peler qu’une bonne partie de notre su utiliser au mieux les progrès activité y était consacrée. Cela techniques et créer des produits, n’est pas toujours visible de l’exté- des formats et des normes leur per- rieur, mais c’est notre rôle, car per- mettant un bouleversement com- sonne d’autre ne peut y représenter plet de la profession, ainsi que des notre catégorie professionnelle ! services rendus aux usagers. Cela Christine Deschamps cuts the Au cours de l’année, un grand est de bon augure pour les années IFLA 75th birthday cake, watched nombre de bibliothécaires ont re- à venir. Rendez-vous dans 25 ans, by Derek Law, IFLA Treasurer présenté à plusieurs reprises leur pour les 100 ans de l’IFLA! (Photo courtesy of CILIP). communauté au nom de l’IFLA auprès des instances nationales et Organisation). You are perhaps internationales. It seems to me necessary to talk to not all satisfied with the various you today about a category of regulations and procedures dea- Il y faut du courage, de la persévé- IFLA activities which are often mis- ling with the problem of authors’ rance, de la ténacité, et parfois de understood but which are never- rights and copyright, but you l’obstination. Mais c’est pour le theless vital for our profession. should know that, if we had not bien général, et l’IFLA remplit ses taken part actively in the nego- obligations dans ce domaine. Nous Few IFLA members realise the val- tiations, the situation would ne nous contentons pas de donner ue and necessity of IFLA’s partici- have been even worse for us. (trop peu) d’argent aux Sections, pation at international level in the • Since quite recently, IFLA has d’essayer de trouver des sites pour debates within various bodies of been working with the World nos activités fondamentales, ou the United Nations system, to re- Trade Organisation, to negotiate d’organiser une Conférence an- present the interests of the profes- the free circulation of intellec- nuelle. Notre activité dépasse lar- sion. These activities are long-term: tual property and cultural ob- gement ce cadre, et je voulais vous although we cannot always see jects. en tenir informés. Qu’il me soit immediately how they will benefit • IFLA works with ISO (the Inter- permis ici de remercier EBLIDA, libraries, they are nevertheless ab- national Organisation for Stan- l’Association Européenne qui re- solutely necessary if we are to pre- dardisation) for the creation of présente les bibliothèques auprès sent and defend our points of view. standards and for the compati- de l’Union Européenne, et qui fait bility of ISO standards with the le même travail que nous, à leur Let us take a few examples: de facto standards which we niveau, quand nous essayons de le develop in parallel, particularly faire au niveau mondial. Ensemble, • We are represented in meetings bibliographic standards. nous pouvons faire entendre notre of UN committees when subjects • IFLA is also - let it not be for- voix. EBLIDA vient juste de fêter that concern us are on the agen- gotten – one of the founding son 10ème anniversaire cette année, da. IFLA works with UNESCO members of the International et j’ai eu le grand plaisir de leur to combat illiteracy, to defend Committee of the Blue Shield, in dire de vive voix à quel point nous the right of the poorest countries close cooperation with the other souhaitons travailler avec eux pour to have access to information, to founding members: the Interna- le bien de la communauté. preserve their cultural heritage, tional Council of Archives (ICA), and through the work of libra- the International Council of Mu- A propos d’anniversaire, nous fê- ries to facilitate the social and seums (ICOM), and the Inter- tons, comme vous le savez, les economic integration of the citi- national Council of Monuments 75 ans de l’IFLA cette année. Quel zens of these countries. and Sites (ICOMOS). The Blue chemin parcouru. Et quelle dé- • IFLA collaborates with WIPO Shield aims to play a role equi- monstration de la qualité de notre (the World Intellectual Property valent to the International Com-

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 243 Christine Deschamps

mittee of the Red Cross, but in profession in those forums. In the them for the good of the commu- the cultural field, to coordinate course of the year, a large number nity. ways of facing up to crisis situa- of librarians have on numerous tions or responding to emergen- occasions represented their profes- Speaking of anniversaries, we are – cies. sional community in the name of as you know – celebrating IFLA’s th • For the past two years now, IFLA at meetings of national and 75 anniversary this year. What a we have been working closely international bodies. long road we have travelled; and with the International Publishers what a demonstration of the qua- Association (IPA) on issues of This work requires courage, tena- lity of our profession which has common interest, which include city, and sometimes even obstina- succeeded in going from the age of long-term digital archiving. cy; but it is for the good of all, and printing, from the manual (or at • We will also be represented at IFLA is fulfilling its obligations in best the typewritten), to the age of two of the future World Sum- this area. We do not only content informatics and networks - to the mits organized by the United ourselves with giving money (too virtual. When I think that some Nations. The World Summit on little money) to the Sections, with persons have the idea that libra- Sustainable Development will be finding hosts and venues for our rians are conformist, old-fashioned held this summer in Johannes- core activities, or with organizing in their methods as in their appro- burg; and we have already been an annual Conference. The scale of ach to their trade, ‘dusty’ if you represented at no less than five our activities is much broader than like, labelled in various languages consultation meetings organized that, and I wanted to keep you in- as ‘bookworms’ or as ‘library rats’, by UNESCO to prepare for the formed about them. I would also I would like to demonstrate to them World Summit on the Informa- like to take the opportunity here to that few professions have managed tion Society. We intend to take thank EBLIDA, the European asso- to make the new technologies their part in the three Preparatory ciation representing libraries which own as we have, have managed to Committee meetings, and in the is accredited to the European Un- adapt so effectively, have made two Summits in Geneva in 2003 ion, and which at that level does such good use of technical pro- and in Tunis in 2005. the same job as we attempt to do gress to create products, formats at the international level. Together and standards which revolutionize I thought it important to remind we can make our voice heard. the profession and the services it you that a good part of our efforts EBLIDA has just celebrated its provides to its customers. That au- has been devoted to these activi- tenth anniversary this year, and I gurs well for the years ahead – let ties. That is not always apparent had the great pleasure to be able to us look forward to meeting in 25 from the outside, but it is our role, meet its members and tell them years time, to celebrate the cente- for nobody else can represent our just how keen we are to work with nary of IFLA!

244 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 The Community Library in Scottish History

John Crawford the donations they were able to Introduction attract. University libraries were Dr John C Crawford is Library Re- founded or reorganized at St. An- search Officer and University Copy- Historically Scotland has supported drews (1612), Glasgow (1577), Ab- right Adviser at Glasgow Caledonian all the major forms of library ac- erdeen, King’s College about 1495 University Library, a senior lecturer tivity, both for the general pub- and also in Aberdeen, the library at post. His duties include supervising lic and for privileged user groups. Marischal’s College was founded research programmes both inter- However the form of library activity in the early 17th century. Thanks to nally and externally funded, carry- which has proved to be most impor- patronage it was able to employ ing out research studies within the tant in an international compara- Scotland’s first university librarian Library, overviewing quality issues tive context are the libraries of local from 1632. Edinburgh University and promoting copyright awareness communities, the origins of which Library predates the university it- within the University. He obtained date back to the late 17th century self, being founded in 1580 and his PhD in 1994, has authored and whose inspiration and ration- taken over by the university in some 45 journal articles and is the ale are deeply embedded in Scot- 1584. author of the successful Evalua- tish cultural and intellectual values. tion of library and information ser- The administrative model of the Special libraries too, originated in vices, the second edition of which community library took a variety the late 17th century. The Advo- was published by ASLIB in 2000. of forms but the predominant one cates’ Library, originally a lawyers’ He is a member of the editorial was the subscription library. These library, was founded about 1680. boards of the journals Library His- were run like clubs or societies and Its speedy adoption of a wide-rang- tory and Library and Information members paid an entry fee to join ing acquisitions policy and its rec- Research News. He has been Chair- and an annual subscription which ognition as a legal deposit library man of the Library History Group was used to buy books and pay soon made it the country’s de facto since 2000 and is also a member administrative costs. The library so- national library. Its first printed of the Council of the Chartered In- ciety (as they were often called) catalogue, issued in 1692, was Scot- stitute of Library and Information was governed by an annual general land’s first printed catalogue of a Professionals. He is founder and meeting at which a committee was library, rather than a private col- listowner of the electronic discus- elected which ran the library on lection. The first medical library, sion list, lis-libhist (1995). a day to day basis. The model was that of the Royal College of Physi- therefore essentially democratic. cians in Edinburgh, was founded This was the predominant model in 1682, the year after the College in the 18th century. In the 19th cen- itself. A librarian and a deputy were tury new administrative models appointed in 1683. appeared influenced by secular util- itarianism and religious evangel- Strategies of wider access were al- icalism. They were less directly so emerging. Libraries either bene- democratic in character but re- fited from or grew out of the work tained the model of management of private collectors. During the res- by committees which were usually toration period most book collec- composed of leading figures in the tors were Episcopalians and among local community. the middling ranks of society Epis- copalian clergy took the lead. They developed wide ranging liberal tra- The Seventeenth Century ditions of book use which included literature, history and law as well as Background books on religion which covered a wide theological spectrum. Another The origins of modern Scottish li- tradition was, however, emerging. brary activity lie in the 17th century This was a movement away from at a time when the prevailing re- literature towards history, memoirs, ligious ideology was Episcopalian- sermons and religious and theologi- ism. Consequently such models of cal controversy often related to po- organizational thought as existed litical issues. Although this tradition such the Kirkwood experiment (see was found in other parts of Europe, below) tended to be centralized in Scotland, in the 18th century, it ones. The origins of library organi- became associated with Calvinism zation lay in the universities and and the origins of working class

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 245 John Crawford

book use. In the 1690s Episcopacy need to tackle the problems of mented one another, the former be- was abolished in favour of Calvinist ignorance, alleged irreligion and ing usually run in conjunction with church government and the Cal- political instability in the High- bookshops and were found mainly vinists took control of the univer- lands. The General Assembly of in the big towns. Subscription li- sities. Many Episcopalian clergy, the Church of Scotland adopted in braries, which were smaller, devel- including leading book collectors, 1705 a proposal by James Kirk- oped initially in market towns and lost both their parishes and con- wood, a former Scottish Episco- villages, subsequently expanding in- tact with the universities which palian clergyman to set up small to the cities. The first circulating li- they had formally patronized with libraries in the Highlands.2 The brary in Britain was founded in gifts of books. They began now to scheme was a watered down ver- Edinburgh by Allan Ramsay in look to local communities as po- sion of that proposed by Kirkwood 1725 and the first working class tential beneficiaries of their pain a publication entitled An over- subscription library in Britain was tronage. ture for founding and maintaining founded at Leadhills in 1741. (It of Bibliothecks in every paroch was not originally a working class The consequence of this was the throughout this kingdom, humbly library but subsequently became somewhat diffuse First Endowment offered to the consideration of this so). The first true middle class sub- movement which included twenty present [Scottish General Assem- scription library may have been libraries founded between the Ref- bly of the Church of Scotland] As- founded at Dumfries in 1745 but ormation and 1800 and comprised sembly issued in 1699. This pro- the first definite foundation is Kelso some which could be considered posed, inter alia, that every parish in 1751. Thereafter the movement to be early school libraries or future in Scotland should have a library grew steadily. A second working components of academic libraries. and that a union catalogue of all class subscription library appeared The first parochial library was the libraries should be centrally at Wanlockhead in 1756 but no founded at Saltoun in East Lothian maintained. Although the sophisti- more appeared until the 1790s, the in 1658 by Norman Leslie, minister cated centralized organizational principal decade of expansion in of Gordon in Berwickshire.1 The model proposed was not influen- both Scottish working class and main period of the First Endow- tial, the idea that library provision middle class libraries. ment movement was 1680–1720 in the Highlands should be the and included such well known in- product of intervention from the Circulating libraries pioneered large stitutions as Innerpeffray library Lowlands was still being applied scale provision by the standards (founded c1680) and the Leighto- two hundred years later. of the time and developed sophis- nian Library in Dunblane (founded ticated loan services, while sub- 1684). As a movement it bore all scription libraries were a form of the hallmarks of its ideological ori- community development, but they gins. Libraries tended to be small, The Eighteenth Century shared a common ideological foun- not usually exceeding a few hun- dation in Enlightenment values dred volumes because they had be- Achievement which can be seen in their book gun life as private libraries or had selection policies. been formed with the proceeds of The 18th century marks the origin of small bequests. They were located publicly available library provision mainly in east and central Scotland in Scotland on a large scale. This reflecting the distribution and circu- was partly based on the circulating Circulating Libraries th lation of books in the 17 century. library, but much more on institu- 1725–1800 Unlike in England secular control tional provision which was highly was much more marked. The small appropriate to Scotland’s needs. stocks, largely composed of reli- The subscription library and its ac- Circulating libraries were a rarity gious books and containing many companying ideology are Scot- in Scotland compared with Eng- books in foreign languages, were land’s distinctive contribution to land and, like endowed libraries, as inimical to the creation of large library history, although it was also were limited in geographical distri- user groups as were their original important in both England and bution, although in a less eccentric regulations, but stock expansion New England. fashion. There were, before 1801, and imaginative management in some 369 circulating libraries in the 18 th century greatly liberalized The subscription library movement Britain as a whole, only 31 (8 per- and extended the use of some, in- was divided on class lines with cent of the total) being in Scotland. cluding Innerpeffray library, the libraries for the middle classes and Ramsay’s foundation set a prece- John Gray Library at Haddington separate libraries for the work- dent, for the circulating library re- and Dumfries Presbytery library. ing classes. The latter were cheap mained mainly in the large towns to join and consequently smaller. and on the East coast where much Although at first hostile to Episco- Book selection policies and ad- of the population was concentrat- palian traditions of book use, Cal- ministration were influenced by the ed, as were the outlets for retail vinist clergy soon became more Scottish Enlightenment. Circulation bookselling. Edinburgh was the sympathetic, partly because of the and subscription libraries comple- main centre, having seven libraries

246 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 The Community Library in Scottish History over the period, followed by Aber- dle class occupations including deen and Glasgow with five each. Subscription Libraries transients like army and navy offi- Dundee and Paisley had two each. 1741–1800 cers. They usually comprised a fair Other centres were Dunbar, Banff, cross section of their local commu- Elgin, Inverness, Leith, Peebles, The subscription library arose partly nity and were not representative of Perth, Peterhead, Irvine and Beith.3 out of deficiencies of other types. overt factions, either political or The bulk of new potential library religious. Women were readily ad- Their stocks were large by the users were in central and South mitted as members but were not standards of the period, 5,000 or Western Scotland and were poorly numerous and took no part in ad- more volumes not being unusual. served by endowed and circulating ministration unless they were em- The largest was James Sibbald’s in libraries, the latter being extremely ployed as librarians. Edinburgh, which had 20,000 vol- expensive anyway. Market towns umes in 1786.4 Large circulating and villages had either few or no Administrative ideologies reflected libraries in terms of stock size bookshops and there was a need to the social values of their founders. matched university libraries. develop book purchase and use Middle class libraries were often along cheap and easily manageable known as proprietary libraries be- The circulating library was the first lines. The 18th century was an age cause members had joined by pay- kind of library in Scotland to offer of societal activity and closely knit ing an entry fee, the equivalent of a high quality lending service al- intimate communities. A type of li- purchasing a share, which made though at a correspondingly high brary which combined community them ‘proprietors’ of the library. cost. Loan periods and borrowing government and control in a so- Entry fees in the 18th century were rights varied with the ability to pay. cietal framework with relatively about a guinea. The annual sub- Because some libraries had a bor- inexpensive book purchase and scription was about 6 shillings. The rowing category of country mem- use was the obvious strategy. Book members elected a committee who bers they served rural hinterlands selection and library management managed the library, selected the as well as immediate urban ar- policies could be developed which books and appointed a librarian. eas. Collections of foreign language reflected the intellectual needs and The librarian was entirely subservi- books, especially French titles, were social values of the community. ent to the committee, usually part commonly held. Sibbald even pio- time and was unlikely to earn more neered the loan of non book mate- The progress of the movement illus- than £5 per year. As an initial step rials by offering a print lending trates these points. Between 1745 booksellers were sometimes re- service. and 1800, 43 middle class libraries tained as librarians. They supplied were founded, more than half (27) both premises to house the library The stocks of circulating librar- being formed between 1791 and and sold books for its stock. This ies were composed largely of non- 1800. Only five were north of the was done at Ayr and Kilmarnock fiction which usually accounted for Tay and 27 were south of the and helped to keep down costs.7 In about 80 percent of stocks and Forth/Clyde line. The county with 1755, Kelso Library, by giving a contained the leading standard the most was Roxburgh but by large order for books, was able to authors of the day as well as more 1801, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Pais- obtain them more cheaply than popular material. History, divinity, ley still did not have any, although they could be bought in London. voyages, travels, poetry, plays and Dundee and Edinburgh did. An ur- novels were the subjects advertised ban base of about 2,000 people It is clear from the diary of George by Isaac Forsyth of Elgin. An analy- with an accessible rural hinterland Ridpath8 (1717–1772) who was par- sis of Sibbald’s catalogue of 1786 was perfectly adequate. Kaufman ish minister at Stichel, near Kelso, shows that history and geography has pointed out that the middle how middle class subscription li- accounted for 19 percent of the class subscription library movement braries facilitated the development stock. Literature also accounted involved the participation of lead- of book use. Ridpath read exten- for 19 percent while science and ing citizens of the community,6 men sively. During the period 1755–61 technology comprised 20 percent. who called themselves gentlemen he read about 150 monographs as Such a pattern of specialized book and who frequently associated for well as contemporary newspapers provision was quite common, for other purposes. Membership was and periodicals. His main subject other circulating libraries had spe- drawn mainly from the middle interests were history, science, med- cialist collections on music and strata of society although at either icine and the classics. Many of the theology, subjects which were oth- end it shaded off into other catego- books he read were recent publi- erwise difficult to study outside an ries, knights and earls at one end cations and he also read the Philo- academic environment.5 and prosperous tradesmen at the sophical Transactions regularly to other who represented a link with keep abreast of modern scientific It is notable that the circulating li- the working class movement. The research. Without the library much brary was the only type of library middle ground was made up of of this would have been impossi- in Scottish history that did not landed proprietors, ministers, civil ble. Although a clergyman Ridpath have an essentially institutional servants, solicitors, businessmen, read no theology, a reflection of base. doctors and members of other mid- contemporary Moderate values.

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 247 John Crawford

The library regulations also facili- Hay had accurately perceived that velopment lay with the working tated intensity of use. In June 1756 the role of the library was to pro- class subscription libraries. Some Ridpath returned the Georgics, ‘my mote social science values, not important early principles can be month being out’.9 However some those of commerce, industry or identified from a study of the ori- old practices survived. He read al- agriculture, despite the predomi- gins of Leadhills Reading Society. most no fiction and he usually read nance of farmers among the mem- each book several times, frequently bership. The subscription library movement taking notes. originated in Leadhills for several The book selection policy of the reasons. The Leadhills/Wanlock- How administration and attitudes Scottish proprietary library in the head complex was one of the few to book use developed can be seen 18th century was to amass a ver- major capital intensive concerns in from the first two years of Duns nacular collection of predominant- Scotland at that time and was great- Public Library, founded in Octo- ly non-scientific secular titles for ly expanded in the 18th century.15 ber 1768. The library had eighteen which there was an anticipated de- In 1770 there was a population of founder members, mainly tenant mand. Imaginative literature, his- 1,500 of whom 500 worked in the farmers, although there were four tory, geography and biography were mines.16 At that time less than half ministers. One of the ministers was the most popular subject areas. of them would have worked for elected president and a local so- Reading vogues were broadly simi- the Scots Mines Company, a major licitor (writer) as secretary. A list of lar in England and Scotland, ex- investor in development. The min- orders was made up and copies cept that there was demand for ers were organized into partner- were sent to different Edinburgh fiction in Scotland which could not ships of from two to twelve men booksellers to find out who would be satisfied by other means.11 and each partnership entered into supply the books mostly cheaply. a ‘bargain’ with the mine owner to James Young, the local bookseller There was a good deal of uniformity raise ore at a certain price in a was appointed librarian, at a salary in library stocks. Greenock’s sec- particular part of the mine. The ore of £2 per year. He was not asked ond catalogue of 1792 (637 vol- raised was then smelted on site by to supply books for stock, pre- umes) contains about 360 volumes smelters who, along with the min- sumably because he would not be in common with the Duns cata- ers, formed the village’s working able to compete with large book- logue of 1789 (1,105 volumes) more class elite. A typical lead mining shops in Edinburgh. than half of the former and just village also included leadwashers, under a third of the latter.12 The joiners, blacksmiths, shopkeepers The initial bookseller’s order con- comparison is really closer than and a minister, doctor and school- sisted of 85 items and included these figures suggest for the same teacher. There would also be people Robertson’s History of Scotland, author is sometimes represented by like shepherds who were economi- Anson’s Voyages and Don Qui- different titles and the same subject cally uninvolved in the community. xote. The main subject areas cov- is sometimes represented by differ- The lead mining companies who ered were history, social sciences ent authors. Kaufman also noted dominated the mining villages en- and some literature. Religion, theo- stock overlap in five libraries, two joyed a well justified reputation for logy, science and technology were of them circulating.13 An examina- paternalism. While this included largely ignored. The books arrived tion of the minutes of Ayr and strict discipline, even extending to in early December. Kirkcudbright subscription libraries moral issues, it comprehended a shows that the books bought were measure of benevolence and a real Arrangements with booksellers usu- often not new publications, which attempt to encourage self help. In ally proved unsatisfactory and this indicates a desire to build a stand- view of the remoteness of mining seems to have been the case at ard stock, rather than just acquiring villages it is not surprising that the Duns, for the clerk wrote to Alex- currently published material and constructive use of leisure was a ander Hay of Drummelzier, a local the surviving shelf stock of Green- major preoccupation. The lead min- landed proprietor, asking for per- ock Library tells a similar story. ing companies appreciated that the mission to keep the books in the Such book selection policies gave promotion of education and reading town house. Hay, answering in the access to the values of the age. could facilitate this.17 The overall affirmative on Christmas day, ac- aim was to create well disciplined curately identified the nub of the communities with some apprecia- issue: Working Class Library tion of the constructive use of lei- Provision and the sure. It must give me great pleasure to Ideology of Mutual think that Dunse is in a way of To promote these policies, James becoming a Seat of Literature, Improvement Stirling of Garden (1692–1770) was Arts and Sciences, tho’ I must appointed mines manager at Lead- owe I should have still more was Despite detailed lists of rules middle hills in 1734 by the Scots Mines there a possibility of its becom- class subscription libraries were Company. Stirling’s contribution to ing a Settlement for Industry, rather poorly administered14 and the foundation of the library and Trade and manufactures’...10 the main thrust of ideological de- the philosophical principles which

248 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 The Community Library in Scottish History underpinned it are difficult to assess because he lacks an adequate biography.18 He was interested in Venetian glassmaking and was a distinguished mathematician who was denied the academic career he was entitled to because of his Jaco- bite opinions. He came to Lead- hills in 1734 and remained there until his death.

Prior to Stirling’s arrival the miners had a reputation for independence of spirit and violence of tempera- ment. Stirling introduced a comprehensive programme of reforms. The number of ale sellers was reduced, the working day was shortened to six hours to lessen the danger of lead poisoning and a surgeon and a schoolmaster were brought in. Old age pensions, sickness benefits and a charity fund were introduced. Members of Leadhills Library on the steps of the Library in the 1880s. He drew up a comprehensive code of rules governing the miners’ miners had prior experience of document known as the ‘Leadhills behaviour, both above and below book use. The subscription list ap- Diary’ which appears to be the di- ground, and encouraged them to pended to Isaac Ambrose’s Prima ary of one Matthew Wilson and build proper stone cottages for media and ultima ... (1737) con- covers the period, June 11th 1745 themselves. The miners were also tains six Leadhills names including to July 12th 1746.23 Wilson was a encouraged to take in land from James Muir, workman and Hugh senior mines clerk and occupied a the surrounding waste to grow Manson, miner. Two more, Edward middle management position. He their own food, especially green Douglas and John Weir were origi- was a trusted confidant of Stirling vegetables as they and their fami- nal members of the library. and a frequent guest at his house. lies were subject to vitamin defi- ciency diseases.19 The scheme was Near contemporary sources credit Wilson joined the library in 1745 so successful that it was copied at Stirling with the foundation of the and immediately became a mem- Wanlockhead and adopted in a library as part of his package of ber of the committee. Some of the modified form at Westerkirk. reforms.20 The Old Statistical Ac- founder members of the library count appears to give the credit to appear in the Diary as friends or The circumstances surrounding the the miners but this probably refers colleagues of the author. It is diffi- foundation of the library are rather to the fitting up of a new library cult to identify any of the lower less clear cut. W.S. Harvey, the in- building which was being done at strata of employees among the early dustrial archaeologist and mining about the time the parish minister members. Wilson describes a num- historian, has examined the bargain was writing. Certainly Robert For- ber of men as labourers but none books for the 1740s in which min- syth supports this.21 The associa- of them appears in the member- ing company overseers recorded tion with Allan Ramsay mentioned ship list. One of the founder mem- their ‘bargains’ with partnerships in secondary sources from the late bers, John Wilson, is described as a of miners. Bargains were signed for 19th century onwards, is entirely miner but he employed workmen by one of the partners, known as spurious. The legend appears to of his own. The position began to the ‘taker’. Harvey found that some have originated at the time of the change in the late 1740s. Another takers were only able to make their centenary celebrations in 1841. John Wilson, this time a black- mark while other signatures were smith joined in 1749 and other less so bad as to be illegible. It should The evidence suggests that not only prestigious occupations are found be noted that the takers’ names had were the miners not the founders thereafter, such as John Weir, lead- already been recorded by the over- of the library, they were not even its washer, who joined in 1758. The seers so the takers had only to copy original membership. The library’s miners initially had no exclusive it down. As will be shown below, list of members from 15th April rights to the library society which in the context of the library, read- 1743 until 1902 still survives and was more broadly based than it ing and writing were linked skills, records 870 names, beginning with subsequently became. The rules although this was by no means the core membership of 23 in drawn up in 1743, which have for- generally the case in 18th century 1743.22 Occupations are not given tunately survived, forbid office hold- Scotland. On the other hand, some but some of the names recur in the ing by grieves and overseers but

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 249 John Crawford

associate for a specified period of time, usually up to five years, in order to amass a collection of books which would be dispersed among the members at the end of the period. The library variant of the model is, of course, permanence but often the difference was more apparent than real. Successful temporary reading societies might be made permanent while libraries, intended to be permanent, might fail after a few years.

The size of the entry money and subscription lend support to the view that the library was not originally envisaged as a working class institution. Subscription rates de- clined over the years indicating the move to a working class base. By The exterior of Leadhills Library in the 1880s. The building is a miners’ 1822 the annual subscription had cottage in plan adapted to specialized requirements. The whitewashed fallen to 2/6 although the entry building next door is the school. Note the schoolgirls but the absence of money had actually risen to 7/6 female library members. Women were not allowed to be members until and by 1859 the annual subscrip- 1882. tion had fallen again to 2 shillings while the entry money had de- this restriction only applied to a eration of the circulation system. clined to only 3 shillings. handful of individuals.24 This was done by the inspectors who examined returned books for Such a band of subscriptions could The foundation of the library was damage on loan nights. They could never hope to raise a large income. the keystone in a programme of so- also go into any member’s house Subscriptions for working class cial engineering25 although its early and demand to see the library libraries customarily ranged from history was probably more con- books in his possession. Policy was 2 shillings to 5 shillings per annum fused and uncertain than previously executed by a committee of twelve which might bring in an annual in- thought. An examination of the members which met monthly, prin- come of about £10. Outside pa- rules of 1743 which were amended cipally to select books. Matthew tronage which was a major feature in 1821 and again in 185926 dem- Wilson identified this as the main at Leadhills and is regularly re- onstrates the complexity of the committee function as early as ferred to in the minutes was the on- situation. 1745. Failure to obey the regula- ly means by which incomes could tions was punishable by fines and be substantially augmented. Prospective members had to pay in the most serious cases expulsion an entrance fee of 5 shillings and was threatened. Women were for- The spread of working class lian annual subscription of 4 shil- bidden formal membership until braries from the 1790s onwards re- lings which was customarily paid about 1872 although before this sulted in the growth of a large net- quarterly. The society was governed women could claim reading rights work of very small libraries, based by quarterly meetings, the first of during the minority of their male on small communities. These li- the year, held at the beginning of children under the inheritance rule braries were administered in an January, being the ‘anniversary’ or (Membership was both inheritable amateur fashion, had little or no annual general meeting. At each and transferable). Any member re- contact with one another and were AGM a chairman (preses) secre- fusing office could be fined. The incapable of substantial expansion. tary, treasurer, librarian and three loan period depended on the size of It was a picture which did not inspectors were chosen. The li- the book. Four duodecimos could change until the 20th century which brarian had to keep the library, be borrowed at a time but only one demonstrates the historic conser- presses and books in good order, folio: the basic loan period was vatism of Scottish libraries. issue and discharge books and one month but this was doubled keep a record of the library’s stock. for quartos and folios. The philosophical model which un- For these services he had free use derlay the rules was that of mutual of the library. He was not, however, The organizational model here anat- improvement which is spelt out in required to observe the physical omized and one which became uni- the preamble to the original rules condition of returning books and versal is that of the reading society of 1743 and retained in subsequent he did not have to monitor the op- in which the members agreed to amended versions:

250 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 The Community Library in Scottish History

We, Subscribers, having agreed to form Ourselves into a SOCI- ETY, in order to purchase a Col- lection of Books, for our mutual Improvement, did ... condescend upon certain ARTICLES, to be observed by us, for the Establish- ment and Regulation of this our Society ...

Mutual improvement may be defined as the spiritual and intellectual development of the social individual through corporately organized intellectual activity, in this case, book use, and it reflected the wider preoccupations of the Scot- tish Enlightenment. Scottish philosophy in the 18th century was concerned with the environment, social sciences and the study of in- The interior of Leadhills Library in the 1880s. The books were arranged by 27 stitutions. The Scots believed in size. Note the relatively small stock, the forms on which members sat at Li- the natural sociability of man but brary meetings, the pulpit where the praeses (president) sat to chair the that sociability had to be regulated meetings and the librarian’s desk (back, right). This illustrates the impor- by government and laws. The prin- tance attached to participative management in the Scottish community li- cipal achievement of the philoso- brary phers of the Scottish Enlightenment was the development of the social the first subscription library in the which is exactly what the rules of sciences from moral philosophy. English speaking world. Franklin Leadhills Reading Society aimed to Scottish philosophy was both pre- acknowledged as his inspiration, make it. Not only would the books occupied with ‘social man’ and John Locke, and an American chosen reflect the social values of highly environmentalist in outlook. thinker, Cotton Mather.29 the period, the rules which empha- Institutions of all kinds could be size self discipline, community pur- used to mould and ‘improve’ in- Initially, in Scotland mutual im- pose, regard for proper procedure dividuals to function more respon- provement took the form of discus- and a high level of moral serious- sibly in a collective environment; sion and debate and originated in ness would promote the philoso- 18th century Scotland was noted for Edinburgh debating clubs and so- phy of social man. E.P. Thompson its enthusiasm for societal activity cieties, patronized by the literati, has called these four principles the and some types of society aimed to the men of the Scottish Enlighten- rituals of mutuality.32 The spirit of promote intellectual development ment. The Easy Club founded by the institution is summed up in in a corporate framework.28 Allan Ramsay in 1712, aimed to rule 33: promote mutual improvement in The idea of mutual ‘benefit’ or mu- this way30 and thereafter the term MEMBERS guilty of any Inde- tual improvement seems to have appears regularly in the rules of Ed- cency or unruly obstinate Be- been originated by John Locke inburgh clubs and societies but the haviour, at any of the Society’s who founded the first mutual bene- Leadhills rules of 1743 mark its first Meetings, or who shall, on any fit society in Amsterdam in 1687 appearance in a library context in Occasion, offer any Indignity to which was subsequently contin- Scotland where the aim of pursuing the Society, shall be punished by ued in London. The connection the goals of mutual improvement Fine, Suspension or Exclusion, between the mutual acquisition of through collective book use is first as the Society shall judge the knowledge and the cooperative use stated. The role of education and nature of the Transgression to of books was soon made. In the book use in the development of require.33 early 18th century, book clubs, in- social man is redolent of the values spired by the principle of mutual of the period. One of the charac- The view that those entering soci- improvement, began to be founded ters in The Gentle Shepherd asserts ety had to accept its rules reflects a by English clergymen and there was wider world of 18th century belief. also an example in Belfast founded Because by education I was taught in 1705. The idea of a ‘mutual bene- To speak and act aboon their The idea that mutual improvement fit’ in connection with reading in- common thought.31 could be pursued through the use spired Benjamin Franklin to found of books, cooperatively acquired a book club in 1727 and later, the The play, in fact, represents the and used in a well regulated social Library Company of Philadelphia, model of a self regulating society environment was invented at Lead-

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 251 John Crawford

It is now accepted that Scotland, in the perusal of well selected books, common with other northern Euro- is often of the highest kind.38 pean countries, had a national educational ideology which aimed, at There is a clear link here between low cost, to instil basic literacy and trade group solidarity and organi- numeracy into the entire popula- zation and cooperative book use tion and encourage a participation and the values of improvement. in the search for knowledge at all The Encyclopaedia Club of Paisley social levels.36 The ideology of mu- which may have existed as early as tual improvement complemented 1770 seems to have been one of this by providing the literate with the first to link book use with work- an inexpensive opportunity for ing class corporate organization. It book use. got its name because its small collection of books included a set of The working class library move- the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Its ment was slow to spread but as the president, for a time, was a black- century progressed, factors emerged smith and its members included a which facilitated its development. barber and a handloom weaver. It A potential user group lay in the was essentially a debating society skilled tradesmen of west central and its meetings were conducted and southern Scotland. As well as in a highly structured, formal fash- The pulpit in which the praeses developing traditions of literacy, ion.39 (president) sat to chair meetings. book use and prosperity they were The democratic process and regard promoting traditions of corporate An administrative ideology existed for proper procedure were key fac- organization. Unfortunately the his- to facilitate an intellectual ideol- tors in the Scottish community li- tory of trade societies seems to be ogy. In the 1790s, twelve work- brary. an under-researched area. A Wool- ing class libraries were founded combers’ Society was founded and 52 temporary reading societies hills and in view of its close rela- in 1759. It had an entry fee and of which fourteen were in Glasgow tionship to the overall policy of so- monthly charges. The Fenwick and twelve in Paisley,40 reflecting a cial engineering being pursued by Weavers’ Society, founded in 1761, general growth in working class Stirling it is difficult to believe that is particularly important because it book use in Britain as a whole.41 he did not participate in its inven- was one of the first to purchase They were founded mainly by small tion although it was believed in foodstuffs in bulk which were then masters, aspiring professional men, Leadhills, a hundred years later, cheaply resold to members.37 Sub- shopkeepers, tradesmen, skilled ar- that James Wells, the Society’s first scription lists show that the weavers tisans and workmen with a strong president and village surgeon and of Fenwick associated temporari- sense of corporate identity like coal William Wright, the first secretary ly for the purchase of individual or lead miners.42 In various ways and local schoolmaster had done books and in 1808 they founded improvement values were articu- most of the drafting of the original the Fenwick Library. The preamble lated. The term appears in Wester- rules.34 The philosophy of mutual to the regulations reiterates the val- kirk Library’s rules (founded 1792), improvement subsequently became ues of mutual, improvement and deriving its inspiration from Lead- the dominant ideology of working even introduces a degree of his- hills.43 Robert Burns, in an anony- class library provision in Scotland torical perspective. mous contribution to the Old Sta- although its further development tistical Account, emphasized the cannot be linked directly with Everything which has a tenden- transforming power of book use Leadhills. Between 1790 and 1822, cy to improve the condition of both for the individual and soci- 51 working class subscription librar- man, claims his cordial regard. ety.44 An anonymous writer to the ies were founded in Scotland and For this end nothing can be Scots Chronicle drew attention to in the 1790s alone 52 temporary better calculated than a Library the narrow mindedness of life in reading societies were formed.35 adapted to the habits and vari- small villages and the lack of intel- Mutual improvement and the so- ous pursuits of the community lectual development where no li- cially scientific values of the En- where it is established. The util- brary was present.45 Walter Mon- lightenment were major motiva- ity of such institutions has hap- teath, a member of the Reading tions in their foundation. Although pily been long acknowledged in Society of Tillicoultry described the philosophical drive waned the Scotland; and to the diffusion of the need for corporate activity and administrative ideology remained knowledge, of which they have emphasized the development of strong and was still current at the been not the least considerable ‘good moral character’. Plays and end of the 19th century. As an ideol- instruments, we are indebted, un- novels were strictly excluded from ogy it enjoyed widespread social der God, for great part of that stock,46 an important reminder that approval although unfortunately it light and liberty which we enjoy. censorship could be exercised never attracted a major apologist. The pleasure which results from within the working class itself.

252 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 The Community Library in Scottish History

These are comments from the in- logue of 1767 and the first printed tions was now actively being pur- side but a notable outside observer catalogue, issued in 1800.50 sued. Indeed, in 1864, a Leadhills was John Millar (1735–1801), pro- resident ridiculed the utilitarian fessor of Civil Law at Glasgow The dominance of history and re- journalist, Harriet Martineau, for University.47 He collected a good ligion is marked, an average of suggesting that the miners were deal of useful data on the move- about 50 percent of the stock. Biog- excessively preoccupied with non- ment which he published in the raphy and travel are also healthily fiction.53 Scots Chronicle between 1796 and represented. Perhaps most interest- 1799. Millar believed the working ing of all is the presence of imagi- A study of five working class sub- classes of central Scotland to be native literature represented in such scription library catalogues of the the best educated and most ‘intel- classes as Miscellaneous, Literature, period54 shows clear differences lectually improved’ in Europe and Periodicals and Fiction. Between between working class and middle therefore capable of benefiting from 1767 and 1800 the percentage of class book selection policies. The this new movement. Millar had fiction rose from 3.2 to 8.5 percent. middle classes took to fiction and deplored the dehumanizing effect A growing sophistication in work- serial literature more quickly than of the industrial revolution and the ing class book use can be perceived the working classes and some division of labour and believed here. Working class book use in working class libraries remained that a means had been found to the 18th century has been portrayed actively hostile to fiction until well counteract this. He also extended as conservative and linked to a con- into the 19th century but nonethe- the environmentalist argument by tinuing preference for controver- less a process of reconciliation was claiming that libraries could pro- sial religion. There is no doubt that already taking place. Social sciences mote the perfectibility of man. As a this was the case at Leadhills where represented common ground with political radical himself he thought the miners were strongly inclined religion the main difference. The that libraries could develop work- to Evangelicalism and indeed many rise of Evangelicalism would main- ing class consciousness and pro- joined the Free Church in 1843, but tain the difference and add fresh mote political reform. While other equally the miners were moving elements of complexity. Another correspondents supported this po- towards secular book use and even meeting point was the mutual lack litical argument they seem to have embracing fiction which, by the end of interest in vocational reading, a been members of temporary read- of the 19th century would be the consequence of the impact of the ing societies, rather than perma- main component of book issues in Enlightenment and the interest in nent libraries. While libraries and most publicly available libraries.51 social sciences which it generated. reading societies undoubtedly at- Without this move towards secu- Among the working classes voca- tracted the politically radical there larism the community library move- tional reading is linked to the rise is no evidence that permanent li- ment would not have continued to of the new middle class professions braries had overtly political objec- grow. in the second half of the 19th cen- tives and only one was ever criti- tury. cized for political radicalism.48 By the end of the century book selection policies reflected both con- Although Millar’s grasp of the situ- servatism and change. Religion was The Subscription Library ation was far from perfect he did still a popular subject, reflecting a in Perspective appreciate that working class li- continuing tradition of working class braries should be controlled by the piety. Controversial religion also of- working classes themselves. Librar- fered a means of pursuing dissident New types of publicly available li- ies administered for the working social behaviour in a world domi- brary appeared in the 19th century classes and not by them would lead nated by Moderate clergy and the all of which were characterized by to apathy and distrust, an accurate Patronage system. Broadly socially middle class interventionism. They and widely ignored prophecy.49 scientific subjects like history, ge- were the libraries of mechanics’ ography, biography and politics institutes, churches of many de- The development of book selection were also moving to prominence. nominations, libraries of the second policies can be traced through the Perhaps most notable and the har- endowment phase and rate-sup- surviving records of early institu- binger of a major trend was the ported libraries which eventually tions such as Leadhills Library. shift towards fiction, literature and came to dominate. These latter There is some reason to think that periodicals. In view of the hostility were funded by wealthy individuals the library was originally intended to imaginative literature sometimes and were managed by committees to be partly a technical library for voiced from within the working of varying degrees of accountabili- the mine management but if such a classes this may seem surprising ty. Most significant of all were the policy did exist it was rapidly re- but it reflects the transmutation of rate-supported libraries which be- placed, under pressure from the a tradition, based on folklore, chap- gan to appear from 1853 onwards miners, by one which favoured so- book literature and heroic tales when the first Act was passed. A cial science and religion. Stock de- notably the adventures of Bruce further Act, the Public Libraries velopment can be studied via the and Wallace.52 The reconciliation (Scotland) Act of 1867, required li- first catalogue, a manuscript cata- of these apparently hostile tradi- brary committees to contain equal

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 253 John Crawford

numbers of elected members and sial religion can be found the ori- and development of societal library ac- householders, a clear recognition gins of working class intellectual tivity in Scotland’. MA Thesis, Uni- of the Scottish community library’s independence. versity of Strathclyde, 1981. pp. 127– inclusive traditions.55 The subscrip- 176. 8. Ridpath, George. Diary, 1755–1761. tion tradition enjoyed varied for- The movement also has wider sig- Edited by Sir James Balfour Paul. Ed- tunes. The last middle class sub- nificance. The Scottish community scription library was founded in library system, although it recog- inburgh: Scottish History Society, 1922. pp. 38–9. 1826 by which time about 73 had nized a common set of cultural and 9. Ibid. pp. XII–XIII; 77. been established. Poor administra- intellectual assumptions, had no 10. ‘Record of the laws, regulations and tive standards and falling book central organization and was en- proceedings of the subscribers for a prices meant that many were al- tirely self regulating and as such public library at Duns’, Oct–Dec., 1768, ready in decline. Some, such as was a self regulating information passim. [Minute Book. Borders Re- Greenock and Langholm, survived system 200 years before the Inter- gional Library Service]. into the 20th century by assuming net. The influence of the movement 11. Crawford, John C. op. cit. p. 172. a more popular character but many abroad has yet to be quantified but 12. Greenock Library. Catalogue and rules disappeared. There were 25 left it must have been substantial. of the Greenock Library. Greenock: by the end of the century. Work- Scottish emigrants to the old white T. Murray, 1792; Duns Subscription ing class subscription libraries suf- Commonwealth took with them Library. A catalogue of books in the fered from small incomes, lack of a system of values which could subscription library at Dunse. 1789. 13. resources, the inability to invest in be replicated in Canada, Australia Kaufman, Paul. op. cit. pp. 285–6. 14. development and vulnerability to and New Zealand. There was in Crawford, John C. op. cit. p.176. 15. Smout, T.C. A history of the Scottish the trade cycle. They were also un- Tasmania, for example, in the mid th people, 1560–1830. Glasgow: Fontana, able to cope with the challenge of 19 century, a subscription library 1972. p. 229 industrialization and urbanization. at a place called Evandale which 16. Pennant, Thomas. A tour in Scotland, The movement survived successful- had been founded in 1847 by a vol. 2, p. 129. Quoted in; Irving, George ly in the traditional heartland of young Scottish Presbyterian minis- Vere. The Upper Ward of Lanarkshire the community library, the large vil- ter and its stock and style of man- described and delineated, Glasgow: lage and the market town. By the agement closely followed Scottish Murray, 1864. vol. 3, p. 35. end of the century there were 83.56 precedents.57 Perhaps most signifi- 17. Smout, T.C. Lead mining in Scotland, cantly of all Scotland was the first 1650–1850. Payne, Peter L., ed. Studies country in the world to have a na- in Scottish business history, London: Conclusion tional policy for public library pro- Frank Cass, 1967. pp. 125–6; Jacka- vision. man, Peter. The company, the com- Over a lengthy period libraries in mon man and the library: Leadhills Scotland have complemented and and Wanlockhead. Library Review, References supplemented widespread, but lim- vol. 29, Spring, 1980, pp. 27–32. 18. ited, cheap education and given Brief biographical sketches can be 1. T. Kelly, Early public libraries, Lon- found in: Tweedie, Charles. James Stir- the average Scot opportunities to don: Library Association, 1966. p. 87. ling: a sketch of his life and works continue reading and book use after 2. W. R. Aitken, A history of the public along with his scientific correspon- the conclusion of scholastic edu- library movement in Scotland to 1955, dence. Oxford University Press, 1922; cation. Libraries were based on Glasgow: Scottish Library Association, Tweddle, Ian. James Stirling. Edin- small, inexpensive administrative 1971. pp. 6–12. burgh: Scottish Academic Press, 1988. units which were most effective 3. Varma, Devendra P. The evergreen tree 19. Smout, T.C. Lead mining in Scotland, outside major cities, much like the of diabolical knowledge. Washington: op. cit. p. 125–6. educational process itself. Scottish Consortium, 1972. Kaufman, Paul. The 20. Allardyce, Alexander, editor. Scotland library history, apart from the pe- rise of community libraries in Scot- and Scotsmen in the eighteenth century riod of middle class intervention land. In: Papers of the Bibliographical from the manuscripts of John Ramsay in the early 19th century, has been Society of America, vol. 59. 1963. of Ochtertyre. Edinburgh: Blackwood, marked by consensuality among so- pp. 233–294. McDonald, William R. 1888. vol. 2. p. 311; Forsyth, Robert. cial leaders in the 18th and 19th cen- Circulating libraries in the north-east The beauties of Scotland. Edinburgh: turies and among political parties of Scotland in the eighteenth century. Constable, 1806. vol. 3. p. 107. 21. in the 20th. Libraries have sup- Bibliotheck, vol. 5, 1967–69. pp. 119– Sinclair, Sir John, Bart. The statisti- ported key factors in Scottish in- 137. William White. A sale and circu- cal account of Scotland. Edinburgh: lating catalogue of books ... To be had Creech, 1791–99. vol. 4. p. 512; Lin- tellectual life. They have encour- of William White at his shops at Ir- lithgow MSS. Leadhills Mining Pa- aged all social classes to participate vine and Beith. 1780. pers, no. 22. Class IV, 100 (Hopetoun in intellectual life and supported 4. Sibbald, James. A new catalogue of the House); Forsyth, Robert. op. cit. p. 107. the Scottish rejection of a separate Edinburgh Circulating Library. Edin- 22. List of the members of the Reading class of intelligentsia. Religion has burgh: Sibbald, c.1786. Society in Leadhills and time of their been a major motivation to book 5. Kaufman, Paul. op. cit. pp. 233–294. admission. National Library of Scot- use for all social classes, but espe- 6. Ibid. p. 278. land. MSS acc. no. 3076. cially for the working classes, in 7. The above generalizations are derived 23. [Wilson, Matthew]. A Leadhills diary whose enthusiasm for controver- from Crawford, John C. ‘The origins for 1745. Transactions of the Dumfries-

254 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 The Community Library in Scottish History

shire and Galloway Natural History 32. Thompson, E.P. The making of the 49. Scots Chronicle, 20/1/1797. No. 99. and Antiquarian Society. Third series. English working class. London: Pen- 50. Linlithgow MSS ‘Catalogue of the li- vol. 54, 1979. pp. 105–131. guin, 1968. pp. 456–60. brary in Leadhills’, 1767. Leadhills min- 24. Leadhills Reading Society. Rules and 33. Leadhills Reading Society. Rules and ing papers no. 23. Class IV. 113. (Hope- by-laws of the Society for Purchasing by-laws of the Society for Purchasing toun House); Leadhills Reading Society. Books at Leadhills. [1761]. MSBK 6/ Books at Leadhills. [1761]. op.cit. A catalogue of books contained in the 12 (Hornel Library, Broughton House, p. 17. Miners’ Library at Leadhills, 1800. Kirkcudbright). 34. Children’s Employment Commission. (Scottish Record Office. TD 76/43. 25. Kaufman, Paul. Libraries and their us- Reports from commissioners, vol. 3. Stirling of Garden MSS). ers. London: LA, 1969. p. 164. op.cit. p .874. 51. Kelly, Thomas. A history of public li- 26. ‘Articles and Laws of the Leadhills 35. Crawford, John C. op.cit. pp.187–209. braries in Great Britain. 2nd ed. Lon- Reading Society’, as amended in April 36. Smout, T.C. A century of the Scottish don: LA, 1977, pp. 84–8. 1821 are reproduced in: Children’s Em- people, 1830–1950. London: Fontana 52. Robertson, George. Rural recollections. ployment Commission. Reports from Press, 1987. pp. 209–230. Irvine: Cunninghame Press, 1829. commissioners, vol. 3. 1842, vol. XVII. 37. Fraser, W. Hamish. Conflict and class: p. 98–100. Appendix to first report of commission- Scottish workers, 1700–1838. Edin- 53. Martineau, Harriet, News of an old ers. Mines. Part II. London: Clowes burgh, John Donald, 1988. pp. 43–61. place. Household Words, August 1852 1842, pp.874–8; Leadhills Reading So- 38. Fenwick Library. Regulations and cat- quoted in: Irving, George Vere. The ciety. Articles and laws of the Lead- alogue of the Fenwick Library. Kilmar- Upper Ward of Lanarkshire described hills Reading Society. Carluke: Aikman, nock: Mathie, 1827. and delineated. vol.3. op.cit. pp. 41; 1908. 39. Urie, John. Reminiscences of eighty 196–7. 27. Chitnis, Anand. The Scottish En- years. Paisley: Gardner, 1908. pp. 27–9. 54. Crawford, John C. op.cit. pp. 246–8. lightenment, a social history. London: 40. Crawford, John C. op.cit. p .207; 215. 55. Aitken, W.R.. op. cit. p. 240. Croom Helm, 1976, pp. 4–6. 41. Altick, Richard D. The English common 56. Crawford, John C. ‘Historical models 28. McElroy, Davis D. Scotland’s age of reader. University of Chicago Press, of library provision: the example of improvement. Washington State Uni- 1957. pp. 67–77. Scotland’, unpublished Ph.D. thesis, versity Press, 1969. 42. Crawford, John C. op.cit. p. 234. Glasgow Caledonian University [1993] 29. Manley, K.A. The SPCK and English 43. Kaufman, Paul. Libraries and their us- 57. Adkins, Keith. Books and reading in book clubs before 1720. Bodleian Li- ers. op. cit. p. 169. colonial Tasmania: the Evandale Sub- brary Record, vol. 13, 1989, pp.231–43. 44. Sinclair, Sir John. The statistical ac- scription Library 1847–1861, paper 30. Rendall, Jane. The origins of the Scot- count of Scotland. Edinburgh: Creech, presented at the History of the Book in tish Enlightenment, 1707–1776. Lon- 1791–9. vol. 3. pp. 598–600. Australia conference, State Library of don. 45. Scots Chronicle, 21/2/1797. No. 109. New South Wales, 19–20 September 31. Kinghorn, Alexander Manson and Law, 46. Ibid. 13/3/1798. No. 224. 1998; Evandale Subscription Library. Alexander, eds. Poems by Allan Ram- 47. Crawford, John C. op.cit. pp. 192–204. Rules and catalogue of the Evandale say and Robert Fergusson. Edinburgh: 48. New Statistical Account. Edinburgh: Subscription Library. Launceston, Tas- Scottish Academic Press, 1985, p.61. Blackwood, 1845. vol. 6. Lanark. p. 802. mania: Launceston Examiner, 1857.

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 255 Pensées provocatrices d’une nouvelle génération de bibliothécaires

Bernard Dione Le combat pour rendre à l’informa- alphabète les bibliothécaires n’ont tion scientifique sa mission premiè- pas souvent pu relever le défi de Bernard Dione est professeur a re, qui est de favoriser l’échange prendre en considération cette po- l’École des Bibliothécaires, Archi- des idées entre les chercheurs et de pulation et ses besoins. Les pouvoirs vistes et Documentalistes, Univer- publics n’ont pas fait de l’accès à sité Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar, l’information de cette grande masse Sénégal et Secrétaire général de une priorité. On peut comprendre l’Association sénégalaise des bib- que l’inexistence de grandes insti- liothécaires, archivistes et docu- tutions de bibliothèques (sauf dans mentalistes (ASBAD) s/c EBAD, le domaine académique) ait contri- Université Cheikh Anta Diop de bué à renforcer la méconnaissance Dakar, BP 3252, Dakar, Sénégal. du rôle de la bibliothèque et par- Tél. +221 825 76 60. Télécopie: tant l’image de marque négative du +221 824-23-79. E-mail: dione- bibliothécaire. Je me souviens en- [email protected]. core à dix neuf ans quand j’ai ré- ussi au concours d’entrée à l’École des bibliothécaires, concours pour lequel nous étions plus de sept cents, mes parents ne pouvaient pas comprendre que je renonce à étudier le droit pour opter pour un travail de «rangeur» de livre.

Et voilà que l’arrivée des Technolo- contribuer par là-même au progrès gies d’information et de la commu- de la science et de la société, est nication (TIC) renforce cette image encore loin d’être gagné en Afrique négative. L’annonce de la mort pro- en général. De même, l’offre de lec- chaine du livre fait que certains af- ture devant permettre au citoyen firment que le bibliothécaire et la d’accéder librement à l’information bibliothèque comme lieu physique pour se former, s’épanouir et se for- ne devraient pas non plus survivre. ger un jugement libre est encore fai- Aussi, le bibliothécaire, homme de ble, voire inexistante. En effet, nous culture et humaniste, devrait se n’avons pas encore de bibliothèques transformer en concepteur de bases dignes de ce nom. Pour prendre un de données et autres spécialistes de exemple que je connais bien, au moteurs de recherche. J’ai entendu Sénégal, la lecture publique est en- une personne très sérieuse suggérer core très embryonnaire, comme le la suppression de la section Biblio- montre une enquête effectuée par l’ thèque de l’EBAD pour ne conser- Association sénégalaise des biblio- ver que la Documentation, car me thécaires, archivistes et documen- disait-elle, ils ne trouvent pas d’em- talistes (ASBAD) pour le compte de ploi et s’ils en trouvent ils sont de la nouvelle Direction du Livre et toute façon, les plus mal payés du de la Lecture ; la Bibliothèque na- monde. Donc, certains voudraient tionale est à l’état de projet ; mis à déjà, que nous passions à un vaste part l’effort des centres culturels marché d’informations numériques étrangers, l’offre de lecture est très où chacun serait libre, de chez lui, faible. Dans ce climat général de de choisir son information. Cette marasme la seule lueur vient des situation serait l’idéal, sauf que pour bibliothèques universitaires. l’instant, chacun n’a pas encore, chez lui, un ordinateur et n’est pas C’est connu, l’image de marque du capable de payer la connexion. Et bibliothécaire n’est pas souvent va- que même si par la magie des parte- lorisante. De surcroît, en Afrique, naires au développement (on ne dit 70 pour cent de la population est plus bailleurs de fonds !), on dotait rurale, et une grande partie est an- chacun d’un ordinateur, l’analpha-

256 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 Pensées provocatrices bétisme (dans les langues dites dons jalousement notre indépen- ce domaine est celle de bibliothé- internationales surtout) ferait qu’il dance. Désormais chacun peut caire. Les langues sont pour nous serait incapable de l’utiliser. Il fait venir au siège s’informer, travailler, des instruments de communication. ajouter à cela la faiblesse de l’infra- participer aux réunions du bureau Nous ne sommes en Afrique ni structure télécom dans nos pays. ou du comité directeur. Du moment seulement anglophones, ni seule- où les séances sont publiques, ment francophones, ni seulement Dans une telle situation, certains l’idée d’une association – «bande lusophones. Que ferions nous de de nos aînés ont réussi à faire une de copains» commence à se ré- nos langues locales et de nos eth- carrière remarquable. C’est à eux duire. Mais les préjugés ont la peau nies si nous étions seulement cela ? que nous devons toute la législation dure. Aussi, le siège a-t-il fait naître Nous parlons déjà nécessairement prise depuis 1976 sur les bibliothè- d’autres problèmes liés à sa gestion plusieurs langues locales. Nous ques et les premières associations et aux charges récurrentes qu’il gé- sommes de cultures métisses et professionnelles qui ont fusionné nère. multilingues. Chaque pays africain pour donner l’ASBAD. Mais beau- est avant tout un creuset. La bi- coup ont abandonné, ont changé Il nous a fallu aussi mettre en place bliothéconomie doit intégrer cette de profession ou, en désespoir de un système de gestion des membres. donne. cause ont attendu, dans l’anony- Avant on pouvait être membre mat, le plus total leur retraite. sans posséder la carte de l’associa- Nos maigres résultats sont-ils une tion, sans cotiser et sans participer raison de découragement ? Je ne le De cette génération nous avons aux activités. Il suffisait d’atten- pense pas. En effet, même en Afri- aussi hérité et continuer les querel- dre la date de l’assemblée générale que, la bibliothèque doit rester le les souvent trop ad hominem. C’est de renouvellement pour venir se centre vital d’accès libre et démo- un des problèmes que nous tentons faire élire et disparaître jusqu’à la cratique au savoir et à la connais- de résoudre aujourd’hui au niveau prochaine échéance. Maintenant sance, un lieu d’échange et de de notre association. Aussi, la situa- l’association a mis en place des pro- partenariat avec nos populations, tion de chômage des profession- cédures de gestion et de fonctionne- nos scientifiques, un lieu de for- nels des bibliothèques, de plus en ment rigoureuses. mation pour nos jeunes étudiants. plus jeunes, contribuent à démobi- Plus que dans le domaine économi- liser nos membres. Comment faire En somme sur le plan interne, des que, il est nécessaire de mettre en du bénévolat au niveau d’une as- efforts ont été faits. Sur le plan in- place pour les pays moins nantis sociation quand la majorité n’a pas ternational, nous avons cherché des programmes de soutien pour le minimum ? De même, les pro- à avoir le soutien d’associations un accès libre et démocratique à la fessionnels en exercice vivent une du Nord. Celles-ci plus anciennes, bibliothèque et au savoir. Un collè- situation d’indigence économique, plus expérimentés et plus fortes gue, à qui je disais que nous devri- du fait du niveau bas de leurs pouvaient nous aider à gagner la ons nourrir l’idée folle d’organiser salaires. bataille du lobbying que nous sou- une conférence de l’IFLA à Dakar haitions engager pour faire que m’avais répondu : «heureusement Ce panorama très peu incitatif, crée notre association soit reconnu par que toi même, tu reconnais que une situation de malaise profond les pouvoirs publics comme une as- c’est une idée folle ! Qu’allons nous dans laquelle les gens se trompent sociation d’intérêt public. Ce plan leur montrer comme bibliothèque ? souvent de cible. C’est ainsi que de lobbying visait à entretenir une Où allons-nous organiser les récep- l’on soupçonnera ceux qui se bat- communication active en organisant tions des délégués ? ». Il était en- tent pour aller de l’avant d’être des des ateliers de formation continue core plus choqué quand je lui ai dit ambitieux embusqués voulant util- pour nos membres, des rencontres que c’est justement pour tous ces iser l’association comme tremplin, scientifiques et diverses autres ma- problèmes que nous devons le faire. et j’en passe. nifestations. C’est pourquoi, l’idée Nous devons montrer à la commu- de jumelage d’associations lancée nauté internationale des bibliothé- Voilà dans sa rigueur, la situation au sein de l’IFLA nous a beaucoup caires – l’IFLA est au fond au des professionnels de l’information intéressé. Nous avons pris des con- niveau professionnel ce que les Na- documentaire telle que je l’ai vécue tacts avec beaucoup d’associations. tions unies sont au niveau politi- subjectivement. Comment faire une Aucune de nos tentatives n’a réel- que – que s’il y a des bibliothèques association solide capable de rele- lement donné de résultat. Pour- prestigieuses quelque part, il y a ail- ver des défis aussi aigus ? quoi, je ne saurais le dire vraiment. leurs où l’offre de lecture est quasi- On peut seulement penser que le ment inexistante. L’IFLA pourrait C’est la question que notre équipe rapport entre associations profes- mieux sensibiliser nos pouvoirs s’est posé depuis le début de son sionnelles dans le domaine des bi- publics – nos décideurs comme on mandat débuté en juillet 2000. bliothèques obéit aussi au schéma dit – que ne le ferait notre associa- L’une de nos priorités a été de dé- géopolitico-linguistico-économique tion nationale. Mais ne rêvons pas. personnaliser notre association en traditionnel qui régi l’ordre mon- Il suffirait que l’IFLA travaille aux la dotant d’un siège fonctionnel. dial avec ses pré carrés et ses zones renforcement des capacités des as- L’EBAD nous y a aidé en nous linguistiques. Or, la seule identité sociations par des actions mode- prêtant un local. Mais nous gar- que nous nous reconnaissons dans stes et efficaces.

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 257 Bernard Dione

En tout état de cause, depuis no- y renforcer l’image positive des pro- Références tre mandat, nous mettons l’accent fessionnels, évaluer économique- sur la visibilité de notre profession ment les services que nous offrons, 1. ASBAD. Enquête sur les bibliothèques et de notre association. Nous ten- optimiser la qualité de nos servi- publiques au Sénégal. Dakar : Direc- tons de nous approprier les sept ces et de nos produits documen- tion du Livre et de la Lecture, 2002. pistes que suggère Elizabeth C. taires, utiliser la terminologie des 2. Reade Fong pour changer le cours sciences de l’information afin de Bowden, Russell and Donald Wijasu- des choses. Il nous faut accroître montrer que nous ne sommes pas riya, eds. The status, reputation and image of the library and information les compétences de nos membres de simples techniciens de l’organi- profession: proceedings of the IFLA Pre- dans les relations publiques par sation de l’information, et enfin, il Session Seminar, Delhi, 24–28 Aug. des actions concrètes de formation, nous faut intégrer la philosophie 1992. München : K. G. Saur, 1994. – réfléchir à un code de déontolo- de nos décideurs. Ne me deman- 228 p. ; 22 cm. – (IFLA Publications ; gie et une éthique professionnelle, dez pas comment nous allons faire 68). nous engager dans les organisa- tout cela. Je ne saurai vous répon- tions et institutions nationales pour dre. 3. Idem.

258 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 The ‘Information-Starved’ – is there any hope of reaching the ‘Information Super Highway’?

Denise Nicholson can be applied to other developing countries in the sub-Saharan re- Denise Rosemary Nicholson has a gion and even further afield. BA degree and Higher Diploma in Library and Information Science from the University of South Africa. Legacy of Apartheid Since 1983 she has been employed at the University of the Wit- Prior to 1994, the white-dominated watersrand Library, Johannesburg, government followed a policy of South Africa. Since 1996 she has ‘apartheid’, an oppressive and dis- held the post of Copyright Services criminatory system, which had very Librarian. She is responsible for serious effects on the lives of mil- running the Copyright Services lions of ‘non-white’ South Africans, Office, administering the Central especially with regard to social, eco- Copyright Fund and providing an nomic and educational issues. The advisory service for staff and stu- current South African government dents, as well as for individuals became a democracy in April 1994. and organizations outside the Uni- The legacy of apartheid has left a versity. In 1997, she initiated the daunting task for this government Copyquest Listserv and an e-distri- to resolve. Literacy has therefore bution list to raise copyright aware- The right to access to informa- been prioritized as one of the most ness in the educational and library tion and ideas is vital for any so- urgent problems to tackle and the sector. From 1998 to 2000 she ciety. If citizens are to participate government aims to ‘break the was Convenor of two Copyright and make informed choices, they back’ of illiteracy by the year 2005. Task Teams under the auspices of must have access to political, In his inaugural speech of 8 Sep- the SA Vice-Chancellors’ Associa- social, scientific and economic tember 1999, the Minister of Edu- tion (SAUVCA) and the Committee information and cultural expres- cation, Kader Asmal, stated: of Technikons (CTP). She liaises sions. They need access to the with FAIFE, Government depart- widest range of ideas, informa- Unfortunately, there are some- ments and colleagues locally and tion and images. Freedom, pros- thing like 140 million people in abroad with regard to copyright perity and the development of sub-Saharan African who cannot matters. She is a member of the society depend on education, as read or write. More than 60 per- following Committees and Profes- well as on unrestricted access to cent of them are women. In sional Associations: knowledge, thought, culture and South Africa, 3.5 million adults information. This right to intellec- over the age of 16 have never at- • IFLA Committee on Copyright and tual freedom is essential to the tended school. At least another Other Legal Matters (and its Ad- creation and development of a 2.5 million have stayed a few visory Board for Core Activities) democratic society. The state of years in school but through lack • Library Association of South Af- intellectual freedom in libraries of practice can no longer remem- rica (LIASA) is an important indication of the ber how to read or write. So at • LIASA FAIFE Copyright Committee progress of democracy in a na- least 6 million South Africans, • Special Libraries Interest Group tion.1 who are a quarter of the adult (SLIS) population, are shut off from the • Digitization of Theses and Disser- This ideal is unfortunately unattain- written word. The figure may be tations Project Team (University able for most developing countries as high as 40% of adults.2 of the Witwatersrand) in the sub-Saharan region of Afri- • Intellectual Property Sub-Commit- ca, in their current circumstances. tee of the University Research Throughout this region, illiteracy South African Constitution Committee (University of the Wit- and dire poverty are serious prob- and Bill of Rights watersrand) lems and as a result, millions of people are deprived of access to infor- She was awarded the LIASA Aca- mation and knowledge, and hence Minister Asmal also stated that demic Librarian of the Year Award the key to a better life. Although this for 2001 and was also a winner in paper highlights problems and some South Africa boasts the most lib- the WIPOUT online copyright com- possible solutions from a South Af- eral constitution in the world. petition during 2001. rican perspective, many of them However, the guarantees in the

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 259 Denise Nicholson

Bill of Rights are, in practice, crime is their only source of in- which are critical to their liveli- more accessible to literate South come for food and basic needs. hood and for the general prosper- Africans than to illiterate South Literacy, access to information and ity of the region as a whole.6 Their Africans.3 education are the ‘key’ essentials to homes are tin shacks, mud huts self-development, self-dignity and a or outbuildings on someone else’s Section 9 (1) of the Constitution better life. land. There are no water services, states that: electricity, refuse removal services South Africa has two very differ- or telephone lines. Traditionally and Everyone is equal before the law ent dimensions – First World and for obvious reasons, oral communi- and has the right to equal pro- Third World. In the First World cation is the main form of com- tection and benefit of the law. dimension there is wealth and a munication. Information is shared highly sophisticated infrastructure and spread from one person to an- Section 9 (2) states: with digital and other advanced other, in one or more of the eleven technologies, which can be com- South African official languages. Equality includes the full and pared with most developed coun- For those employed, their means of equal enjoyment of all rights tries around the world. However, transport to work is generally by and freedoms. To promote the in large sections of the country, the foot or by bicycle, if they are priv- achievement of equality, legisla- Third World dimension is very evi- ileged to own the latter. Their chil- tive and other measures designed dent in rural areas and informal dren walk many kilometres to and to protect or advance persons, settlements around urban areas. from school each day. Their schools or categories of persons, dis- The situation is one of dire poverty, are makeshift buildings, which are advantaged by unfair discrimi- high illiteracy and unemployment, mainly structures of brick and tin, nation may be taken. and poor economic prospects. Most with few or no windows and doors. rural people do not have access to Some schools have lessons out Section 9 (3) states: the printed media, let alone digital in the open, as there are no class- technology. Inability to access in- rooms. There is no electricity or The state may not unfairly dis- formation is a major problem and running water. Natural lighting is criminate directly or indirectly is widening the gap between the often the only source of light and against anyone on one or more ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots.’ on cloudy days their ‘make-do’ class- grounds, including race, gender, rooms are dark and cold, making sex, pregnancy, marital status, learning a difficult and unpleasant ethnic or social origin, colour, Rural Communities experience for scholars. School sexual orientation, age, disabil- desks are made from boxes, broken ity, religion, conscience, belief, This paper will now highlight the chairs and tables or piles of bricks. culture, language and birth.4 very real situation affecting millions Stationery is usually inadequate of rural people in South Africa and and books, magazines and other The Constitution also provides guar- in their neighbouring countries. educational material for teaching antees for Freedom of Expression Most of them are illiterate and dis- and study purposes are extremely and Access to Information. Ques- advantaged and experience various limited. Photostatted material is of- tions must, however, be asked: problems in their quest for infor- ten the only source of information. mation, literacy and personal de- Most scholars come from seriously How can equality of the law velopment. poverty-stricken homes where even be applied, when illiterate peo- food is a luxury and money for ba- ple cannot even write their own Most illiterate people (i.e. those sic amenities is not available. Be- names; cannot read the laws of who cannot read or write) or func- ing able to purchase textbooks or the country; cannot read street- tionally-illiterate people (i.e. those other educational material is rare. signs or vital information on whose learning and writing skills Access to information is extremely medicine bottles; cannot fill out are underdeveloped) have grown difficult and these people are en- any questionnaire, application up in a rural community, not al- tirely dependent on assistance from form or survey; cannot read an ways by choice though, because donors, community leaders, social advertisement for employment or of pre-1994 apartheid land laws workers, facilitators, teachers and prepare a résumé; cannot read which forced people to live in cer- librarians, where library services an invoice or guarantee for any tain rural areas. They live far from exist. Due to inadequate healthcare purchase made? 5 urban areas and are mostly in- and prenatal care, many are also volved in subsistence farming. There physically or mentally disabled. is little or no road infrastructure This exacerbates the problem of ac- Illiteracy – a Handicap and access to these areas can be cessing information, as their spe- extremely difficult. As a result of cial needs can rarely be addressed. Illiteracy is a serious handicap, poor education and other factors, which condemns people to a life of deforestation, overgrazing and im- Very often these communities do poverty, low self-esteem, unemploy- proper farming are threatening the not have any library services and ment and boredom. For many, soils and other natural resources depend on basic information spread

260 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 The ‘Information-Starved’ verbally or information provided at information needs, but are not per- young adults in the working sector local community resource centres. mitted to borrow material. This are HIV-positive and will die with- The lack of access to printed ma- means they have to do their reading in the next few years, leaving a se- terial, as well as multimedia and during library hours. Also, without rious gap in the workplace. As cir- digital technology, are severely ham- lighting in their homes, they can- cumstances deteriorate, so people pering the illiterate in their educa- not read after dark. Public libraries will abandon educational goals to tional pursuits. and school media centres serve as care for the dying and cope with the main sources of information their difficulties at home. Where libraries do service rural ar- for homework and school projects. eas, they are generally far from Most parents, however, still remain schools and homes and have un- illiterate and unemployed, and they Indigenous Knowledge sophisticated buildings, extremely are therefore unable to stimulate limited budgets, resulting in totally or assist their children in the As a result of ignorance of their in- inadequate book and journal col- learning process. tellectual property and other rights, lections. Donations from more af- rural people are often at the mercy fluent libraries or aid organizations of large international corporations provide the bulk of their collec- The HIV/AIDS and individuals who recognize the tions and very often photocopies, potential in their traditional reme- whether legally made or not, form Pandemic dies, music, folklore, craftwork and their core collections. other cultural traditions. These peo- The spread of HIV and AIDS in ple are not aware of the legal re- sub-Saharan Africa has far ex- quirements of having to put their Informal Settlements in ceeded the worst projections and oral expressions or traditional meth- has retarded the transformation ods into a tangible format, before Urban Areas from illiteracy to literacy. Sub- they can claim copyright owner- Saharan Africa is by far the worst ship. Without access to informa- Exasperated with their rural exis- affected region in the world with tion, they are unaware that their tence, many individuals or groups millions of Africans dying every intellectual property is often misap- move to urban areas in the hope of year. Unfortunately it is a ‘Catch- propriated and used for commer- finding education and employment 22’ situation, as the lack of access cial exploitation abroad. As a result, and a better way of life. Some also to information and education has the rural community or individuals cross borders from poor neigh- been one of the major factors in do not receive any compensation. bouring countries to search for a the spread of this disease, and the In some instances, however, the new life in South Africa. Many of pandemic itself has affected edu- communities are becoming aware them settle in illegal informal set- cation in a very serious way. of their rights and are involving tlements called ‘ squatter camps’ or themselves in projects to exploit ‘shanty towns’, on the outskirts Many teachers and literacy facili- their intellectual property. They are of urban areas. Thousands of tin tators have contracted the disease receiving some monetary benefits shacks are erected very closely to- or have already died from it, leav- as compensation, mainly through gether on vacant pieces of land. ing vacant posts in the educational development trusts. Each shack becomes home to one sector. Where parents have died, or more families. Overcrowding re- older children have to leave their sults in squalor and poor health schooling to look after younger Digital Technology conditions. Municipal services, such siblings, thus exacerbating the prob- as water, electricity and refuse re- lem of illiteracy. Grandparents, Digital technology has created an moval are not available to these mostly illiterate, are forced to bring explosion of information world- settlements. up their grandchildren and are un- wide. For the First World dimen- able to get them to school or assist sion of South Africa, the Internet Their children are more fortunate them in the learning process. Each has literally opened an online li- than their rural counterparts in that year the number of orphans in- brary, accessible from anywhere in they are able to attend the local creases drastically and many fend the world, on a 24-hour/7 days a government schools in the area. The for themselves at home or as street- week basis. It has no language bar- quality of facilities and of teaching children in urban areas, with no riers and has provided opportuni- programmes, however, differs from prospect of becoming literate. Thou- ties to users to create work and one area to another. Unfortunately, sands of babies are born each year trade online, to use and manipu- due to the very cramped circum- with HIV and their life expectancy late information and in general, stances in which these people live, is less than five years. For adults to advance knowledge and under- it is difficult for children to study at in this sub-Saharan region life ex- standing of information. Hi-tech home. Books and other education- pectancy has decreased from 64 to business and education have been al material are unaffordable. They 47 years and between the years taken to new heights. All one really are permitted to use the inhouse 2005 and 2010 it is expected to needs is access to a computer and facilities of public libraries for their drop even further.7 Thousands of the world is one’s stage. This, un-

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 261 Denise Nicholson

fortunately, does not apply to the are portable and information can ies often have to be used and millions of illiterate people in South be transferred from person to per- copyright restrictions apply. Africa, who are shut off from in- son anywhere in the world. They formation. For example, out of a are easy to use and illiterate people In their efforts to make information population of nearly 44 million can be taught to use them without available to illiterate and function- people in South Africa, only about having to depend on the written ally-illiterate people, facilitators and 2 million have access to the Inter- word to operate them. Those who teachers regularly need to select net.8 are functionally-illiterate can bene- suitable material and to make mul- fit from more advanced services tiple copies of information, either Considering the above-mentioned offered by mobile telephone pro- by photostatting it or by converting circumstances, the following ques- viders, such as SMS and e-mail it on to audiotapes, where electric- tions must be asked: messages. ity and/or batteries are available. In view of South Africa having • Do the illiterate or information- Where electricity is available and eleven official languages, very of- starved fit into the digital world? facilities such as photocopiers, ten material also has to be trans- • Will they ever reach the Informa- scanners and computers are avail- lated or adapted before it can be tion Super Highway or will they able (e.g. at community centres or used for teaching purposes. The just become victims of the ever- libraries), information can be ac- material has to be obtained from widening Digital Information cessed. In most cases, it is the fa- local community resource centres Divide? cilitators or teachers who access or direct from libraries or via in- and select suitable material for lit- terlibrary loans from other sources. Without electricity, any electrical eracy courses. Where people are In cases where users are disabled, or electronic equipment has no sig- functionally illiterate but able to special reproductions or conver- nificance in their lives at all. So- visit the community resource cen- sions are necessary. However, for phisticated technology serves no tre or library, they generally de- all the above-mentioned purposes, purpose whatsoever if one cannot pend on the staff for assistance. the current copyright legislation is even switch it on. Despite many Some educational institutions pro- restrictive. It does not permit such technology transfer projects, spon- vide telematic educational services multiple copying or conversions, sored by international organiza- via public library networks and tele- without permission first being ob- tions and commercial entities, this communication services to assist tained from the rights owner and region is becoming more and more rural communities. Some institu- copyright fees being paid. In most dependent on developed countries. tions only offer distance education cases, copyright fees are payable Technology is advancing at such a courses and are responsible for dis- in the South African currency, if rate that the digital divide between seminating information and course cleared by South African copyright the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’ con- material to rural learners at home. owners or the local rights organi- tinues to widen. zation. Depending on the medium to be copied, especially multime- Although telephone lines are being Copyright – dia, fees are payable directly to for- extended to rural areas, as a priority a Hindrance to eign publishers. This is extremely project by Telkom, the major tele- Access to Information expensive since our currency’s val- communications supplier in South ue is very low in comparison to Africa, it is a very slow process. This Despite their socio-economic di- currencies in First World coun- form of communication and access lemmas, illiterate people, as well as tries. However, some publishers do to information is not yet available persons with disabilities, have an- waive costs or reduce costs, espe- to most rural people. The sub- other hurdle to contend with in cially for reproductions or conver- Saharan region has fewer tele- their educational pursuits – copy- sions for persons with disabilities. phones than does Manhattan in right restrictions. Unfortunately, in Most literacy and basic adult edu- New York City.9 This highlights the the current South African copy- cation programmes do not have very serious shortage of telephones right legislation, and in that of the resources to purchase original and telecommunication services in many other sub-Saharan countries, books or to subscribe to journals this region. there are no provisions to accom- and they depend on copies for their modate the needs of illiterate peo- course material. In most cases, they Although mobile telephones have ple or those with disabilities. There cannot afford the copyright fees. made communication possible for are limited exemptions in the South They are then not permitted to re- some rural people, the equipment African legislation for reproduc- produce the material and have to and call costs are still out of reach tion for educational purposes, but use other information, which may of most of them. Also, the lack of they only apply to teaching in a not be as relevant. Access to that electricity makes it difficult to re- classroom situation. Also, access to particular information is therefore charge batteries and only where Government documentation and restricted to those who can afford electricity is available, can they be other public domain material is the copyright royalties. This situa- used effectively. The positive side difficult and this means that pub- tion has serious implications for of mobile telephones is that they lished versions available in librar- education as a whole.

262 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 The ‘Information-Starved’

South Africa’s current copyright Unfortunately, because copyright The proposals were very restrictive legislation has no clear definition restrictions and lack of money towards education and attempted or criteria for ‘fair use’. Section 12 affect access to information, non- to withdraw most of the exemp- of the Copyright Act No. 98 of compliance and copyright infringe- tions in the current legislation. In 1978, as amended, uses the term ments do occur. Although such view of the serious implications ‘fair dealing’, which permits indi- actions cannot be condoned, in the proposals had for education, viduals to make reproductions of a practice they are sometimes the the tertiary educational sector lob- ‘fair and reasonable’ portion of only way these communities or in- bied to Government and as a result, printed books and journals for the dividuals can access or acquire both sets of proposed amendments purpose of private study or research information. were subsequently withdrawn. or private use. However, users have to make the copies themselves and It is often argued that publishers’ The educational sector recognizes cannot depend on someone else to sales are detrimentally affected by the need to update the copyright do this for them (except in cases such copying. This is debatable, legislation to meet the requirements where a librarian is permitted to however, since, in these circum- of the WIPO Copyright Treaty and make single copies for users). Mak- stances, there is no possibility of a the WIPO Performances and Pho- ing their own copies is not usually sale and hence no financial loss. nograms Treaty. Since 1999, this possible or practical in rural com- Under-resourced literacy initiatives sector has been requesting the Gov- munities, as most people are illit- or organizations, as well as their ernment to address various issues erate, functionally illiterate or dis- facilitators and students, cannot afin the copyright legislation to pro- abled and live too far from libraries ford books or journals, especially tect the interests of education, par- or resource centres, to access the since prices and related taxes ticularly as the publishing industry material personally. People in- are excessively high. Second-hand continues to call for more restric- volved in literacy courses, basic books (often earlier editions or tive legislation. adult education and distance edu- out-of-print books), donations and cation, are therefore dependent on photocopies are the main sources In 2001, due to an impasse in the third parties (e.g. facilitators, teach- of information. If extracts are cop- legislative process, the Intellectual ers, resource centres or library ied, they are used solely for the Property Committees of the South staff) to provide learning material. purposes of non-profit educational African Vice-Chancellor’s Associa- Even if they can get to a library or purposes and not with any intention (SAUVCA) and the Committee resource centre, they need the as- tion of undermining publishers’ of Technikons (CTP), representing sistance of the staff to access and sales. the tertiary sector, initiated discus- copy the information for them. Li- sions with the Publishers’ Associa- brarians, but not informal resource Research has shown that, for vari- tion of South Africa (PASA) and centre staff, are permitted to make ous reasons, oral communication the International Publishers’ Asso- single copies for users, within the is still the most popular in most lit- ciation (IPA). They also met with limits of ‘fair dealing’ but multiple eracy programmes in this region, the Software Business Alliance in copying is not permitted, unless but that the written word is an im- South Africa and the Registrar of prior permission has been obtained portant medium to enhance the the South African Department of from the rights owners and the message and to use for more ad- Trade and Industry, in an attempt relevant copyright royalties have vanced programmes for the func- to resolve matters and to advance been paid. For example, a facilitator tionally-illiterate.10 If restricted to the legislative process amicably. or a literacy student cannot make only information that is distributed Negotiations are continuing and multiple copies for other rural stu- freely, or material in the public do- matters under discussion are fair dents or fellow learners doing a main, these people would seldom use, multiple copying for non-profit particular course, unless copyright have access to up-to-date informa- educational purposes, electronic permission has been obtained and tion. New and current publications copyright, provisions for persons paid for, or unless the provisions of would only be accessible to those with disabilities, as well as enforce- the Copyright Regulations apply. who could afford to pay the pur- ment measures for rights owners. chase price or the copyright royalty, The Copyright Regulations, based where applicable. Rural people As a priority, it is necessary for all on the United States Classroom would remain ‘information starved’ laws which hinder or restrict access Guidelines, have some exemptions and illiterate and countries in this to information, to be reviewed. permitting limited copying for edu- region would have no hope of cational purposes (i.e. handouts for changing their status from ‘devel- Developing countries have very dif- students) but these only apply to oping’ to ‘developed’. ferent needs from developed coun- the classroom situation. They do tries, which need to be addressed, not apply to distance education, In recent years, the South African internationally and locally. Current- nor to literacy and basic adult edu- Government published proposed ly the UK Commission on Intel- cation programmes where tuition amendments to its Copyright Act lectual Property Rights, WIPO and is not always conducted in a class- and Regulations, as a result of pres- the World Trade Organization are room. sure from the publishing industry. seeking appropriate solutions for

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 263 Denise Nicholson

developing countries. It is hoped been more successful than others Librarians can also get involved in that South Africa will also benefit but there is earnest commitment to less conventional but philanthrop- from this process. ensure that the goal of ‘literacy for ic initiatives to assist rural com- all’ is achieved as soon as possi- munities. Many public libraries in The copyright legislation needs to ble. However, more funding, better South Africa already offer basic lit- be amended to provide exemptions training for trainers, as well as fa- eracy and information literacy for reproduction for non-profit pur- cilities and an adequate adminis- training and some have introduced poses (i.e. including literacy, adult trative infrastructure are essential other useful activities, for example, basic education and special edu- to ensure that these projects suc- storytelling, reading and writing, as cational programmes for the dis- ceed. The private sector has also well as role-playing, arts and crafts abled). Such exemptions would invested millions of rand in literacy and project work to encourage and open up information, which is cur- training for individuals and groups, assist illiterate and functionally- rently shut-off from millions of il- mainly to assist people in getting illiterate people. Some also provide literate people. This would enable jobs or to better themselves in the collection points for used books, the ‘information-starved’ to take workplace. educational material and other their first steps onto the ‘Informa- useful items, for distribution to ru- tion Super Highway’. With regard to the access to infor- ral libraries, resource centres and mation and education and freedom schools. This service could be ex- of expression, librarians continue to tended, if properly organized dis- En Route to the play a major role. The Library As- tribution depots were established ‘Information Super sociation of South Africa (LIASA) to facilitate the collection, storage Highway’ is a member of IFLA and is in- and distribution of such material to volved in library and information rural communities and under-re- Despite the problems highlighted projects locally, regionally and in- sourced libraries. in this paper, I believe that Afri- ternationally. Literacy projects are cans will find solutions to reach high on its list of priorities. Libraries are also the ‘doors’ to in- and advance along the ‘Informa- formation in the digital world. tion Super Highway’. South Africa, As early as the 1980s, it was rec- Where digital technology is avail- a leader and major power in the ognized that there was a “need for able, information literacy training, sub-Saharan region, together with a new type of library in South Af- electronic courses and access to other entities, has initiated many rica, which offered a radically dif- electronic resources are now part cooperative projects within the ferent approach to library and of library services. Some education- country and regionally, with neigh- information provision for the rural al institutions provide telematic bouring countries, to address prob- populations. It was seen as requir- information services and other edu- lems affecting rural communities ing a new paradigm of service, and cational programmes to rural com- and illiterate people. South Afri- a new type of librarian endowed munities, but these services need to ca is a major player in the South with a range of skills and compe- be extended countrywide. African Development Community tencies far beyond those normally (SADC) and in the newly estab- associated with the library and in- Electronic or e-learning is an effec- lished African Union. Its recent ini- formation workforce”. Despite this, tive method to teaching and a new tiative, NEPAD, the New Partner- in the 21st century most sub-Sahar- approach to learning for illiterate ship for Africa’s Development and an African libraries servicing rural and functionally-illiterate people. its hosting of the World Summit communities are still largely in the E-learning allows education to be on Sustainable Development in ‘stranglehold’ of imported library offered in a totally different, more Johannesburg, during August 2002, models, which are not entirely rel- flexible and less conventional meth- also shows its commitment to the evant to the rural situation.11 od of teaching and accommodates socio-economic development of all levels and has various graded Africa as a whole. Librarians need to recognize their models to allow for progress and very important and special role in advancement once learners have Unfortunately, there are no ‘quick- the social and educational uplift- reached a certain level. It is adapted fixes’ for this region and adequate ment of illiterate people in this re- to the learners’ needs, not the learn- funding, international assistance gion. They have to adopt a whole er to the technology’s needs. Most and full commitment from Govern- new approach to their profession. e-courses have a printed manual, ments and non-government sectors Revised training methods and tai- also graded for various levels and are essential for the success of lor-made services are necessary to facilities for revision. An interesting these projects. make information accessible to all. initiative in e-learning is that of Af- Rural librarianship needs to be ricare, an organization working to- The Department of Education has given more emphasis in formal li- gether with large international cor- initiated various national literacy brary training courses to equip li- porate partners, including Microsoft, and adult basic skills training pro- brarians with the necessary skills Hewlett-Packard and others. They grammes and projects to assist illit- to meet the needs of the informa- have established ‘digital villages’ in erate citizens. Some projects have tion-starved. some of South Africa’s larger town-

264 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 The ‘Information-Starved’

ships (e.g. Soweto, outside Johan- Provincial and municipal local au- national Literacy Day, September 8, nesburg). Their most immediate thorities in South Africa, together 1999. Pg. 1. Retrieved January 10, 2002, goals are literacy, information lit- with Eskom, a major supplier of from: 1. http://www.polity.org.za/ eracy and job training. Africare electricity in the region, are in- govdocs/speeches/1999/sp0908.html. and its partners intend to create volved in on-going electrification 3. Asmal, K. Statement by the Minister of Education on the Occasion of Inter- such villages wherever needed in projects. Each year, the national South Africa and to extend them electricity grid is being extended national Literacy Day p.2. Retrieved January 10, 2002, from: 1. http://www. to other African countries.12 and thousands of rural homes and polity.org.za/govdocs/speeches/1999/ informal settlements are being sup- sp0908.html. Although radio has its shortcom- plied with electricity, thus enabling 4. Constitution of the Republic of South ings for literacy training and there these communities to access infor- Africa, 1996 .[Ch. 2. Bill of Rights]. Re- is no ‘face-to-face’ verbal contact, mation via various media, includ- trieved January 10,2002 from: http:// it can be a very effective means of ing radio, television, fax machines, www.polity.org.za/govdocs/constitution communication, in that it not only photocopiers, multimedia and com- /saconst02.html#. reaches the communities involved puters. 5. Asmal, K. Statement by the Minister of in literacy and basic education pro- Education on the Occasion of Inter- grammes, but it can be broadcast national Literacy Day pg. 2. Retrieved widely so everyone can benefit from Conclusion January 10, 2002 from: 1. http://www. the information.13 Radios are rea- polity.org.za/govdocs/speeches/1999/ sonably cheap and can be operated All governments, private and pub- sp0908.html. by battery in non-electrified areas, lic sectors, as well as librarians and 6. Sub-Saharan Africa. Pg. 1. Retrieved enabling rural people to access in- individuals in the sub-Saharan re- January 10, 2002 from: 1. http://www. formation via this medium. Apart gion need to commit themselves to hf.caltech.edu/whichword/explore/ssa/ from the long-established radio ser- eradicating illiteracy in every pos- ssaman_top.html. 7. vices provided by the South African sible way, so that everyone is given Logie. D. AIDS cuts life expectancy in sub-Saharan Africa by a quarter. Re- Broadcasting Corporation, many the opportunity to advance along trieved January 10, 2002 from: www. new community radio stations have the Information Super Highway. studentbmj.com/back_issue/1199/news been established in recent years to They need to aspire to the ‘Afri- /4036.html. reach the illiterate. Literacy train- can Renaissance’, as envisaged by 8. Coetzer. Jennigay. South Africa, awake ing via this medium should be ex- Thabo Mbeki, the current President to the Internet! 2002. Sawubona. Feb- panded and offered in all eleven of South Africa, who has stated ruary, 2002. Sandton, Mafube Publish- official languages. Television is also that: ing: p.83. used as a medium for literacy train- 9. Sub-Saharan Africa. Pg. 1. Retrieved ing, but only where electricity is The new African World, which January 10, 2002 from: 1. http://www. available. the African Renaissance seeks to hf.caltech.edu/whichword/explore/ssa/ build, is one of democracy, peace ssaman_top.html. The SA Post Office has various and stability, sustainable devel- 10. Stilwell, C., Leach, A and Burton, S. projects to provide ‘one-stop shop’ opment and a better life for the (eds.). 2001. Knowledge, information communication services and other people, non-racism and non- and development: an African perspec- essential services and information sexism, equality among the native. Pietermaritzburg. University of countrywide, and has prioritized tions and a just and democratic Natal. School of Human and Social rural areas. Although there are still system of international govern- Studies. p.167. 11. only a small number of Citizen Post ance. Stilwell, op. cit., p.182. 12. Africare at work. Closing the digital di- Offices and Multi-purpose Com- vide in South Africa. Retrieved January munication Centres operating to 11, 2002 from: 1. http://www.africare. date, the SA Post Office plans to org/at_work/sa-computers. expand these valuable services over References 13. Stilwell, op. cit., p.170. the next few years. “They provide a 14. Maphatane, M. Bridging the digital di- critical platform through which ac- 1. IFLA/FAIFE. Libraries and Intellectual vide: Postal Business Unit. Presenta- cess and training can be extended Freedom. Pg. 1. Retrieved January 10, tion at the Africa Day Workshop 2001. to ensure that citizens in rural ar- 2002 from: www.faife.dk. Retrieved January 11, 2002 from: http:// eas are not permanently excluded 2. Asmal, K. Statement by the Minister of www.umts-forum.org/presentations/ from information”14 . Education on the Occasion of Inter- Postal_Policy_and_Postal_Projects.pdf.

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 265 Managing Cultural Change: the challenge of merging library services, curriculum development and academic professional development

Sue McKnight This paper deals with cultural Introduction change, which has been described Sue McKnight has been Executive as Director, Learning Services and Uni- Change is endemic. It is rapid, and versity Librarian at Deakin Univer- often has significant implications. Lasting structural and social sity, Australia, since 2000. Prior to Some staff are ‘change junkies’ and changes (within an organization this she was University Librarian others are less able to embrace or set of linked organizations), at Deakin, being appointed to that PLUS lasting changes to the position in 1996. As Executive Di- shared ways of thinking, beliefs, rector, Sue is responsible for the values, procedures and relation- University’s library services, the de- ships of the stakeholders.1 sign, development, production and manufacture of all course material This discussion is primarily focused associated with online or distance on the internal aspects of manag- learning, the management of the ing cultural change. It focuses on library and learning management the cultural change associated with systems, and the professional de- creating a working environment velopment of Faculty staff. Sue that is a blend of professionals, re- has been active in professional as- engineering processes, creating new sociations, being twice president teams, and the overarching need to of the Victorian Branch of the Aus- establish a shared set of values that tralian Library and Information As- defines the blended organization. sociation, and also State President of the Australian Council of Library Much of the internal cultural change and Information Services. She is has evolved from a focus on the also a member of the Open and prime customer groups, of under- Distance Learning Association of standing their value packages (their Australia, the International Council hierarchy of needs and desires) on Distance Education, and an As- and of discovering what irritates sociate Fellow of the Australian In- change. However, the impact of them about existing practices, ser- stitute of Management. Currently change on staff in academic li- vices and resources. The research she is Information Officer of the braries is profound, and manage- undertaken to define the customer University and General Research ment have a role in making sure value packages provided the evi- Libraries Section of the Interna- that staff are better able to under- dence that drove the internal cul- tional Federation of Library Asso- stand, participate in and manage tural change. ciations. She holds professional the change themselves. library qualifications, a degree in business and a masters degree in Academic libraries are dealing with Deakin University public administration. In 1999, a multitude of change agents, from she was recognized by the Austra- budget constraints, increasing use Deakin’s vision is to be Australia’s lian Library and Information Asso- of, and rapid change in information most progressive university, inter- ciation as Australian ‘Manager of technologies, changes in scholarly nationally recognized for the rele- the Year’ and was the inaugu- publishing, and demands for greater vance, innovation and responsive- ral winner of the Deakin University accountability and benchmarking, ness of its teaching and learning, Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Out- to devising and implementing new research, partnerships and inter- standing Leadership. services for an increasingly sophis- national activities.2 ticated and demanding user population. Many academic libraries are Deakin University was established also dealing with converging or- in 1974 and began teaching in 1977. ganizational and service structures, The University has 70,000 students with libraries combining with in- enrolled each year, and specializes formation technology service de- in student-centred education and partments and teaching support lifelong learning. It has six cam- and curriculum development units. puses across the State of Victoria,

266 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 Managing Cultural Change three in Melbourne, the capital of tralia. In 1999 Deakin became the literacy and liaison programs, and the Australian State of Victoria, only university in Australia to be collection development. two in the second largest city in awarded the coveted University of the State, Geelong, which is 70km the Year twice – this time for its As of July 2002, Learning Services from the capital, and one in Warr- productive partnerships with busi- employed approximately 300 peo- nambool, a thriving regional centre ness and industry. ple in 230 effective full-time posi- 200 km from Geelong. Deakin has tions across six campuses. There is five faculties: Arts, Business and a wide variety of professional cate- Law, Education, Health and Be- Learning Services gories represented within Learning havioural Sciences, and Science Services, including: librarians and and Technology. It offers awards Learning Services was formed at library technicians; academic staff from undergraduate degree to re- the end of 2000 from the merger of with specialist skills in education search and professional doctorates. what was the Office of Flexible design, research and evaluation, Learning, the Centre for Academic and professional development; in- All Deakin students have choices Development, Learning Resource structional designers (many with about the way they study. Students Services and the Library. Today, teaching experience); graphic de- can attend lectures on campus and Learning Services comprises four signers; programmers and www receive face-to-face teaching, but quite different organizational units: developers; system and database thousands of busy professionals administrators; photographers; edi- have discovered a different way The Teaching and Learning Support tors/material developers and pub- to study – using flexible, online Unit is responsible for educational lishing support officers; printers course delivery. Students receive design, academic professional de- and finishers; video and audio pro- comprehensive study packages in- velopment, management of the en- ducers; accountants; business man- cluding state-of-the-art computer- terprise-level learning management agers; copyright experts; and ad- aided learning, simulations and system, and research and evalua- ministrative and clerical staff. videos. tion on teaching scholarship and pedagogy. As you can see, there is quite a Flexible delivery allows students to range, and if you consider the phi- study on campus or off campus, Learning Resources is responsible losophical backgrounds of the pro- full time or part time, or using a for translating the education de- fessional areas, you start to see the mix of study modes. With Deakin, signs for curriculum material into challenges in bringing together students can take a degree in many the actual resources used by teach- these diverse sets of cultures and fields, undergraduate or postgradu- ers and learners, whether interac- experiences. However, we believe ate, from anywhere in the world – tive online environments or static we can deliver greater value, or be at home, or where they work. Stu- web pages, multimedia CD-ROMs, more than the sum of the individ- dents studying on campus or off audio and video tapes, printed ma- ual parts of Learning Services, by campus take exactly the same Dea- terial, and accessible curriculum working together in the new online kin degree. resources for students with dis- and digital environment. abilities. In 1993, Deakin University created Deakin Australia (now Deakin Access and Information Resources Why Must We Change? Prime), a wholly owned subsidiary incorporates the traditional tech- company, with a brief to tailor edu- nical services functions of a library As with most organizations, uni- cation and training to the needs of (acquisition, cataloguing, collection versities are undergoing significant corporate clients. It works with a management) but is also involved, change due to the increasing ‘mas- broad range of national and inter- more and more, with managing sification’ of tertiary education, the national corporations, professional information resources and systems increasing globalization of higher associations and government agen- for digital objects (e-Readings, digi- education, pressures due to space cies. Deakin Prime has grown to tal information for students with a and financial constraints, and the become Australia’s leading pro- disability, and digital course mate- increasing commercial imperative vider of education and training rials, with an emphasis on com- to seek new markets and raise ad- for organizations, with more than plying with copyright, intellectual ditional revenue. These, together 40,000 people enrolled through property and disability discrimina- with rapid changes in informa- partnerships and contracts at any tion legislation and policies). tional technologies and increasing one time. expectations of students, mean that Library Services is the traditional staff employed in the higher edu- In 1995 Deakin was named ‘Aus- public services of the library. It is cation sector must cope with con- tralian University of the Year’ for responsible for reference and instant change, not only in work its innovative use of information formation services, resource deliv- processes but also in the way we technology in teaching. In 1997 it ery including loans, inter-campus think of students and other staff won a five-star rating from the and off-campus loans, inter-library members. Universities are increas- Graduate Careers Council of Aus- loans and shelving, the information ingly reflecting the language, poli-

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 267 Sue McKnight

cies and processes of the business Both the Library and Learning Re- all the traditional support services, world. sources Services were involved in has caused a re-evaluation of how managing copyright compliance. we design learning spaces for stu- It is worth highlighting that over Both were involved with digitizing dents, so as to embed access to in- the last ten years, Deakin Univer- material for students, for use via formation resources and informa- sity has undergone significant or- the e-Readings (formerly e-Reserve) tion literacy training in particular, ganizational change, becoming a service of the Library and for de- with the traditional curriculum re- blended organization, comprising livery of curriculum material to sources of subject outlines, study the original Deakin University (Gee- those students with a print disabili- guides and readers. long), which was itself a merger of ty. The legislative changes required two organizations, the Warrnam- a much more coherent approach The final catalyst for change that bool Institute of Advanced Educa- to the communication/delivery of I will mention is the changing fi- tion (in Warrnambool) and Victoria copyright material to students. nancial climate of universities in College (in Melbourne), another Australia, and I assume across the blended organization. Thus, the Rapid changes in IT infrastructure world, where we are trying to do parent organization has a variety are also leading to the convergence more with less, where we are con- of cultures, reflecting the different in systems that deliver information scious, as managers, of delivering origins of the constituent members. to students. One of my favourite a significant return on investment sayings is “Students don’t know, or and the need to maximize use and The Library, as an organizational care, where the curriculum ends value-adding of existing assets. This unit, has had a relatively stable life, and the support information re- business approach to managing undergoing a number of relatively sources begin.” As we move pro- staff and resources creates pressure minor internal reorganizations but gressively into an online, or at least to change often long-held attitudes retaining its strong ‘library’ tag. online-enhanced environment for in the work environment. However, the other components of teaching and learning, there is a the organizational unit that I now blurring of the services and re- manage have had a long history sources delivered from the Library’s Change to What? of restructure and organizational integrated management system, Understanding Customer change for a variety of reasons. My the learning management system belief is that the frequent and de- (course management system), and Needs stabilizing restructures were the re- the digital object repository. In a sult of a lack of vision as to the University like Deakin, that has My management philosophy can role of the groups within the Uni- been creating curriculum resources be summed up as understanding versity, a clash of professional cul- for delivery to remote students, our customers, and knowing what tures and too much emphasis on whether in print or other multi- really matters to them. To achieve professional boundaries, which re- media or online formats for many this, we ask the customers. By un- sult in work silos, rather than fo- years, there is also the emerging derstanding the environment in cusing on the needs of students need to link the course materials which we work, by understanding and academic staff and working planning and production system the values of our customers, by together to deliver these needs. with the digital object repository, identifying new or changed services to link the digital object repository that would help deliver greater val- Therefore, the bringing together to a digital printing system, and ue for our customers and reduce of a relatively stable, high profile also to integrate warehousing and their irritation level, we can de- and well respected Library, serving dispatch functions. All these devel- velop a plan for action. students and academic staff as in- opments are adding further weight dividuals, with a group of organi- to the need to manage significant By involving staff in this customer zational units that rarely interacted cultural change, as staff have had research, by seeking their analysis with students and whose services, to develop new work processes of the research findings on what while of excellent quality, were only and new skills, develop under- adds value for the customer, by accessed by a select few academic standings of new customers, and their participation in teams estab- staff, created an interesting chal- form new teams within the organi- lished to define what change is re- lenge for managing cultural change. zation, while at the same time quired within the organization to working with new partners both deliver the customer value package, There were also external pressures within Learning Services and also we create an internal environment for change that were driving a re- within the wider University. that is not only ready for change, assessment of our working rela- but which is driving the change tionships within Learning Services. A further development within Dea- from the ground up, rather than These were primarily driven by kin University is the move to de- imposed from management above. changes to the Australian Copyright liver more and more learning In this way, there is a much greater Act and the Digital Agenda Act, opportunities online. The need to chance of staff ‘buy-in’ and the regarding the communication of ensure tightly integrated, online change process is much more like- electronic information to students. learning environments, linked to ly to be successful and sustaining.

268 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 Managing Cultural Change

The process involves conducting Library Value Factors our case, Learning Services, must ‘customer discovery workshops’3 work together. where customer groups (under- • relevant, current, accessible book graduate, postgraduate coursework, collection Inter-disciplinary teams are formed, postgraduate research, off-campus, • easy access to more online li- often involving customers as well, academic staff etc) participate brary resources to analyse the customer value feed- in facilitated workshops. Learning • sufficient copies of key texts back results. These teams review Services staff also attend, sitting in • approachable, knowledgeable, existing work practices and identify the background, listening to the competent staff new ways of delivering the service feedback, but not commenting as • access to and availability of jour- to remove irritants and add value. this would stifle comments from nals By listening to the feedback of cus- the customers. In the first part of • affordable, flexible and reliable tomers, Learning Services staff re- the focus group workshops, the photocopying and printing alize that changes are necessary, participants identify, in silence and • reliable, up to date IT computer and that, perhaps, they could im- individually, the irritants that they support prove on what they currently do or perceive about the existing services. • timely access to library staff and deliver. The customer feedback re- This way, the issues are identified online help search forces an honest appraisal but there is no ‘you think that’s • environment conducive to study of services and resources and high- bad, listen to what happened to • adequate opening hours lights, from the customers’ per- me’ situation. These comments are • library skills training to find in- spective, why change is necessary. then gathered for analysis after the formation Thus, the changes are customer workshops. • clear signage. driven, and not by management in a top down approach. Then the participants are led Teaching and Learning through a visioning exercise, where Support Unit/Learning Prior to the merger that formed they are asked to imagine a time, Resources Value Factors Learning Services, the Library had three to five years on, when they adopted a ‘purpose statement’, rath- have been successful in their en- • up to date practical, education er than a vision or mission state- deavours at university, and they advice and support ment, that guided thoughts and are asked to identify what services, • timely responsive service actions. This purpose statement provided by Learning Services, • working together was ‘We help people learn.’ After helped them achieve their success. • adequate appropriately managed the merger that formed Learning This exercise, through a prioritizing resources Services, this purpose statement process, leads to the identification • focus on quality and improve- became ‘We help people teach and of the services and resources that ment learn’, which reflects the direct are most valued. The participants • training and professional devel- role of Learning Services in as- are then asked to rate the current opment responds to my needs sisting academic staff to develop performance of Learning Services • flexible service delivery curriculum material and the role of in delivering the identified services. • friendly competent cooperative the group in delivering academic This results in a hierarchy of value staff professional development. I suggest elements and a gap analysis on • commitment to facilitation of on- that had the Library not merged perception of current performance, line delivery with the other groups, it would still which can then be analysed to • knowledge of and access to staff have changed its purpose state- identify strategies to close the gaps. and services. ment to this one, as librarians are becoming increasingly involved in When Learning Services was The process described has been the the design of integrated online formed, the Library had been con- framework used to deliver cultural learning environments and in de- ducting customer discovery work- change. It is based on asking the livering, in the classroom or on the shops for a number of years. The customer, and not assuming that web, information literacy training staff were used to the process and we know what is good for the cus- to students (and academic staff). had been successful in acting upon tomer. It results in challenges to the feedback. With the formation existing policies and work practices, Customer discovery workshops are of Learning Services, there was a and engenders a greater value on now being supplemented by smaller, need to conduct similar workshops teamwork than would otherwise more frequent feedback sessions. focusing on the new, wider range be evident, as customers invariably Learning Services staff use data from of services that had not been pre- do not distinguish between par- the customer research to identify viously identified in the Library’s ticular aspects of the service, per- the objectives that will deliver the customer research activities. haps delivered by different parts of customer value packages, and these the organization. What they de- then form the basis of the Learning For Learning Services the top val- scribe is the outcome of an end-to- Services Strategic Plan. The Strate- ue elements are, in order of highest end process, and to deliver the val- gic Plan is written in the format of to lowest importance: ue, all parts of the organization, in the Balanced ScoreCard (BSC) with

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 269 Sue McKnight

the four perspectives: Financial, to further enhance our productiv- software so that all staff can track Customer, Internal Processes and ity. our performance on a regular ba- Learning & Growth, ensuring that sis. I have to admit that we have all aspects of our operations re- Learning and Growth struggled to identify the most ap- ceive attention so as to fulfill the Perspective propriate measures to track our customer value packages.4 performance, but we are getting L1. Invest in people closer to having the right mix of The objectives contained in the cur- lead and lag indicators so that we Invest in selecting, retaining and rent Learning Services Strategic can identify problem areas (areas developing our people in a sup- Plan, including the Library opera- where our performance is not what portive and innovative work envi- tions, are: we expect or desire) early enough ronment, where they are recognized so that remedial action can be and rewarded for excellence. Customer Perspective taken before it is too late to have a positive impact. C1. Satisfy our customers L2. Strategy driven technology The BSC representation of our stra- Contribute to the success of our Exploit new and existing technolo- tegic planning objectives and per- customers and continually improve gies to maximize productivity and formance is a great way to share customer satisfaction by focused de- value. results and to aid communication, livery of the selected value models, both to staff within Learning Ser- i.e. what they believe is important. L3. Living our values vices and also with our customers and stakeholders. The performance Demonstrate commitment to our C2. Be first to mind is displayed in a www format, link- purpose and values through our ing the customers’ values (from the Develop our reputation and profile daily behaviours, policies and prac- customer research), with the Learn- such that Learning Services is first tices. ing Services objectives and with to mind for assistance in teaching the operational level strategies to and learning within Deakin. We Financial Perspective action the objectives, and finally to are the acknowledged leader, the the targets and associated measures provider of choice. Customers as- F1. Maximize asset utilization of all units within Learning Ser- sociate our products and services Continually seek ways to maximize vices. with excellence. Customers know, the use of our assets and resources understand, value and use our to deliver greater value to our cus- This very public way of displaying services and resources. tomers and the University and what we are trying to achieve, how minimize unproductive overheads. we are going to achieve the objec- C3. Extend our reach tives, and the actual performance is a great way of facilitating cultural • Increase the numbers of people F2. Develop beneficial change. Staff see how their individu- and levels of interaction with our partnerships al contributions link to the overall services and resources. Maintain and seek beneficial part- goals of the organization, how they • Expertise, resources and systems nerships that enhance our services must work as a team to deliver the of Learning Services underpin and resources. customer value packages, and they the University’s knowledge man- learn to think in an end-to-end agement initiatives and strategic service model rather than simply priorities. F3. Drive change and decision- focusing on their ‘small bit’ of the making business of Learning Services. Internal Processes Perspective • Play a key role in the success of the University’s planning and I1. Dramatically improve core decision-making. processes Roadblocks to Cultural • Ensure University decisions and Change • Dramatically improve the effi- directions are influenced by ciency and effectiveness of core Learning Services’ vision and processes which deliver customer requirements. Despite the idealistic rhetoric here, value packages. • Ensure that sufficient funds are the reality is that Learning Services • Dramatically reduce the end-to- allocated to support our strate- is not perfect, by any means, but end time of key core processes. gic priorities. we are doing very well when compared to other parts of our Univer- An important aspect of using the sity. The processes employed go a I2. Continually improve BSC framework is the focus on per- long way towards minimizing the productivity formance measurement. Learning impact of internal politics and per- Strive to improve productivity to Services is currently implementing sonal egos, which can be signifi- achieve savings that can be applied the CORVU balanced scorecard cant blockages to change.

270 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 Managing Cultural Change

A major impediment to cultural that lead to an outcome, a result, a synergy between different work change that was encountered was service or product that is delivered groups. The glue, binding all as- the gulf between the Library’s pre- to the customer (learner or teach- pects of a successful organization, paredness to work within the cus- er), we are better equipped to val- is Shared Values. tomer discovery research and BSC ue our own differences and see framework and that of the other how everything must fit together to Over 170 Learning Services staff parts of the merged Learning Ser- deliver what the customer wants participated in facilitated work- vices. The Library had had four and values. It is slowly breaking shops to identify the values that years of experience of working in down a ‘them and us’ mentality. guide our behaviour at work. A this way, and the others were start- small team took the results of these ing from scratch. Therefore, we ex- There are also language differences workshops and developed the final perienced frustration from Library and poor communication. Some list of our core values. These are: staff as we worked to bring every- words mean different things in dif- one up to the same level of under- ferent professional disciplines and We commit to our colleagues and standing. Library staff felt that they we are trying to develop a common clients were standing still, and not progres- vocabulary so that there is clarity We take responsibility sing, while this was being done. and understanding when we use We willingly share knowledge and There was jealousy towards the Li- terms. Poor communication is not skills brary because of its very high new in any organization, and espe- We connect ideas to action reputation and standing within the cially one that is so geographically University. dispersed. We will never be perfect, To be able to demonstrate that but we are striving to improve com- there was a strong and common The next impediment was having munication amongst work groups set of values within Learning Ser- all Learning Services staff under- and across campuses so that there vices, was very important. Despite stand the need to change. This was is broader understanding of all parts the different professional back- overcome, in part, by involving staff of the organization, and that in- grounds, we were one organization, in the customer discovery work- formation is available for all to in- with common values and philoso- shops and subsequent analysis of terpret and use as required. There phies, delivering quality services results. However, there are still is extensive use of an Intranet to and resources to the University many staff who have not taken part share information, and global e- community. At this moment, we in this process, and only over time mails to all staff keep people are in the process of conducting will they have personal experience abreast of important news. workshops with each workgroup of listening to customers and ac- so that they can articulate, for cepting the feedback as the basis Finally, there are entrenched prac- themselves, in their particular situ- for action for continuous improve- tices and past histories that impede ation, how these values will be ment. In the meantime, the staff cultural change. There is the poten- demonstrated in the workplace. ‘champions’, who have been in- tial for mistrust and misinterpreta- We are convinced that this process volved with the process, act as ad- tion based on past experiences. will go a long way towards break- vocates with their work colleagues. Only time and positive experiences ing down the few barriers that still will overcome this. However, by exist between the merged entities Centrally organized staff develop- demonstrating success through high that make up Learning Services. ment activities, including Change levels of customer and stakeholder Management training and Custom- satisfaction, we start to share ‘wins’ When I return to work from this er Service training, have been con- and demonstrate the value of part- conference, my management team ducted. A large number of Learn- nerships, which help to develop will be considering the introduc- ing Services staff have participated trust and shared, positive histories. tion of monthly workgroup awards in these activities. Success breeds success. that encourage demonstration of our shared values. This way we are In the process of analysing results hoping to internalize our values, of the customer value feedback, Shared Staff Values constantly demonstrating that we and in the subsequent reviews of consider these are important, and our core processes, it became ap- During 2001, the management team to reward staff who ‘walk the talk’. parent that we have a clash of pro- realized that it would aid our cul- fessional cultures, with academic tural change if we could go through staff employed within Learning Ser- a similar exercise as we had done Moving On vices placing more emphasis on with our customers, to understand the researching, thinking and evalu- what we value as individuals work- I believe we have been successful ation of actions, while those in the ing in Learning Services. Research in achieving cultural change. Staff Library and in Learning Resources, by St. Hubert Saint-Onge5 indicates are aware of our customers’ values, in particular, more focused on ac- that by identifying shared values, are focused on delivering the cus- tion. By understanding that we are and articulating these within the tomer value packages, and are all involved in a chain of actions workplace, there is a great deal more proud of their own and their

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 271 Sue McKnight

group’s contributions to achieving The net result is that we enjoy a Behold the turtle, he makes pro- these. There is a common frame- high reputation within the Univer- gress only when his neck is out. work to discuss work and we have sity for being customer focussed, improved the tracking of our per- for delivering what is required, and (Confucius) formance. for demonstrating sound financial and staff management. This brings Staff morale has been improved. benefits to Learning Services when There is a greater understanding of additional funds are required for how all the bits of Learning Serv- projects or when budgets are being References ices fit together. There is less con- considered for cuts. Because we 1. cern about future change, as rather can link our plans and budgets to Alison Scammell, ‘The bigger picture: cultural change and the eLib pro- than change being seen as a ‘bad the direct needs of our customers, gramme’. International Institute for thing’, staff are empowered to make we have a far greater chance of Electronic Library Research, De Mont- change because it improves our gaining additional resources or fort University, Milton Keynes, UK. performance in achieving the cus- surviving funding cuts. In addition, http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/services/papers tomers’ needs. They now under- we have developed our reputation /bl/ans-1997/scammell/iap-html/ stand the reasons for the change, as expert service providers. tsld001.htm. and that the changes will have a 2. Deakin University Strategic Planning positive impact on our customers. The cultural change has been pro- Framework. http://www.deakin.edu. found, and is still ongoing. Given au/vc/vc/strategic/strategic.php. As a result of the focus on customer the environment in which we work, 3. The process is owned and facilitated by needs, we have improved general further significant change is antici- consultants, Austin Thompson and As- management practices: Strategic pated. However, we look upon the sociates, Sydney, Australia, who have Plans are ‘strategic’; operational future as an opportunity to deliver been working with the Library, and plans link to the strategic plan; even better services and resources. now Learning Services, since 1996. 4. Robert S. Kaplan, David P. Norton, performance measurement tracking The balanced scorecard: translating is used and reports on perform- In some ways we have dared to be strategy into action. Boston, Mass., ance are available on the www for different. We have behaved more Harvard Business School Press, 1996. all staff to see; budgets (try to) fol- like a commercial business rather 5. Saint-Onge, Hubert, ‘Creating a knowl- low strategic decisions; and skills than like a university or traditional edge-driven enterprise’, workshop audits and staff development plans service organization. However, it notes, sponsored by Clarica, and pre- are informed by our strategic di- has been, and will continue to be, sented in Sydney, Australia, July 4th rections. worth it. 2001.

272 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 A Look at Changes in Government Information Policies after September 11

Edward T. Hart tion of information and also public Introduction use of freedom of information stat- Edward T. Hart serves as the Ac- utes. Such practices are earmarks quisitions/Government Documents In the aftermath of September 11, of a democratic government by pro- Librarian for the law library of the governments around the globe have viding a way for the people to New England School of Law in Bos- reassessed their security protec- check the actions of their govern- ton, Massachusetts, United States. tions in light of the extreme meas- ments. These measures have always He holds graduate degrees in inter- ures that the followers of Osama been limited by such constraints as national affairs from Florida State bin Laden are willing to take to ‘national security’ and privacy, but University, in law from New England carry out their anti-American cam- in the aftermath of September 11 School of Law, and in library and paign. If civilian planes can be- new limitations on government in- information sciences from Sim- come missiles, what other instru- formation are being adopted by mons College. His current research ments of everyday life may be used countries. Government agencies are interests are access of government to wreck destruction? In response arguing that a new level of scrutiny information and English academic many governments have launched is needed, since some published law libraries. campaigns to combat this new lev- information could aid the efforts of el of terrorism. terrorists. This paper will look at the considerations and changes One critical area in government regarding government information campaigns to combat terrorism is made by a number of countries the management and manipulation after September 11. We will also of information. This is information look at several examples of the which is both produced by govern- government seeking to control pri- ments and private information that vate information sources, commer- governments believe will be useful cial and nonprofit, on grounds of in the fight against terrorism. Gov- security or the need to prevent ‘hate ernments are reviewing their in- crimes’ against threatened minority formation policies regarding access populations. and privacy. Some countries’ policies have already been directly The United States government has influenced by the events of Sep- had a history of being one of the tember 11 and have changed to most open governments in the world meet the perceived new demands with its diverse programs for distri- of combating terrorism. There are bution of government information two very important areas of infor- and Freedom of Information Acts mation policies that have changed (FOIA). Historically, government in many countries: access to infor- information is distributed through mation, whether government pro- the Federal Depository Libraries duced or not, and privacy from program, but recently the use of the government intrusion into person- Internet has provided an increas- al information. We will focus on ing amount of direct public access access to information. Playing a to agencies’ information sources. critical role in implementing these FOIA require Federal agencies to measures are information special- provide answers to individuals’ re- ists and librarians who are being quests for information held by the told to deny their patrons informa- agencies or provide statutory cause tion while at the same time being for not giving an answer. These acts forced to surrender information almost put agencies on the defen- long thought of as confidential. sive when information requests are made of them. We will now focus on information published by the Access to Information United States government whether required by statute or as a matter Many countries have had a long of internal policy of the agencies to tradition of providing access to in- provide that information and how formation through regular publica- access to information has changed.

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 273 Edward T. Hart

In the aftermath of September 11 Issues of distribution and content democracy in my view. It may there was a concern over the use of government publications were be an efficient way for a govern- of published government informa- still being reviewed by the publish- ment to operate, but I don’t think tion by terrorists to cause further ing agencies at the time of the we can call it a democracy. damage and harm to the country. council meeting. Buckley reminded Here are just a few examples of the librarians that documents have In Canada, the federal government some of the information pulled previously been requested to be has its own debate about govern- from public access according to removed from depository libraries, ment information in light of the ter- the watchdog group OMBWatch. averaging a couple such requests rorist attacks. Canada’s response The Department of Transportation each year over the last few dec- to September 11 was the Anti-Ter- has removed mapping information ades. The procedures for removing rorism Act of 2001 which received of pipelines because of the pipe- a document from a collection re- royal assent on December 18, 2001. lines’ vulnerability to attack. The ceived through the program could The act has at least three impacts Environmental Protection Agency only be done with permission of on the government’s information is limiting the content of and the the Public Printer, the Superinten- policy. First, greater allowances are access to its databases and requir- dent of Documents, or their agents. given to the Attorney General in is- ing registration protocols to track The publishing agency could order suing certificates to prohibit the dis- users of the information. The Fed- a publication to be removed, but closure of government information eral Energy Regulatory Commis- only the directions of the GPO and in proceedings under the Canadian sion has removed its information its officials should be followed con- Evidence Act. Second, limitations on energy facilities from its web- cerning depository materials. on telecommunication speech are site. extended against ‘spreading repeat- Probably the most striking change ed hate messages.’ Three, greater It is not only from the Internet that in the stance of government offi- allowance for law enforcement to information is being removed and cials was Attorney General John monitor telecommunications and restricted by government agencies. Ashcroft’s direction to heads of all business records for suspicious ac- The United States Geological Sur- federal departments and agencies. tivities. The first two points we will vey requested the removal of a CD- In a memorandum he told the fed- now examine while the last point ROM sent to libraries through the eral officials to resist any request will be discussed in the next sec- Federal Depository Library Pro- for information made under FOIA tion of this paper. gram run by the Government Print- procedures. If an agency was to ing Office. The National Archives deny a request, he states, The government of Canada on Oc- and Records Administration has tober 15, 2001 introduced bill C-36 removed access to materials within You can be assured that the De- in the House of Commons. On its holdings. partment of Justice will defend October 19, 2001, Canada’s pri- your decisions unless they lack a vacy commissioner George Rad- The Federal Depository Library Pro- sound legal basis or present an wanski said that the bill would gram (FDLP) looked at the issues unwarranted risk of adverse im- lead to “widespread denial of ac- of removing government infor- pact on the ability of other cess to government information.” mation from public access in the agencies to protect other im- He pointed to the provisions of the November 15, 2001 issue of Ad- portant records. bill concerning the Attorney Gen- ministrative Notes. The remarks of eral’s certificates saying the bill the Superintendent of Documents, He points to the exception given to would put “federal departments Francis J. Buckley, Jr. at the De- confidential advice and counsel giv- and agencies ... entirely outside the pository Library Council Meeting en by lawyers in the FOIA as a reach of privacy law. Where a cer- on October 15, 2001 reminded the reason for a denial of releasing tificate is issued, privacy law would librarians that the Government information. Supporters of FOIA not apply at all.” After the passage Printing Office (GPO) through the have called Ashcroft’s decision un- of the bill, Val Werier wrote in the FDLP seeks to carry on the statu- democratic. On Public Broadcast- Winnipeg Free Press, tory duties of distributing governing Corporation’s show Now, Jane ment information to the people of Kirktley, Professor of Media Ethics In an over reaction to Sept. 11, the United States. He reminds gov- and Law at the University of Min- the government can now do ernment documents librarians, nesota, said about Ashcroft, away with any independent review and appeal under the new The purpose of the Federal De- What he’s saying is, the delibera- antiterrorist act. No longer will pository Library Program is to tions of the agencies, the in- there be independent scrutiny to make Government publications formation that they obtain and determine if secrecy is justifiable available for the free use of the exchange, the whole, how we on government records. general public and restricting get to where we are in our gov- such access is a direct violation ernmental policy is not gonna be There is concern that the elected of Title 44 [of the United States something that will be readily Attorney General will abuse this Code]. available to the public. That’s not new policy preventing independent

274 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 Government Information Policies after September 11

review of requests of information Governments are also seeking to tection Agency’s discontinuation of disclosure by the privacy commis- prevent the distribution of private posting on the agency’s web site sioners or the courts. The Canadian information on grounds of security information about chemical storage. Association of Journalists (CAJ) and protection of minority popula- The public can no longer keep it- stated, “the federal government’s tion. The Canadian government shut self informed about the possible new antiterrorist legislation is a dra- down at the request of the United hazards in their communities. Re- conian step that severely limits ac- States the site www.overthrow. stricting the data makes it harder cess to government information”. com on grounds, described not too for local communities to be pre- The president of CAJ said, “Citizens specifically, of sedition, hate, and pared for emergencies, including use the Access to Information act terrorism. The British government attacks by terrorists. The restriction routinely, and anyone who cares reportedly shut down the website also eliminates a check on industry about government or how we are of Sakina Securities because of its by allowing it to escape scrutiny of governed should be concerned.” content of bomb making lessons the public. Baumann believes that for young Muslims. Another site the grounds for excluding publica- In Scotland, the issue of access to was closed down because of links tion of information already in free- government information was debat- with Azzam Publications urging dom of information acts provide ed during the Scottish Parliament’s support for Muslims and calling for enough protection for security. consideration of that nation’s Free- donations to the Taliban. The Elec- dom of Information (Scotland) Bill tronic Frontier Foundation feels Baumann offers three factors for which was passed January 17, 2002. the post September 11 stance by determining the withholding of in- It was taken for granted the pub- many governments is causing the formation. First, what is the benefit lic should have a right to access greatest challenge ever to freedom to public safety by making available information held by the govern- of speech and its related right of to the public the information in ment; however, there was debate access to information whether pro- question? Second, what type of in- over limitations to this right. The vided by governments or private formation is being withheld, wheth- Scottish National Party expressed parties. The United States military er it is general enough to alert the concern over class exemptions, did its own preventive steps to public while not being specific ministerial vetoes, and the cost of deny the public information from enough to aid terrorists? Third, accessing information. It is the use private sources regarding the fight what is the availability of the in- of the ministerial vetoes which im- against terrorism. It took the un- formation from other sources? pacts the topic of this paper. Can usual step of buying all images of ministers use the fear of terrorism Afghanistan taken by a private sat- to withhold information? ellite Ikonos instead of using its Roles of Librarians authority over ‘shutter control’ of The Campaign for Freedom of In- the satellite’s imaging systems. Buy- When Joy Suh, the government formation (CFOI) addressed this ing the images allows the govern- documents librarian at George Ma- issue in December 2001 in its ‘The ment to control them denying any son University, received a letter tel- ministerial veto overseas: further use of the images like revealing mili- ling her to destroy a CD-ROM evidence to the Justice 1 Commit- tary forces locations, while avoid- containing details of the country’s tee on the Freedom of Information ing constitutional arguments of free water supply, she complied with- (Scotland) Bill’. Mention is made speech. out hesitation, but now she worries of the new Canadian amendment that this move represents the be- allowing a veto on grounds of se- Arguments against the restriction ginning “of a more secretive period curity. CFOI feels that no ministe- of government information come in American society.” Suh said, “I rial veto is necessary since several from a broad spectrum of individuals debate both sides in my mind. I see other democratic states have not and organizations. Jeremiah D. Bau- the government aspect of it. I also included such a measure in their mann, the Environmental Health see how researchers and the public FOIAs. The Campaign feels that Advocate for the United States might need this data.” This dilem- government ministers should not Public Interest Research Group ma faces all librarians. Librarians have unchecked authority to veto (PRIG), made a statement before contend with changes in govern- information access. CFOI would the US House of Representatives ment information policies from not allow vetoes in relation to poli- Committee on Transportation and both sides. They seek to provide cy formulation, the burden of proof Infrastructure on November 8, full access to information for their would be placed on ministers to 2001 against some of the new re- patrons while also protecting their show that there is a need for non- strictions on government informa- patrons’ privacy from government disclosure, and the costs of judicial tion. He argues that while the gov- intrusion. review of minister veto certificates ernment should be taking steps to should be met by public funds. The protect government information For US librarians there are con- Scottish FOIA is felt to be a model from use by a terrorist, it should not cerns that the USA Patriot Act infor the rest of Britain even with the do so at the cost of lost protection trudes upon the confidentiality of problems mentioned by its de- of the general public. His concern patrons’ records of use of library tractors. deals with the Environmental Pro- resources. Miriam Nisbet, the leg-

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 275 Edward T. Hart

islative counsel for the American and the association felt that the and fulfill as much as they can in Library Association, holds that the adoption of the Scottish FOIA is a their libraries, in the nations, and act gives law enforcement the right welcome step in meeting the pub- across national borders. to access to business records which lic’s rights to and needs for infor- could include patron records kept mation available for government by libraries. The typical practice at agencies. Their concerns were the American academic libraries is to cost to individual members of the destroy any record of a use of a li- public seeking information and the brary item after the item’s return. recognition that an information References At Cornell University, Ross Atkin- commissioner was needed to gov- 1. son, deputy university librarian, ern the FOIA’s provisions and to Publishing means any distribution or finds it troublesome that records of ensure full disclosure of informa- making widely available for public use of information held by the government. patrons’ transactions are kept for tion allowed by law and not poli- Means of publishing includes the fed- thirty-five days on backup tapes. tics. eral depository program, direct issue by These are needed in case of com- an agency of a printed item, or posting puter crashes and the time lag be- Librarians do need to be careful of on the Internet. fore the tapes’ destruction cannot being overzealous in denying users 2. See OMB Watch at http://ombwatch. be shortened. Probably greater con- access to information. The FDLP org for further details of this organiza- cerns for privacy are the probable reminded government documents tion and its reports on access to login records kept of library users librarians that it was the only body government information post Septem- accessing electronic information with authority to order withdrawal ber 11th. resources from off campus. These of documents in libraries’ collec- 3. Office of Pipeline Safety, Department records could even track what in- tions. This reminder was issued of Transportation at http://www.npms. formation the users are accessing. after Mary Bennett, government rspa.dot.gov/data/npms_data_down. Atkinson expresses concern that documents librarian at State Uni- htm. 4. this act moves American society versity of New York/Oswego, sent OMB Watch. Access to Government Information Post September 11th, toward an Orwellian future. an email to fellow librarians urging at http://www.ombwatch.org/article/ them to withdraw from their col- articleview/213/1/104/ and Environ- During consideration of the anti- lections documents from the Nu- mental Protection Agency, Envirofacts, terrorism bill, representatives of clear Regulatory Commission. On- at http://www.epa.gov/enviro/html/lef_ the American Association of Law ly the United States Government access.htm. Libraries, the American Library Printing Office may tell govern- 5. David P. Boergers. Statement of policy Association, and Association of Re- ment documents librarians to deny of previously published documents, search Libraries addressed in an users access to government infor- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission open letter to members of Congress mation. 97 FERC 61,030 (Oct. 11, 2001) at the concerns of librarians regarding http://cips.ferc.fed.us/Q/CIPS/MISC/ the measures being undertaken. PL/PL02-1.000.TXT. Attached to the letter was a memo- Conclusion 6. Ariana Eunjung Cha. ‘Risk prompt U.S. to limit access to data: security, randum entitled Library Community Statement on Proposed Anti-Terror- The impact of September 11 on in- rights advocates clash over need to know’. Washington Post, Feb. 24, 2002 ism Measures. Directly affecting li- formation policies of governments at A01. brarians were concerns about the continues and probably will so for 7. National Archives and Records Admin- expanded use of pen registers and the foreseeable future. There is risk istration, Access to archival materials tracing devices on library computer of providing helpful information to in the context of concern about terror- networks and the easier access to terrorists when governments share ism, at http://www.nara.gov/research/ business records including library with the public details of govern- access_factsheet.html. circulation records. Recommenda- ment resources and the results of 8. Federal Depository Library Program tions were made that asked that government studies on a nearly un- Government Printing Office. Adminis- law enforcement agencies be re- limited number of subjects. But trative Notes, Nov. 15, 2001. Available quired to continue having to meet democratic governments cannot at http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/ the high standard of obtaining a cut off the public from government fdlp/pubs/adnotes/ad111501.html. court order to access information information or invade the infor- 9. Francis J. Buckley, Jr. ‘Developments and that law enforcement searches mation privacy of the public within the FDLP: remarks by Francis J. and intrusions should be as nar- out some harm to the freedom that Buckley, Jr., Superintendent of Docu- ments’. Administrative Notes, Nov. 15, rowly focused as possible. a democratic government allows a 2001, at 6. country to have. Librarians and 10. Ibid. Section 1902 of Title 44 of the In Scotland, the Scottish Library information professionals need to United States Code reads: ‘Government and Information Council and Scot- be in the vanguard of protecting publications, except those determined tish Library Association made a re- access to public information and by their issuing components to be response to the proposed Freedom of intrusion of private information. quired for official use only or for strictly Information (Scotland) Bill during This is a duty that every librarian administrative or operational purposes the consultation stage. The council around the globe should embrace which have no public interest or edu-

276 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 Government Information Policies after September 11

cational value and publications classi- View?zone=Vancouver&filename= 40. Ariana Eunjung Cha. ‘Risk prompt U.S. fied for reasons of national security, bc_caj011029. to limit access to data: security, rights shall be made available to depository 25. Id. advocates clash over need to know’. libraries through the facilities of the 26. BBC News. ‘MSPs vote in favour of in- Washington Post, Feb. 24, 2002, at Superintendent of Documents for pub- formation bill’. Jan. 17, 2002 at http:// A01. lic information.’ news.bbc.uk/hi/english/uk/scotland/ 41. Id. 11. Id. newsvid-17650000/1765101.stm. 42. Scott Carlson and Andrea L. Foster. 12. Id. Buckley lays out the procedure for 27. Id. ‘Colleges Fear Anti-Terrorism Law removing a publication in his state- 28. The Campaign for Freedom of Infor- Could Turn Them into Big Brother: ments to Depository Library Council. mation. The ministerial veto overseas: Provisions about networks and library 13. Memorandum from John Ashcroft, Further evidence to the Justice 1 Com- records raise privacy and academic- United States Attorney General, to mittee on the Freedom of Information freedom issues’. Chronicle of Higher Heads of all Federal Departments and (Scotland) Bill, available at http:// Education, March 1, 2001, at A32. Agencies (Oct. 12, 2001), at http:// www.cfoi.org.uk/vetopaper.pdf. 43. Id. www.usdoj.gov/foiapost/2001foiapost 29. Id. at 1. 44. Id. 19. htm. 30. Id. at 7. 45. Letter from Mary Alice Baish, Associate 14. Id. 31. Id. at 7–8. Washington Affairs Representative, 15. Id. 32. BBC News. ‘MSPs vote in favour of in- American Association of Law Libraries; 16. Jane Kirktley, Remarks on Secret formation bill.’ Jan. 17, 2002 at http:// Lynne Bradley, Director, Office of Gov- Government. Now with Bill Moyers, news.bbc.uk/hi/english/uk/scotland/ ernment Relations, American Library (April 5, 2002) (transcript at http:// newsvid-17650000/1765101.stm. Association; and Prudence S. Adler, www.pbs.org/now/transcript/transcript 33. Bill White. ‘Canadian Feds shut down Associate Executive Director, Associa- _secretgov.html.). Overthrow.com’. Independent Media tion of Research Libraries, to Members 17. Anti-Terrorism Act, S.C. ch. 41 (2001) Center-Webcast News, Nov. 9, 2001 at of the United States Congress 1 (Oct. 2, (Can.). Available at http://www.parl. http://www.indymedia.org/front.php3 ? 2001) (available at http://www.ala. gc.ca/37/1/parlbus/chambus/house/ article_id=86499&group=webcast org/washoff/terrorismletter.pdf). bills/government/C-36/C-36_4/C-36_ 34. Reuters. ‘Britain closes extremist site’. 46. Statement from the American Associa- cover-E.html. Wired News, Oct. 4, 2001, at http:// tion of Law Libraries, American Li- 18. Department of Justice. Amendments to www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294, brary Association, and Association of the Anti-Terrorism Act, at http:// 47307,00.html. Research Libraries, to the United canada.justice.gc.ca/en/news/nr/2001/ 35. Johnson Hor. ‘Chilling effects of anti- States Congress (Oct. 2, 2001) (avail- doc_27904.html. terrorism: “national security” toll on able at http://www.ala.org/washoff/ 19. Department of Justice. Anti-Terrorism freedom of expression’. Electronic Fron- terrorism.pdf). Act Receives Royal Assent, at http:// tier Foundation at http://www.eff.org/ 47. Id. canada.justice.gc.ca/en/news/nr/2001/ Privacy/Surveillance/Terrorism 48. Scottish Library and Information Coun- doc_28215.html. _militias/antiterrorism_chill.html# cil and Scottish Library Association. 20. Id. websiteshutdownothergov. ‘An open Scotland: freedom of informa- 21. ‘Canada’s Privacy Commissioner says 36. Id. tion: a consultation: response by Scot- Act would deny access to information’. 37. Duncan Campbell. ‘US buys up all sat- tish Library and Information Council Canadian Press, Oct. 19, 2001 at 2001 ellite war images’. Guardian, Oct. 17, and Scottish Library Association’ at WL 29536639. 2001 at http://www.guardian.co.uk/ http://www.slainte.org.uk/Slicpubs/ 22. Id. waronterror/story/0,1361,575594,00. FreedomInfo.pdf. 23. Val Werier. Focus: ‘Open Government html. 49. Id. shuts down’. Winnipeg Free Press, 38. Jeremiah D. Baumann. ‘Right to know 50. American Library Association. ‘GPO Jan. 10, 2002, at A12. details of chemical supplies’. Congres- turns tables, calls on librarians not to 24. Erik Denison. ‘Anti-terrorism legisla- sional testimony by Federal Document restrict access’. American Libraries: tion too restrictive: CAJ’. CBC NEWS, Clearing House, Nov. 8, 2001, 2001 News, March 4, 2002 at http://www. Oct 29, 2001. Available at http:// WL 26187661. ala.org/alonline/news/2002/020304. vancouver.cbc.ca/template/servlet/ 39. Id. html.

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 277 A First-Timer In Glasgow: impressions of the IFLA Conference, 2002

Ruth Rikowski have had the opportunity to read My Overall Impression the papers beforehand. Ruth Rikowski has been an information professional and librarian I was successful in winning one There also seemed to be a lot of for about 20 years, working in or- of the seventeen Chartered Insti- ‘hard-selling’ going on. The name ganizations in both the public and tute of Library and Information badges that all the delegates had to the private sector. She worked in Professionals (CILIP) awards for wear, for example, had ‘EBSCO In- public libraries for about 15 years formation Services’ on them. Many (largely in the London Borough of of the stalls and exhibits were about Newham). Having then obtained an selling a product of one sort or an- MSc from University College Lon- other (not surprising really given don in Information Science (Com- that it costs GBP 2000 to have a puterized Systems) she went to stall – who else other than profit- work at Dynix, a software company able companies could afford this?). for library management computer Furthermore, much of the literature systems, as a ‘Support Librarian’. that was put out on the main infor- She has implemented library com- mation distribution point was of a puter systems in two large organi- selling or promotional nature, rath- zations, Clifford Chance, a large in- er than providing delegates with ternational law company and Haver- real articles to read. It also seemed ing College of Further and Higher very much like many other library Education. She also worked at the and information exhibitions or con- Tate Gallery, where she was references that I have been to, such sponsible for information technol- as the Online Exhibition and the ogy. Whilst working at Clifford Library and Information Show. Chance her first article, which fo- This I found to be somewhat dis- cused on the relationship between appointing as I had expected it to library and information departments be something significantly different. and IT or computer departments, However, the poster sessions pro- was published in Managing Infor- vided a welcome move away from mation. Over the last two years she the commercial or profit-making an- has been researching, writing and First-Timers to attended the IFLA gle. Furthermore, there was much lecturing on three main subjects – Conference in Glasgow this year. that was of interest and worthwhile globalization, computer studies and It proved to be an interesting and and the international dimension knowledge management. She has worthwhile experience. I very much certainly made it something quite published in a number of journals enjoyed meeting so many inter- different. including Business Information Re- esting people from the library and view, Public Library Journal, Focus, information world, from a wide va- The Commoner, Managing Informa- riety of different countries. I also The WTO, GATS, TRIPS, tion, Current Issues in Education attended some informative and and Information for Social Change. thought-provoking meetings. Fur- Libraries and Information She is currently a Visiting Lecturer thermore, I thought that the whole at the University of Greenwich and event was organized extremely well My application for funding was the Book Reviews Editor for Manag- and CILIP should be very much based on my wish to raise aware- ing Information. congratulated on this. Given the ness about the General Agreement size of the event this was a par- on Trade in Services (GATS). This ticularly significant achievement. is one of the agreements being established at the World Trade Or- However, I was somewhat dis- ganization (WTO, 1994) that could appointed in much of the level of have serious implications for librar- debate and would have preferred it ies and information. The other main if copies of the papers had been WTO agreement that will have im- made easily available prior to the plications for information and li- papers being presented. Then, there braries is TRIPS – Trade Related might have been a better discussion Intellectual Property Rights. TRIPS in the meetings, as people would covers many different areas, such

278 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 A First-Timer In Glasgow as patents and licenses, but copy- in the exhibition centre at IFLA). are many other more pressing so- right issues in relation to knowl- One of these was an article about cial concerns. Paul Whitney pro- edge and information are the areas libraries and privatization (Mac- vided an update on libraries and of particular concern for libraries. kenzie, 2002) that appeared in The international trade treaties, includ- One can question, for example, the Big Issue the week before the con- ing information about both the extent to which knowledge and ference, and which also included a GATS and TRIPS, and also in- information should be encapsulat- reference to the fringe meeting. formed people about my fringe ed within an ‘intellectual property meeting. It was an interesting ses- right’, as opposed to the idea of sion. information being open to all. In Other Meetings the future, concerns about TRIPS Finally, I attended the EBLIDA may well override current concerns I attended some other interesting WTO Working Group Meeting. about the European Copyright Di- and informative meetings, including Shortly before going to IFLA I rective amongst information pro- that of the IFLA Section on Wom- formally became a member of this fessionals. Furthermore, the WTO en’s Issues, for example. Various group. It was a very useful and incorporates a complex Dispute issues about the problems and bar- productive meeting. We discussed Settlement Process and tribunals riers that women still face were various issues such as a draft letter operate in secret in order to settle discussed, particularly in relation that will be sent to the European disputes between member states. to information. An interesting pa- Commission on behalf of EBLIDA, Once the GATS comes fully into ef- per by Anne Goulding and Rachel which expresses our concerns fect, it will be virtually irreversible. Spacey of Loughborough University about the GATS and its likely im- Hence, the need to raise awareness argued that we are moving from an plications for libraries. As Teresa about the GATS is urgent, given ‘Industrial’ to an ‘Information’ so- Hackett suggested, we will also in- that on the current WTO timetable ciety, but that in this new ‘Infor- vestigate the possibility of EBLIDA it is due to come into effect in mation Society’ there is a gender holding a pre-conference meeting 2005. imbalance. They concluded by look- on the GATS at next years’ IFLA ing briefly at ‘cyberfeminism’, a conference. philosophy that recognizes that IFLA Fringe Meeting on there are gender inequalities in the We also discussed the 2nd European use of the Internet and cyberspace Conference of Regional Ministers GATS in general, and wants to try to of Culture and Education that was change this situation for the bene- due to take place at Brixen (Bozen- In order to be able to effectively fit of women. An interesting dis- Südtirol) on 17th–18th October raise awareness about the GATS cussion followed after all the pa- 2002. The aim of the conference at IFLA, I organized a fringe meet- pers had been presented and there was to look at globalization and ing on the subject. It was not pos- are many issues that the women’s the WTO and to discuss the GATS sible to get on to the main IFLA group needs to continually address. and how it might affect museums, programme – this is finalized well It might be particularly interesting schools, colleges, libraries and cul- in advance. So, a fringe meeting to consider the role of female in- ture in the regions. The conference seemed the obvious alternative, and formation professionals in the new will assist in the drafting of a com- also meant that the issues could knowledge-based economy, for ex- mon position on the GATS negotia- be covered in some considerable ample, and to also relate this to tions for all regions of Europe. depth. The fringe meeting was en- gender inequalities in cyberspace Frode Bakken, the coordinator of titled ‘The Profit Virus: Globaliza- and cyberfeminism. the EBLIDA WTO Working tion, Libraries And Education’ and Group, will speak at this confer- was held at Glasgow University on I also attended the Copyright and ence. See the website for further 22nd August. other Legal Matters (CLM) Update information at: http:// www.a-e- session. Teresa Hackett, Director of r.org/COMMUN/A214b8 gb.html. There was a very positive response the European Bureau of Library In- There are readings on different to the meeting, with 35 people at- formation and Documentation As- topics on the website for the dele- tending, and a good discussion took sociation (EBLIDA), spoke about gates – one section for GATS and place. Many of the participants the European Copyright Directive Education, for example, another thought the topic should be given and gave an update on national im- for GATS and Trade, and another more importance and be debated plementation. Denise Nicholson, for GATS and Libraries. further in the library and informa- from the University of Witwaters- tion world, and were very appre- rand in South Africa, spoke about ciative of the fact that it was being copyright and developing countries Conclusions raised as an issue. Furthermore, lots from the South African perspective of copies of various articles and [see pp. 259–266 in this issue: Ed.]. All in all, going to IFLA was a flyers were taken; various materials She referred to the fact that copy- worthwhile experience, and it was were also made available at the right laws are not really a priority good to connect with so many peo- main information distribution point concern in South Africa, as there ple on the international stage. Fur-

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 279 Ruth Rikowski

thermore, I did fulfil my mission – it has undertaken on a wide variety Goulding, Anne and Spacey, Rachel. i.e. I did play some part in starting of issues, and that it will be able to (2002) Women and the Information to raise awareness about the GATS involve many different people from Society: barriers and participation. Pa- in the international library and in- the library and information world per presented at 68th IFLA Council formation world. Finally, one was on the international stage in its and General Conference, 20th August certainly spoilt for choice in terms work. Furthermore, I do hope that 2002. of the number and variety of meet- it will be able to retain and build IFLA. (2001) The IFLA position on the WTO treaty negotiations. Available at: ings that one could attend on a on its fundamental principles and http://www.ifla.org/III/clm/p1/wto-ifla. wide range of different topics. its four Core Values – they are all htm. IFLA should be very much con- very worthwhile. They must not Mackenzie, Jane. (2002) ‘The quiet storm’, gratulated for its achievement here. become subsumed under another The Big Issue, Aug 12th–18th, 2002. agenda, such as the ever-increasing 10–11. (Available on Rory Litwin’s However, I think the conference drive towards product promotion. web-site – Library Juice 5:27 – August could be improved in a number of I also very much hope that the 22, 2002: http://www.libr.org/Juice/ ways. First of all, it would be help- GATS will be on next years’ main issues/ vol5/LJ_5.27.html#2. ful if it was less bureaucratic and if IFLA programme in one format or Rikowski, Ruth. (2001) ‘GATS: private it was easier to speak on the main another. affluence and public squalor? Implica- programme. It seems that the ‘old tions for libraries and information.’ boy network’ still needs to be bro- In regard to my own work, I hope Managing Information, Dec., Vol. 8, ken down more, in various ways. (amongst doing many other things No. 10, 8–10. Also available on Library Secondly, it would have been good as well!) that I will be able to con- Juice: http://www.libr.org/Juice/issues/ Vol4/LJ_4.46.html#7. if there had been more opportunity tinue to raise awareness about the Rikowski, Ruth (2002a) ‘The corporate to have a higher level of debate. threat that our state-funded serv- takeover of libraries’. Information for This could be achieved in a num- ices are under from the GATS, fo- Social Change, Winter 2001–02, No. 14, ber of different ways, such as hav- cusing in particular on libraries, as 25–60. Available at: http://libr.org/ ing copies of the papers made I have described above. In this re- ISC. readily available before they were spect, it would be a great step for- Rikowski, Ruth. (2002b) ‘The WTO, the presented and allocating more time ward if CILIP were able to pass a GATS and the meaning of “services”‘. for debate and discussion on the ac- clear resolution against the GATS, Public Library Journal, Vol. 17, No. 2, tual programme. Thirdly, the ‘hard- or at least make a statement ex- 48–50 (Part 1 of a 2-part article based sell’ approach could have been pressing its concern about the pos- on talk entitled ‘The WTO/GATS lessened, for example by lowering sible implications of the GATS for Agenda for Libraries’). the cost of a stall and having a libraries, in the same way that other Rikowski, Ruth (2002c) ‘Takeover by greater variety of different exhibits. library associations, such as IFLA stealth?’ Public Library Journal, Vol. 17, Delegates could also have been and the Canadian Library Associa- No. 3, 73–76 (Part 2 of a 2-part article based on a talk entitled ‘The WTO/ more adequately informed about tion have done. There was almost GATS Agenda for Libraries’). the main information distribution unanimous support for such a res- WTO (1994) General Agreement on Trade point prior to the conference, thus olution from the people that at- in Services (GATS). Available at: http:// providing them with more opportu- tended my talk on ‘The WTO/ www.wto.org. nity to distribute their own articles GATS Agenda for Libraries’ at the and other material at the distribu- International Group of the Library tion point. This would have pro- Association (as it then was called), Websites vided a good counter-balance to meeting in March of this year. the amount of promotional ma- EBLIDA and the WTO: www.eblida.org/ terial that was made available. topics/wto. References and Further IFLA and the WTO: http://www.ifla.org/ The Future Reading III/clm/p1/wto-ifla.htm. Information for Social Change: http:// EBLIDA. (2000) World Trade Organiza- libr.org/ISC. I hope that in the future IFLA will tion. Available at: http://www.eblida. Libraries and GATS website: http://www. be able to build on the good work org/wto/wto.htm. libr.org/GATS (set up by Rory Litwin).

280 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 Indigenous Knowledge and the Cultural Interface: underlying issues at the intersection of knowledge and information systems

Martin Nakata and how they are being integrated Introduction generally as well as in formal edu- Martin Nakata is the Director of the cation processes. I then want to Aboriginal Research Institute at the I am aware as I begin this plenary introduce the Cultural Interface as University of South Australia in Ade- paper that members of the library an alternate way of thinking about laide. He is the first Torres Strait profession that are drawn to a pres- Indigenous and Western domains Islander to receive a PhD from an entation slotted under the theme, and before discussing the changing Australian university and his current Indigenous Knowledge, are most perspectives and the many oppor- research work is in the curriculum likely interested in the systems and tunities that information technolo- development areas and online ped- issues for managing information in gies will provide for new agendas. I agogies with a particular focus on that area. hope that by discussing Indigenous Indigenous learners. He has pre- Knowledge and the underlying is- sented several plenary and keynote And as soon as I presume that, the sues in these ways you will gain a addresses at national as well as breadth of the issues springs to better understanding of recent as international conferences and pub- mind – the classification of infor- well as future trends in this field of lished over forty articles on Aborigi- mation about Indigenous peoples1, study. nal and Torres Strait Islander people collection, storage, retrieval, access, and education in various academic copyright, intellectual property, the journals and books in Australia, sensitivities of culturally different Concepts of Indigenous Papua New Guinea, Japan and the clients and communities, the poli- Knowledge United States. He is the editor of tics, funding, distance issues, net- the Kaurna Higher Education Jour- working issues, the concerns about The whole area of Indigenous nal and member of the editorial historical texts – and the list can knowledge is a contentious one. board of The Australian Educational go on (e.g. Edwards, 2000). This From what constitutes ‘indigenous’ Researcher. He convened the sec- paper is not a discussion of these to whose interests are being served ond national Indigenous Research- issues although I hope, from what by the documentation of such ers’ Forum in Adelaide in 2000 I say today, you can draw some knowledge there lies a string of con- and was a leading member of the broad implications. tradictions, of sectorial interests, of organising committee for a Confer- local and global politics, of igno- ence of Indigenous peoples from Libraries and the information pro- rance, and of hope for the future. Australia, New Zealand, Canada fession, particularly those in academ- and the US on Indigenous Peoples ic or other scholarly institutions, One might suppose that Indige- and Racism in Sydney 2001. The occupy an interesting position in nous knowledge refers to Indige- UN High Commissioner designated relation to Indigenous Knowledge2 nous peoples’ knowledge but this this conference as a regional meet- and information. As depositories, would not reflect current usage ing for the United Nations World collectors, organizers, distributors of the term. Indigenous peoples’ Conference against racism, racial and mediators of information, li- knowledge could be considered a discrimination, xenophobia and re- brarians play an enabling role to subset of what is more broadly lated intolerance. He twice repre- those who produce or who want referred to as ‘Indigenous Knowl- sented the Aboriginal and Torres to use Indigenous Knowledge and edge’. But even then it is an over- Strait Islander Commission at the sources of information (Francoeur, lap rather than all-encompassed. United Nations in Geneva, Switzer- 2001). But being on the peripher- land on Indigenous issues in Aus- ies of knowledge production often In colonial times, and residually in tralia, and later provided research means that the underlying issues, so-called postcolonial times, the and technical support to the Com- debates and contestations surround- knowledge of Indigenous peoples mission’s delegation at the UN’s ing Indigenous Knowledge pro- occupied the realm of the ‘primi- World Conference Against Racism duction most often would not be tive’, an obstacle to progress along in Durban, South Africa and the evident. It is to these issues that the path to modern civilization 2002 inaugural session of the Per- most of this paper is directed. and was largely ignored or sup- manent Forum on Indigenous Is- pressed; and in many places, be- sues in New York. He is currently What I want to do today is discuss cause of dislocation from our land working towards the incorporation emerging concepts in recent trends and way of life, much of it was lost. of a national association of Indig- across the globe to document and Until the 1980s Indigenous knowl- enous researchers in Australia. describe Indigenous Knowledge edge surfaced in very few academic

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 281 Martin Nakata

disciplines, for example, ‘anthro- Within the humanitarian and sci- cent migrant groups in developing pology, development sociology and entific areas, a number of other in- countries. One estimation of this geography’ (Warren, von Lieben- terested parties emerge (see special group of people is some 80 percent stein and Slikkerveer, 1993, p. 1). issue of the Indigenous Knowledge of the world’s population who rely Understanding of Indigenous peo- and Development Monitor, 1993). on Indigenous Knowledge for either ples in the human sciences was These include scientists who rec- medicine or food (Rural Advance- largely within cultural frameworks, ognize that Indigenous knowledge ment Foundation International formerly as primitive and inferior needs to be recorded or validated if (RAFI) cited in the United Nations cultures and in more contempo- any of it is to be incorporated into Development Programme’s (UNDP) rary times celebrated as part of the the scientific corpus and utilized. Civil Society Organizations and diversity of cultures in the world – Also interested are the agencies Participation Programme (CSOPP), no longer inferior, just different. operating in developing countries 1995). At the same time, Indige- who realize the importance of ‘lo- nous Knowledge has become more Indigenous Knowledge now sur- cal’ knowledge in solving problems fragmented and specialized as sci- faces in academic and scientific at the local level. These two lead to entists and humanitarians pick at circles, the interest of researchers and those the bits and pieces that fit with professionals involved in documen- their interests and disciplines. ... in the fields of ecology, soil tation and communication systems. science, veterinary medicine, Conservationists have developed a Excepting the role of political ad- forestry, human health, aquatic special interest in the environment vocates but not their presence, all resource management, botany, and species degradation and the these interests illustrate how totally zoology, agronomy, agricultural disappearing knowledge base of a Western interest this interest in economics, rural sociology, math- societies under pressure from de- Indigenous knowledge is. The doc- ematics, management science, velopment and industrialization. umentation of such knowledge by agricultural education and ex- There is increasing overlap between scientists, the storage of informa- tension, fisheries, range man- conservation and scientific inter- tion in databases in academic insti- agement, information science, ests as bioprospecting and gene- tutions, whether they be gene banks wildlife management, and water harvesting assumes greater priority. or electronic networks, all looks re- resource management. (Warren, In response to much of this inter- markably similar to former colonial von Liebenstein and Slikkerveer, est, political advocates interested enterprises which co-opted land, re- 1993, p. 1) in the tensions between North and sources, and labour in the interest South have emerged (e.g. Saw, of their own prosperity through Whilst Indigenous peoples might 1992). This advocacy is carried out trade and value-adding. According welcome the elevation of status by various people and means, in- to documentation at the United Na- that comes with increased recog- cluding activism from Indigenous tions Development Programme: nition of their Knowledge systems peoples themselves and different after centuries of dismissal and dis- bodies and mechanisms within the Indigenous knowledge fuels mul- integration, nothing comes with- United Nations. Overarching all ti-billion dollar genetics supply out a cost (Eyzaguirre, 2001). Like these interests is the capitalist in- industries, ranging from food and colonization, the Indigenous Knowl- terest. To capitalist interests Indige- pharmaceuticals in developed edge enterprise seems to have eve- nous Knowledge is merely another countries to chemical product, rything and nothing to do with us. resource for potential profit. energy and other manufactures. (United Nations Development This interest is overwhelmingly driv- Out of these sectorial interests, we Programme’s (UNDP) Civil So- en by research into sustainable de- see the conceptualization of In- ciety Organizations and Partici- velopment practices in developing digenous Knowledge becoming de- pation Programme (CSOPP), countries (supported mainly by UN tached from holistic notions of 1995, p. 9) programs and NGOs) and the sci- ‘culture’ in the human sciences, and entific community’s concern about to be more reflective of the hu- Yet developing countries and non-

loss of biodiversity of species and manitarian, practical, environmen- governmental organizations (NGOs) ecosystems and the future implica- tal and scientific interests that are struggle to find ways to ensure the tions of that for the whole planet promoting its use and documenta- disadvantaged of the world have ac- (Myer, 1998). The disciplines noted tion in developing countries. It has cess to sustainable supplies of clean above reflect these two areas of hu- become an umbrella term, not lim- water and basic food staples, and manitarian and scientific concern. ited to Indigenous peoples but in- international bodies struggle to en- In the human sciences the elevation clusive of those in the developing act and implement mechanisms for of Indigenous knowledge has been countries who struggle to survive ensuring Indigenous peoples’ knowl- driven more by the academic inter- and who still rely on traditional edge is protected and recompensed rogation of dominant discourses forms of knowledge whether they (e.g. UN Development Programme, and the recognition and valuing of be Indigenous within developed UN Food and Agriculture Organi- social and cultural diversity (Agra- and developing nation-states, for- zation, UN Convention on Bio- wal, 1995b). merly colonized, or distant or re- logical Diversity, etc.).

282 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 Indigenous Knowledge and the Cultural Interface

One thing is certain, in all of this. ecological knowledge (TEK), or edge (Koenig, 2001). When it em- Indigenous knowledge is increas- Indigenous technical knowledge ploys methods and instruments of ingly discussed by all as a com- (ITK). Western science, which involve modity, something of value, some- fragmentation across categories of thing that can be value-added, An important aspect of Indigenous information, isolation and ex situ something that can be exchanged, Knowledge that is overlooked in storage in regional, national and traded, appropriated, preserved, some definitions is that Indigenous international archives and networks something that can be excavated peoples hold collective rights and then it begins to lay itself open to and mined. Or, as Douglas Naka- interests in their knowledge (Ca- the same criticisms as ‘Western shima and Paul de Guchteneire sey, 2001; Davis, 1997, 1998). This, science’, which has largely failed in (1992) put it, “another information along with its oral nature, the di- development contexts. It becomes set from which data can be ex- versity of Indigenous Knowledge not embedded in local meanings tracted to plug into scientific frame- systems, and the fact that manage- and contexts but separated from its works” (p. 2). ment of this Knowledge involves original context – an entity to be rules regarding secrecy and sacred- studied, worked on, developed, in- The brief discussion so far has il- ness (Davis, 1997, 1998; Janke, tegrated, transferred, and ultimately lustrated that Indigenous knowl- 1997, 1998) means that the issues changed to fit another. edge is different things in different surrounding ownership and there- places to different people. There is fore protection (see Hunter, 2002) Pablo B. Eyzaguirre, a senior Sci- contention about some of its char- are quite different from those entist at the International Plant acteristics. However, a quick and inscribed in Western institutions. Genetic Resources Institute in crude distillation of some of its ele- Western concepts of intellectual Rome, expresses similar concerns: ments from various sources gives property have for some time been a reasonable picture of how it is recognized as inadequate (Casey, [t]aking ‘validated’ nuggets of conceptualized broadly. As a sys- 2001; Janke, 1997, 1998). This is a Indigenous knowledge out of its tem of knowledge it is understood most complex area for many rea- cultural context may satisfy an in terms of its distance from ‘sci- sons (see also work by Ellen and outside researcher’s need, or entific knowledge’; what in many, Harris, 1996; Ellen, Parkes and even solve a technical problem many systems is currently and var- Bicker, 2000). Much work is being in development, but it may un- iously recognized, from Western done in the UN (e.g. United Na- dermine the knowledge system perspectives, as ‘local knowledge’ – tions Conference on Trade and De- itself. (2001, p. 1) knowledge that is ‘unique to a given velopment (UNCTAD), 2002) and culture or society’ (Warren, 1991, by Indigenous groups (e.g. Aborigi- Of course these are the very rea- 1993), and as being ‘oral, rural, nal and Torres Strait Islander Com- sons for which Indigenous knowl- holistic, powerless, and culturally- mission’s sponsorship of delegates edge is of interest. I am not going embedded’ (Indigenous Knowledge to UN forums to lobby on Indige- to argue the extreme position that and Development Monitor, 1993; nous Australian interests, Austra- Indigenous knowledge should be von Liebenstein, 2000). It is the lian Institute of Aboriginal and left alone and forever isolated. And result of ‘dynamic innovation’ Torres Strait Islander Studies’ ethi- I am not going to argue that it although informal and unsystema- cal guidelines for researchers, etc.) should not be documented. Recov- tized (United Nations Develop- to develop adequate principles and ery and preservation of lost and ment Programme’s (UNDP) Civil a different system for Indigenous endangered knowledge is extremely Society Organizations and Partici- intellectual and cultural property important for Indigenous commu- pation Programme (CSOPP), 1995); protection. nities. I venture to say, however, and is “continually influenced by that knowledge recovery led by In- internal creativity and experimen- Accepting these conceptions of In- digenous communities would not tation as well as by contact with digenous knowledge immediately look the same as that led by scien- external systems” (Flavier, J., de Je- points to some of the contradictions tists, developmental technologists, sus, A. and Navarro, C. 1995). An in current activity – scientific, de- and conservationists (even when African perspective reminds us velopmental and in information participatory). For without a doubt, that, “an understanding is required management. One contradiction the collection and documentation of Indigenous knowledge and its more relevant to information proof Indigenous knowledge by the role in community life from an in- fessionals is that the strategy of development and scientific com- tegrated perspective that includes archiving and disseminating Indig- munities is a very partial enter- both spiritual and material aspects enous knowledge runs contradic- prise, selecting and privileging some of a society as well as the complex tory to the very conceptual basis of Indigenous knowledge whilst dis- relations between them” (Moro- what is seen to be ‘indigenous’ in carding and excluding others. Of lo, 2002, p. 1). A number of terms Indigenous knowledge (Agrawal, course, if what Indigenous com- also are used interchangeably: lo- 1995a, 1995b). Strategies of con- munities choose to document is of cal knowledge, traditional knowl- servation involve the collection, no apparent value to others, then edge (TK), Indigenous knowledge documentation, storage and dis- the cost of documentation may be (IK), traditional environmental or semination of Indigenous knowl- an obstacle.

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 283 Martin Nakata

when theoretically the attempt to anthropological documentation of Integrating Indigenous separate them cannot be sustained. Torres Strait Islanders in Australia Knowledge He argues that because there are (Nakata, 1997a, 1997b, 1997c, similarities across the categories 1998). The University of Cambridge These concerns aside for the mo- and substantial differences within expedition to the Torres Strait is- ment, there is in the development each of them, a simple separation lands just over a century ago gath- literature an acceptance of the val- on the basis of characteristics as ered extensive field data, which ue of integrating two systems of announced in the literature on In- was then used to describe Island- Knowledge – traditional and sci- digenous knowledge fails in sub- ers in terms of their distance from entific – in order to produce new stance. Secondly, he suggests that ‘civilized’ human beings (Haddon, knowledge and practices that pro- the duality between them assumes 1901, 1904, 1907, 1908, 1912, 1935). vide solutions for sustainable devel- fixity of both Knowledge systems The research team tested and de- opment and developing countries in time and space that is inherently scribed many of our physical, men- and communities. Some authors false. After many years of research tal and social characteristics on a (e.g. von Liebenstein, 2000), aware in this area, I would proffer that comparative basis with people of the dominance and perceived the conceptualization of Indigenous in Western communities, including superiority of scientific knowledge, Knowledge currently promotes the attributes of people from Aber- take care to stress the comple- idea of more fixity for that system deenshire, here in Scotland. A full mentarity of the two Knowledge than for Western Knowledge, which reading of their scientific method systems. In much of the literature, is seen to move ever onward in and particularly their interpretation there is an emphasis on incorpo- time and space. Whatever, Agra- of data and conclusions drawn, is ration of Indigenous knowledge wal argues and I would agree, that an excellent example of just how into strategies for application (e.g. the development of Knowledge sys- culturally-embedded their thinking United Nations Development Pro- tems everywhere “suggests contact, and practices were, and how much gramme’s (UNDP) Civil Society diversity, exchange, communica- they were, to use an expression Organizations and Participation tion, learning and transformation that Foucault (1970) coined, mere- Programme (CSOPP), 1995), or for among different systems of knowl- ly ‘in the vicinity of science’. scientific validation (World Bank, edge and beliefs” (p. 3). Thirdly, he n.d.), or further research (Morolo, interrogates the suggestion that In- This does not lead me to wish these 2002), or for developing founda- digenous knowledge is socially and texts had never been produced or tions for sustainable development culturally embedded but Western that they should not stand on li- (von Liebenstein, 2000). Some have scientific knowledge is not. He cites brary shelves today. Quite the op- been prepared to argue for the need contemporary philosophers of sci- posite, I would like to see them for models of community informa- ence who reveal the ‘social moor- as basic reading for Torres Strait tion management when integrating ings’ of science, who foreground a students. What better way to de- knowledge information systems view of science as culture and prac- velop critical reading skills, to gain (von Liebenstein, 2000). tice, and who see science as ‘rela- some understanding of systems of tive to culture’, or ‘relative to inter- thought and knowledge produc- This literature on the integration of ests’, to illustrate just how much tion and to anchor down a Torres knowledge systems, however, rarely Western knowledge is as “anchored Strait or Indigenous standpoint in interrogates in any critical way the in specific milieu as any other sys- students’ analysis of systems of distinctions drawn between Indig- tems of knowledge” (p. 3). Arguing thought and knowledge. My inter- enous knowledge and scientific the epistemic limitations of the du- est in them as texts for critical systems of knowledge. This is to ality, he argues that “to successfully study is not to contest ‘what is the be expected; developmentalists are build new epistemic foundations, truth about Islanders’ but to redis- primarily concerned with what accounts of innovation and ex- cover the methods of knowledge works in practice, and the discus- perimentation must bridge the In- production and how particular sion of binary systems of thought is digenous/Western divide” (p. 3) knowledges achieve legitimacy and the realm of the theoretical. But I rather than be founded on the authority at the expense of other would argue, and have argued in simple separation of the two sys- knowledge. other places (Luke, Nakata, Gar- tems as expressed in the literature3. butcheon Singh and Smith, 1993; Nakata, 1997b), that addressing The key issue to note here is that Indigenous Knowledge the theoretical underpinnings of the global push to describe and practice is critical to any substan- document Indigenous knowledge and Formal Education tive understanding of Knowledge is gaining momentum without any systems. Agrawal (1995b) makes commensurate interest in the epis- In the past decade or so, Indige- the point that in the elevation of temological study of Indigenous nous Knowledge has also gained and talk about Indigenous knowl- Knowledge systems. increasing attention in formal edu- edge, people “commit them[selves] cation systems across the globe, es- to a dichotomy between Indigenous In my own research work, I have pecially in developed countries with and Western knowledge” (p. 2) raised similar criticisms about early agendas for social inclusion (e.g.

284 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 Indigenous Knowledge and the Cultural Interface

Kaewdang, 2000). In the movement complexities at this intersection Western and Indigenous domains, towards making curricula more in- but they confine Indigenous peo- the Cultural Interface, and theo- clusive, there has been a push to ples to the position of ‘Other’ by retically I have been inclined to be- integrate Indigenous perspectives reifying the very categories that gin there and have argued for em- across the curriculum. This has en- have marginalized us historically bedding the underlying principles couraged extraction of elements of and that still seek to remake and of reform in this space. This is be- Indigenous ways of understanding relegate us within the frameworks cause I see the Cultural Interface the world – mathematical knowl- of Western epistemes. These are as the place where we live and edge, astronomy, stories, mythol- conceptual frameworks that seek to learn, the place that conditions our ogy, art, environmental knowledge, capture a form of culture that fits lives, the place that shapes our fu- religion, etc. to fit with the cur- with Western ways of understand- tures and more to the point the riculum areas. This movement is ing ‘difference’; a cultural frame- place where we are active agents also encouraged in some Austra- work largely interpreted by West- in our own lives – where we make lian universities, in intent at least, ern people in the education system decisions – our lifeworld. For Indig- if not in implementation. and filtered back to Indigenous enous peoples our context, remote students who learn or are allowed or urban, is already circumscribed Even though we don’t find many to express the acceptable little bits by the discursive space of the references to Indigenous Knowl- and pieces of their culture that are Cultural Interface. We don’t go to edge until quite recently, for the integrated into educational prac- work or school, enter another do- last three decades the field of In- tice. In some places, there is still main, interact and leave it there digenous education refers instead ambivalence to rigorous teaching when we come home again. The to cultural appropriateness, cultural of the knowledge and skills needed boundaries are simply not that content, cultural learning styles, for comparative success in the clear. The fact that we go to work culturally responsive pedagogy, In- mainstream because the very mer- means we live at the interface of digenous perspectives – issues but itocratic nature of the system and both, and home life is in part cir- not knowledge. This reflects the the very knowledge it imparts is cumscribed by the fact that we do. influence of anthropology in the seen to undermine cultural forms Social and family organization has human sciences as a way of under- and ways and is sometimes deemed to and does to varying degrees ori- standing Indigenous peoples and irrelevant. Thus we see many stu- ent itself to that reality. This does communities. dents falling between the cracks – not mean we passively accept the achieving neither mainstream suc- constraints of this space – to the References to culture are references cess nor maintenance of their own contrary – rejection, resistance, to a whole system of knowing, be- cultural traditions. subversiveness, pragmatism, ambi- ing and acting. The emphasis is valence, accommodation, partici- given to ways of knowing rather Inclusion of Indigenous Knowledge pation, cooperation – the gamut of than any discrete body of knowl- in educational curricula promotes human response is evident in In- edge. Indigenous learners are un- the visibility of Indigenous Knowl- digenous histories since European derstood in formal educational edge, and helps to raise self-esteem contact. It is a place of tension that terms as having to reconcile two and interest in schooling. The in- requires constant negotiation. separate ways of understanding the clusion of Indigenous topics of world. These are simply expressed study is even more useful if they At the interface, traditional forms in terms of the distance between emerge from individual students’ and ways of knowing, or the resi- home and community (cultural/ interest and provide a stimulus for due of those, that we bring from traditional) and broader society and them to develop and gain credit for the pre-contact historical trajectory institutions (dominant/Western). academic competencies they need inform how we think and act and There are strengths and weak- for success in the global market- so do Western ways, and for many nesses in this approach but they place or for understanding their of us a blend of both has become cannot be debated here in a way own context more fully. However, our lifeworld. It is the most com- that can do the arguments justice4. such inclusions in too many cases plex of intersections and the source Suffice to say that the very separa- do little to orient students to the of confusion for many. For in this tion of the domains – cultural and context of Western knowledges, space there are so many inter- Western – or traditional and for- which via the disciplines are al- woven, competing and conflicting mal – lead to simplifications that so de-contextualized and removed discourses, that distinguishing tra- obscure the very complexities of from life. ditional from non-traditional in the cultural practices in both domains. day to day is difficult to sustain even if one was in a state of per- My argument has been that theo- The Cultural Interface manent reflection. retically there are real problems with beginning from principles Over the years, I have pursued an Nevertheless, Indigenous peoples based in a duality between culture interest in the theoretical underpin- do traverse these intersecting dis- and mainstream (Luke et al, 1993). nings of practice (Nakata, 1997b). courses on a daily basis, respond- Not only do they obscure the I have called the intersection of the ing, interacting, taking positions,

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 285 Martin Nakata

making decisions and in the pro- include the recovery and mainte- timeless by excluding historical in- cess re-making cultures – ways of nance of knowledge but not with- vestigation from their studies. Indig- knowing, being and acting. In In- out understanding, for example, enous cultures it would seem were digenous individuals, communities what happens to that knowledge if timeless, and in ‘pristine states’ un- and the broader collective, differ- documented and stored according til European contact (see Nakata, ences in responses and in the pri- to disciplines and technologies that 1997b). Foucault (1970, 1972) re- ority given to different systems of have evolved in another Knowl- minds us that constructing knowl- Knowledge and thinking illustrate edge system. edge of the ‘new’ or ‘unknown’ world the dynamism and diversity within within a schema privileging West- the collective (Nakata, 2001). This This notion of the Cultural Inter- ern historical frameworks achieves dynamism and diversity reflects the face as a place of constant tension two things. Firstly, knowledge of original heterogeneity of tradition- and negotiation of different inter- ‘Others’ remains coherent and al contexts, the varied experience ests and systems of Knowledge continuous with Western systems and impact of colonization, the di- means that both must be reflected of thought and brings these un- versity of contexts in which Indige- on and interrogated. It is not sim- derstandings into a realm of the nous Australians now live and the ply about opposing the knowledges commonsense. Secondly, and par- creativity of the mind in devising and discourses that compete and ticularly in our case, it forms knowl- ways to bridge systems of Knowl- conflict with traditional ones. It is edge of ‘Others’ that is quite dis- edge and understanding and re- also about seeing what conditions continuous with Indigenous his- spond to changing circumstances. the convergence of all these and torical contexts. But continuity of of examining and interrogating all culture (knowledge and practice) Embedding fundamental principles knowledge and practices associated and identity rests on being able for reform in this understanding with issues so that we take a re- to make and keep coherent path- of the Cultural Interface allows sponsible but self-interested course ways through the passage of time, for other possibilities. It accepts in relation to our future practice. through disruptive chaos of events that the intersections of different like colonial contact and periods knowledges and discourses pro- This may involve change but change of rapid change so that the histori- duce tensions and condition what in our own long-term interests, cal knowledge that has contributed is possible but do not directly pro- rather than that imposed by bigger to current Knowledge systems can duce certainty of outcomes. How interests that may seek to coerce carry through. The denial of this to Indigenous peoples respond varies us unfairly. Change that incorpo- Indigenous peoples, or the reduc- tremendously. In this they are not rates into our own knowledge all tion of it to cultural tradition, en- dictated to – they make daily the ongoing developments brought sures the ongoing project of ‘res- choices about what to accept, buy about by the convergence of other cuing’ Indigenous peoples from the into, resist, refute etc. And those systems of understanding, so that catastrophe of colonial contact. choices often reflect previous in- our own corpus of knowledge, de- tersections back through lives and rived within our own historical tra- generations as well as contempo- jectory and sets of interests, keeps Changing Perspectives rary understandings of what lies expanding and responding to that ahead or what must be dealt with which impacts on daily life and What skills do Indigenous peoples in the present. practice. then need to make the choices that serve interests that allow for conti- Viewing the Cultural Interface as This way of thinking about Knowl- nuity with traditional ways of think- the beginning point accepts that edge intersections at the Cultural ing and experience (Thaman, 2000), inevitably Knowledge systems as Interface also reinstates the notion but not cut themselves off from they operate in people’s daily lives of Indigenous peoples having their recognizing the day-to-day reality will interact, develop, change, own history. It seems perhaps ab- of being circumscribed by other and transform. It accepts that all surd to suggest that this history systems of Knowledge (Kaewdang, Knowledge systems are culturally- needs reinstatement but one of the 2000) – and not make the divide embedded, dynamic, respond to effects of colonization and the su- too difficult to bridge without ele- changing circumstances and con- premacy of Western scientific ways vating one at the expense of the stantly evolve. It is not strictly of understanding Indigenous peo- other? about the replacement of one with ples was to incorporate Indigenous the other, nor the undermining of peoples into Western notions and Over the years, along with others one by the other. It is about main- theories of history – what I call the (e.g. Cazden, Cope, Fairclough, taining the continuity of one when out of Africa syndrome or the de- Gee, Kalantzis, Kress, Luke, Luke, having to harness another and scendants of Ham trail. Dirks, Eley Michael, Nakata, 1996), my argu- working the interaction in ways and Ortner (1994) and Agrawal ment has been that Indigenous that serve Indigenous interests, in (1995b) make the point that anthro- peoples need meta-knowledge – ways that can uphold distinctive- pologists in much documentation knowledge about knowledge – as ness and special status as First of Indigenous peoples and commu- the basis for their interactions with Peoples. Indigenous interests will nities made cultural systems appear the multitudes of intersecting, often

286 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 Indigenous Knowledge and the Cultural Interface conflicting or competing discourses Knowledge and other systems that not sustained in the interactive net- emerging from different systems of properly sources Indigenous Knowl- worked environment. The online Knowledge. Some sort of schema edge systems? environment has reconstituted the that enables a better view of what balance between visual, oral, and impacts on and gives shape to daily It is a theoretical proposition that textual modes of presenting infor- decisions. Something that draws at- lends itself to much more research, mation in a way that supports cul- tention to the limits of any system especially in how it translates into tural perspectives. Further, the Web of thought or knowledge, its ability curriculum, pedagogy and practice, supports publishing in ways that to make claims to truth that are and its potential in Indigenous disrupt established ‘elite’ forms of inherently socially situated and self- management of Indigenous com- publication and which ‘authorise’ interested. And something that al- munities and affairs and their in- previously excluded groups from lows for the maintenance of Indig- tersection with other Knowledge publishing. This provides a plat- enous systems of Knowledge, that regimes. Just as inclusion of Indig- form for Indigenous publishing, allows them to be carried through enous knowledge into mainstream which can disrupt the authority of and continue developing rather curricula is argued to raise self- Western representations in media than be arrested and hi-jacked into esteem and relevancy of curriculum and text. Lastly the Web and its another system. content to the lives of Indigenous use of hypertext students, so can this theorization It might seem a rather difficult be argued to raise Indigenous con- … [helps] destroy the myth that task – perhaps too theoretical for sciousness of systems of thought in meaning is really contained in practitioners in schools and com- their lives that delimit possibilities text, by highlighting the inter- munities to incorporate. But in a within a Western order of things. dependence of documents and practical way I think it is about mak- showing that meaning arises ing explicit what is often sensed, from the relationships between sometimes obvious but never clear- Opportunities with texts and from our interactions ly articulated. If you can reflect for Emerging Information with them. (Nathan, 2000, p. 41) a moment on what education in your lives means, I think you would Technologies This fits well with my conceptuali- have to acknowledge that econom- zation of the Cultural Interface ic imperatives play an enormous The Web is an emergent global and the need for knowledge on the part because survival in these times space that has enormous potential intersecting nature of discourses is mainly dependent on finding and implications for Indigenous and systems of thought. work that will pay for the day-to- peoples, for it has emerged at an day expenses. However, I think that historical moment when Indige- Indigenous peoples globally have you would have to acknowledge nous peoples globally are enabled been very active in the Web envi- too that education provides you by social justice agendas to partici- ronment, considering the issues of with the basis for understanding pate relatively freely. Indigenous inequitable access (e.g. Chisenga, the social organization of life and Australians have embraced the on- 1999; Luyin, 1999; Mamtora, 2001; the means to make informed value line environment (Nathan, 2000). Oladele, 2001; Rodriguez, 2001; judgements about what to filter in This interest follows on from pre- Shibanda, 2001). The proliferation and out of your lives so that im- vious and ongoing participation in of Indigenous-controlled websites portant social values are carried media and communication tech- with information presented by In- through. To understand what is in- nologies through local Indigenous digenous peoples has not only con- creasingly accepted as diversity in radio and television as well as nected them to each other in the accounts of explanation of social phone and videoconferencing (Taf- shared struggle for rights but has realities, we are currently seeing ler, 2000). Like these technologies, allowed the presentation and rep- much more interdisciplinary re- the online environment does much resentations of the issues that con- search and investigation within the to overcome distance. It allows cern them. A much different view Western Knowledge system. The greater and faster access to infor- of Indigenous peoples can be found disciplines as a way of segmenting mation, connects Indigenous peo- on the Web from that standing on knowledge that help us to under- ples from the local to the global, many of your library shelves or in stand the different aspects of our and allows for dissemination of the mainstream media. reality are increasingly under chal- Indigenous perspectives and repre- lenge. There have been historically sentations produced by Indigenous While there is much optimism, the and still are interesting intersec- peoples themselves (Nathan, 2000). Web clearly has both positive and tions between Eastern and West- negative possibilities (McConaghy, ern Knowledge systems that high- David Nathan (2000) suggests the 2000). Its presence places pressures light the diversity of thinking about historical Indigenous alienation on traditional forms of communi- our realities (Ellen and Harris, from the written word – perceived cation and the cultural practices 1996). So might we see some emer- as a one-way communication sys- and meanings associated with that gence of cross-cultural knowledge tem quite discontinuous with Indig- (Tafler, 2000). As well, for remote production between Indigenous enous forms of communication – is communities in particular, it re-

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 287 Martin Nakata

quires a renegotiation of relation- individual basis. It also allows for of colonial activity, the failure of ships with the Western world, less-threatening forms of asynchro- liberal reform measures since the which have implications for iden- nous communication (see Hender- 1970s to achieve comparative suc- tity and self-determination issues son, 1993a; Henderson and Putt, cess and cultural restoration, the (Tafler, 2000). Whilst it provides 1993). relentlessness of popular, corpo- space for Indigenous peoples to an- rate and global cultures need to be nounce their presence in the glob- Because the move to place courses mediated effectively in this envi- al, that global is often perceived in online is recent (see e.g. Harasim, ronment by Indigenous peoples. terms of an assimilatory, univer- 1989, 1990), Indigenous peoples salizing, monoculture which serv- see the opportunity to be involved ices capitalist interests – the “global from the beginning, to exert influ- Concluding Remarks corporate hegemony” (McConaghy, ence on the development process 2000, p. 53). and shape it for their own pur- So these are the underlying issues poses (Aboriginal Research Insti- at the intersection of knowledge There are very real concerns that tute, in progress). This process is and information systems. When need attention here. Cathryn much more about pedagogy than we begin to talk about Indigenous McConaghy (2000) identifies the about simple inclusions of Indige- Knowledge as it connects with the Web as reflecting “the tensions nous content and access to re- academic domain, you can by now between the reproduction of colo- sources. Currently I am part of a appreciate just how complex the nial structures and their disrup- working group of Indigenous aca- issues are. In the beginning, this pation” (p. 53). She argues an urgent demics across six universities to per may have seemed to be largely need for an analytical framework build an online degree in Austra- about the issues to do with the for critical and reflective studies of lian Indigenous Studies. I am keen current documentation and man- the conditions under which the to apply a theory of the Cultural agement of Indigenous knowledge Web promotes Indigenous inter- Interface, so that the ‘situatedness’ and information as discrete entities ests rather than upholding colonial of Knowledge systems is high- that stand in contrast to Western or hegemonic interests. lighted. This is not just to help un- scientific knowledge. The issues as- tangle the discursive space that is sociated with this task become There has also been a move to the Cultural Interface. more complex when we consider promote online learning for Indig- the underlying theoretical basis for enous Australians (see Aboriginal One major strategy is to encour- the conceptualization of Indige- Research Institute, in progress)5. age the development of alternate nous Knowledge and the risk to This not only overcomes some dis- theoretical platforms, Indigenous the integrity of Indigenous Knowl- tance issues but research has shown standpoints, in the intellectual en- edge systems associated with their that multimedia is an effective me- gagement with knowledge and dis- documentation. It becomes even dia for Indigenous learners for courses from both Western and more complex when we consider many of the reasons described to- Indigenous domains, to produce the implications of different ap- day (e.g. Henderson, 1993a, 1993b; useful knowledge to become part proaches used in the inclusion of Henderson, Patching and Putt, of a continuing Indigenous Knowl- Indigenous knowledge into the 1996; Henderson and Putt, 1993). edge tradition. For non-Indigenous formal education process. Bring in It reduces the dependence on text students, who access these courses, the issues that face Indigenous alone for meaning-making, it al- the interrogation of their own sys- communities trying to not only re- lows for the explicit highlighting of tems of thought may help develop build Indigenous Knowledge sys- particular aspects of grammar or a better appreciation of the position tems but also draw them in with text construction that people with of Indigenous peoples in changing other Knowledge systems to both different language backgrounds times. solve difficult community problems have difficulty with (see Chan, Lin and also maintain ongoing conti- and Zeng, 1999). Hypertext links The necessity to undertake more re- nuity and coherence, the issues are allow the inclusion of further ex- search into the intersection be- at once fundamental and rather planation, background and sup- tween the online environment that daunting. Add to that, big com- plementary material to assist with makes use of the Web, Indigenous mercial interests knocking on our contextualizing Western Knowl- contexts and academic contexts is doors and often stealing through edge and allows it to be accessible made all the more urgent by all the the window, so to speak, to extract in a moment and in a way that suits issues discussed in this paper and information for exploitation with- individual learning needs, that is, it the nature of the Web. The Web is out reference to the original pro- allows control over pace and in- an unbounded and chaotic discur- ducers of that knowledge. Add to creased self-direction in learning, sive space. It contains endless pos- that the vast stores of information as students make their own path- sibilities. Indigenous peoples must and knowledge about Indigenous ways through fields of information. be involved at a deeper level than peoples across the globe that be- The vast array of options allows merely providing Indigenous ‘con- long to the Western Knowledge sys- course designers to cater for diver- tent’ or ‘voice’ if we are to use it tem. These include the historical sity and difference on a group and for our own interests. The legacies archive of outdated thinking about

288 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 Indigenous Knowledge and the Cultural Interface

‘primitive savages’, records and 5. For more information on online learn- Chan, L., Lin, X. and Zeng, M. (1999). collections of materials, and so on. ing priorities in Australia’s education Structural and multilingual approach to All of which is of value, however system, see Education Network Aus- subject access on the Web [online pa- offensive, if Indigenous peoples tralia (EDNA) for the schooling sector, per]. Paper presented at the 65th IFLA want fuller understanding of their Australian National Training Authority Council and General Conference, Bang- historical experiences and the (ANTA) for the vocational education kok Thailand, 20–28 August 1999. mechanisms and regimes of coloni- training sector and the Australian Vice- Retrieved July 7, 2002, from http:// Chancellor’s Committee (AVCC) for www.Ifla.org/IV/ifla65/papers/012-117e. zation and so-called post-colonial the higher education sector. htm. times. Add to that the vast prolif- Chisenga, J. (1999). Global information eration of information on the Web infrastructure and the question of Afri- and the potential positives and Reference List can content [online paper]. Paper negatives for Indigenous peoples presented at the 65th IFLA Council interacting in the online environ- Aboriginal Research Institute. (in prog- and General Conference, Bangkok ment. It all makes the academic/ ress). National guidelines for the de- Thailand, 20–28 August 1999. Indigenous intersection and what velopment of online materials for Retrieved July 10, 2002, from that might mean for information Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander http://www.ifla. professionals look rather complex. students in Australia. A national pro- org/IV/ifla65/papers/118-116e.htm. ject for the Australian government. Commonwealth Department of Educa- What the future Indigenous infor- Agrawal, A. (1995a). Dismantling the dition, Science and Technology. (2000). mation context will look like is vide between Indigenous and Western Learning for the knowledge society: speculative. What can be certain is knowledge. Development and Change, an education and training action plan that the intersections of different 26 (3), 413–439. for the information economy [online document]. Retrieved July 27, 2002, Knowledges, systems, concerns and Agrawal, A. (1995b). Indigenous and sci- from http://www.dest.gov.au/schools/ priorities will converge to inform entific knowledge: some critical com- Publications/2000/learning.htm. and develop new practices in this ments. Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor [electronic jour- Davis, M. (1997). Indigenous Peoples and area. As this unfolds, I would hope nal], 3 (3–4). Retrieved July 25, 2002, Intellectual Property Rights, [electronic that the information profession from http://www.nuffic.nl/ciran/ikdm/ journal] Research paper no. 20, 1996– would be mindful of just how com- 3-3/articles/agrawal.html. 97, Information and Research Services, plex the underlying issues are and Agrawal, A. (1996). A sequel to the de- Department of the Parliamentary Li- just how much is at stake for us bate (2). Indigenous Knowledge and brary, Canberra. Retrieved August 7, when the remnants of our knowl- Development Monitor [electronic jour- 2002, from http://www.aph.gov.au/ edge, for some of us all that we nal], 4 (2), 1–2. Retrieved July 25, library/pubs/rp/1996-97/97rp20.htm. have left to us, are the focus of so 2002, from http://www.nuffic.nl/ciran/ Davis, M. (1998). Biological Diversity much external interest. ikdm/4-2/articles/agrawal.html. and Indigenous Knowledge, [electronic Australian National Training Authority journal] Research paper no. 17, 1997– (ANTA). (2001). Flexible learning for 98, Information and Research Services, Notes the information economy: Australian Department of the Parliamentary Li- flexible learning framework for the vo- brary, Canberra. Retrieved August 5, 1. The use of the term, Indigenous peo- cational education and training section 2002, from http://www.aph.gov.au/ ples, in the plural, is used throughout [online document]. Retrieved July 27, library/pubs/rp/1997-98/98rp17.htm. this paper to refer to the fact that not 2002, from http://flexiblelearning.net. Dirks, N., Eley, G. and Ortner, S. (Eds.). all Indigenous people are the same, au/1frame.pdf. (1994). Culture-power-history: a reader although we share a common experi- Australian Vice-Chancellors Committee in contemporary social theory. Prince- ence with colonialism. (AVCC). (1999). The way forward: ton: Princeton University Press. 2. In this paper, the use of Indigenous higher education action plan for the in- Education Network Australia (EDNA). Knowledge with ‘K’ in the upper case formation economy [online document]. (2000). Learning in an online world: is to identify with an epistemological Retrieved July 27, 2002, from http:// school education action plan for the understanding of knowledge systems. www.avcc.edu.au/policies_activities/ information economy. Adelaide: Cur- Indigenous knowledge with ‘k’ in the information_tech_copyright/information riculum Resource Unit. Also avail- lower case is to identify fragmented ar- _tech/action_plan.htm. able on line at http://www.edna.edu. ticles of a knowledge system – items of Casey, D. (2001). Indigenous ownership of au/publications/schooled_action_plan/ knowledge that is described and docu- digital material: is organised crime get- onlineworld.pdf. mented without any view to an episte- ting out of hand?[online paper] Paper Edwards, C. (2000). Global knowledge: A mological context. presented at the ALIA 2000: Capitalis- challenge for librarians [online paper]. 3. Agrawal received heavy criticism for ing on knowledge conference, Canberra Paper presented at the 66th IFLA his article highlighting limitations to Australia, October 2000. Retrieved Jan- Council and General Conference, Je- the ways Indigenous knowledge was uary 29, 2002, from http://www.alia. rusalem, Israel, 13–18 August 2000. being pursued, and not surprisingly org.au/incite/2001/06/museum. html. Retrieved July 10, 2002, from http:// from those at the forefront of the Cazden, C., Cope, B., Fairclough, N., www.ifla.org/IV/ifla65/papers/118-116e. recent push to describe and document Gee, J., Kalantzis, M., Kress, G., Luke, htm. Indigenous knowledge. See response A., Luke, C., Michael, S., and Nakata, Ellen, R. and Harris, H. (1996). Concepts by Agrawal (1996). M. (1996). A pedagogy of multilitera- of Indigenous environmental knowl- 4. For further readings see also: Nicholls, cies: designing social futures. Harvard edge in scientific and development stud- Crowley and Watt, n.d.; Nakata, 2001. Educational Review, 66 (1), 60–92. ies literature: a critical assessment [On-

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 289 Martin Nakata

line paper]. Paper presented at the East- ciology, magic and religion of the Janke, T. (1997). Our culture, our future: West Environmental Linkages Network Eastern Islanders. Cambridge: Cam- proposals for the recognition and pro- Workshop 3, Canterbury UK, 8–10 May bridge University Press. tection of Indigenous cultural and intel- 1996. Retrieved July 27, 2002, from Haddon, A.C. (Ed.). (1912). Reports of lectual property. Canberra: Australian http://www.ukc.ac.uk/rainforest/SML_ the Cambridge Anthropological Expe- Institute of Aboriginal and Torres files/Occpap/indigknow.occpap_1.html. dition to Torres Straits: Vol. IV. Arts Strait Islander Studies. Ellen, R., Parkes, P. and Bicker, A. (2000). and crafts. Cambridge: Cambridge Janke, T. (1998). Our culture, our future: Indigenous environmental knowledge University Press. report on Australian Indigenous cul- and its transformations: critical anthro- Harasim, L. (1989). Online education: a tural and intellectual property rights pological perspectives. Amsterdam: new domain. In: R. Mason and A. Kaye [online document]. Retrieved July 27, Harwood Academic Publishers. (eds.), Mindweave: communication, 2002 from http://www.icip.lawnet. Eyzaguirre, P. (2001). Global recognition computers and distance education com.au/. of Indigenous knowledge: is this the (pp. 50–62). Oxford: Pergamon Press. Kaewdang, R. (2000). Indigenous knowl- latest phase of globalisation? Indige- Harasim, L. (1990). Online education: edge for a learning society [online nous Knowledge and Development perspectives on a new environment. paper]. Paper presented at the Monitor [electronic journal], 8 (1), New York: Praeger Publishers. 6th UNESCO-APEID international con- 1–2. Retrieved July 25, 2002, from Henderson, L. and Putt, I. (1993). The ference on education, Bangkok Thai- http://www.nuffic.nl/ciran/ikdm/9-2/ remote area teacher program (RATEP): land, 12–15 December 2000. Retrieved column.html. cultural contextualisation of distance July 10, 2002, from http://www. Flavier, J., de Jesus, A. and Navarro, C. education through interactive multi- unescobkk.org/education/aceid/confer (1995). The regional program for the media. Distance Education, Vol. 14, ence/Panel_1/Rung.doc. promotion of Indigenous knowledge in (2), 213–231. Koenig, M. (2001). Knowledge manage- Asia. In: D. Warren, L Slikkerveer and Henderson, L. (1993a). Interactive multi- ment, user education and librarianship D. Brokensha (eds.), The Cultural Di- media and culturally appropriate ways [online paper]. Paper presented at the mension of Development: Indigenous of learning. In: C. Latchem, J. William- 67th IFLA Council and General Con- knowledge systems (pp. 479–487). Lon- son and L. Henderson-Lancett (eds.), ference, Boston USA, 16–25 August don: Intermediate Technology Publica- Interactive multimedia: practice and 2001. retrieved July 10, 2002, from tions. promise. (pp. 165–182). London: Kogan http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla67/papers/ Foucault, M. (1970). The order of things: Page Ltd. 085-99e.pdf. an archaeology of the human sciences. Henderson, L. (1993b). Computers: a tool Luke, A., Nakata, M., Garbutcheon Singh, London: Tavistock/Routledge. of empowerment in Aboriginal and M., and Smith, R. (1993). Policy and Foucault, M. (1972). The archaeology of Torres Strait Islander education. In: politics of representation: Torres Strait knowledge. Trans by A.M. Sheridan N. Loos and T. Osanai (eds.), Indigenous Islanders and Aborigines at the margins. Smith. London: Tavistock Publica- minorities and education: Australian In: B. Lingard, J. Knight and P. Porter tions. and Japanese perspectives of their In- (Eds.), Schooling reform in hard times. Francoeur, S. (2001). Applying informa- digenous peoples, the Ainu, Aborigines (pp. 139–152). London: The Falmer tion competency to digital reference and Torres Strait Islanders (pp. 320– Press. [online paper]. Paper presented at the 332). Tokyo: San Yu Sha, 1993. Luyin, L. (1999). Internet: contribution 67th IFLA Council and General Con- Henderson, L., Patching, W. and Putt, I. to Asia and Oceania information reference, Boston USA, 16–25 August, (1996). Off-campus pre-service teacher sources’ construction [online paper]. 2001. Retrieved July 10, 2002, from education via interactive multimedia Paper presented at 65th IFLA Council http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla67/papers/ technology: an indigenous cohort case and General Conference, Bangkok 057-98e.pdf. study. In: Carlson, P and Makedon, F Thailand, 20–28 August 1999. Retrieved Haddon, A.C. (1935). Reports of the Cam- (eds.) Interactive multimedia and July 10, 2002, from http://www.ifla. bridge Anthropological Expedition to hypermedia (pp. 300–305). Charlottes- org/IV/ifla65/papers/014-129e.htm. Torres Straits: Vol. I. General ethnog- ville, VA: Association for the Advance- Mamtora, J. (2001). Bridging the digital raphy. Cambridge: Cambridge Univer- ment of Computers in Education. divide in the islands of Oceania [online sity Press. Hunter, J. (2002). Rights markup exten- paper]. Paper presented at the 67th Haddon, A.C. (Ed.). (1901). Reports of sions for the protection of Indigenous IFLA Council and General Conference, the Cambridge Anthropological Expe- knowledge [online paper]. Paper pre- Boston USA, 16–25 August 2001. re- dition to Torres Straits: Vol. II. Phys- sented at the 11th International WWW trieved July 10, 2002, from http:// iology and psychology. Cambridge: Conference, Honolulu Hawaii, 7– www.ifla.org/IV/ifla67/papers/169- Cambridge University Press. 11 May 2002. Retrieved August 5, 2002, 163e.pdf. Haddon, A.C. (Ed.). (1904). Reports of from http://wwww2002.org/CDROM/ McConaghy, C. (2000). Rethinking in- the Cambridge Anthropological Expe- alternate/748/. digenous education. Flaxton: Post dition to Torres Straits: Vol. V. Sociol- Indigenous Knowledge and Development Pressed. ogy, magic and religion of the Western Monitor. (1993). Special Edition on the Morolo, T. 2002. Indigenous knowledge Islanders. Cambridge: Cambridge Uni- International Symposium on ‘Indige- system. National Research Foundation versity Press. nous Knowledge and Sustainable De- website [Online paper]. Retrieved July Haddon, A.C. (Ed.). (1907). Reports of the velopment’, held in September 1992 at 10, 2002, from http://www.nrf.ac.za/ Cambridge Anthropological Expedition the International Institute for Rural focusareas/iks/. to Torres Straits Vol. III. Linguistics. Reconstruction (IIRR) in Silang, Cavite, Myer, L. (1998). Biodiversity conservation Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. The Philippines. [online journal], 1 (2). and Indigenous knowledge: rethinking Haddon, A.C. (Ed.). (1908). Reports of Retrieved July 25, 2000, from http:// the role of anthropology. Indigenous the Cambridge Anthropological Expe- www.nuffic.nl/ciran/ikdm/1-2/contents. Knowledge and Development Monitor dition to Torres Straits: Vol. VI. So- html. [Online journal], 6 (1), 1–6. Retrieved

290 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 Indigenous Knowledge and the Cultural Interface

July 25, 2002, from http://www.nuffic. and General Conference, Boston USA, edge, in particular traditional medicines, nl/ciran/ikdm/6-1/myer.html. 16–25 August 2001. Retrieved July 10, New Delhi, 3–5 April 2002. Retrieved Nakashima, D. and de Guchteneire, P. 2002, from http://www.ifla.org/IV/ July 25, 2002, from http://www. (1999). Science and other systems of ifla67/papers/144-143e.pdf. unctad.org/trade_env/test1/meetings/ knowledge: a new impetus for In- Rodriguez, A. (2001). The digital divide: delhi/statedebateTK.doc. digenous knowledge from the World the view from Latin America and the United Nations Development Pro- Conference on Science. Indigenous Caribbean [online paper]. Paper pre- gramme’s (UNDP) Civil Society Or- Knowledge and Development Monitor sented at the 67th IFLA Council and ganisations and Participation Pro- [electronic journal], 7 (3), 1–3. Re- General Conference, Boston USA, 16– gramme (CSOPP). (1995). Conserving trieved July 10, 2002, from http://www. 25 August 2001. Retrieved July 10, Indigenous knowledge – integrating nuffic.nl/ciran/ikdm/7-3/nakashima. 2002, from http://www.ifla.org/IV/ new systems of integration [online html ifla67/papers/111-114e.pdf. paper]. Retrieved July 10, 2002, from Nakata, M. (1997a). History, cultural di- Saw, G. (1992). Indigenous knowledge: http://www.undp.org/csopp/CSO/New versity and English language teaching: the librarian’s role in reversing the Files/dociknowledge.html. the talk. Ngoonjook, 12, 54–75. north-south flow of information re- Von Liebenstein, G. (2000). Interfacing Nakata, M. (1997b). The cultural inter- sources. In: Libraries: the heart of the global and Indigenous knowledge: to- face: an exploration of the intersection matter, proceedings of the Australian wards an Indigenous knowledge infor- of Western knowledge systems and Library and Information Association mation system [Online paper]. Paper Torres Strait Islander positions and ex- 2nd biennial conference, 27 September– presented at the 6th UNESCO-APEID periences. Unpublished doctoral thesis. 2 October 1992, (pp. 315–322). Port international conference on education, James Cook University, Townsville. Melbourne: D. W. Thorpe. Bangkok Thailand, 12–15 December Nakata, M. (1997c). Who’s reading mis- Shibanda, G. (2001). Skills and competen- 2000, Bangkok Thailand. Retrieved placed hopes? Journal of Qualitative cies for digital information manage- July 26, 2002, from http://www. Studies. 10 (4), 425–431. ment in Africa [online paper]. Paper developmentgateway.org/node/130646/ Nakata, M. (1998). Anthropological Texts presented at the 67th IFLA Council browser/?keyword_list=233182 and Indigenous Standpoints. Journal and General Conference, Boston USA, andcountry_list=0. of Aboriginal Studies, 2, 3–15. 16–25 August 2001. Retrieved July 10, Warren, M. (1991). Using Indigenous Nakata, M. (2001). Difficult dialogues in 2002, from http://www.ifla.org/IV/ knowledge in agricultural development. Indigenous domains. In: M. Kalantzis ifla67/papers/009-143e.pdf. World Bank discussion paper no. 127. and B. Cope, Reconciliation, multi- Tafler, D. (2000). The use of electronic Washington, DC. World Bank. culturalism and identities: difficult media in remote Aboriginal communi- Warren, M. (1993). Using Indigenous dialogues, sensible solutions. (pp. 109– ties. Journal of Aboriginal Studies, 2, knowledge for agriculture and rural 114). Melbourne: Common Ground 27–38. development: current issues. Indige- Press. Thaman, K. (2000). Interfacing global and nous Knowledge and Development Nathan, D. (2000). Plugging in Indigenous Indigenous knowledge for improved Monitor [online journal], 1 (1), 1–6. knowledge: connections and innova- learning [online paper]. Paper presented Retrieved July 25, 2002, from http:// tions. Journal of Aboriginal Studies, 2, at the 6th UNESCO-APEID internation- www.nuffic.nl/ciran/ikdm/1-1/warren. 39–47. al conference on education, Bangkok html. Nicholls, C., Crowley, V. and Watt, R. (n. Thailand, 12–15 December 2000. Re- Warren, M., von Liebenstein, G. and d.). Theorising Aboriginal education: trieved July 10, 2002, from http:// Slikkerveer, L. (1993). Networking for surely it is time to move on? [online www.unescobkk.org/education/aceid/ Indigenous knowledge. Indigenous paper]. Retrieved July 27, 2002, from conference/Panel_2/Thaman.doc. Knowledge and Development Monitor http://www.edoz.com.au/edoz/archive/ United Nations Conference on Trade and [online journal], 1 (1), 1–4. Retrieved features/abed1.html. Development (UNCTAD). (2002). The July 25, 2002, from http://www.nuffic. Oladele, B. (2001). The imperatives of state of the debate on traditional nl/ciran/ikdm/1-1/warren_l_s.html. challenges for Africa in the knowledge knowledge. [online paper]. Paper pre- World Bank Group. (n.d.). What is In- age: Status and role of national in- sented at the International seminar on digenous knowledge [online paper]. formation policy [online paper]. Paper systems for the protection and com- Retrieved July 10, 2002, from http:// presented at the 67th IFLA Council mercialisation of traditional knowl- www.worldbank.org/afr/ik/basic.htm.

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 291 Publishers and Legal Deposit Libraries Cooperation in the United Kingdom since 1610: effective or not?

John Byford The Stationers Company dates back Growth of Legal Deposit to 1403 when the City of London John Byford has worked in the 1610–1835 approved the formation of a Guild British Library in many of the core of Stationers, i.e. booksellers who librarianship activities, including In 2010 the United Kingdom, or copied and sold manuscript books. Head of Cataloguing, Head of Read- to be more precise England, will By the early 16th century, printers er Services, Newspaper Librarian, celebrate 400 years of legal depos- had joined the Company and with- Head of Modern Collections, and it. Sir Thomas Bodley, the scholar in 50 years had become the domi- since January 2002 as Head of and diplomat who had retired to nant partner. Royal incorporation Legal Deposit Strategy. He has Oxford, his alma mater, in 1597, followed in 1557 and their charter served on various UK and interna- secured then from outside competi- tional committees, including four tion although they policed internal years as Secretary of the IFLA Sec- disputes, invariably infringement of tion on Serial Publications and is ownership of ‘copies’; i.e. copyright, currently a member of the Stand- which had been set down in a ing Committee for the Section on Guild rule of 1556. This obliged Acquisition and Collection Devel- members to present to the War- opment. He was the British Library dens every publication not pro- representative on the Joint Steer- tected by royal grant. A register of ing Committee for the Revision of copies – an early ‘national’ bibliog- AACR prior to the publication of raphy in effect – was kept which AACR 2nd edition, 1988 Revision assisted in resolving disputes. The and also UK representative on the Stationers’ Company Register was ISSN Governing Board. Jointly ed- kept from 1556 to 1695. In 1709 ited AACR, DDC, MARC, and friends the first Copyright Act was intro- London: LA Publishing, 1993, and duced and subsequent Copyright published in many professional Acts enshrined the Company as journals. Currently working on the the place where copies had to be extension of legal deposit to elec- registered until the Copyright Act tronic and other non-print material devoted himself to the re-establish- of 1911. in the United Kingdom. One of the ment of the university library (re- 100 recipients of the LA Royal opened in 1602) and subsequently Relations with the publishers in Charter Centenary medal, Decem- named the Bodleian in his honour. the UK were complicated by the ber 1998. Bodley was a foresighted man and Press Licensing Act of 1662 which recognized that for his library to granted the Royal Library entitle- succeed it would need to attract ment to a copy of all new publica- funding from sources other than tions or new editions containing the university. The re-opening of alterations, i.e. a similar arrange- the library was delayed until Bod- ment that has existed to this day. ley considered that there was suffi- (This right passed to the British cient material on the shelves: Museum – along with the contents of the Royal Library – in 1757.) A small, insignificant library would attract less donations than The aforementioned Copyright Act one that gave the promise of fu- of 1709 extended the number of li- ture greatness. braries entitled to receive books from two to nine: the Royal Library, Not content with building a library the Bodleian, Cambridge Univer- in his lifetime he commenced ne- sity Library, the university libraries gotiations with the Stationers’ Com- of Edinburgh, Glasgow and St An- pany and finalized an agreement drews, the library of King’s and with them in 1610 (three years be- Marischal Colleges, Aberdeen, the fore his death) whereby they agreed library of the Faculty of Advocates, to send the Bodleian a copy of Edinburgh, and the library of Sion every new book registered at Sta- College, London. Further acts fol- tioners Hall. lowed in 1801, 1814, 1836 and 1842.

292 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 Publishers and Legal Deposit Libraries

The early part of the 19th century receive legal deposit copies from limit the number of items depos- saw a series of legal actions to en- eleven to five; The British Museum, ited to one (the British Museum) force the publishers to part with the Bodleian, Cambridge University but this failed. Although there have their publications. In 1824, Robert Library, the Faculty of Advocates been some revisions, the 1842 and Durham, acting as the copyright in Edinburgh and Trinity College 1911 Acts form the basis of legal agent for Cambridge University Li- Dublin. The six libraries which lost deposit as it is enacted today, name- brary was taken on by the British the right received financial compen- ly that publishers must deposit Museum in a similar role; a pro- sation. This was the first of two with the British Library within one posal to extend his role to all copy- acts which laid the foundations for month of publication a copy of right libraries was rejected by the the 1911 Act – effectively the legis- all books published in the United British Museum Library in 1829. lation in operation today; the 1842 Kingdom and Ireland; the five oth- Act was a direct result of Panizzi’s er libraries have the right to claim, The 1801 Act had extended legal zeal in broadening the vision of the within twelve months of publica- deposit to eleven libraries; the 1814 British Museum to achieve the po- tion, copies of the same material. Act tightened up the regulations. It sition as a leading world research The Copyright Agent acts on be- was a significant change: the British library. The 1842 Act’s significance half of the five other libraries to Museum Trustees had proposed, al- is that publishers were obliged to claim and distribute the material. beit in 1805, delivery direct to the deliver direct to the Museum, with- (The establishment of the Irish Free legal deposit libraries, i.e. bypass- out prior demand, i.e. not via the State in 1921 led to reciprocal leg- ing Stationers’ Hall and preventing Stationers’ Hall; the other copy- islation in Ireland; the Industrial evasion of the law. The Trustees’ right libraries had to request items, and Commercial Property (Protec- move was assisted by an action a procedure which continues today tion) Act in 1927 includes provi- brought by the University of Cam- to this day. Panizzi pursued recal- sion for the deposit in the United bridge in 1812 and which the Court citrant publishers with vigour and Kingdom of material published in of the King’s Bench ruled in favour there are several examples of de- Ireland and vice versa. This provi- of, namely that the publishers must faulters taken to court for non- sion continues to this day.) deposit with the Stationers’ Com- deposit of items. His actions were pany irrespective of whether an not limited to London: solicitors item was registered. The 1814 Act were appointed in the provinces, required deposit within one month; Scotland and Ireland to demand New Formats: Pressure penalty for non-compliance was that publishers deposit with the for Change £5.00 (the equivalent of £200.00 British Museum. Intake increased today) plus the value of the book in one year by 67 percent (some of The legal deposit libraries of the and all legal costs. As a concession it arrears of material). Publishers’ United Kingdom and Ireland en- to the publishers, copyright was reactions ranged from reluctant tered the 21st century operating un- extended from 14 to 28 years. Lack compliance to outrage, expressed, der legislation passed in 1842 and of knowledge of the Act’s require- for example, by articles in the West- 1911. It has been put forward that ments led to several prosecutions, minster Review. One prosecution in and in many cases, publishers set- 1853 generated significant publicity the legal deposit system in the tled out of court. The publishers, and ensured that publishers could United Kingdom is now arguably with parliamentary support, were not claim ignorance of the law. out of date. The comprehensive- able to ensure that the legal deposit ness of the national intellectual libraries were placed under an ob- Throughout the Victorian and Ed- archive is becoming increasingly ligation to provide returns of books wardian periods minor changes compromised as new types of claimed, indicating which had been were proposed, occasionally ap- publication are not covered by retained by the libraries and which proved, but it was not until 1911 the legal deposit system. had been disposed of. Intake at the that the last Copyright Act of sig- British Museum Library increased nificance was passed. One element It is opportune to consider the ob- as a result of tightening up the of that Act to note is that the num- jectives – and the merits – of legal Copyright Act; from 1814–1824 de- ber of libraries to receive legal de- deposit. Publications deposited at posits were around 1,300 per an- posit material was increased from the British Library are: num, in the three years from 1824– five to six; the government had op- 1827 the annual intake was over posed extending the privilege to the • preserved for the benefit of fu- 3,500 items. National Library of Wales (founded ture generations in 1909) but there was sufficient • added to the national heritage support to ensure the inclusion of • made available to users in the Li- the National Library, located in brary’s reading rooms. Into the Modern Era Aberystwyth. The publishers, given 1836–1911 the opportunity in an arena other Additionally publications are: than the pages of literary journals The 1836 Copyright Act reduced or magistrates’ courts to query their • recorded in the British Library the number of libraries entitled to obligation to deposit, sought to Public Catalogue (BLCP), acces-

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 293 John Byford

sible over the World Wide Web This is no mean task for infor- and the scope for developing at: http://blpc.bl.uk/ mation specialists, let alone the IT networking solutions which • listed in the British National Bib- framers of new legislation. can in the longer term be used liography which is used by li- to reduce the statutory burden brarians and the book trade for However to ensure that the legal on publishers in complying stock selection, is available in deposit libraries do not have to go with the deposit arrangements. printed, CD-ROM and online back to government in the future formats, and has a world-wide when new formats or information distribution. carriers are developed, new legislation must be generic. The Kenny Report On the whole, though with some significant concerns, publishers sup- The impetus for change quickened The Working Party, made up of port the aspirational ideals behind in pace in the mid 1990s: following representatives from the publishing legal deposit. The practical realities pressure from the legal deposit li- industry, the legal deposit libraries occasionally give cause for rum- braries and other interested par- and other interested parties, pre- blings of discontent, e.g. the robust ties, the British government issued sented its report to the Secretary of critique of legal deposit by David a consultation paper in 1997 in State in July 1998. Whitaker in the pages of the Li- which it sought to ascertain views brary Association Record in which on legal deposit and the possibility The Working Party was con- he asserted that the Treasury must of extending legal deposit to other vinced that only a system of le- accept types of material. In January 1998 gal deposit will be adequate to the Secretary of State for Culture, secure a comprehensive national that this unique tax in kind is an Media and Sport set up a Working published archive. Agreement anomaly in the modern world Party under the chairmanship of has been reached on the follow- and should be abolished. Sir Anthony Kenny with the fol- ing general principles for such a lowing terms of reference: system: (As an aside Whitaker quotes an anonymous 1871 pamphlet ‘En- (i) to advise on how an effective (1) legislation should empower tered at Stationers Hall’ in which national archive of non-print the Secretary of State, after the author rails against the power material might be achieved, appropriate consultation, to of the Stationers Company at the taking into account the need declare, from time to time, time of the Royal incorporation of to minimize the burden on publications in specific new 1557 and refers to the charter publishers, the need to safe- media to be subject to the as ‘an admirable scheme, this new guard deposited material from obligation of legal deposit; Spanish-English press inquisition. unauthorized use, the archival (2) whenever an item in a speci- Queen Mary burnt the authors, and value of the material, and the fied medium is published, the Stationers Company burnt the scope for making deposited the rights owner should en- books.’) He bases much of his ar- material available among legal able the national published gument on a total cost to the pub- deposit libraries through se- archive to hold that item lishers which uses the average sel- cure IT networks; both for purposes of archiv- ling price of a book conveniently (ii) to draw up and agree a vol- ing and of access to that ar- ignoring that it is the actual produc- untary code of practice to chive; tion cost that should be consid- achieve deposit of electronic (3) in the case of items pub- ered. One commentator observed, and microform publications lished in more than one me- until such time as the Gov- dium, the publisher’s obli- the extravagant manner in which ernment may decide to intro- gation to any repository of many publishers distribute review duce legislation; the national published ar- copies sometimes makes it diffi- (iii) to ensure that such arrange- chive shall be satisfied by cult to take complaints about six ments are compatible, where deposit only in a single me- deposit copies very seriously. appropriate, with the existing dium, but the choice of the (Stoker) arrangements for the voluntary medium of deposit should deposit of films and sound re- be made by the repository; A further observation in this article cordings; (4) once a work has been de- is pertinent to current thinking, (iv) to advise on the scope for deposited in a repository of the veloping the existing arrange- national published archive, namely if the new law is to last ments for the deposit of print- access should be given to ninety years it may be better to ed publications with a view to authorized users of that re- seek to define the ‘information’ ensuring greater cooperation pository, unless it belongs itself, rather than the form in between the different legal to a category for which it which it is delivered. deposit libraries, encouraging has been determined that greater selectivity in the mate- access will be temporarily Stoker concludes, rial claimed from publishers, restricted;

294 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 Publishers and Legal Deposit Libraries

(5) the dissemination of the be withheld from public use un- and I believe the report makes work in whole or in substan- til the sensitive nature of the in- a convincing case for moving tial part beyond the confines formation has been eroded by towards legislation for the legal of the national published ar- the passage of time. deposit of non-print publica- chive shall be permitted only tions on the basis of minimum (a) after the expiry of copy- The British Library continues to burden on publishers and mini- right or (b) by agreement maintain restrictions on such ma- mum loss of sales. It will be nec- with the rights holders; terial, in some cases for as long as essary to do further work on (6) the Secretary of State, in four years. There is also a clear definitions and the impact on declaring a medium to be distinction between the Library’s business and I have asked Sir subject to the obligations of role as a national archive and the Anthony Kenny [Chairman of legal deposit, may exempt information services it provides the Working Group] to take this certain categories of mate- throughout the United Kingdom forward through the medium of rial whose deposit would and overseas. the technical group of library place an unreasonable bur- and publishing experts. Once den on their publishers; Publishers recognize that libraries that is done we shall move for- (7) applications from publishers have a major role to play in the ward towards legislation. for additional material to be longevity of information although excluded or embargoed, and the emphasis that they place on the He requested that in the meantime points of dispute about the libraries’ role is one of archiving. a code of practice for the voluntary application of the obligation One wrote, ‘publishers would be deposit of non-print publications of legal deposit should be highly unreliable as archivists’ be- should be drawn up and agreed determined by a standing cause it is not inherent in their ‘pro- between publishers and the deposit committee, responsible to fessional and organizational cul- libraries. A ‘regulatory impact as- the Secretary of State, con- ture’. The importance of standards sessment’ of the costs and benefits taining representatives both was but a small part of discussion of the statutory deposit of non- of publishers and reposito- on the extension of legal deposit. print publications should also be ries and their users. Migration of material to new plat- prepared before the drafting of the forms has not been an issue of proposed legislation. The code of John Davies, then of the Publishers concern to many publishers who practice was drawn up and agreed Association, wrote that predominantly operate in an ‘indi- by representatives of the legal de- vidualist competitive environment’. posit libraries and publishing trade there is far more goodwill and It is heartening to read that publish- bodies. mutual trust between the major ers were looking for a lead from li- players than would have been brarians ‘with their long experience the case 20 years ago ... [and] of preservation and organizational Voluntary Deposit of there are good reasons of self- issues’ because formulation of com- Electronic Publications interest for publishers to support mon standards, nationally and in- a national archive of print and ternationally, ‘does not lie within The code of practice was intro- electronic publications. the culture or professional expertise duced in January 2000 and covers of publishers’. This emphasis on the the deposit of United Kingdom Authors and publishers, especially archival responsibility of libraries non-print publications in micro- those involved in academic and for electronic material led some form and offline electronic media. professional publishing share com- publishers to assert that new leg- The latter, also sometimes known mon interests such as long term re- islation must ensure that ‘legal de- as ‘hand-held’, ‘portable’ or ‘pack- search value to the nation and their posit is for archival purposes only aged’ electronic publications, are material preserved in a stable and ... [and] the use of the archive electronic publications issued on organized environment. The legal would be limited to ‘historic’ mate- discrete physical digital media such deposit libraries are ideally suited rial – that which is out of copyright as magnetic tapes, magnetic disks to realize those and other objec- or out of print.’ Thus, while ac- or, more commonly, optical discs tives. The case for greater selectivity knowledging the legitimacy of ex- of some kind, such as CD-ROM or of materials is made and a recom- tending legal deposit to electronic DVD. The code of practice does mendation is made that guidelines material there remain problems not include: should be drawn up to assist pub- to resolve before issues of access lishers when depositing material. could be agreed. • film, sound, or Ordnance Survey Perhaps not surprisingly the ques- digital mapping products, which tion of restriction of use of electron- The Secretary of State’s response are subject to separate voluntary ic material is addressed in depth, concluded: schemes, and, citing print • online publications (although the I agree with the report’s conclu- code does set out arrangements publications containing commer- sion that a voluntary code will for online publications which cially sensitive matters [that] can not be viable in the longer term are substantially fixed at the time

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 295 John Byford

of first publication, while con- tee on Voluntary Deposit (JCVD), ed on servers in each institution to tinuously updated publications commented: test the running of the system and such as ‘dynamic’ databases are its performance in relation to the excluded from current propos- The Publishers Association is ful- restriction of one user on one site. als). ly committed to the importance The project is based on a thin cli- of secure archiving of our na- ent solution. The system used is The code recognizes that deposit tional heritage of published ma- CITRIX and the browser client is of offline publications which re- terial in digital form. We are Internet Explorer. The applications quire separately licensed software pleased to have found so many are run on Windows 2000. There for their operation presents par- areas of consensus in working are two servers at the moment, one ticular problems and recommends with the copyright libraries and at the British Library at Boston that the publisher obtains the nec- other publishing bodies. A num- Spa and the other at the Bodleian essary licence on behalf of the de- ber of challenges remain, such as Library. All the applications used posit library. Under the voluntary access to archived copies. These as part of the trial are CD-ROMs scheme the publisher is under no are being actively discussed by and not online products. obligation to deposit if they are the joint committee and, once unable or unwilling to do this. they have been addressed, we Applications to be run on this sys- will welcome legislation. tem needed to be designed with Over 100 publishers have signed Windows 2000 in mind. It would up to the voluntary scheme for be best if there was no encrypted the deposit of electronic publica- Joint Committee on coding tied to CD-ROM products tions. Over 1000 monographs and Voluntary Deposit to allow for their easy uploading 850 journals (or over 20,000 sepa- onto the server. However, where rate issues) have been archived for The aforementioned Joint Commit- such encryption exists then there the future as a result of the scheme. tee on Voluntary Deposit was set were issues of how this could be Publishers have also been encour- up to implement and monitor the circumvented (obviously with the aged to deposit publications in Code of Practice while acting as a publishers’ permission). The system these media published before the forum for discussion between rep- copes with making a small number end of 1999. In a British Libra- resentatives of the legal deposit li- of applications available across a ry press release earlier this year braries and the four publishing large number of users over many Dr Clive Field, Director of Schol- trade bodies. Scholarly publishers sites. The handling of online appli- arship and Collections at the Li- generally would prefer access in cations by the system would be an brary commented, one library only at a time and not issue of storage. The publisher rep- have to deposit more than one resentatives on JCVD found a The voluntary scheme has given copy; their preferred position is to recent demonstration to be very us the opportunity to work with have access limited as within a useful. Key management and ad- publishers in identifying some of print environment. A sub-group of ministrative concerns were to do the challenges in the practical JCVD has been set up to look at with how many applications could implementation of future legisla- questions of access, embargoes, be successfully loaded on to each tion. Whilst continuing to press business and economic factors re- server, and what forms, and levels, for legislation, we are now start- lating to high value publications; of access would be possible and be ing to discuss voluntary deposit meetings with publishers have acceptable. More work is in prog- and archiving of online publica- been held and terms of reference ress on encryption and scaling of tions with publishers, and work- for future work agreed. The legal the system upwards. ing to address the difficult tech- deposit libraries maintain the posi- nical issues in preserving these tion that it would be difficult to for the future. justify public funding for an ar- Metadata chive to which the public would Long-term access to digital materi- not have access. The metadata created by publishers als can only be assured by planned is based on their own organization- and systematic archiving, capable al needs and is not yet standardized of ensuring that content is trans- Secure Networking between publishers. (Publishers of- ferable from one generation of ten have to abide by legal require- technology to the next. One of the mechanisms for achiev- ments, e.g. anti-trust legislation, so ing a level of access that meets full collaboration on common stand- Publishers have also welcomed both the aspirations of the libraries ards is not yet assured.) Publish- the establishment of the voluntary and the concerns of publishers is ers have worked with CEDARS scheme and the proposed experi- to restrict the number of simulta- (CURL Exemplars in Digital Ar- mental activity on the archiving neous users to any particular de- chives), a project set up in March of online publications. Anthony posited resource. To this end, the 1998; its broad objective is to ex- Watkinson, Publishers Association libraries have been developing a plore digital preservation issues. representative on the Joint Commit- secure network: 25 titles were load- These range through acquiring digi-

296 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 Publishers and Legal Deposit Libraries tal objects, their long-term reten- was opportune as the Department for future use – much in the same tion, sufficient description, and of Culture, Media and Sport, the way as Bodley had planned nearly eventual access or are involved in British Library’s sponsoring agency 400 years ago. other digital archiving projects with in government, had given early in- other bodies. This project has been dication that legislation is back on References completed and further work – to the agenda. consider a system for the provision Book Industry Communication: http:// of metadata and software which Proposed Legislation www.bic.org.uk/prodinf.html (visited publishers could attach to deposit 27.7.02). items – is required: the British British Library (2002) ‘Publishers support Library is working with Book In- The proposed vehicle for primary voluntary scheme to save electronic dustry Communication (BIC, set legislation is what is called a publications for the future’. http:// up and sponsored by the Publish- Handout Bill, which is, in effect, www.bl.uk/cgi-bin/press.cgi?story= ers Association, the Booksellers a Government-sponsored private 1229 (visited 27.7.02). Association, the Library Associa- member’s bill. This would be ge- Cedars Project. (2002) ‘CURL exemplars tion and the British Library to de- neric legislation, with application in digital archives’. http://www.leeds. velop and promote standards for to particular information formats ac.uk/cedars/index.htm (visited 27.7. electronic commerce and commu- by Order in Council. The assump- 02). nication in the book and serials tion is that legislation would be Cox, John. (1998) ‘Is everyone passing the industry) to identify appropriate applicable to all formats consid- buck’. Journal of Information Science, software. ered in the original JCVD brief, 24 (6) 1998, pp. 444–446. Davies, John. (1998) ‘Safe deposit: a UK plus online commercial sources publishing view’. Alexandria, 10 (2) and non-commercial websites. This Cost Impact Study 1998, pp. 159–166. Handout Bill process is suited to Electronic Publishing Services Ltd. (2002) situations where two circumstances ‘Proposed legislation to extend legal The other requirement placed up- apply: deposit – cost impact assessment’. on the legal deposit libraries and http://www.epsltd.com (visited 27.7. the publishers by the Secretary of (i) the measure is not deemed 02). State, namely to prepare a ‘regula- controversial (which reinforces Harris, P.R. (1998) A history of the Brit- tory impact assessment’ of the costs the need to maintain and to ish Museum Library 1753–1973. Lon- and benefits of the statutory deposit demonstrate a working con- don: The British Library, 1998. of non-print publications before the sensus between libraries and Muir, Adrienne and Davies, J. Eric. (2000) drafting of the proposed legislation publishers regarding the ap- ‘Legal deposit of digital material in the is also in hand. In May 2002, the plication of legislation); and UK’. Alexandria, 12 (3) 2000, pp. 151– Joint Committee on Voluntary De- (ii) the impact of the measure on 166. Smith, Geoff (1999) ‘The legal deposit of posit awarded a contract to Elec- the industry concerned should non-print publications’. Serials, vol. 12, tronic Publishing Services Ltd to be low, the definition of low no. 2, July 1999. provide the means and information being less than £20 million Stoker, David (1997) ‘Tangible deposits’. for assessing the costs and other per annum (which reinforces Journal of Librarianship and Informa- quantifiable impacts on business the need for JCVD to keep the tion Science, 29 (2) June 1997, pp. 65– and to the legal deposit libraries of impact on publishers below 68. the extension of legal deposit that level). Whitaker, David (2001) ‘Nobody expects to non-print publications. This in- the Spanish Inquisition’. Library Asso- volves gathering information on The first stage in the process was ciation Record, 103 (8), August 2001, the costs and other quantifiable passed successfully in June when pp. 492–493. impacts of the extension of legal the Cabinet’s Legislation Policy Working Party on Legal Deposit (1999) deposit to non-print publications Sub-Committee approved the pro- Code of practice for the voluntary de- affecting both publishers and legal posal as suitable for a Handout posit of non-print publications. http:// deposit libraries and developing an Bill. The report commissioned by www.bl.uk/about/policies/codeprac. html (visited 27.7.02). underlying model for calculating JCVD is on schedule for comple- Working Party on Legal Deposit and illustrating these costs and tion at the end of August 2002, (1998) Report. http://www.bl.uk/about/ quantifiable impacts which can be timed to contribute to the revised policies/workreplegdep.html (visited used against variable assumptions Regulatory Impact Assessment. The 27.7.02). as to the types of material to be legal deposit libraries will continue Worshipful Company of Stationers’ deposited, and over time as the to work with the publisher trade and Newspapers Makers http://www. types, amount and value of mate- bodies to ensure that the national stationers.org/history/intro.htm (visited rial published changes. The timing heritage is acquired and preserved 27.7.02).

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 297 Building Bridges: LIASA and leadership development in South Africa

Gwenda Thomas structures are impressive whilst Introduction others remain functional and just Gwenda Thomas is the Executive do the job. It is my belief that, irre- Director of the Library and Informa- The purpose of this paper is to: spective of the level of the need tion Association of South Africa and the infrastructure required to (LIASA) based in Pretoria, South • introduce LIASA and its role in deliver the content, a central body Africa. Her role is to establish a the South African library and such as the Library Association National Office, grow the member- information services sector has an integral role and responsi- ship base, implement policy and bility in the design and mainte- drive the projects identified by the nance of a CPD model which in- Representative Council and Execu- corporates a range of programmes tive Committee. She has been ac- that are appropriate to the needs tively involved in the South African of its members. library and information profession for twenty years where, having had The term Continuing Professional some early experience in special Education is an overarching term libraries, she has primarily worked in for the means by which professions the university library environment. keep their practice current and rele- She has been actively involved in vant. In ‘licensed’ professions such library strategic management since as law, engineering and the health 1991 and has experience of busi- sciences it is mandatory. Haycock ness process re-engineering and (2001, p1) indicates that Continu- transformation management. Her ing Professional Education focuses last position, before joining LIASA on “learning to know” which sug- in a full-time capacity, was at South gests more knowledge than skills Africa’s largest distance learning and application of knowledge. The tertiary institution, the University same author suggests that Continu- of South Africa where, as the Head ing Professional Development is of Research Services she managed not only learning to know, but also the staff providing information ser- • describe the status of Continuing reflection, problem solving and vices to the Unisa staff and post- Professional Development (CPD) “learning to do”. For the purposes graduate students and building for the LIS sector in South Africa of this paper, the term Continuing the extensive research collections. • provide a progress report and re- Professional Development is pre- Where time allows, she still par- view of a partnership programme ferred as it my hope that projects ticipates in the library profession initiative between LIASA and the coordinated under the umbrella of through journal publications and Mortenson Centre of the Univer- LIASA will incorporate elements presenting papers at conferences. sity of Illinois at Urbana-Cham- of both ‘learning to know’ and She may be contacted at e-mail: paign ‘learning to do’. [email protected]. • explore the way forward for LIASA to forge bridges for Con- Setting the Context tinuing Professional Development in the library and information services sector of South Africa. The Library and Information Asso- ciation of South Africa (LIASA) In my paper, ‘bridges’ have been was established in 1997 to unite chosen as the central theme since and represent all the institutions they symbolize structures that, like and persons engaged in library and a Library Association, bring to- information services in South Af- gether a variety of components rica. Its vision is to unite, develop which facilitate progress between and empower all people in the li- two points. Like bridges, Continu- brary and information services ing Professional Development can sector (LIS) into an organization be found in different shapes, sizes that provides dynamic leadership and levels – from those that have in transforming, developing and stood the test whilst others are for- sustaining library and information gotten in the annals of time. Some services for all the people in South

298 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 Building Bridges

Africa. Whilst not a statutory body, ance rests with the Executive Com- points of Walker’s articles in LIASA is recognized by govern- mittee and Representative Council. which she outlines the CPE status ment as a professional non-profit and identifies some critical issues organization and has, since its in- This infrastructure and recognized that challenge progress: ception, played a major role in the profile of LIASA has enabled the LIS sector. This includes advocacy Association to play a major ‘bro- • South Africa’s destructive poli- and lobbying of government at lo- kering’ role in attracting grants to cies of apartheid have meant cal, provincial and national level for the South African LIS sector for that many South African library improved services, representation the purpose of providing improved and information workers have on government committees and au- services to the community as well been divided and disadvantaged thoritative input on library policy as training and development pro- by access to qualifications as well and legislation. It was instrumental grammes in partnership with over- as by the quality of general and in establishing a National Council seas institutions. This brings me to professional education (Walker for Library and Information Ser- the focus of my paper and that is 2001, p. 230) vices which was promulgated by the South African Library Leader- • It cannot be assumed that in de- Act no. 6 of 2001. ship Project which is the product of signing and delivering that CPE a partnership programme between that library and information serv- LIASA has established ten branches LIASA and the Mortenson Centre ice workers share a common in the nine provinces of South Af- of the University of Illinois at Ur- professional background or that rica as well as nine specialist inter- bana-Champaign. It is a three year they have a baseline of similar est groups that meet both the pro- funded Continuing Professional four year graduate studies professional and working needs of Development programme intended grammes. As a result for many of members. LIASA can be described to deliver leadership and manage- our library and information serv- as a ‘broad based’ association and ment training to South African ice workers, their foundations in is inclusive of all types of libraries, LIS professionals and to establish LIS and ICT skills are often in- represents all regions and is able to LIASA as a continuing education adequate or learnt on the job reach librarians in all parts of South facility for LIS in South Africa. (Walker 2001, p. 230) Africa through its extensive infra- • South Africa has not yet devel- structure. Currently, the member- oped a nationally or regional- ship is 2,000 members nationally The Status of Continuing ly coordinated infrastructure for and has the potential to grow to Professional Development CPE for library and information 5,000 over the next three years. for Library and services in South Africa. The Revenue received from individual, Information Services traditional providers of CPE for institutional and international mem- library and information services bers is used for the development of South Africa remain the professional associa- the branches, interest groups, com- tions and interest groups as well munication and marketing and ap- In South Africa, a number of col- as library and information sci- proved projects/programmes of the leagues have devoted much of their ence departments, recently joined Association. professional activities to Continu- by academic library consortia. ing Professional Education and are On offer are seminars, work- LIASA is in the dynamic process recognized authorities in the field. shops, general and specialist of developing its profile, both na- In particular, Clare Walker of the conferences on local, regional tionally and internationally. The As- University of the Witwatersrand has or national level (Walker 2001, sociation is a respected and valued researched and presented two elo- p. 230–232) member of a number of interna- quent papers on the current status • In the absence of a coordinated tional forums including COMLA, and the complex issue of certifica- infrastructure and CPD strategy, SCECSAL and IFLA where LIASA tion in the field of Continuing (Walker 2002, p. 4) identifies a is the national representative asso- Professional Education in South Af- number of shortcomings in terms ciation with IFLA membership. A rica (Walker 2001 and 2002). These of quality assurance and evalua- number of LIASA members hold two articles are highly recom- tion: high office in these organizations. mended for anyone wanting to un- In June 2000, the Carnegie Corpo- derstand the complexities of the – generally, only attendance cer- ration of New York approved a past, current and future status of tificates (rather than accredited grant of USD 249,000 to LIASA for CPE as well as the challenges faced certification) are issued to par- a three year period to assist with by LIASA where there is high ex- ticipants the management of the Associa- pectation for the Association to – course providers are not ex- tion, expansion of its activities, a design, develop, coordinate and plicitly accredited – members membership drive and programme maintain a CPD function in South of academic departments are development. LIASA has a full-time Africa. deemed accredited but practi- Executive Director, Professional Of- tioners giving courses, e.g. ficer with part-time Secretary and For the purposes of this audience, library staff and private in- Administrative Assistants. Govern- a summary is provided of the main dependent operators, are not

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 299 Gwenda Thomas

accredited or have certifica- nomic and structural mobility Stage 2: under the guidance of tion desired by the SAQA/NQF LIASA – CPE courses are not accred- (Walker 2002, p. 6). ited because no mechanism in • It stands to reason that the na- • orientation and training in South SAQA currently exists ture of CPE means that the short Africa – no quality assurance of CPD courses appropriate to profession- • pre-departure project. courses exists which leaves al practice would be designed participants at the mercy of with accredited ‘unit standards' Stage 3: under the guidance of the the system which is perceived which would enable them to be Mortenson Center and LIASA as lucrative with operators recognized and integrated by em- emerging at a rapid rate and ployer organizations for reward, • six week training at the Morten- offering course content that is placement and advancement. son Center. neither evaluated nor accred- Certification would be based on ited. a national level of quality assur- Stage 4: under the guidance of ance (Walker 2002, p. 232). LIASA and beginning immediately • The National Skills Authority is • Within the framework for formal upon return a statutory body established in education and training qualifi- terms of the Skills Development cations, accreditation for courses • participate in the National LIASA Act no. 97 of 1998 which re- is only possible if integrated as Conference quires employer organizations to credit-bearing modules or part- • deliver a series of workshops in have strategic CPE plans in place modules, into existing formal li- South Africa i.e. education, training and de- brary and information science • submit an article to a profes- velopment within the workplace. qualifications – this is not appli- sional journal The Skills Levy Act no. 9 of 1999 cable for short CPE courses • participate in a LIASA commit- requires the payment of a levy (Walker 2002, p. 2) tee activity. by each employer organization, • Similarly, within the SAQA/NQF as a payroll percentage. This has framework for formal education Stage 5: under the guidance of led to expectations of CPE in the and training qualifications, there LIASA workplace to result in recogni- is no national accreditation, as- tion and career advancement. sessment and certification system • completion of required activities Frequent failure to provide CPE to give individuals and employ- • awards ceremony. programmes in the workplace ers recognition for the completed due to inadequate resources or CPE courses and programmes As way of background, stages 1–3 policies underscores the urgency (Walker 2002, p. 2). of the project covering the suc- to address CPE needs in South cessful implementation achieved Africa (Walker 2001, p. 230). during the period January 2001 to Progress Report and • The South African Qualifications August 2002 are reviewed.

Authority/National Qualifications Review of the South Framework (SAQA/NQF) na- African Library Stage 1: Planning, tional legislation requires that all Leadership Project qualifications formally attained Proposal, Project (SALLP) in South Africa at school, col- Structure and lege, university, adult education Governance, Promotion institute or any other training A key Continuing Professional De- environment should be registered velopment Programme currently be- and Marketing and within the framework. It pro- ing coordinated and implemented Selection of Candidates poses a framework of recognition by LIASA in partnership with the on a national basis for all formal Mortenson Center is the South Af- The first stage of the project initi- education and training (Walker rican Library Leadership Project ated in January 2001 has spanned 2001, p. 232) (SALLP) which is being managed a wide range of activities during • Within the framework, a unit in five stages: the first eighteen months. standard is the smallest unit that can be credited to a learner. Stage 1: coordinated by the part- Identification of the Need for These standards are the building nership Leadership Development in blocks for qualifications and for South Africa the national outcomes-based edu- • needs identification cation and training system that • proposal and funding under the Briefly, as background. The Mor- the NQF supports. The focus of guidance of LIASA tenson Center for International Li- SAQA, however, is on qualifica- • documentation and publicity brary Programs at the University of tions and not unit standards in materials Illinois at Urbana-Champaign was themselves since it is qualifica- • promotion and marketing established in 1991 as an interna- tions that will promote the eco- • candidate selection. tional centre for CPE for librarians

300 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 Building Bridges and international specialists. The A number of factors contributed to initiated by the Mortenson Center Center operates two programmes: the final decision to propose a lead- and GAELIC. It is now a partner- ership development programme: ship project between LIASA and • The Partnership Program de- the Mortenson Center. The Andrew signed to assist other countries in • Leadership is a critical success W. Mellon Foundation awarded a developing self-sustaining centres factor for the association, evident grant of USD 250,000 in Decem- for CPE. in the vision statement in which ber 2000 to the Mortenson Center • The Continuing Education Pro- the Association commits to pro- for a three year period, January gram offering the opportunity for viding dynamic leadership in 2001 to December 2003 in support librarians from partner countries transforming, developing and of the project. to spend time at the University sustaining library and informa- of Illinois. This programme can tion services for all the people in The purpose of the project is to be modified to meet the unique South Africa. train a total of eighteen library pro- needs of any specific group. • Whilst several areas for training fessionals between 2002 and 2003. were identified during the visits, This training will take place both Following discussions with the An- one aspect mentioned most of- in South Africa, under the guid- drew W. Mellon Foundation about ten and vociferously was the ance of LIASA, and in the United a professional development project need for well trained library lead- States at the Mortenson Center. for librarians in South Africa, the ers and managers, with an espe- The project is managed and ad- Director and Assistant Director of cially critical need in Histori- ministered within the LIASA Na- the Mortenson Center initiated a vis- cally Disadvantaged Institutions. tional Office on behalf of its it to South Africa through a provin- As a result, it was proposed that partners. The first group of nine cial consortium called the Gauteng for South Africans to establish a SALLP participants has just re- and Environs Library Consortium high level of excellence and best turned from their training pro- (GAELIC) where further discus- international practice would be gramme in the United States which sions were arranged with the li- to work with colleagues from took place from 24 June to 2 Au- brary constituencies and LIASA. other countries who actively en- gust 2002. gage in developing well trained Sixteen libraries were visited in the and skilled staff (SALLP pro- Goals, objectives and outcomes of Gauteng and Free State Provinces posal 2000, p. 4). the leadership programme for the to gain insights into the library pro- • Furthermore, it was evident that individual and profession fession in South Africa. The Mor- there is a need for continuing tenson Center staff reported in education for librarians in South Initially, the proposal stated that their findings that after years of Africa. Whilst there are some the goals of the project were to: apartheid and isolation, rural and institutions offering continuing historically disadvantaged areas education, it tends to be spo- • implement a leadership pro- were challenged by severe staff radic, costly, specialized and at gramme for promising future cuts, budget restrictions and little distant locations with little co- managers from academic and support for professional develop- ordination or assessment of the public libraries in South Africa; ment activities. During the visits to needs of different librarians and institutions, a range of areas for (SALLP proposal 2000, p. 4). • planning for a continuing edu- CPD programmes were identified • Many of the existing CPD pro- cation entity in LIASA. (SALLP Proposal 2000, p. 3–4): grammes focus on ICT. In South Africa with its historical legacy During the initial stages of setting • leadership training and mentor- of poor education, it was felt that up the project and meetings of the ing disadvantaged staff into lead- the initial programme should in- governance structures, the goals ership positions corporate a broader background and objectives were refined and it • practical library management in order for the individual to de- was agreed that: and the role of teams in libraries velop and practice effectively. • library practice in specialized Recognizing that leadership ex- • the primary and distinct goal of areas e.g. archives, records man- tends beyond the impact of ICT, the SALLP is to develop leader- agement, school librarianship, it was agreed that the initial ship qualities in current and children’s librarianship focus and energies should be future managers of academic, • information literacy and Adult channelled into leadership de- public/community and national Education Training Programmes velopment for the library and library services (ABET) information service sector. • the objectives of the develop- • training trainers including writ- ment programme are to: ing manuals and presentation Project Proposal – develop leadership qualities skills – refine communication and ad- • training public librarians The result of the visits and discus- vocacy skills • resource sharing and collection sions was The South African Li- – highlight best practices in the management and development. brary Leadership Project (SALLP), management of library services

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 301 Gwenda Thomas

– learn about change manage- • A Governing Committee of fif- Target Groups in Two Phases ment and organizational struc- teen members representing key tures. LIS constituencies within the In order to ensure that that the framework of the SALLP. The primary goal of the project is ful- Throughout the project, the par- role of this committee is to im- filled, namely to develop leader- ticipants will develop their IT skills plement the SALLP and make ship qualities in current and future as a tool in the LIS field and en- policy decisions. LIS managers, it was imperative hance their training and presenta- • A Management Group, compris- that the eligibility criteria for each tion skills. ing six Governing Committee of the two phases of leadership de- members, is responsible for the velopment were clearly defined. The expected outcomes from the day-to-day executive decisions project for the LIS profession in of the SALLP. It initiated the In Phase 1 – selection and partici- South Africa are: (SALLP proposal SALLP Project and finalized the pation in the leadership develop- 2000, p. 6) Governing Committee member- ment programme required that ship. participants are: • a cadre of well trained library • A Selection Committee, com- leaders prising the Management Group • South African citizens • increased networking and re- and a representative of the Gov- • employed in a management po- source sharing among libraries erning Committee, is tasked with sition in an academic, public/ • greater participation in profes- the short-listing, interviewing and community and national library sional associations final selection of the candidates service • establish a continuing education in the project. • academically qualified profes- function for the country within • A Project Coordinator, appointed sional library and information LIASA which has communica- in June 2001 on a three year workers. tion capability and credibility. contract, handles the day-to-day operations and administration of In Phase 2, starting in September The expected outcomes from the the project in consultation with 2002, the focus for selection and project for the LIS individual are: the LIASA Executive Director participation will shift from senior (SALLP proposal 2000, p. 6) and SALLP Project Director. managers to participants employed The Project Coordinator is the in a middle management position • development of leadership quali- Secretary for the Governing and in an academic, public/community ties Management Committees which and national library service. • improved understanding of the meet regularly. South African LIS context • improved understanding of basic Application and Selection management principles and tech- SALLP launch at the Process niques 2001 LIASA • skills in library management National Conference Selection for Phases 1 and 2 is based • improved understanding of serv- on an open, merit-based process in ice delivery A logo was designed for the which each candidate is evaluated • understanding the role of librar- SALLP project and used on the in terms of the following criteria: ies in a democratic society application form, a brochure and • insights into how ICT is chang- attractive bookmark. The SALLP • has shown strong leadership ing libraries was officially launched at a plenary potential and skills in the work- • grant writing and fund raising session of the LIASA National place, the profession or commu- skills. Conference in September 2001 nity – evidence should be which was attended by 500 dele- documented and substantiated gates. The presentation included a in the application Structure of Project slide show about the Mortenson • has an articulated vision of how Center and the Project. participation in the SALLP may The leadership development pro- contribute more widely to the de- gramme consists of two phases over A meeting with Directors of Na- velopment of libraries in South a three year period – each phase tional, Public, Provincial and Aca- Africa comprises five stages of profes- demic Library Services was also • demonstrates commitment to the sional development for each group held during the conference. This profession e.g. participation in of nine individuals. was an opportunity to create buy- professional association activities in and support for the project by • has knowledge of the field of means of discussion and providing study and interest to engage ef- Project Governance clarity regarding the impact and fectively in, and derive benefit ramifications of involvement with- from, the academic as well as The governance of the project in the project by their staff mem- practice oriented content of the comprises the following: bers from these structures. six week training programme

302 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 Building Bridges

• demonstrates clarity of thought mittee member formulated a ques- the new Higher Education Re- and presentation. tion to be asked of each candidate structuring Plan for comparative purposes. Each can- • provincial and municipal re- didate went through a 45-minute structuring – the impact on the Application Forms interview process as follows: provision of library/community library services The application forms were dis- • a 30-minute question and an- • LIS education in South Africa – tributed between September and swer session trends and new developments October 2001. Besides supplying • a 7-minute presentation, using • issues facing the profession glob- standard information such as bio- three transparencies, to articulate ally and the impact of ICT. data, education and employment their vision for the development experience, the applicants were re- of libraries in South Africa and A workshop on ‘What is leader- quired to write a motivation state- their involvement ship and how does a leadership ment of 500 words explaining how • a 3-minute impromptu talk on style impact the team role’ was participation in the programme an aspect of leadership “Those also presented and which explored would help the person to achieve who think that they are leaders, how personal leadership style and their own professional goals, bene- and do not have any followers, qualities shape the role that one fit the workplace and contribute to are merely taking a walk”. plays within a team. the development of libraries in South Africa. The form required the Nine candidates were selected and On Day Two, the candidates were line manager to complete a confi- informed – the group comprises given an overview of the Morten- dential evaluation of the applicant six public librarians and three aca- son Center and the schedule of the and to sign a commitment to sup- demic librarians from across six 6-week programme. An introduc- port the participant in promoting provinces. They were required to tion to the pre-departure project the knowledge/skills acquired dur- accept in writing and obtain a let- was presented in the form of a ing the programme. In addition, ter of endorsement from the em- workshop called ‘Leaders are lis- candidates were required to obtain ployer organization in support of teners’. The project requires that three letters of recommendation the project and candidate’s leave the candidates conduct a series of from colleagues, line managers and of absence. interviews with staff, users and other professionals familiar with stakeholders regarding services and the applicant’s work. facilities and to write a report Stage 2: Orientation which would be relevant to their and Pre-Departure training programme. The purpose Shortlisting Process of the pre-departure project is to Training give the manager participants an The Project attracted 41 applica- opportunity to reconnect with us- tions and eighteen eligible candi- This stage focused on the readiness ers and staff at a level that would dates were short-listed based on of the nine candidates for the lead- contribute to change. the following eligibility criteria: ership development programme. The first step was a 2-day Orienta- A series of individual meetings were • South African citizenship tion Programme for the selected held with each candidate and which • presently in a senior manage- SALLP candidates held in Pretoria served as an opportunity to identify ment position in March 2002. This was an excel- specific key areas for development. • tertiary LIS qualification lent opportunity for the candi- • age between 30–50 dates to meet with each other, the At the end of the orientation, both • communication skills – spoken SALLP Governing Committee and candidates and management teams and written representatives of the Mortenson recognized the enormity of the • membership – professional asso- Center. The purpose of the Ori- Project as well the level of com- ciation entation Programme was to brief mitment to the outcomes for them- • commitment to Project candidates on trends, develop- selves, their organizations, the pro- • motivation statement ments, challenges and issues facing fession and LIASA. • references the LIS sector in South Africa. On • evaluation from line manager. the first day the topics covered in- A key factor in a project that has cluded: huge demands in terms of time, commitment and resources is to Interviews and Selection • the role of the library association achieve a level of buy-in from the Process • LIS policy issues and legislation employer organization. Letters de- in South Africa tailing developments in and prog- The interview process for the eigh- • copyright and libraries: current ress of the project were sent to the teen applicants proved rigorous status in South Africa line managers with the intention and took place over two days in • library cooperation in South Af- that they could be forwarded to January 2002. Each selection com- rica with focus on consortia and the relevant authorities.

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 303 Gwenda Thomas

Budgeting and finances Library instruction for Stage 3: Training in the Library development and users – making them USA promotion more self reliant Training of future lead- The first group of nine SALLP par- ers: library school ap- Week 6: Internship in the Queens ticipants has just returned from proaches Borough Public Library their training programme in the System United States, which took place Week 3: Change management and from 24 June to 2 August 2002. organizational structures Goal: To observe first hand the The transfer of learning took the day-to-day management form of a 6-week training pro- Goal: To refine and develop of a library system gramme at the Mortenson Cen- management skills ter and included seminars, tours, Seminars: Participate in the two videos, discussions and practical Seminars: Analysing your organiza- day training that all new exercises. The emphasis was on tion’s management struc- employees receive. teambuilding and projects. A men- ture toring programme was also be in- Strategic planning Each participant was placed in one stituted where library leaders were Development of good of the 63 libraries in the Queens- identified and shadowed by candi- policies New York system to observe and dates. Candidates were also re- Running effective meet- participate in the management of quired to prepare presentations for ings the library. delivery in the United States and Motivating library staff visits to neighbouring centres and Throughout the 6-week training cities were included in the pro- Week 4: Communication and ad- programme each participant sub- gramme: vocacy skills mitted interim progress reports to LIASA National Office, branches Week 1: Leadership Institute Goal: To develop excellent and and employers. Photos and the re- effective communication ports are available on the LIASA Goal: To learn more about the strategies web site at www.liasa.org.za. characteristics of effective leadership in libraries Seminars: Telling the library’s story Dealing with the media Stage 4: Post Training Seminars: Leadership styles Preparing effective pro- Programme and Leadership surveys motional material Evaluation Characteristics of lead- ALA advocacy pro- ers in the world gramme The Project follow-up will com- Team building and com- Fund raising strategies prise the evaluation of Phase 1 and munication styles Communicating with us- site visits by the Project Coordi- Management skills for ers nator, including meetings with line effective leadership managers and heads of institutions. Policies – their place Week 5: Providing excellent serv- They are kept informed of the pro- and importance in li- ice to users cess and developments within the braries project on a regular basis. Formal Being an advocate for Goal: To learn more about strat- communiqués will be sent to the your library egies for providing ex- relevant authorities in each candi- ceptional service to users date’s constituency. The candidates Week 2: Best practices in library will attend the LIASA Nation- management Seminars: Using new technologies al Conference to address interest to provide better service groups, assist in the launch of Goal: To understand the cur- to users Phase 2 of the project at the con- rent trends in library Serving diverse user ference, conduct a report back to management populations the membership at the plenary ses- Assessing your service to sion and present a workshop at the Seminars: Administration your users conference. A Participant Portfolio Technical services Providing optimum ac- on the Governing Committee is to Collection development cess to your collections be created when the Committee Consortia and library facility meets in September 2002. In addi- User services Developing an inviting tion, each candidate is required to Facility planning physical setting write a journal article for publica- IT Developing a compre- tion, arrange branch workshops Preservation and conser- hensive staff develop- and engage as trainers for the vation ment plan LIASA CE component.

304 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 Building Bridges

Importance factor Candidates Governing Committee Why did you apply to be part of the Leadership/management skills Involvement SALLP Knowledge Leadership/management skills Information Resources Why did you decide to become a Opportunities Knowledge librarian Knowledge Opportunity Development Contribution * leadership/management was least important factor Why did you decide you join LIASA Development Recognition/standing Knowledge Contribution Information Involvement

* Leadership/management was least * Development was rated low important factor importance List the benefits derived from phase Information Development 1 (application process, interview, Knowledge Networking orientation programme and pre- Networking Leadership departure period) What do you see as shortcomings of Time Time Phase 1 of the SALLP Selection criteria Selection process If you could change Phase 1 how Time Satisfied would you do this to make it an ideal programme for Phase 1 Table 1: Factors of importance in the pre-departure phase for the candidates and Governing Committee.

mary of some of the more inter- are expected to derive from the Evaluation and esting aspects that have surfaced in project. This discrepancy will need Assessment of Phase 1 the feedback from the candidates to be looked at more closely in and the Governing Committee and Phase 2 to ensure consensus be- which should assist the future tween the candidates and the Gov- The SALLP has a budget to for- planning of Phase 2 due to be erning Committee in terms of mally evaluate and review the key launched in September. expected benefits. Both groups stages of the development pro- perceived time allowance as a gramme in both Phases 1 and 2. Table 1 summarizes the factors shortcoming of this stage of the The evaluation for Phase 1 has been that the candidates and Governing project and which needs to be re- initiated and a contract awarded to Committee members considered to visited. an outside company specializing in be the most important in response perception measurement. The eval- to a series of questions about par- In Table 2, the candidates and Gov- uation will assess three key stages ticipation in and the perceivable erning Committee rate the per- of the programme: benefit of the library leadership formance of the leadership devel- programme. It is encouraging that opment programme according to a • Pre-departure stage questionnaire the candidates express a strong set of criteria. A selection of the – Candidates need for development, knowledge, criteria and performance evalua- – Governing Committee information and networking. It is tion is shown in the table. Overall, interesting that when they chose the programme has performed well • Post training stage questionnaire careers as librarians and joined the except in the area of the orienta- – Candidates library association the importance tion session which will have to be of leadership and management revisited when planning Phase 2 of • On completion of the leadership skills was the least important fac- the project development programme tor. – Candidates In Table 3, the candidates and Gov- – Governing Committee As would be expected, the Gov- erning Committee members indi- erning Committee members display cate a high level of satisfaction It is possible to provide feedback characteristics of a settled man- with the performance of LIASA in on the evaluation assessment for agement group who view it as im- the administration and manage- the pre-departure stage of the li- portant to be involved and make a ment of different aspects of the brary leadership development pro- contribution but identify a different programme in the pre-departure gramme. I have provided a sum- set of benefits that the candidates stage.

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 305 Gwenda Thomas

Performance criteria Candidates Governing ence for the Association. The South Committee African Library Leadership Project Rules of eligibility Very good Good marks LIASA’s formal entry into Selection process Good Good building bridges between a defined Interview by selection committee Good Good set of needs and professional de- Orientation programme Acceptable Marginal velopment set in the context of a Orientation methods used Acceptable Not quite partnership and structured Con- acceptable tinuing Professional Development Coordination of programme to Excellent Very good programme. Table 4, based on cri- date teria identified by Haycock (2001, Three phase programme concept Very good Very good p. 7), provides evidence based Helping candidates to achieve Good Good practice of the success of the CPD professional goals as a leadership development project. Being of benefit in the work of Very good Good the candidates So now it is time for LIASA to Contributing to development of Very good Very good move onto building impressive libraries in SA bridge structures – the Association Table 2: Performance rating of leadership development programme in the needs to assume the mantle for pre-departure stage. CPD for the LIS sector in South Africa. There are a number of rea- Performance criteria Candidates Governing sons for this: Committee Advertising of SALLP Good Good • Traditionally, library associations programme in other countries have em- Provision of information re braced the task of professional Programme Very good Good development. LIASA represents Handling of applications Good Very good librarians throughout South Af- Handling of applicants Excellent Very good rica and is well positioned to Coordination and efficiency Excellent Very good take on this role. With experi- Communication with applicants Excellent Good ence of the SALLP project and Professionalism Very good Excellent facilitating other grants, LIASA Communication with Governing Very good is poised to take the leadership Committee through Phase 1 role in continuing education for librarians in South Africa. There Table 3: Performance rating of LIASA’s role in the leadership develop- is also a high expectation that ment programme. LIASA will assume this role and responsibility on behalf of the country. The evaluation process will con- • participation in the Orientation • The second goal of the South tinue with the return of the candi- Programme for the Phase 2 African Library Leadership Pro- dates when their perceptions of the group of candidates. ject requires the LIASA man- 6-week training programme, its agement to establish a continuing performance and the perceived education function within the benefit derived from participation Conclusion – LIASA and Association. will be assessed. • In the section of this paper that Building Bridges outlined the status of the South African legislative context, it is Stage 5: Completion of In conclusion, it can be stated that clear that a number of opportu- the leadership programme is a suc- nities exist for LIASA to take up CPD Programme cess to date and LIASA and its the slack in the CPD arena and partner, the Mortenson Center can establish itself both as a coordi- At this time, the portfolio of activi- be proud of the South Afri- nator and evaluator of CPD pro- ties required to complete the CPD ca’s library leadership programme. grammes (Walker 2001, p. 232). programme has been identified. LIASA, as a library association, This will comprise: has performed the role of a suc- LIASA is currently giving attention cessful bridge builder for this Con- to a CPD strategy for the Associa- • completion of the requisite proj- tinuing Professional Development tion and wider LIS sector. Con- ects in stage 4 Project. LIASA has built up experi- tinuing Professional Education and • a full report submitted to LIASA ence in international project man- Development has been identified by each candidate agement for the SALLP – it has as a key business area of the Asso- • a reunion dinner been a significant learning experi- ciation and recently, a strategic ob-

306 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 Building Bridges

Area of impact Yes/No How was impact achieved Improved library service Y Six week training course content – Comprehensive and demanding Improved professional performance Y Portfolio of activities in post training stage Commitment required at time of application Increased credibility and visibility for the library Y International partner and funding for three profession year period Widely publicized and conference launch Expanded support from the library administrators for Y Meeting with Directors of LIS at 2001 CPD activities conference Letters of support from line managers and authorities Follow up meetings in post training stage Commitment required at time of application Expanded awareness in the profession of the importance Y Much interest expressed in Phase 2 by LIS of CPD community Goal 2 of SALLP project requires setting up of CPD function Strategic objective of LIASA 2002-2004 LIASA Committee for CE and in-service training Expectation from LIS community for LIASA to assume coordinator role Recognition of the shared responsibility for CPD between Y Opportunities created by SAQA/NQF library professionals and their employers process for LIASA to provide coordinated CPD for the LIS community Skills Development and Skills Levy Acts requires employer organizations to identify, recognize and integrate CPD in the workplace Table 4: Assessment of impact achieved by LIASA in SALLP project. jective was formulated to take mation Science Professions; edited by vember 2001 (submitted to the Mor- the initiative forward. The LIASA Blanche Woolls and Brooke Sheldon. tenson Center). (Internal document). business plan makes provision to München: KG Saur, p. 1–8. (IFLA Walker, C.M. 2001. Janus in South Africa: provide a framework for a CPD Publications 98). Building for the future while keeping function in LIASA and to imple- Proposal submitted by the University of an eye on the past. In: Delivering life- ment the initial programmes. It is Illinois Library to the Board of Trus- long continuing professional education my hope that, this time next year, tees of the University of Illinois for the across space and time. The Fourth period January 01, 2002 to Februa- World Conference on Continuing Pro- we shall be able to report on the ry 15, 2004. (Internal document). fessional Education for the Library and establishment of this much needed The South African Library Leadership Information Science Professions; edited and awaited service to the librari- Project (SALLP) Proposal submitted by Blanche Woolls and Brooke Shel- ans and information workers of by the University of Illinois Library to don. München: KG Saur, p. 230–241. South Africa. the Board of Trustees of the University (IFLA Publications 98). of Illinois for the period January 01, Walker, C.M. 2002. Chasing certificates: References 2002 to February 15, 2004. (Internal Problems for CPE assessment and document). quality assurance within the South Haycock, K. 2001. Continuing professional The South African Library Leadership Pro- African National Qualifications Frame- education: towards evidence-based ject. Interim progress reports submitted work. To be delivered at the Fifth practice. In: Delivering lifelong con- to the Governing Committee (internal World Conference on Continuing tinuing professional education across documents). Professional Education for the Library space and time. The Fourth World The South African Library Leadership Pro- and Information Science Professions, Conference on Continuing Professional ject. Interim progress and financial August 14–16 2002, Aberdeen, Scot- Education for the Library and Infor- report for the period January to No- land (unpublished paper).

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 307 DANIDA Grantees’ Impressions of the IFLA Conference in Glasgow

Nafissatou Bakhoum, Charles Ba- Nafissatou Bakhoum a world experience, understanding tambuze, Chin Loy Jyoon, Mac-An- and appreciation of my profession. thony Cobblah, Li Jingxia, Sylvia Librarian at Institut Fondamental I am right now proud to belong to Ogola d’Afrique Noire – Cheikh Anta Di- the LIS profession. It was also my op, Dakar, Senegal. first time to be in the company of a Librarians from developing coun- very large number of librarians from tries who received DANIDA Travel the world over, that for once I Grants to attend the IFLA Confer- The theme of the Conference: ‘Li- thought the world’s libraries were ence in Glasgow are required to braries for life: democracy, diver- closed for one week! The experi- submit reports on their experiences sity and delivery’ is a relevant one, ence of sharing business contacts to the IFLA Advancement of Librari- because it emphasizes the stra- with colleagues from different places anship (ALP) office. Some extracts tegic contribution of libraries in was interesting. I still talk to some from the reports of five grantees society. It is a very up-to-date of them via email. are presented below. theme, specially within the African context where libraries are vital for My first difficulty at the conference the struggle against illiteracy and was the so many interesting paral- the promotion of social develop- lel sessions. I was spoilt for choice ment. most of the time, as I would have desired to be everywhere. All the My whole impression of the Con- same I was happy to interface with ference is a good one. the greatest – people whom I have for a long time been associating I am wondering whether attending with books because I read their IFLA Conference would be such books or about them. I thought an exciting experience without the some of the papers were very edu- exhibition and library visits. The cative – the kind that broke new exhibition gives the opportunity to ground or experiences. The only discover concretely many organi- problem was that for some of the zations dealing with librarianship, sessions such as the Africa Section to collect a great amount of infor- Business Meetings, the meeting mation, and eventually to build room was too small. Up to now I partnership with some of them in can still see the disappointment on which we take interest. I also found our faces as we tried to strain to library visits very important, for hear what was being said, because they permit exchange of experi- we could not all fit in the room. In ence and the discovery of library some of the meeting rooms we systems and architecture complete- missed the services of the inter- ly different from ours. preters whereas the conference was multilingual. It has been a fruitful experience for me and I will do my best to make I am however grateful that for the my association profit from it. first time I was able to meet face to face with people whom I had been dealing for a long time. I am a Charles Batambuze member of IFLA/FAIFE [Freedom of Access to Information and Free- Librarian, Uganda Public Libraries dom of Expression] and was glad Board, Kampala, Uganda; Secre- to renew my acquaintances with tary General, Uganda Library As- people I had met before and glad sociation; Member of IFLA/FAIFE to meet new ones. I was refreshed Committee. by all the open sessions that FAIFE organized. I believe I am As a first-timer, I was thoroughly now a better campaigner for Free- overwhelmed by what I saw, heard dom of Expression because I have and took part in. It was a confer- a better understanding and grasp ence that brought to my attention of the global situation.

308 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 DANIDA Grantees’ Impressions

I think that the exhibition was great. I was able to visit most of the stands. I got a lot of resources from CILIP [Chartered Institute of Library and Information Profes- sionals] and ALA [American Li- brary Association] stands that should help our work of advocacy in Uganda. I also got some useful contacts – people willing to answer my questions. The children’s model library was particularly great. I visited it to gain some ideas on how I could improve the children’s activities in Uganda. Our Children’s Reading Tents have now incorporated some of the new ideas learnt.

Attending my first IFLA Confer- ence changed my perspective from DANIDA Grantees at their reception in Glasgow (Photo courtesy of Bir- a narrow view to a world perspec- gitta Sandell). tive. I am thankful to DANIDA for sponsoring young professionals to attend the conference. I am how- The exhibition gave me an insight Information, Council for Scientific ever sad that DANIDA has opted on the latest library products and and Industrial Research, Accra, out. CILIP and ALP could together services available in the market. Ghana; Coordinator of IFLA/ find a way of identifying new part- I was fascinated by the new prod- DANIDA sponsored ILL/DD proj- ners who would grant more young ucts exhibited at the exhibition and ect in Ghana. people a chance to attend the con- I managed to collect some bro- ference wherever possible. chures and sample products to The programme content was very show to my colleagues in Malay- useful and beneficial to my profes- Chin Loy Jyoon sia. However I feel that there sional development. I gained a lot should also be printed books/mag- of from the conference. Librarian, National Library of Ma- azines at the exhibition as not all laysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; countries especially the develop- One of the programmes that I en- Treasurer, Librarians Association ing countries can subscribe to on- joyed most was the exhibitions, it of Malaysia. line databases or have Internet ac- gave me the opportunity to see at cess. first hand some of the products The subjects covered by the con- that support modern information ference were very diverse, global It would be interesting for ALP/ management. I interacted with a and catered for every sector of the CILIP to set up an alumni for past number of exhibitors and estab- library profession. In fact, there DANIDA Travel Grant/CILIP Bur- lished good contacts with them. were so many papers and work- sary Grant recipients so that we shops that were very relevant and could continue to have networking I am very confident in saying that I useful to me, my organization and among the recipients and share can never be the same again in country that I had a hard time our experiences on librarianship in terms of my professional develop- choosing the sessions to attend as our respective countries. ment. My participation in the con- most of them were held concur- ference and subsequent inservice rently. The DANIDA Travel Grant has training at the Edinburgh Univer- given me an opportunity to meet sity Library and library visits in However, as most of the work- librarians and professionals in re- London has really provided me shops which I would very much lated fields from all over the world. with new knowledge and skills and like to attend were held concur- I have improved my networking by of course exposed me internation- rently with the library visits, that is exchanging and sharing ideas on ally. I can now contribute a great on the 22 August, 2002, I had to global issues relating to library in- deal to the development of my in- forgo attending the workshops in formation. stitute and librarianship in general order to go for the library visits. I in Ghana. I will make sure I share suggest that workshops should not my rich experiences with col- be held concurrently with library Mac-Anthony Cobblah leagues. visits in future IFLA conferences, as both activities are equally im- Assistant Librarian, the Institute IFLA conference which is the larg- portant and interesting. for Scientific and Technological est gathering of information pro-

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 309 Nafissatou Bakhoum et al.

fessionals in the world is really an the IFLA in my city and have very important because everything opportunity to make friends and written a paper on my city’s news- was so overwhelming. established long lasting useful paper. More and more people get contacts. I make sure I exploited to know about IFLA. Hubei pro- The receptions were all very inter- this opportunity to the maximum. I vincial library which is another esting and instead of making one now have friends across all the public library in my city will join tired after a long day, they helped continents. IFLA this year. Next month, the me to unwind and get ready for the China Society for Library Science following day. I enjoyed the en- Participation in IFLA conference will hold the young scholar forum tertainment provided during the or programmes should not be a and invite me to give a speech to conference but I really had fun at one time activity, it has to be a introduce IFLA. I will tell my ex- the Scottish dance – I had to leave continuous activity to enable one perience and encourage more and because my legs gave way but I get the full benefits of the pro- more China’s young librarians to would have stayed on till the end. grammes. attend IFLA’s conference, pay attention to it and support it. Now I I had the opportunity of meeting ALP should as a matter of urgency am setting to translate the IFLA/ and interacting with professionals look for funding to continue spon- UNESCO School Library Guide- from all over the world and learn- soring young librarians from de- lines into Chinese with other two ing from them how they operate. I veloping countries to participate in persons. We want more and more made several contacts that I intend future IFLA conferences and pro- China’s librarians to know more to make use of especially related to grammes. about the developments in the library automation and the open- world. ings available in PhD programmes. Sponsored participants should be I was very pleased to interact with supported financially by ALP/IFLA During the conference, I got many those who had attended IFLA be- to organize training programmes/ new ideas from the colleagues and fore and they gave me guidance in seminars that would enable them make many friends from various getting the most of the conference. share their experiences with their countries. So when I meet some dif- colleagues back home. ficulties, I can exchange the ideas, I now have the chance to inform discuss some problems and consult my colleagues what they miss out with other countries’ librarians. on by not attending the confer- Also I can know more about the ence. Many do not have an idea Li Jingxia developments in the world. what IFLA is all about, and I’m glad I can give them my experience Senior Librarian and Assistant I hope that more and more librari- of the event. Director, Wuhan Library, Wuhan, ans from the developing countries China. can get more and more opportuni- I have now learnt that it is possible ties to attend the conference and to attend IFLA or other seminars I never went out of my country get opportunity to study in the de- and conferences if only one is in before, had no chance to commu- veloped libraries. It will give a touch with what is advertised on nicate with the colleagues of the great help to them and promote the Internet. I had never heard of other countries and have no access the library’s development in the IFLANET before this and I can to compare the difference between developing countries. now widen my horizons from the the China and other countries’ li- various contacts I made. braries with my own eyes. ... It was great to see so many librarians It is good to experience events out- from all over the world and to see Sylvia Ogola side one’s environment to know what kind of projects there are what one is ignorant of. I learnt around. Very energizing! It left a Senior Assistant Librarian, Maseno a lot from the sessions especially memorable impression on me and University, Kenya. those relating to academic librar- gave me great help in my job ca- ies – performance measurement, reer. I shall never forget it. The conference was well organized, management and marketing. the registration process was very I will try my best to strengthen the effectively handled and so were the I was impressed with the library communication among China’s other information points. From the visit because it gave me a chance public libraries and other country’s information provided, it was very to see what other libraries are do- libraries. I like to do something to easy to get around and find one’s ing that we can also copy. build our librarian’s home – IFLA, way to the right place. I was very the sweet home of worldwide li- impressed with the fact that I could I am glad I got the chance to expe- brarians. communicate with my family every rience IFLA. day using the email facilities pro- After I came to my country, I have vided. As a first timer, I found the As a first timer, I was overwhelmed given several reports to introduce introduction for newcomers to be with the whole experience. There

310 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 DANIDA Grantees’ Impressions was so much to see and do and so guide or mentor to whom they can formed of what is going on that little time to do it. If possible, there turn to for any help. can be of interest to us. We in turn should be a help desk to guide first should keep in touch by informing timers so that they make the most It would be good to know that we CILIP and ALP on any new events of the conference. If it were possi- can still keep in touch with CILIP in our areas that might be of inter- ble, each first timer would have a and ALP. We should be kept in- est to others.

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 311 The Impact of Medical Informatics on Librarianship

Prudence W. Dalrymple of technological, economic and po- Introduction litical change. Prudence W. Dalrymple is Dean and Associate Professor, Graduate Throughout the world libraries and One arena in which these chal- School of Library and Information librarians are in the midst of a great lenges and changes are fully en- Science at Dominican University, transformation driven by technol- gaged is medicine and health. River Forest, Illinois. She contrib- ogy but with consequences that Health care delivery is a national uted the chapter ‘The Application and global priority and one in of Systematic Research’ to vol- which both information and tech- ume 8 of Current Practice in Health nology are essential. Although Sciences Librarianship, published health care delivery systems vary by the Medical Library Association. widely among nations, the need for She chaired the Research Task timely, accurate information is uni- Force that produced MLA’s Re- versal. Where resources are scarce, search Policy statement. She has self-care and public health are in- published numerous articles in creasingly important since infor- other relevant areas and recently mation must be made available to completed a four-year term on the the individual patient and citizen, Biomedical Library Review Commit- not just the health worker. To ac- tee at the National Library of Medi- complish this goal — creating and cine. She has practiced profes- maintaining an efficient informa- sionally in both hospital and aca- tion network capable of serving demic libraries and directed the clinicians, researcher, patients and American Library Association’s Of- the public – a highly skilled work- fice for Accreditation from 1992– force is necessary. To accomplish 1997. this goal while retaining librarianship’s core values requires ex- reach far beyond it. The theme of panded attention to education. this year’s 75th anniversary IFLA conference reflects librarianship’s The thesis of this paper is that the fundamental values – democracy, growth of the field of medical in- diversity and delivery of information formatics, while seemingly a poten- to society. One of the unexpected tial threat to medical librarianship, consequences of the digital revolu- is in fact an opportunity for librari- tion is that both the means and the anship to both extend its reach and desire to control information de- also to further define its unique livery is no longer the exclusive characteristics in contrast to those domain of libraries and librarians. of medical informatics. Further- As ‘information’ has become an at- more, because medical librarianship tractive and highly prized commodi- represents a sector of librarianship ty, new disciplines have emerged itself, the relationship between and new occupational groups now medical informatics and medical perform work once thought the ex- librarianship provides an example clusive domain of librarians. While of the influence of a cognate field their work seems similar, these on the profession of librarianship new information workers may not that may extend across the profes- share the same values. If librarians sion. This paper will define both are to retain their place in society, medical informatics and librarian- and continue to advocate for these ship, their areas of overlap and their core values, they must examine and claims to professionalism. The ‘in- understand the cognate disciplines formationist’ – a new health profes- whose knowledge and functions sional which was recently proposed resemble — and even challenge – in one of the leading US medical their own. By more clearly articu- journals — will illustrate one model lating the role and value of librar- of collaboration between the two ies and librarians, librarianship can fields. The paper will conclude by embrace new opportunities and suggesting new educational path- adapt to the continued challenges ways.

312 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 The Impact of Medical Informatics on Librarianship

Definitions and History until recently. The appearance of tasks of medical practice, edu- medical informatics is associated cation, and research, including by some with the 1959 publication the information science and the Librarianship (Library and in Science of an article by Ledly technology to support these Information Studies) and Lusted on reasoning founda- tasks. An intrinsically interdisci- tions of medical diagnosis (Giuse plinary field, medical informatics Throughout the world, libraries and and Miller, 1995). This focus on has a highly applied focus, but librarians perform functions on be- medical diagnosis and decision- also addresses a number of fun- half of society. These functions are making continued and evolved, damental research problems as to acquire, preserve, organize, ana- along with computer, information well as planning and policy is- lyze, and provide subsidized access and library science. Many may re- sues … (Greenes and Shortliffe, to the accumulated data, informa- call that during the last quarter of 1990). tion and knowledge generated by the 20th century, a common meta- its citizens. While all library pro- phor for the computer was the hu- This definition accurately reflects fessionals perform these functions, man brain. Conversely, the brain the literature, the practice and the this paper focuses on a specific sec- as computer figured prominently function of medical informatics. It tor — health sciences. Because li- in the literature of cognitive sci- acknowledges that the computer brarians are familiar with the his- ence — the science of knowing. An can extend, but not replace, the hu- torical development of the pro- early application of cognitive sci- man ability to manage and analyze fession as well as its knowledge, ence to medicine was computer information. Rather than thinking skills, values and practices, only a aided diagnosis using expert sys- of the brain as a computer, medi- brief definition of the field is nec- tems such as INTERNIST — al- cal informatics today recognizes essary. This is taken to define the though such experimental systems the distinction between the com- field of library and information have not turned out to be as useful puter’s ability and human ability. studies as concerned with as initially hoped. Similarly, expert systems technology was also a re- Knowledge and Skills … recordable information and search front in LIS for a time, but knowledge, and the services and in neither field was it ultimately Once a field of study has been de- technologies to facilitate their fruitful. fined, what are the knowledge and management and use, encompas- skills required to work in this sing information and knowledge Medical informatics initially con- field? In a profession, knowledge creation, communication, identi- sisted of computer and informa- and skills build upon scientific, fication, selection, acquisition, or- tion technology focused on medical historical and scholarly principles ganization and description, stor- problems. By the 1980s, however, that are harnessed for a social or age and retrieval, preservation, a more integrated view of medical public good. In comparing librari- analysis, interpretation, evalua- computing emerged, prompting anship’s skills with those required tion, synthesis, dissemination and Marsden Blois to write enthusiasti- for medical informatics specialists management. (American Library cally about the role of the computer (recognizing that for each field to- Association, 1992). in medicine. He saw computing as day, the acquisition of basic infor- a ‘novel research tool’ whose pos- mation technology skills is a given), Librarians perform these services sibilities ‘can hardly be exagger- librarianship concerns itself with on behalf of society, either individu- ated.’ Blois envisioned computers process and structure across ge- ally or in the aggregate, and they that would help not only to manage neric subject areas, whereas medi- perform them regardless of their information, but also understand cal informatics focuses on specific particular physical location or ven- its nature and support decision- domain knowledge. ue. While it is possible to practice making in clinic and laboratory librarianship outside of a library (Blois, 1986). He also foresaw the Librarianship skills consist of ge- using ‘virtual information,’ the func- developments of the past decade in neric knowledge necessary for in- tion that libraries perform on be- which the digital revolution and dividuals and groups to participate half of society primarily involves managed care have made informa- in the acquisition, exchange, and physical artifacts or their digital tion management a major activity organization of knowledge. These representations that have been cre- of the health care professional. skills enable librarians to anticipate ated to be disseminated to other future information needs so that individuals or groups. By 1990, Greenes and Shortliffe appropriate information resources were calling for medical informat- can be acquired and preserved for Medical Informatics ics to be an institutional priority. future use. Medical informatics In their article in JAMA, they de- skills consist of applied and theo- Medical informatics as a discipline fine medical informatics as retical knowledge necessary to has strong European origins. In- adapt generic information science deed the term ‘informatics’ appears … the field that concerns itself to the biomedical domain. These in French as ‘informatique’ and with the cognitive, information skills enable medical informaticists was relatively unknown in English processing, and communication to focus on specific teaching, re-

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 313 Prudence W. Dalrymple

search and health care agendas; cal informatics, however, is in the librarians has always been the man- they must be able to draw upon a process of determining whether agement of print-based, published deep understanding of biomedical there is a profession of medical in- literature using bibliographic sys- information systems (Frisse, 1994). formatics or whether medical in- tems. For most of the 20th century, formatics is a discipline of its own medical librarians focused on meet- This tension — between the need or a sub-discipline of another field, ing the information needs of the for knowledge of information as in- most likely, medicine. As the pro- health professional, not the patient formation and the need for specific tracted investigations of Bill Gates or consumer. The expert knowledge domain knowledge — has long been and Microsoft illustrate, many dis- and practice of medical informati- debated among library educators ciplines within computer science cists has been primarily medicine, and administrators. Marcia Bates are neither public nor oriented to- rather than information. Further- in her paper ‘The Invisible Sub- ward service. Some have argued, more, recent trends in medical in- strate of Information Science’ ar- however, that medical informatics formatics have extended beyond gues that the primary characteristic does indeed constitute a profession knowledge-based information (the of library and information science because it looks at the user’s needs literature) to patient data as exem- is the ability to think about in- in all their complexity (Giuse and plified in the electronic health rec- formation resource in terms of the Miller, 1995) – and such an argu- ord. Their interest in both these features that matter to its organi- ment, to the extent that it is valid, areas is limited to the extent that it zation and retrieval, rather than certainly brings medical informat- supports good clinical practice. mastering its content. In order to ics much closer to librarianship. However, both systems have been work in information – or perhaps affected by external trends, placing in informatics — it is necessary to Andrew Abbott in his book The them on a collision course with become an expert in information System of Professions argues that one another. The medical librarian use and management. A subjection the chief characteristic of profes- now deals with electronic litera- specialist WITHOUT information sional work is education in an ab- ture, as well as a multiplicity of education and training simply can- stract, academic knowledge base digital ‘information’ which is not not work in the information field that provides the context in which to published in the traditional sense. (Bates, 1999). According to this learn procedures. Academic knowl- Medical libraries — and the elec- argument, the field of medical in- edge is abstract, not process-ori- tronic systems that extend their formatics must combine full in- ented, while practical/professional reach — now focus on patients and formation education with subject knowledge focuses on procedures. consumers, in addition to health specialization. The competent medi- Academic knowledge legitimizes a professionals. While medical in- cal informaticist must be cross- profession’s claims that its expert formatics has become more user trained in biomedicine — ‘domain work effectively addresses the prob- focused, its legitimate claim to knowledge’ – as well as in infor- lems it has defined. Expert work is authority in health care faces chal- mation science. Presumably, the done in the context of expert knowl- lenges from the external environ- train runs in both directions and edge, and it is expertise that en- ment (Bradley, 1996). the health librarian must be cross- ables a profession to lay claim to trained in biomedicine as well as the control of specific functions in in information science. If such is a society (Abbott, 1988). Another Evidence-Based Medicine the case, is there a difference be- way to say this is that one must (EBM) and Medical tween these two pathways, and if study X (expert knowledge) in or- Information so, which of these pathways is the der to become qualified to do Y more desirable? While it can cer- (expert professional work). Within As part of a 1999 American Medi- tainly be argued that training in this framework, medical librarian- cal Informatics Association (AMIA) medical informatics is a viable path- ship’s claim to its traditional do- conference, participants described way, the issue of professional val- main could be threatened by medi- the current environment for health ues and professional jurisdiction cal informatics’ emergence and care, particularly as it affects in- must be answered. continued progress toward profes- formation. They identified these sionalism. trends: The Effect of Being a Profession As medical informatics has moved • integrated health delivery systems While those attending IFLA most beyond focusing solely on technol- need standards for data sharing likely have little doubt that librari- ogy to embrace a deep under- • converging technologies mean anship is a profession, the elements standing of biomedical information larger and faster databases but that constitute professionalism may systems, the distinctions between with smaller, faster and cheaper not be clear. Continued study while medical librarianship and medical hardware applying knowledge and skills to informatics have blurred. This has • empowered patients and con- perform a public service charac- even been described as a disruption sumers have more access to in- terize a profession. Librarians have in the balance among the health formation long embraced public service as a professions. The expert knowledge • higher education requires tech- cornerstone of the profession. Medi- and practice of health information nology-assisted learning, distance

314 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 The Impact of Medical Informatics on Librarianship

education and lifelong learning. urally to the medical informaticist. zational requirements, conceptual (Staggers, et al., 2000) The medical informatics practitio- decisions, such as designing and ner seeks to bring computational implementing standards for the The impact of evidence-based medi- power to this process, not only in sharing and transfer of data, as cine (EBM) on public health and the search, retrieval and appraisal well as the public policy decisions the empowerment of consumers of the literature, but also the com- are enormous barriers that must be and patients is increasingly appar- munication of the results of the overcome. ent. Evidence-based medicine re- appraisal to the bedside or office. quires critical appraisal of the medi- The medical informatics specialist cal literature and the conscien- may or may not have the commit- A New Model: the tious, explicit, and judicious use of ment to public health that librarians Informationist current best evidence in making de- have. Furthermore, the medical in- cisions about the care of individual formatics specialist likely performs In order for these barriers to be patients. The practice of evidence- this task to meet his or her teams’ overcome the joining of medical based medicine means integrating specific interest. The librarian is informatics and librarianship is a individual clinical expertise with expected to be able to perform necessity. A recent article appear- the best available clinical evidence these tasks on behalf of others. ing in the US journal Annals of from systematic research (Sackett, Internal Medicine has proposed a 1996). It de-emphasizes intuition The social impact of information, new information professional, the and anecdotal experience and stres- combined with the delicate policy informationist (Davidoff and Flor- ses the examination of evidence and ethical issues surrounding pa- ance, 2000). Such an individual from clinical research along with tient confidentiality and security of would bridge the gap between cli- applying formal rules of evidence health records, make it essential nicians and patients and would be for systematically evaluating the that those who are working in most closely modeled after clinical clinical literature. A group of phy- the health information field have librarians, a practice developed in sicians in Great Britain is credited the information skills, the domain the 1970s. Informationists must with the initiation of this approach knowledge and the ethics and val- understand both information sci- and the results of their systemat- ues that characterize a profession. ence and clinical work. They must ic reviews of the medical litera- In fact, ethics and policy decisions be experts in the practice of retriev- ture are compiled in the Coch- have come to replace technologi- ing, synthesizing, and presenting rane Collection. The movement has cal expertise as the most important medical information and in the spread rapidly to North America characteristics of both medical in- skills of functioning as part of a and is now being discussed in the formatics and librarianship. While clinical care team — skills that are popular press. A recent article in technology – particularly web tech- usually acquired through an intern- the New York Times Magazine nology — has made it possible to ship. These are skills which could stated that ‘patients, working with seamlessly integrate clinical data evolve from the core knowledge of their physicians and armed with and knowledge-based informa- librarianship. In addition, the in- medical data, are better equipped tion to support informed decisions, formationist model draws from to make decisions that work for there are policy and organizational medical informatics in that it re- them than [traditional doctors] be- decisions that must be made. Re- quires the cultural adaptation of cause they understand their own cently Betsy Humphreys, Associate internship through which to gain expectations better than their phy- Director of the National Library of the ‘deep understanding’ of bio- sicians can. Authority is devolved Medicine stated, medical information systems. Fur- from expertise to the data and thus, thermore, the model of the infor- ultimately, to the patient’ (Patter- When this goal [of data and mationist draws upon medical in- son, May 5, 2002). This shift in knowledge-supported decision- formatics in its commitment to the authority, with the simultaneous in- making] first gained currency, development of a research agenda crease in consumer access to health the assumption was that health and to the design, evaluation and information, places information care professionals were the deci- improvement of information sys- clearly at the center of health care. sion-makers. Clinicians remain a tems. These tasks are not unknown Add to that the growing need for primary target for integrated ‘just- to librarians, but generally speak- agreement on an acceptable elec- in-time’ information services, but ing librarianship has seen itself tronic health record, and the im- these services are also needed by primarily as a service profession, portance of information to health public health professionals and, one whose research base is quite care has never been more critical. in an era in which individuals small and whose technical exper- are assuming more responsibly tise relatively constrained. Clearly, the practice of EBM infor their health, by patients and volves literature search and apprais- the well public. (Humphreys, Educational Pathways al skills that are part of the core 2000) knowledge of librarians. What li- Educating professionals so that they brarians have thus far lacked is the While great progress has been are capable of assuming the role of domain knowledge that comes nat- made in the technical and organi- informationist is essential if the

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 315 Prudence W. Dalrymple

informationist model is to survive universities can apply for training and cultural facility so as not to beyond the proposal and discus- grants from outside agencies, usu- lose claim to this professional ter- sion stage. The education of both ally the National Library of Medi- ritory. groups — clinicians and librarians — cine. Short, intensive courses such has been the focus of several con- as those sponsored by the NLM References ferences over the past few years. at Woods Hole Marine Biological Throughout the decade of the Laboratory, can be taken by both Abbott, A. The system of professions. Chi- 1990s, educating health profession- librarians and clinicians. Similarly, cago: University of Chicago Press, 1988. als, including librarians, has been continuing education courses spon- American Library Association. (1992) the focus of a number of review sored by professional associations Standards for accreditation of master’s panels and conferences in Great can provided intensive training to degrees in library and information Britain (Palmer, 2000). These were both groups. The benefit of the studies. Chicago, IL: American Library Association. paralleled in the United States. In NLM programs, however, is the ex- Ball, M. J., Douglas, J. V., and Lunin, L. F. the early 1990s as part of its Long change that takes place among par- (1988) Informatics and education in Range Plan, the National Library ticipants of differing educational the health professions. Journal of the of Medicine convened a planning and professional backgrounds. An American Society for Information Sci- panel on the education and train- emerging model is distance educa- ence, 39 (5) 344–347. ing of health sciences librarians. In tion, in which educational provid- Bates, M. J. (1999) The invisible substrate 1999, the American Medical In- ers make courses available through of information science. Journal of the formatics Association devoted its distance technology. Hersh de- American Society for Information Sci- spring conference to informatics scribes one such program in a re- ence, 50 (12) 1043–1050. education (Staggers, 1999). And in cent report (Hersh, et al., 2001). Blois, M.S. (1986) What is medical infor- April 2002, the Medical Library matics? Western Journal of Medicine, Association, with funding from The influence of medical informat- 145 (6), 776–777. the National Library of Medicine ics on librarianship, then, is the Bradley, J. (1996) The changing face of (NLM), held a two-day conference melding of these two fields into the health information and health information work: a conceptual framework. on the informationist, during which informationist model. There is one Bulletin of the Medical Library Asso- educational strategies were dis- additional issue – the ethics and ciation, 84 (1) 1–9. cussed. values of a profession or practice. Collen, M. F. (1986) Origins of medical Medical informatics specialists informatics. Western Journal of Medi- Currently, there is no single path- perceive themselves as primarily cine, 145 (6) 778–785. way for preparing informationists. trained in medicine — medical pro- Davidoff, F., and Florance, V. (2000) The In a recent article, Harsh, a medi- fessionals with an overlay of in- informationist: A new health profes- cal informatics professional, stated formation skills that are enhanced sional? Annals of Internal Medicine, by technological fluency. Librarians 132, 996–998. Library science and medical in- concern themselves with knowl- Detlefsen, E. G. (2002) The education of formatics have developed as edge about information qua in- informationists, from the perspective of intersecting fields with similar formation, its representation, struc- a library and information sciences edu- interests but significant diver- ture and behavior. The librarian cator. Journal of the Medical Library gences in scope and activity …. does not generally acquire domain Association, 90 (1) 59–67. Evidence-Based Medicine Working We now have an opportunity for knowledge as part of profession- Group. (1992) Evidence-based medi- the two fields to work together. al preparation. The informationist cine: a new approach to teaching the (Hersh, 2002) model provides a new opportunity practice of medicine. JAMA, 268 (17) for librarians and medical infor- 2420–2425. Detlefsen, a library educator spe- matics to join together. Neither has Frisse, M. E. (1994) Acquiring informa- cializing in health sciences librarian unequivocal claim to this terri- tion management skills. Academic anship, identified the various path- tory and both possess unique con- Medicine, 69 (10) 803–806. ways for such collaboration to oc- tributions to make. The medical in- Frisse, M. E., Braude, R. M., Florance, V., cur. The traditional preparation in formatics specialist has the domain and Fuller, S. (1995) Informatics and North America for entry into li- knowledge; the librarian excels in medical libraries: changing needs and brarianship is the master’s degree the information skills. The librar- changing roles. Academic Medicine, accredited by the American Li- ian has a long history of advocat- 70 (1), 30–35. brary Association. This is usually a ing for information democracy, for Funk, C. J. (1998) Evolving roles of life generalist degree, with limited op- empowering the individual through and health sciences librarians for the twenty-first century. Bulletin of the portunities for specialization in access to information, and for en- Medical Library Association, 86 (3) health sciences librarianship, except suring that high quality information 380–384. where this can be accomplished is delivered to the user, whether Giuse, D. A., and R. A. Miller. (1995) Pot- through collaboration with a local that user is patient, consumer or holes in the road to professionalism in medical center. A second pathway health professional. The medical medical informatics. Methods of In- is training programs in universities informationist challenges librarians formation in Medicine, 34, 434–440. either with or without schools of li- to further articulate these skills and Giuse, N. B., Huber, J. T., Kafantaris, S. R., brary and information science; these to acquire the domain knowledge Giuse, D. A., Miller, M. D., Giles, Jr.,

316 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 The Impact of Medical Informatics on Librarianship

D. E., et al. (1997) Preparing librarians training informationists. Journal of the York Times Magazine, May 5, 2002, to meet the challenges of today’s health Medical Library Association, 90 (1) 74–77. care. Journal of the American Medical 76–79. Patton, G. A., and Gardner, R. M. (1999) Informatics Association, 4 (1) 57– Humphreys, B. L. (2000) Electronic health Medical informatics education: the 67. record meets digital library: a new en- University of Utah experience. Journal Greenes, R. A., and Shortliffe, E. H. (1990) vironment for achieving an old goal. of the American Medical Informatics Medical informatics: An emerging aca- Journal of the American Medical In- Association, 6 (6) 457–465. demic discipline and institutional pri- formatics Association, 7 (5) 444–452. Sackett, D.L.(1996) Evidence-based medi- ority. JAMA, 263 (8) 1114–1120. Palmer, J. (2000) Schooling and skilling cine: what it is and what it isn’t. British Hersh, W.R., et al. (2001) Implementa- health librarians for an evidence-based Medical Journal, 312 (7023) 71–72. tion and evaluation of a medical in- culture. In: F.C. Lynden and E. A. Staggers, N., Gassert, C. A., and Skiba, formatics distance education program. Chapman (eds.), Advances in librarian- D. J. (2000) Health professionals’ views Journal of the American Medical In- ship. New York: Academic Press. of informatics education: findings from formatics Association, 8 (6) 570–584. pp. 145–167. the AMIA 1999 spring conference. Hersh, W. R. (2002) Medical informatics Patterson, K. (2002) What doctors don’t Journal of the American Medical In- education: an alternative pathway for know (almost everything). The New formatics Association, 7, 550–558.

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 317 Ageing and Verbal Creativity – creative writing for the elderly in the library

Oddgeir Synnes Over the last few years I have been cially staff at the institution. But the leader of a project that has arranged results from his work were astound- Oddgeir Synnes has a master’s de- creative writing courses for elderly ing. Koch showed that there are no gree in literature, and a bachelor's people in Bergen and Hordaland dull and uninteresting people. Eve- in pedagogy and history from the ryone is a universe of experience University of Bergen, Norway. Since and capability, and many harbour 1999 he has worked as director of undiscovered qualities. They are Prosjekt Eldrepedagogikk (Educa- books never leafed through. One tion and Ageing) at the Hordaland of ‘our’ participants wrote about County Library, Bergen. He is cur- this: rently working on a book together with Ragna Aadlandsvik and Odd You live in our neighbourhood Saetre based on experiences from You wander in our streets the writing courses described in but nobody sees you. this article. He is also trying to get You go about so quietly funding for a PhD on ageing and doing your own thing. verbal creativity. He has published Your coat is grey several papers and given a number not the latest model. of lectures about ageing and verbal You are a ‘grey mouse’ creativity in Norway and Denmark. He is Norway’s representative in Well, are you really? NOPAN (Network on Pedagogics Perhaps you have colourful and Ageing in the Nordic coun- County, initiated by the Hordaland memories tries), which is now preparing the County Library. Several of these and sparkling expectations in- 3rd Nordic Conference on Peda- courses have taken place in vari- side. gogics and Ageing which will take ous public libraries, to enhance the Perhaps you are a picture book place in Bergen from 3–5 April library as an attractive meeting in a worn grey cover 2003. place for the elderly. We have held that no-one bothered to open. seven such courses for ‘ordinary’ pensioners living at home, while two have been given at nursing Just Why Creativity? homes and one at a clinic for elderly people suffering dementia. In a city like Bergen there is much This lecture will focus on the seven on offer for older people: Meetings, courses that took place in public lectures, parties, outings and trips. libraries. And nursing homes have activity rooms. All this is valuable, very When we started this project in the valuable indeed. But what about autumn of 1998, our basic peda- old people and their creative abili- gogical idea was that old people ties – when they are the producers possess much experience, valuable and not the recipients, consumers knowledge and creative abilities of what others have thought for that are allowed to emerge in a far them? Do we give due respect to too small degree in our society. Our their spiritual welfare, their mental task as educationists is precisely to capacity and their creativity? see and discover the potentials in all human beings. We were in- We are convinced that in toiling spired by, among others, the work with words strange and wonderful of American poet and Professor of things happen. The words live on, literature, Kenneth Koch. In New establishing contact despite age, York in the 1970s, Koch initiated generation or culture. Even at the courses in poetic writing in a nurs- first meetings we can see how ing home for older people. These words bring us closer together. were people with no previous expe- Taking our starting point in mem- rience in writing poetry. Would-be ory, we write texts based on ex- authorities were sceptical, espe- periences from childhood, and

318 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 Ageing and Verbal Creativity immediately texts appear, produc- headed for the well to fetch a The American educationalist Elliot ing both smiles, laughter and tears bucket of water. Then I heard Eisner claim that we have become in the listeners. At our first meeting slow, hesitant steps on the path, alienated through rational lan- in Bergen they seemed both very I saw the shadow of a man ap- guage: “as the use of language be- sceptical and a bit nervous. So we pearing. I was scared stiff I put comes more abstract, the power of asked them to close their eyes, the bucket down, and wondered language to alienate people from think back and write a few sen- who was there. I was not mov- their feelings increases”. And Louis tences about what they saw. And ing, the man came closer. “Do Arnoud Reid writes of poetic lan- suddenly we were presented with not be afraid, I am the priest, “ guage opening up for deeper in- pictures of ‘snowclad hills one he said calmly. He had arrived sight: “In poetry the ability to use sunny Sunday on an island some on the passenger boat across the words, the greatest of all single hu- 85 years ago.’ An older woman be- fjord, it was late, but he had man powers, can open up new per- gan her text like this: “My mother waited to make sure the children spectives of imagination and con- died when I was five.” And within had fallen asleep. I was para- ception, new understanding of love, five minutes we already have es- lysed, could not move. The youth, age, mortality.” Through the tablished a strong contact. Reading priest held my arm and led me creative texts and through the po- the texts for the first time, we nor- inside. We sat down, and in a etic language, the stories become mally read them out loud, anony- calm voice he told me that something more than just tales. mously, and comment on their pos- Kaare, my husband, had died itive traits (details, a good picture, early that morning – an accident Indeed, typical of all the writing a metaphor etc.). We often experi- on board. groups is that very personal memo- ence their enthusiasm, and they ries are touched upon by poetic often say afterwards: “That was my It was difficult to understand language. The participants produce text!” And even though many of that this had anything to do with texts, expressions they otherwise them are sceptical at the beginning, me and my small children. We would not have if were they just we experience that those who do had lost our dad. sitting about reminiscing. Everyday show up to the first meeting, stay. language would quickly make that too personal or intimidating. An What, then, has this got to do with That day – my life was changed. instance of this is given by the writ- creativity? Are not these examples ing course we started last autumn simply exercises of memory already Through the text we are presented in Bergen. The participants seemed gathered and catalogued enough in with a touching glimpse of a strong sceptical about presenting their Norway? No, I will say, creativity life story. I do not think it would stories. But as early as the next is central to bring forth those mem- have appeared in the same way if meeting texts were produced yield- ories, and for these memories to we had simply asked Jenny to tell ing strong glimpses of events that take hold of us. Why was I never us of her life. But Jenny was given had been important for the partici- taken the same way by the stories a concrete task called ‘That Day’, pants. Through tasks like ‘That Day’ my grandmother told as I am by the and she sat down and wrote of the and ‘To Come Back’ we achieved stories from the writing courses? A day she lost her husband. In focus- concentrated texts mediating the good narrator can make a common sing on this particular day it ap- writer’s emotional life through po- story good, while even the best pears before us. We are with Jenny etic language. And we experienced story can be told badly. This has to as she receives the message of her how the texts lead to a qualitative- do with creativity, and it has to do husband’s death in the words ly special unity in the groups, both with poetic language. For the sec- “Don’t be afraid, it’s the priest.” participant to participant as well as ond course in Bergen, one of the Through poetic language we get to between teacher and participant. participants, Jenny, wrote a short know Jenny’s emotions in just that The following text was in reply to story for the task ‘That Day’. She moment. We experience the idyllic the task ‘That Day’ at one of the started off telling about herself and opening, becoming an enormous Bergen writing courses: her two sons of three and five contrast to what will come. And years of age sitting in front of the we experience small textual point- Wednesday October the fourth radio one morning listening to a ers, such as the double meaning of Nineteen forty four children’s programme, and how the description of nature. My father went to work at seven they unfolded the world map af- I left home at half past eight terwards and let the small toy This goes to show how poetic My mother and my sister Turid boats follow dad’s travel route at language communicates differently were alone. sea. Towards the end of the text it from rational language. Language says: and thinking are intimately inter- The planes came five past nine woven. Utilizing everyday language Fifteen minutes later The wind had calmed down, the in order to tell things of impor- Everything was calm fjord lay dark and quiet, it was tance can often appear intimidat- peaceful – spring was here. We ing, whereas poetic language opens One hundred and fifty bombers, had no running water, so I up other possibilities of mediating. Allied heroes had spread

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 319 Oddgeir Synnes

One thousand four hundred and had never shown it to anyone out- the sounds in the hospital at night- thirty two side her close family. Here’s a short time. And he was granted leave by Evil seeds over Laksevaag, excerpt: the doctor to show up at the writ- The fruit being death and chaos. ing course when he told him how They were laid in the same grave Your hands will tell the story important this was for him. And in The carpenter had made the plain and true the middle of serious illness we ex- coffin of all you are and know and feel perience humour breaking through Broad, because my mother was and do; as Asbjørn arrived, hospital wrist- pregnant Your hands the servants of the band and all, to read his text out And Turid was seven years and mind, are used loud. According to Asbjørn the five months. In countless tasks and cannot be writing course has helped him excused – enormously through heavy times, It is difficult to live death. A nurse’s hands, tho’ unadorned something he wrote about in sev- by rings eral poems. In his article ‘Creative Challenges are hands of beauty, trained for and the Construction of Meaning- noble things. Initially, there is no therapeutic aim ful Life Narratives’, Mark Luborsky to the courses, but we can see how demonstrates that elderly people This poem is a good example of the strong stories break through, have a need to rearrange their lives how poetic language works. We without our request. We have sev- through meaningful narrative cat- would not have been fascinated or eral examples of how much the egories. It is important for them moved by it in the same way if he writing courses mean to the partici- to arrange their own experiences had written a note simply thanking pants. An older lady in the writing and lives in a story, a narrative ac- her for her care. But the poem ele- course at Askøy said that because ceptable for, and meaningful to, vates the content, and it becomes a of the writing course, she noticed themselves. And this implies crea- text we can read again and again, none of her usual winter depres- tivity. The writing courses seem to and it will always have something sion. And a course participant at strengthen this constructing when new to tell us. the Red Cross Nursing Home said we experience the participants’ that the writing course had kept need to share their stories, stories her from the grave. In the courses, often previously untold. Creativity as Present tears flow and laughter is plenty. Time and Therapy Life is play and life is dream, and One participant in Bergen had been life is harsh reality. a nurse during the war. At one of But the writing courses are not the meetings they were supposed only creative use of memory, even to tell a story about an object. So though memories are important. Research on Ageing and this pensioned nurse presented us The idea that old people primarily Creativity with an old ampoule of penicillin should tell of the old days, does and started to tell about Terese – something to the perspective; to In the US, research on ageing and fourteen years of age – who was ill quote one of the participants, “I creativity has gradually grown into with pneumonia, and that they had know several who write reminis- a large field. In her article ‘Ageing, no penicillin. How she was the cences, but to me that’s drab stuff. Writing, and Creativity’ Carolyn sunbeam of the hospital. At last That’s nothing but what (already) Adams-Price seeks to investigate they succeeded to get penicillin has happened!” Creativity, on the the characteristics of creative writ- from the sky – airborne from an other hand, is a centripetal force ing among regular old people. English drop, but it proved too taking its starting point in a crea- These fit with our own results. late, she died shortly after. The tive ‘now’, but in the process pull- First, in that old people are more doctor had then given this nurse ing past and future closer. Hope, direct than younger ones; the texts the small ampoule and said to her: dreams and strong emotions do demonstrate a wish to communi- “You shall keep this until you grow not vanish by the fact that one has cate directly, which we have seen old, and then tell of Terese.” And reached a certain age. both in the texts presented here and so almost 60 years later we sat the other texts from the courses. there feeling this ampoule that had In the course of the writing courses Another observed characteristic arrived too late. And this nurse we notice that the participants also supported by the courses, is had more stories to tell from the proceed to writing texts from an that elderly people’s texts often war. Towards the end of the war everyday starting point, and what stress positive aspects of life – har- she sat by the death-bed of an they are concerned about here and mony, synthesis, wisdom. While English pilot. A few days before he now, not just the past. Asbjørn, younger people’s creativity is often died, he gave her a poem he had another of the participants in Ber- characterized by originality, we just written, ‘A Nurse’s Hands’. And gen, became seriously ill and had find less of that in older writers. so this modest woman pulls out an to be hospitalized. But rather than But the texts of older people con- old, faded note, in clear handwrit- lying awake at night worrying over tain more of what Adams-Price ing, dated September 4th 1945. She his condition, he wrote a text about terms empathic resonance. It pro-

320 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 Ageing and Verbal Creativity duces empathy and sympathy in Often we find that the texts of the “I intend to postpone my funeral, regular people, but is not as popu- elderly carry wisdom, wisdom en- after all I cannot miss the writing lar among literary critics. In the countering daily life and experi- course!” And listen to this short po- light of these qualities, originality is ences with nature. One lady writes: em from the same lady, inspired by hardly a reasonable criterion of the great Japanese haiku-tradition: creative quality as normally estab- Grey is not my colour lished. but I am fond of stone The autumn leaves grey roadside guard stones Shivering in despair About the linguistic expressive side, innumerable shades of colours Afraid to lose the thread of life. the same article says that older grey. people have a rather simple lan- This was just a brief insight into guage, a direct, straightforward style Another one talks about the yellow the experiences we have gathered with short sentences. But the vo- dot in the pansy: “Have you seen from the writing courses held in li- cabulary may well be rich. There the yellow dot?” A participant at braries in Hordaland County. As are often powerful words one can- Askøy writes: “I do not climb the you have seen in these texts, we not find in younger writers, graphic highest point, I rather seek the have experienced clearly increased words from nature, and old words deepest water.” Expressions offer- abilities in the participants when it about to grow extinct. ing food for thought – maybe car- comes to writing and expressing riers of wisdom. Do I take time out their thoughts and feelings, to- to see all the nuances of grey in the gether with a lot of other positive The Method rock? It makes life a little easier, is aspects. From the libraries’ point of the small dot in the pansy a review, we have seen an increasing And the pedagogical method? Sim- minder? For what do we use our interest in libraries and their serv- ple, yet efficient. For pedagogic short lives? To climb high or seek ices. A lot of the participants had truths, the same holds as for other the deep wells? We experience never before written literary texts, things in life: what is great and es- that the texts often are about see- and most of them did not read sential is – essentially – simple. We ing the great in the small. much. But after the courses we go for the positive side of things. have seen a lot of the participants We start from what people actually returning to the libraries to find lit- manage and do not focus on that Creativity and the Future erature and authors that we have which is not as good. ‘Do not kill a used as models or as inspiration song-bird,’ sums up our philoso- In addition to writing texts of past during the courses, and several say phy. Still, we do give advice, for and present, the participants pro- that they now have found a new this is about learning. The atmos- duce both texts looking forward interest in reading, not just for phere and group climate are very and which are joyful of the future, reading’s sake, but to look at the important for the participants’ dar- as well as texts filled with wonder, language, how professional authors ing to step forth and lay them- philosophizing over a future they use their language. And many have selves open through their texts. will no longer be a part of: started reading modem poetry, a genre they never before would have Though we are mutually inspired The day will come dreamed of having an interest in. by each other’s texts, we stress the when I no longer exist. value of everyone’s keeping their Who will then think my thoughts Finally, I would like to quote a text unique voices. One of the partici- suffer my pain that surfaced in the course at Os- pants always writes very short texts or rejoice my happiness? terøy. It is written by an older man where each word carries great sig- who had never written anything nificance, while one paints texts in Who will then look with my other than case documents for local broad strokes of the brush, the way eyes authorities. His text shows much she does when painting a picture. the clouds drifting cross the sky of what I have touched upon here: Another writes marvellous por- the fountains diamond drops in Empathic resonance, harmony, vi- trayals in dialect, yet others bubble the sun? sions of the future. Hearing him over with joyful play. We strive to read it was a strong experience. He play and experiment. Norwegian Who will then hear with my ears was obviously quite moved, and philosopher Arne Naess once said: the wind whispering in the towards the end he had to stop for “Much more play when over 70!”; leaves a while in order to be able to finish: we agree unequivocally. The power the robin singing in the forest and willingness to create, to chal- or the child’s exciting tale? You and me are walking parts of lenge yourself on areas where you the same road, ahead of us the never before have been, is a central Who will then put my footprints roads separate, there I bend off. element in these courses. As Swed- in the newly fallen snow? You move on. In my thoughts ish poet Gösta Agren has put it: “If you are walking on grass wet you do not change, you become And Mette from the first course in from the dew, barefoot, singing another” (my translation). Bergen said on a humorous note: and sensing how life is breaking

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 321 Oddgeir Synnes

through in you, and with oceans Bibliography ingful Life Narratives’. In: Carolyn E. of time ahead of you. I am en- Adams-Price (Ed.) Creativity & Suc- tering an autumn landscape, Adams-Price, Carolyn E. 1998. ‘Ageing, cessful Ageing (311–337). New York: crackling yellow leaves under Writing, and Creativity’. In: Carolyn E. Springer. my feet, but my steps are slower Adams-Price (ed.) Creativity & Suc- Read, L.A. 1968, ‘Art, Truth and Reality’. than yours. My goal is not so far cessful Ageing (269–287). New York: In: H. Osborne (ed.) Aesthetics in the ahead. I don’t need much speed Springer Publishing Company. Modern World. London: Thames and Eisner, Elliot W. 1975. Skolens oppgave. Hudson. to get there in time. But it feels Oslo: Aschehoug. good to walk on autumn leaves. Koch, Kenneth. 1978. I Never Told Any- Oh, this blessed autumn sun, it body: Teaching Poetry Writing in a is not so high in the sky any- Nursing Home. New York: Random Please check out our Internet address- more, but it still sparkles on me. House. http://hordaland.kulturnett.no/tema/eldr And the road? It is still un- Luborsky, Mark R. 1998. ‘Creative Chal- even, where you will find an English known – and exciting. lenges and the Construction of Mean- version of our work.

322 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 Ensuring Interoperability among Subject Vocabularies and Knowledge Organization Schemes: a methodological analysis

Lois Mai Chan and Marcia Lei Zeng Introduction

In the open environment of the In- ternet and the Web, information resources are heterogeneous and have been indexed with different vocabularies and organized according to different schemes. How to achieve the best retrieval results in cross-domain searching has presented a particular challenge to the information profession. In information retrieval, users typically are not, nor should they need to be, aware of the behind-the-scenes mechanisms for matching their query terms to the vocabularies employed by various systems. The ideal approach Lois Mai Chan, Professor, School of Best Article Published in 1998. Her would be to provide a ‘one-stop’ Library and Information Science, research interests include knowl- seamless searching instead of re- University of Kentucky, Lexington, edge organization schemes, sub- quiring the user to search individual Kentucky, is the author of numer- ject vocabulary, authority control, databases or collections separately. ous articles and books on catalog- metadata, and organization and re- To enable such an approach, it is ing, classification, subject indexing, trieval of Web resources. Currently, important to render the different and online retrieval, including: Li- she is a member of the IFLA Stand- knowledge organization systems, brary of Congress Subject Headings: ing Committee on Classification such as controlled vocabularies and Principles and Application; Catalog- and Indexing. classification schemes, interoperable ing and Classification: An Introduc- within a single search apparatus. tion, and A Guide to the Library of Congress Classification. She co-au- Marcia Lei Zeng is Associate Pro- thored Dewey Decimal Classifica- fessor of Library and Information Review of Projects and tion: A Practical Guide and Thesauri Sciences at Kent State University. Examples of Interoperable Used in Online Databases. Her re- She holds a PhD from the School of Vocabularies cent publications include an arti- Information Sciences at the Uni- cle ‘Structural and Multilingual Ap- versity of Pittsburgh. Her major re- Before we begin examining their proaches to Subject Access on the search interests include knowledge methods, let us review briefly a Web’, co-authored with Xia Lin organization and representation, number of recent efforts in achiev- and Marcia Lei Zeng, published in multilingual information processing ing interoperability between and IFLA Journal 26 (3) (2000):187-97. and retrieval, electronic publishing, among different subject vocabu- From 1986 to 1991, Professor Chan indexing and abstracting, and da- laries (including both controlled served as the chair of the Decimal tabase quality control. Dr. Zeng’s and uncontrolled vocabularies) and Classification Editorial Policy Com- scholarly publications include over knowledge organization systems. mittee. In 1989 she was awarded 50 papers and two books, in addi- These include efforts at establishing the Margaret Mann Citation for tion to many national and inter- interoperability among vocabular- Outstanding Achievement in Cata- national conference presentations. ies in the same language or in dif- loging and Classification given by Currently she serves as a standing ferent languages, among different the American Library Association. committee member of Section on classification schemes, and between In 1992, she received the Distin- Classification and Indexing at the controlled vocabularies and classi- guished Service Award from the International Federation of Library fication schemes. These efforts have Chinese-American Librarians Asso- Associations and Institutions (IFLA), led to the mapping and integration ciation. In 1999, Professor Chan and Chair of the Technical Stand- of existing knowledge organization and Diane Vizine-Goetz were chosen ard Committee of the Special Li- systems, or the creation of new for the Best of LRTS Award for the braries Association (SLA). ones, for information sharing in a

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 323 Lois Mai Chan and Marcia Lei Zeng

networked environment. The proj- data Project (Buckland et al., New System for Different ects have varied in both the targets 1999). Languages for mapping and the methods used 7. Among local class schemes in achieving their aims. The projects to a common scheme (DDC The HEREIN Project (The Euro- we discuss, organized by similarity (Dewey Decimal Classifica- pean information network on cul- of task, are the following: tion) – Renardus project (Koch, tural heritage policies) produced Neuroth, and Day, 2001). an interlingua, a thesaurus consist- Among Controlled 8. Among four controlled vocab- ing of terms derived from reports Vocabularies in the Same ularies and schemes: Polish on cultural heritage policies in Language Thematic Classification (PTC), Europe. It was created with no di- descriptors based on the The- rect reference to the terms or to 1. Between Library of Congress saurus of Common Topics the structure of any pre-existing subject headings (LCSH) and (TCT), Universal Decimal Clas- thesaurus. – The HEREIN Project Medical subject headings sification (UDC), and Subject- (http://www.european-heritage.net/ (MeSH) – Northwestern Uni- Heading Language (SHL) of en/index. html, click Thesaurus). versity (Olson, 2001). the National Library in War- 2. Among different controlled vo- saw – Polish Project (Scibor cabularies – H.W. Wilson Com- and Tomasik-Beck, 1994). Methods Used for pany (Kuhr, 2001). 9. Among controlled vocabularies Achieving and Improving 3. Among different German the- used by four national libraries’ Interoperability sauri that are used to index catalogs in three languages: mathematics and physics as well English, French, and German – The concern for vocabulary com- as social science literature – MACS (Multilingual Access to patibility is not new. Long before CARMEN (Content Analysis, Subjects) (Freyre and Naudi, the advent of the electronic age, li- Retrieval, Metadata: Effective 2001). brary and information profession- Networking) (CARMEN WP12, 10. Among vocabularies for a mul- als had explored and employed 2000). tilingual database about the various methods to reduce conflict French heritage – Merimée between different vocabularies that Among Multiple Subject (See statistics reported in Doerr, were used in the same system. Ear- Vocabularies in Different 2001). lier methods relied almost com- Languages and Classification pletely on intellectual efforts. As Systems Between a Controlled advanced computerized process Vocabulary and a Universal methods for achieving or improv- 4. Among thesauri, classification Classification System ing interoperability emerged, com- systems, coding systems, and puter technology began to be used lists of controlled terms in bio- 11. Between LCSH and LCC (Li- to fully benefit from the networked medical fields – UMLS (Uni- brary of Congress Classifica- environment. The following sec- fied Medical Language System) tion) – Classification Plus (a tion lists both conventional and Metathesaurus (National Li- CD-ROM product) and Classi- new methods that have become brary of Medicine, 2001). fication Web (a web-based in- widely accepted. 5. Among distributed services terface under development), employing different indexing Library of Congress. 1. Derivation/Modeling – A spe- vocabularies used by various 12. Between LCSH and DDC (Vi- cialized or simpler vocabulary is communities such as archives, zine-Goetz, 1996). developed with an existing, more the further and higher educa- 13. Between UDC and GFSH comprehensive vocabulary as a tion sectors, libraries, muse- (General Finish Subject head- starting point or model. ums, the National Grid for ings) (Himanka and Vesa, 2. Translation/Adaptation – A con- Learning, and the Resource 1992). trolled vocabulary is developed Discovery Network, etc. – which consists of terms translated HILT (High-Level Thesaurus Between Classification Systems from one in a different language Project). (HILT, 2000; Nichol- with or without modification. son, Wake and Currier, 2001a). 14. Between MSC (the American 3. Mapping (intellectual) – A map- 6. Among the ‘entry vocabularies’ Mathematical Society (AMS) ping system is developed which used by systems (e.g., indexes Mathematics Subject Classifi- consists basically of establishing to BIOSIS Concept Codes, cation) and Schedule 510 in equivalents between terms in dif- INSPEC Thesaurus, US Patent DDC – State University of ferent controlled vocabularies or and Trademark Office Patent New York in Albany, New between verbal terms and classi- Classification, etc.) in order to York. (Iyer and Giguere, 1995). fication numbers. Such mapping map them to ‘query vocabu- 15. Between SAB (Klassifikations- generally requires a great deal of laries’ entered in a search. – system för svenska bibliotek) intellectual effort. University of California Ber- and DDC – Swedish Royal Li- 4. Mapping (computer-aided) – A keley DARPA Unfamiliar Meta- brary (IFLA, 2001:34). mapping system is developed

324 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 Ensuring Interoperability

which relies partly or heavily on tablishing equivalence. One-to-one Mapping systems with different computer technology. relationships between terms in structures 5. Linking – A list is developed of different vocabularies and different terms that linked with other languages are ideal matches, but There are basic differences in the terms that are not conceptual are often elusive. Different linguistic terms of the macro-structures of equivalents but are closely re- expressions for the same concept, controlled vocabularies and clas- lated linguistically. Such links different degrees of specificity, and sification systems. Thesauri con- have been found to enhance re- polysemous terms are some of the structed by following ISO 2788 trieval results. difficulties facing those attempt- and other national standards en- 6. Switching – A switching lan- ing to map vocabularies and those sure that the structure and ‘gram- guage or scheme is developed creating multilingual or multi-dis- mar’ of such a vocabulary stay which serves as an intermediary ciplinary vocabularies. The com- consistent or compatible. The confor moving among equivalent plex requirements and processes struction of subject headings and terms in different vocabularies. of matching terms that are often classification schemes, on the other imprecise have an impact on the hand, has been guided by existing following aspects of vocabulary patterns or examples. Chances are, Methods Used in the mapping (Koch, Neuroth, and Day, if there are ten different universal Link Storage and 2001): browsing structure, display, systems, there will be ten different Management depth, non-topical classes, and guidelines. As a result, knowledge the trade-off between consistency, organization systems differ from Once the mapping is established, a accuracy and usability. Various one another in their structure, se- device is needed for storing and levels of mapping/linking can co- mantic, lexical, and notation or en- maintaining the links to manage exist in the same project, such as try features (Iyer and Giguere, the large number of indexing terms those identified by the MACS proj- 1995). For example, they may cover and their complex relationships ect: terminological level (subject different subject domains, or with that result. For this purpose, sev- heading), semantic level (authority different scope and coverage; they eral options have been explored record), and syntactic level (appli- may have semantic differences that and used: cation) (Freyre and Naudi, 2001). are caused by variations in conceptual structuring; their levels of 1. Authority records – Special fields specificity and the use of terminol- Integrating the views of different in authority formats may be used ogy may vary; and the syntactic cultures to store the links. features, such as the word order of 2. Concordances – The elaboration Under the assumption that all lan- terms and the choice of reserved of concordances requires the dis- guages are equal in a concordance, heading use, may be different. cerning of one master vocabu- there exists a question of whether lary/scheme and of one or more the views of a particular culture These incompatibilities have pre- target vocabularies/schemes. that are expressed through a con- sented problems for any mapping 3. Semantic network – A semantic trolled vocabulary or a classification effort from the beginning. For ex- network, also called a semantic can be appropriately transferred to ample, establishing concordance web, consists of an organized those in a different culture in the or translation between a thesaurus structure serving as the ‘spine’ process of mapping. Hudon (1997) and a classification or among vari- or backbone. Each unit in the noticed the following problems as- ous systems sometimes becomes network represents a concept sociated with multilingual systems: impossible or extremely challeng- around which a cluster of equiva- ing. This is especially true when lent terms from different vocabu- 1. that of stretching a language to the target system has a higher level laries is identified and stored. make it fit a foreign conceptual of specificity than the source sys- structure to the point where it tem or other systems. becomes barely recognizable to Discussion its own speakers; Methodological Options 2. that of transferring a whole conceptual structure from one cul- For projects aiming at establishing A number of common issues have ture to another whether it is interoperability between or among emerged in our analysis of the appropriate or not; and selected knowledge organization methods used in the many projects 3. that of translating literally terms systems in order to meet user’s discussed above. from the source language into new requirements in the networked meaningless expressions in the environment, one major decision General Issues in Mapping target language, etc. that needs to be made is the choice of an appropriate method. The first Mapping multilingual She summarizes the issues involved complex question to be answered vocabularies as: management issues, linguistic/ is: to integrate, map, or create a At the heart of multilingual sub- semantic issues, and technology- new system? The options are simi- ject vocabulary is mapping or es- related issues. lar to those suggested by Riesthuis

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 325 Lois Mai Chan and Marcia Lei Zeng

(2001) with regard to different ap- Conclusion worked environment is indisput- proaches to creating multilingual able. Results from recent efforts in thesauri: achieving interoperability among 1. What have we learned from the vocabularies of different sorts and 1. translation projects? in different languages are encour- 2. What issues are still outstanding? aging. The question remains: Have 2. merging 3. What is needed, in terms of intel- we fully exploited technological lectual and technical approaches, capabilities in our efforts to im- 3. creating from scratch. to move the field forward? prove subject access to the myriads of resources now available in the Within each of these approaches From the examples introduced in networked environment? are multiple possibilities, as sug- this paper, we can summarize the gested by the HILT researchers in following trends that form the Acknowledgement a two-dimensional grid. (Nicholson, mainstream: Wake and Currier, 2001b). Grateful acknowledgement is made 1. The need for interoperability to the principal investigators of the These researchers propose three ba- among knowledge organization interoperability projects discussed sic options: systems is an unavoidable issue in this paper: Traugott Koch (Swe- and process in today’s net- den and Denmark), Patricia Kuhr • using or creating a single scheme worked environment. (USA), Martin Kunz (Germany), (LCSH, UNESCO, DDC-based, 2. Various methods have been Max Naudi (France), Dennis Nich- UDC-based, entirely new) used in achieving interoperability olson (UK), and Tony Olson (USA), • mapping existing schemes among knowledge organization who were generous in taking their (LCSH, UNESCO, DDC-based, systems. It may or may not be time to answer our questions, pro- UDC-based) that a switching system will be vide details regarding their proj- • mapping existing schemes in the needed. It may or may not be ects, or preview the paper. short term, leading to a single that building a concordance be- scheme in the long term. tween or among the involved References vocabularies may be the ideal Based on the options listed above, situation. Or, equally possible, it Buckland, M., et al. (1999). Mapping en- additional considerations can be may be that interoperability may try vocabulary to unfamiliar metadata applied: be more effectively achieved vocabularies, D-Lib Magazine, 5(1). through the subject authority re- http://www.dlib.org/dlib/january99/ • additional thesaurus structure cords of various online systems. buckland/01buckland.html (last ac- • new subject specific micro- 3. While mapping vocabularies is cessed Feb. 5, 2002). thesauri still a largely intellectual effort, CARMEN. WP12: Cross concordances of • mapping among existing domain computer technology has been classifications and thesauri. http://www. specific micro-thesauri applied to assist in managing bibliothek.uni-regensburg.de/projects/ carmen12/index.html.en (last accessed • multilingual capability large files of subject data and in Feb. 5, 2002). • community control managing links. Higher levels of Doerr, Martin. (2001) Semantic problems • machine-assisted methods computerized mapping systems of thesaurus mapping. Journal of Digital • AI-assisted methods have also been subject to experi- Information, 1 (8). http://jodi.ecs.soton. • user training mentation or tests. Both human ac.uk/Articles/v01/i08/Doerr/#Nr.52. • flexible facilities to aid users mapping and computer-aided Freyre, Elisabeth and Max Naudi. (2001) • user mind maps mapping will co-exist for a pe- MACS: Subject access across lan- • consistency in term application riod of time to come. guages and networks. In: Subject Re- ensured via training and moni- 4. Numerous projects for cross-lan- trieval in a Networked Environment: toring guage and cross-structure map- Papers Presented at an IFLA Satellite • trained librarians to help the ping have been initiated. These Meeting sponsored by the IFLA Sec- user optimize retrieval. projects have identified and ex- tion on Classification and Indexing & perimented with a variety of IFLA Section on Information Tech- The choice of the basic approach methods. It is safe to predict that nology, OCLC, Dublin, Ohio, USA, plus any combinations of the there will be many more multi- 14–16 August 2001. Dublin, OH: considerations may bring various lingual products and services, OCLC. HILT. (2000) HILT: High-Level Thesaurus end products and require different and many of them will involve Project Proposal. http://hilt.cdlr.strath. amount of time and resources. Any multiple structured systems such ac.uk/AboutHILT/proposal.html. method and combinations with as thesaurus, classification, sub- (Last accessed Feb. 5, 2002). other processes may have pros and ject headings, and index terms Himanka, Janne and Kautto Vesa. (1992) cons. It is necessary to conduct a assigned to database records. Translation of the Finnish Abridged comprehensive research and to Edition of UDC into General Finnish identify potential problems when a The need for reconciling different Subject Headings. International Classi- particular method is employed. subject vocabularies in the net- fication, 19 (3) 131–134.

326 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 Ensuring Interoperability

Hudon, Michele. (1997) Multilingual the- vironment: Papers Presented at an IFLA tion, edited by Ching-Chih Chen. Bei- saurus construction: integrating the Satellite Meeting sponsored by the jing: Tsinghua University Press, 2001. views of different cultures in one gate- IFLA Section on Classification and Olson, Tony. (2001) Integrating LCSH way to knowledge concepts. Knowl- Indexing & IFLA Section on Informa- and MeSH in information systems. In: edge Organization, 24 (2) 84–91. tion Technology, OCLC, Dublin, Ohio, Subject Retrieval in a Networked En- IFLA Section on Classification and In- USA, 14–16 August 2001. Dublin, OH: vironment: Papers Presented at an IFLA dexing. (2001) Newsletter, Nr. 24, De- OCLC. Satellite Meeting sponsored by the cember 2001. National Library of Medicine. (2001) Fact IFLA Section on Classification and Iyer, Hermalata and Mark Giguere. (1995). Sheet: UMLS ® Metathesaurus ® last Indexing & IFLA Section on Informa- Towards designing an expert system to updated 2001. http://www.nlm.nih. tion Technology, OCLC, Dublin, Ohio, map mathematics classificatory struc- gov/pubs/factsheets/umlsmeta.html. USA, 14–16 August 2001. Dublin, OH: tures. Knowledge Organization, 22 (last accessed Feb. 5, 2002). OCLC. (3/4) 141–147. Nicholson, Dennis and Susannah Wake. Riesthuis, Gerhard J.A. (2001) Informa- Koch, Traugott, Heike Neuroth, and Mi- (2001a) HILT: Subject retrieval in a tion languages and multilingual subject chael Day. (2001) Renardus: cross- distributed environment. In: Subject Re- access. In: Subject Retrieval in a Net- browsing European subject gateways trieval in a Networked Environment: worked Environment: Papers Presented via a common classification system Papers Presented at an IFLA Satellite at an IFLA Satellite Meeting sponsored (DDC). In: Subject Retrieval in a Net- Meeting sponsored by the IFLA Sec- by the IFLA Section on Classification worked Environment: Papers Presented tion on Classification and Indexing & and Indexing & IFLA Section on In- at an IFLA Satellite Meeting sponsored IFLA Section on Information Tech- formation Technology, OCLC, Dublin, by the IFLA Section on Classification nology, OCLC, Dublin, Ohio, USA, Ohio, USA, 14–16 August 2001. Dub- and Indexing & IFLA Section on In- 14–16 August 2001. Dublin, OH: lin, OH: OCLC. formation Technology, OCLC, Dublin, OCLC. Scibor, Eugeniusz and Joanna Tomasik- Ohio, USA, 14–16 August 2001. Dub- Nicholson, Dennis, Susannah Wake, and Beck. (1994) On the establishment of lin, OH: OCLC. http://www.lub.lu.se/ Sarah Currier. (2001b) High-Level The- concordances between indexing lan- ~traugott/drafts/preifla-final.html. (last saurus Project: investigating the prob- guages of universal or interdisciplinary accessed Feb. 5, 2002). lem of subject cross-searching and scope (Polish experiences). Knowledge Kuhr, Patricia S. (2001) Putting the world browsing between communities. In: Organization, 21 (4) 203–212. back together: mapping multiple vo- Global digital library development in Vizine-Goetz, Diane. (1996) Classifica- cabularies into a single thesaurus. In: the new millennium: fertile ground for tion research at OCLC. Annual Re- Subject Retrieval in a Networked En- distributed cross-disciplinary collabora- view of OCLC Research, pp. 27–33.

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 327 Perceptions of the Quality of the IFLA Conference in Glasgow

Niels Ole Pors means that the response rate was Introduction around 10 percent. This is not a Niels Ole Pors is Associate Pro- disaster, but it points to the fact fessor in the Department of Library Since 1997 the Department of Li- that the conclusions must be taken and Information Management at brary and Information Management with a certain degree of caution. the Royal School of Library and In- of the Royal School of Library and formation Science, Denmark. He Information Science in Denmark A lot of the questions in the ques- has a university background in so- has made formal evaluations of the tionnaire had to be answered on a cial sciences and history. He has 5-point scale. Only the extremes of published books and papers on the scale were named; they were topics like performance measure- ‘Excellent’ and ‘Poor’. ‘Excellent’ ment, user studies, leadership, col- was marked with a value of 5 and lection management, educational ‘Poor’ with a value of 1. This means problems and research methodol- that 3 represented a middle value. ogy. He is currently working with quality measures in relation to digi- In total the questionnaire consisted tal libraries and with management of more than 50 questions. It was a issues concerning leadership in the large questionnaire, and in this pa- library sector. E-mail: [email protected]. per I will analyse not the individual variables (specific questions) but the dimensions or composite variables in relation to demographic background variables. An example of a dimension is the following: In annual IFLA conferences on behalf the questionnaire there were five of IFLA. This has given a unique questions concerning the respon- opportunity to compare some of dents’ overall impressions of the the variables on a longitudinal ba- conference. I have formed a new sis. The evaluations have been con- composite variable that calculates ducted through a combination of the mean of every respondent’s interviews and questionnaires. The overall impression. In the question- evaluation reports have been main- naire there were eight questions ly descriptive, presenting summaries concerning presentations in differ- of rather large numbers of varia- ent settings. I have also here cal- bles. This paper deals only with the culated a composite variable. Of 2002 conference in Glasgow. It is course, you get a kind of data loss based on the formal evaluation re- by forming composite variables. port (Pors, 2002), but goes a step Anyway, a composite variable is a further in analysing the data from good way to summarize compre- the questionnaires. The paper fol- hensive data material. lows the same structure as the paper that analysed the Boston con- We have quite a lot of information ference. There is a presentation of about the individual respondents. the same tables. Comparison be- They were asked about their gen- tween the conference in Boston in der, nationality, professional occu- 2001 and the Glasgow conference pation, number of attendances at is possible (Pors, 2002 a). IFLA conferences and function in relation to IFLA. By function we The response rate was – as usual – asked people if they were respon- a bit disappointing. In total only dents only, IFLA – officials, mem- 416 questionnaires were returned. bers of sections and round tables. Not all 416 answered all the ques- These variables form the backbone tions. It means that the number of of the analysis of the perceptions respondents in the different tables of the quality of the conference in varies. In comparison to the official relation to the different composite number of delegates, 4,200, this variables.

328 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 Perceptions of the Quality of the IFLA Conference in Glasgow

All the results have been through Occupation Male Female Total various statistical tests like the chi- Librarian 47 58 54 square and ANOVA. Library Director 27 20 22 Educator 7 7 7 Gender, Occupation and Library Association 5 5 5 Private Company 3 1 2 Age Student 1 1 1 Other 11 9 10 We will start by looking at the gen- Total % 100 100 100 der and professional occupation or Total 122 275 397 function of the delegates. Table 1: Professional function and gender. (%) In Table 1 we see a cross-tabulation between gender and professional Age Male Female Total function. Females constitute a ma- – 40 32 22 25 jority of the sample. There are some 41–50 31 35 34 interesting features if we look at 51–60 29 37 34 the professional occupations of the 61+ 8 5 6 delegates. Seventy-six percent came Total % 100 100 100 from the library sector as either li- Total 118 257 375 brarians or library directors. The proportion of library educators was Table 2: Gender and age. 7 percent. The numbers from private companies and of students Nationality 0 1–5 6–10 11+ Number were very low. It is remarkable that Africa 11 10 5 33 the proportion of educators has Asia 655320 dropped from 11 percent to 7 per- East Europe 3 6 7 16 cent. Middle East32 39 Scandinavia 5 20 14 7 46 We will now look at the age of the South America 1 3 5 delegates; 375 delegates answered UK 47 19 7 10 103 the question about age and gender USA 1215333765 at the same time. Age is an impor- West Europe 12 21 29 40 73 tant background factor in relation Total 100 100 100 100 to an annual conference. Espe- Number 147 151 42 30 370 cially the proportion of younger delegates indicates how well the Table 3: Nationality and attendance at IFLA Conferences. (%) conference is attracting people to build future conferences on. The Glasgow conference scored very terpret these figures with great East Europe includes Russia, the well in relation to age; 25 percent caution, because quite a lot of the Baltic States and the former East- of the respondents were younger first-timers will be participants from ern bloc countries; the Middle East than 41 years. The comparable fig- the hosting country – in this case, includes countries like Iran, Israel, ure in Boston was 20 percent. The the United Kingdom. The percep- Lebanon and Iraq; South America proportion of older delegates more tion of the first-timers is of major includes Mexico; the United States than 61 years dropped from 9 per- interest because a positive experi- includes Canada; Western Europe cent to 6 percent. ence is a prerequisite to join later includes countries like Netherlands, conferences. Germany, France and Spain. The The average age of an IFLA par- Scandinavian countries are sepa- ticipant is about 48 calculated as a We will first look at the number of rated from Europe because they simple mean of the raw data. We first-timers and participation rate. normally have large delegations. see that there is no difference in We will cross-tabulate this with the This table is not directly compara- the respondents’ age in relation to nationality of the participants. The ble with the one in the paper ana- gender. This average age is the nationality is summarized in re- lysing the Boston Conference (Pors, lowest in the last 7 years. lation to regions and continents 2002a), because the direction of based on the following principles: the percentages differs. In relation to the age structure, it is Africa includes delegates from all interesting to look at the possible African countries, including South Table 3 demonstrates how IFLA future recruitment of new IFLA Africa; Asia includes countries like conferences have been and still are members. An indicator of possible China, Singapore, Japan, India and dominated by the United States, recruitment could be the propor- so on; The United Kingdom in- Scandinavia, the United Kingdom tion of first-timers. One has to includes Australia and New Zealand; and, to a lesser degree Western

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 329 Niels Ole Pors

Nationality Mean N Nationality Mean N statistical significant difference ac- Africa 4.13 39 Africa 4.03 37 cording to gender or age. The same Asia 4.14 21 Asia 4.04 21 goes for number of conference par- East Europe 4.44 17 East Europe 4.05 17 ticipations. Middle East 4.05 9 Middle East 4.03 10 Scandinavia 3.90 49 Scandinavia 3.78 48 Table 5 shows the evaluations South America 4.17 9 South America 4.21 9 in relation to nationality and an UK 4.02 107 UK 4.01 101 ANOVA–test demonstrates a sta- USA 4.12 66 USA 3.98 63 tistical significance between evalu- West Europe 3.79 81 West Europe 3.64 80 ation and nationality. Total 4.01 398 Total 3.91 386 What we have seen here is that na- Table 4: Overall evaluation of the Table 5: Evaluation of the pres- tionality seems to be a decisive Conference (composite entations (composite factor in quality measures. It is im- variable) in relation to variable) in relation to portant to bear in mind that the nationality. nationality. picture changes from year to year. It is true that nationality plays a Europe. Forty percent of the paris statistically significant. It simply role in the evaluation praxis, but ticipants were first-timers. The pro- means that there are differences in delegates from the same region portion of first-timers from the evaluation according to nationality. evaluate differently from year to United Kingdom was very high. It year. It is probably the exact com- is also of interest that the number The overall evaluation is not quite position of delegates from regions of first-timers from the countries in as good as the similar evaluation of and countries with regard to age Africa is very high. African dele- the Boston Conference. The differ- and number of conference attended gates constituted 11 percent of the ence is marginal and it appears that that influences the evaluation pat- first-timers. a similar feature continues to ap- tern. pear; this is a very good evaluation Those delegates who had partici- from delegates from Africa, Asia, pated in more than eleven confer- East Europe and South America, The Service Level at the ences were nearly all from the whereas delegates from Scandina- Conference USA and Europe. via and West Europe tend, just like the situation in Boston, to evaluate The service level was measured in a bit more negatively. The analysis relation to the registration desk, Perception of the also shows that professional func- information desk, tour desk, direc- Conference as a Whole tion influenced the evaluation. Li- tional signs, food service, airport brary directors evaluated the con- arrival and the volunteers. It was We will now look at the overall ference a bit lower than librarians. with considerable interest that this conference evaluation. We use a analysis was conducted. It was pos- composite variable that consists of The composite variable does not sible to compare with the evalua- two variables, one about the con- include the cultural events and the tion of the Jerusalem conference in ference as a whole and the other service facilities. They could be 2001 (Pors, 2001a). The one out- about the sessions. The composite part of it, but they are analysed in standing phenomenon in the evalu- variable is analysed in relation to detail later. ation of the service level in Jerusa- some of the background variables. lem in 2000 was the evaluation of The next question is concerned the food services. It was evident First of all, there is no difference in with the different presentations at that the delegates found that they perception according to either gen- the conference. Again we are using were missing in quality. A very high der or age. a composite variable that includes correlation between the evaluation evaluations of plenary sessions, pos- of the context of a conference and Table 4 shows the perception in ter sessions, workshops and dis- the content was also found. relation to nationality and the result cussion groups. Again there is no We have again processed an Perception of Service Level ANOVA-test between the depend- Number of IFLA Conferences Mean N ent variable and the background 0 4.10 148 variables. Again there are no dif- 1 – 5 3.98 156 ferences in evaluation according to 6 – 10 4.01 42 gender, age and professional func- 11 – 4.05 30 tion or occupation, but there are marked differences in relation to Total 4.04 376 number of conferences attended Table 6: Perception of service level (composite variable) and number of [Table 6] and again to nationality IFLA Conferences. [Table 7].

330 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 Perceptions of the Quality of the IFLA Conference in Glasgow

Nationality Mean N Evaluation Location Conference Quality of Africa 4.13 39 Centre Hotels Asia 4.16 21 Poor 2 2 5 East Europe 4.41 17 Fair 1 3 6 Middle East 4.29 10 Average 12 13 22 Scandinavia 3.98 49 Good 27 32 38 South America 4.27 9 Excellent 58 50 29 UK 3.97 107 Total % 100 100 100 USA 4.19 67 Total 405 396 371 West Europe 3.92 81 Total 4.06 400 Table 8: Evaluation of location, conference centre and hotel accommodation. (%) Table 7: Perception of service level (composite variable) and nationality. (%) ence centre and the standard of This relationship is easily docu- the hotels. The last variable is im- mented in the following. I have portant because people stay more chosen to run a series of correla- It is evident that the criteria first- than one week for an IFLA con- tion analyses on the variables con- timers use in relation to the conference. cerned with the overall impression text of a conference differ very of the conference and the three much from more seasoned partici- This is a very interesting table. variables concerned with the city, pants’ criteria. They simply do not Comparing it to the evaluation of the conference centre and the ho- have a comparative scale to meas- the IFLA conference in Jerusalem tel accommodation. There is a ure their expectations against. The in 2000 is interesting. It was evi- strong positive correlation among important fact here is that the dent that quite a lot of attendees the variables. It simply means that evaluations from all participants considered Jerusalem a dubious people that judge the location as were extremely positive. The vari- choice as a venue for the confer- poor also have a very strong ten- ability is less than the one we saw ence. Only 60 percent found Jeru- dency to judge the conference as in Boston. In Boston, the service salem a good or excellent choice. poorer than the delegates that level was evaluated a bit higher – The score for the conference cen- evaluate their accommodation as especially by the first-timers. tre and the satisfaction with the ac- good or excellent. commodation was also rather low. In relation to nationality we see What we see here is simply that the same pattern as before. The In Boston, we saw a very different variables interact and that different delegates from the UK, Scandina- picture, as 95 percent found that dimensions of a conference influ- via and Western Europe perceived Boston was a good or excellent ence each other when people ex- the service level as the lowest. choice, and the levels of satisfaction press satisfaction. The result is not Again it must be emphasized that with the conference centre and the surprising, but it shows clearly that the overall evaluations were posi- accommodation were very high. the evaluation of a professional tive. This result is partly due to the conference can be heavily influ- lower proportion of first-timers The satisfaction with Glasgow as enced by factors that have nothing from these regions. location and the conference centre to do with the content of the con- was high as can be seen from Ta- ference. In this respect conference The service level at the conference ble 8; 85 percent found the location participation can be seen as a serv- was evaluated highly. The only na- good or excellent and 82 percent ice transaction. Content and con- tionality that evaluated the Glasgow found the Conference Centre good text interact in the judgement of conference higher than Boston was or excellent. The satisfaction with the delegates. When people partici- the participants from East Europe. the hotels was more moderate. On- pate in a conference as long as the Again, we see that there are no ly 67 percent found the accommo- IFLA conference it is to a certain differences in perception in rela- dation good or excellent. degree perceived as a whole pack- tion to background variables like age. gender, age and professional func- In some of the earlier reports it tion but only to nationality and was stated that there was a relation- This relationship will be demon- number of conferences attended. ship between the judgement of strated in the next table that indi- these variables and the perception cates how satisfaction with accom- of the quality of the conference. If modation correlates with measures Location and it is true it is the same as saying of quality in relation to the overall Accommodation that people tend to judge the vari- impression of the conference. ous aspects of a conference as a A very important aspect of a con- whole, or that the variables inter- It is evident that there is a very ference is probably the location or act. (Egholm et al. 1998; Pors, close relationship between the two the city, the facilities at the confer- 2001a) variables. It is also evident that the

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 331 Niels Ole Pors

Overall impression of the dent that the cultural element is conference important. Some delegates com- Quality of accommodation Mean N mented that they want more of Poor 3.98 20 these kinds of cultural elements in Fair 3.98 22 future conferences. Average 3.75 81 Good 4.00 140 If we look at the evaluation in re- Excellent 4.30 103 lation to the background factors Total 4.03 366 we note again that age and gender do not influence the result but the Table 9: The relationship between evaluation of accommodation and number of conferences attended, overall impression of the Conference. and nationality, do. Nationality shows the same trend as emphasized in some of the earlier tables. Perception of Cultural Events and Visits Table 10 shows the evaluation of Number of IFLA Conferences Mean N events and library visits in relation 0 4.15 101 to the number of IFLA conferences 1 – 5 4.10 93 one has participated in. 6 – 10 3.96 26 11 – 3.37 11 The first-timers gave a very posi- Total 4.07 231 tive evaluation of the cultural events and the library visits. The Table 10:Evaluation of cultural events and library visits in relation to evaluation of this aspect of the number of conferences. conference decreases as the participation rate in IFLA conferences increases. Mean N Service level – Registration 4.60 404 Service level – Tour desk 4.41 261 Conclusion Service level – Information desk 4.38 356 Location 4.37 405 Overall we see a conference that Confirmation and registration 4.34 398 has been evaluated very well. Ac- Conference centre 4.24 396 tually, the Glasgow conference Quality of presentation – Plenary 4.18 340 turns out to be one of the best- Overall impression – Conference 4.17 406 evaluated IFLA conferences. Library visits 4.09 261 Exhibition stands 4.03 398 In this paper we have also looked Cultural and social events 4.01 368 more closely at some relationships Quality of presentation – Workshops 3.99 273 between factors and some inter- Overall impression – Service facilities 3.95 387 esting phenomena have emerged. Quality of presentation – Open 3.86 312 sessions and sections First of all the analysis has demon- Quality of presentation – Poster 3.68 261 strated the close interrelationship sessions between content and context in Table 11: Evaluation of selected individual services at the Glasgow Con- delegates’ judgements and percep- ference. Means. tions of a conference. One could argue that it would be beneficial in future evaluation to use a more relationship is not linear. If we look social and cultural events includ- clear-cut measurement instrument at the people judging the accom- ing library visits. The perception of like SERVQUAL, which is very ef- modation average or better there the cultural and social events shows ficient in measuring the relation- appears a strong relationship to the same pattern as we have seen ships and possible gaps between the evaluation of the conference as in the former analyses. It shows a expectations and experiences. a whole. very high degree of satisfaction with the different aspects of the There is another factor that influ- cultural events. ences the evaluation. This is the Cultural and Social evaluation by the different nation- Events and Library Visits There is no doubt that the social alities. In this evaluation we see and cultural events are a very im- different patterns of grading accord- The next composite variable con- portant part of a conference like ing to nationality. It also emerges sists of variables concerning the the IFLA conference. It is also evi- from this analysis that the number

332 IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 Perceptions of the Quality of the IFLA Conference in Glasgow of IFLA conferences the individual delegates from the host country be- References delegate has participated in influ- cause this influences the number ence his or her judgement. of first-timers. Egholm, Charlotte, Johannsen, C.G. and Moring, Camilla. (2000) Evaluation of This factor is very important if one This article has analysed the satis- the 63rd IFLA Council and General wants to compare evaluations. It is faction rate of the Glasgow confer- Conference. IFLA Journal, 24 (1) 49– evident from the analysis that a ence with the construction of com- 56. simple comparison of the degree of posite variables. The conference Pors, Niels Ole (2001) Boston: Best and satisfaction can be a dubious meas- was evaluated in a very positive Biggest. Evaluation of the IFLA conference in 2001. Copenhagen: Royal ure. It is the whole composition of manner and it would be appropri- School of Library and Information the delegates in relation to nation- ate to end this article with a table Science. 33p. ality, number of conferences at- that shows the evaluation of a se- Pors, Niels Ole (2001a) Statistically eval- tended and the context of the con- lected number of the individual uating library association conferences: ference that influences the average variables. are we getting our value for our library perception and evaluation of a budget expenditures? The Bottom Line: particular conference. The impressive fact is that most of Managing Library Finances, 14 (4) the items obtained an average of 242–245. There is a remarkable difference in more than 4 on a 5-point scale. It Pors, Niels Ole (2002) Glasgow 2002: the evaluations according to na- is also worth mentioning and em- Evaluation of the IFLA conference. tionality. Simply the number of phasizing that the Glasgow confer- Copenhagen: Royal School of Library conferences the delegates have ence scored very well on the serv- and Information Science. 31 p. participated in cannot explain this ice aspects of the conference. The Pors, Niels Ole (2002a) Perceptions of difference. Another factor that in- professional dimensions, primarily the quality of the IFLA conference in fluences the overall evaluation of a organized by the sections, still have Boston. IFLA Journal, Vol. 28 (1) conference is the proportion of some room for improvement. 2002, 11–17.

IFLA JOURNAL 28 (2002) 5/6 333