Emerging International Voices

Would you like to join the Emerging International Voices in a short design sprint in order to tackle the question: How might we improve our services for users with limited internet access and/or knowledge and find solutions together with experts and members of the target group?
Our plan is to develop prototypes together and present them at the IFLA WLIC conference 2021.

If you sign up, we expect you to attend all three 3-hour sessions on the 10th, 14th and 15th August 2021. There are two different time zones to choose from: 9-12 AM CET or 3-6 PM CET 

Free Registration

Returning for a second year, IFLA and Goethe-Institut present the second #EmergingInternationalVoices webinar, this time organised by the young librarians who participated in our successful series from last year!

This year we will be discussing: Open Access, Infodemics and Libraries, exploring the global equity of science.

How did the COVID-19 Pandemic affect access to Open Access research, including of course access to reliable and correct information about the Pandemic itself?

How can libraries solve these problems?

Join us in what will be another thought-provoking discussion from librarians across the world with contributions.

Notwithstanding the advanced development of digital libraries and services in Portugal, as mentioned in the previous article, there are still many ways in which we can develop and improve our work.

Libraries managed to maintain their importance during the period of digital transformation. But some has had it easier than others, when tackling new challenges during the pandemic. And one big challenge is still ahead of them.

There is an African proverb that says: ‘If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.’ Emerging International Voices proved this.

As I sit writing this end report, balancing my 7-week old baby on my stomach and trying to remind myself how to touch type, it’s impossible to reflect back on the Emerging International Voices (EIV) seminars from October without having my son in my mind.

The most important thing in today’s world is to be connected, and only in that way can libraries overcome the difficulties that they encountered during the pandemic.

Digital libraries have been put in the spotlight during this pandemic. Offering digital services may sound simple, but is in fact very complicated due to the reality of bad internet connectivity and difficult accessibility. And there are even more difficulties.

Everyday difficulties with juggling different priorities at work can make thinking about future libraries challenging. How to find the right balance between resources, platforms and users' needs?

Too pushy? Sometimes libaries seem to push too hard to get attention. To consolidate communities around digital libraries, push-pull strategies should be considered when developing content of value for audiences.

During the 2020 crisis libraries have had a chance to become an entry point to the digital world for many service users. Digital technologies can give libraries a distinguished role in the life of modern society.

Digitisation poses challenges for all libraries - and even more so for those in small towns and rural areas. But there are ways to meet these challenges.

Shared, victory tastes sweeter and defeat is less bitter. Digital services are a challenge, and although not being alone does not diminish the challenge, it does increase the resources with which to face it.

Libraries have faced multiple troubles throughout history. Despite these obstacles, librarians always find a way to make a better world for their patrons.

How can a regular library achieve success online? What to do if there are no resources or audience on social networks? Three simple strategies for working with libraries online and a small bonus about charisma.

It was a big step for a community library in New Delhi to build a digital library during the lockdown. This global platform highlighted the potential of what digital libraries can accomplish, provided they are accessible.

The digital shift around libraries provides an opportunity for information professionals to explore the provision of better services. This enables us to engage in a futuristic vision of how one platform could support many users with diverse motivations.

While more and more digital libraries emerge, the emotional needs of library patrons and staff cannot be be met as they were before Covid-19. Personal reflections on the pandemic, digital libraries and mental health.
 

Our current reality will shape the way libraries work in the future, but no matter which way we go, as long as we keep our users in mind, it will be thea right way.

How do you move on from a programme that kept your mind buzzing with new ideas and provoked so many new questions? Lizet van de Kamp reflects on her biggest takeaways from Emerging International Voices.

How to make digital libraries accessible for everybody? How can an online community be formed? And how cooperating can make these big questions more feasible?

The Portuguese National Library was the pioneer of digital libraries in Portugul. In less than two decades, its digital library evolved from a small digital collection to a large network and content aggregator - setting the standard for other libraries in the country.

Libraries in Turkey have an image problem. Nilay Cevher reflects on the current situation of literacy, reading and libaries in her country - and looks at what needs to be improved.

Rachael Culley gives a behind-the-scenes tour of the social media strategy of the British Library and tells what the most important learnings from the content production during the lockdown were.

Libraries have always been extremely important for every community because they are centres of information, culture, and education, and in them we always have access to relevant, recent and verified data. The most important person in all of this is the librarian.

For years digital services took a very humble place among other types of library services. During the COVID-19 crisis the role of digital offerings has become significantly more important. Nowadays most of the libraries in Russia, no matter how small they are, use technology to improve services for customers.

In India, where top 10% of the population holds 77% of the wealth and close to 80% of the population live in extreme poverty due to lack of access to educational and employment opportunities, the digital divide is only increasing this gap. Access to digital libraries is vital in bridging this divide.

The digital library landscape in Spain varies widely, reports librarian Pau Bañó Magraner. In recent years, he observed an opening of libraries to the platforms already used by the customers – leading to  new opportunities but also challenges for librarians.

Damilare Emmanuel Oyedele tells a personal story of libraries transforming the human mind and shows how digital ressources can reach more users.

Russian libraries were very creative in the lockdown period. What can other libraries learn from the best practice examples?

Closed colleges, closed schools, closed libraries. In times of Corona digital libraries are needed more than ever. Not only do they provide food for the minds of the young, they also help libraries stay connected with their members. But there are not only advantages.

In the course of the pandemic, newly created and existing offers were made accessible to the library customers. But one of the biggest challenges remains making these offers known.

The accesibility of digital services is a question of budget and priorities. What strategies do academic and public libraries in the UK adopt?

How can specialist libraries transform themselves in order to serve the communities better? On the importance of open data and making information available.

The lockdown in Brussels has been an acceleratof of change towards digital services for libraries. But how to bring that typical library experience into peoples' homes through a screen?

Katona József Library offers a wide range of digital services: knowledge repositories, portals with digital collections, maps and walks. How can these help to retan readers?

The first session focused on what we mean when we talk about digital libraries. Paricipants explored the different ways in which digital tools can enhance existing library services, as well as making it possible to offer new ones. The focus was put on the process of creating digital libraries: how can we make sure that we create platforms that suit the users’ needs? 
With Partha Pratim Das (National Digital Library of India) and Katie Moffat (The Audience Agency)

There have been many obituaries written for libraries, and yet they remain stubbornly present and popular with communities. Nonetheless, the rise of commercial internet platforms, facilitating both access to information and other everyday activities, does oblige the field to think about how libraries prove their ongoing importance for society. The participants in this session explored questions around the purpose and value-added of libraries in a world of digital platforms, what we can learn, and where we can focus.

With: Marie Ostergaard (Aarhus Central Library) and Harry Verwayen (Europeana) 

Libraries are often seen as ‘third spaces’, or a key part of the ‘social infrastructure’ of the communities they serve. Much of this is based on the physical spaces they offer. We want participants to be able to explore the question of how increased use of digital tools – in particular remotely from the library – is likely to affect this aspect of libraries’ work. What do we know about how people interact with digital offerings, and how both to attract new users and keep those who are already there?

With Kathrin Schuster (Munich City Library) and Luke Swarthout (New York Public Library)