Internet a decade later and the update of the IFLA Internet Manifesto

In 2002 IFLA approved their first Internet Manifesto, providing “an early recognition of the vital role that the Internet plays in the work of library and information services”. 2 days ago, last 25^th November they`ve launched an update of that work, that “reflects this experience and reinforces the vital role of library and information services in ensuring equitable access to the Internet” and can be found here: http://goo.gl/QV4Jp0

But how was the Internet in 2002, when the IFLA Manifesto was approved? Best Education Sites, a project that gathers a panel of specialists from different fields “counseling to analyze the state of the academic web space” which was awarded by the AASL (American Association of School Librarians) with the 2014 Best Websites for Teaching & Learning Award, launched a couple of years ago, in 2012, the results of a survey where (with information from Nielsen, Google and CNet) the Internet in 2002 is compared with its version a decade later.

 The results are quite enlightening. Web pages reached 555 million in 2012, while a decade before it was 3 million. Connection speed has almost tripled (from 16 seconds average to load a page to 6 seconds), etc.

You can see the results of this study in this highly user-friendly website: http://goo.gl/Qc3agm

Linking Open Data cloud diagram 2014, by Max Schmachtenberg, Christian Bizer, Anja Jentzsch and Richard Cyganiak. http://lod-cloud.net/

IFLA General Conference and Assembly 2015

81st IFLA General Conference and Assembly will take place next 15-21 August 2015 in Cape Town, South Africa. They’ve already opened the Call for Posters.

You can check all the details and complete the application form through this link

80th IFLA General Conference and Assembly

Last Thursday 21 August, the closing session of the 80th IFLA General Conference and Assembly took place at Lyon.

 If you couldn`t attend the Conference, you can still visit their web page, where they’ve been publishing different articles, reports and interviews.

 Visit http://conference.ifla.org/ifla80 for further information

IFLA e-Lending Background Paper

IFLA has published a very interesting paper drawing an updated state of worldwide library e-Book lending. You’ll find useful information about the different e-Book licence and purchase models in libraries worldwide, library advocacy initiatives such us the EBLIDA Right to e-Read Campaign or the ReadersFirst Initiative and so on.

 You can read and download  the full text through this link

IFLA International Marketing Award

The IFLA Section on Management and Marketing has announced the winner, finalists and top ten projects of the 2014 IFLA International marketing award. With the  collaboration of Emerald, this award honors “organizations that have implemented creative, results-oriented marketing projects or campaigns”.

 You can check the presentation, videos and location of these projects through this storify IFLA has created.

Regional cooperation: challenge and opportunity

Cooperation is a keystone in libraries, so there’s many projects dedicated to this aspect of the library work.

The project “Regional cooperation: challenge and opportunity” is the result of an IFLA Management of Library Associations section workshop held in Split, Croatia in 2011 that showed the importance of regional cooperation in South East Europe.

The project also trained 12 trainers in leadership and advocacy, who will be able to operate as library advocates on both national and regional level.

The project utilised materials from IFLA’s Building Strong Library Associations programme (BSLA), demonstrating the flexibility of the programme in supporting a range of project sizes and needs. The project was supported by IFLA’s Action for Development through Libraries programme (IFLA ALP).

For further information, click here

IFLA and the Information Society

IFLA has launched a new set of resources “relating to the role libraries play in the information society and the way they can contribute to Internet governance”.

You can also find there the 2013 revised version of the IFLA Position on Internet Governance and information on how you can get involved with the issues at national and international levels.

Access the new resource through this link

Libraries’ role in development

IFLA has launched a web page focusing on the role libraries play in supporting development.
Libraries as information provider agents have a key position in society, so they must provide all the tools so they can take advantage of it. Their idea is adding new resources over time, so they’re asking for feedback: best practises, links to resources, etc.

Visit their web page and find out more about it.

E-Lending for Libraries

Ever since the launch of e-books IFLA has worked on the e-Lending. The e-Lending Working Group, was created and tasked by the IFLA Governing Board with “developing a set of principles that could guide library professionals as they grapple with the complicated process of negotiating eBook licenses with publishers and resellers”. In 2012 they publish the “Background Paper on e-Lending” and now they have just created a web page aimed to gather resources and expand the amount of information available.

You can visit the web at this link

79th IFLA General Conference and Assembly

IFLA is celebrating its World Library and Information Congress that will be held in Singapore from 17-23 August 2013.

Call for papers of every section are being published here, check it often as it is being constantly updated.