Svět knihy (Book World)

Svět knihy (Book World) is the book fair that takes place annually in Prague. The photo shows a mobile library in ownership of the Municipal Library in Prague. This mobile library traditionally arrives to meet its (potential) patrons visiting the book fair. The offer was targeted on comics, in accordance with the big topic of this year book fair. Patrons could lend comics and / or return books. A poster on doors announced a birth of the Superlibrian presented by the amateur theatre group Vý (Výtržníci, the Troublemakers) during the book fair.

Eva Bartunkova
Department Head of Information Centre for Librarianship
Czech Republic

Summary of news on the Sister Libraries Programme

Last week on Sister Libraries Blog, Danijela and Kristian from Public Library Fran Galovic in Koprivnica from Croatia sent a post telling us the last activities and projects they are developing with their sister library Sastamala Public Library from Finland.

They are swaping ideas about different projects as the new building for Fran Galovic library and the programme of Sastamala of cooperation with local high school students. Furthermore, they are preparing an on-line quiz for upper grade primary scool students in Koprivnica called “Learn more about Finland…” and, finally, they told us the prospect that their directors meet in the IFLA Annual Conference in Helsinki.

If you want to know more details about these entire interesting projects read the full post in Sister Libraries Blog.

New award for innovative library health services

EIFL (Electronic Information for Libraries) is inviting applications for a new award that recognizes the valuable impact of public library health services.

The invitation, by the EIFL Public Library Innovation Programme (EIFL-PLIP), is open to all public and community libraries in developing and transition countries. The prize is US$1,500 and the opportunity to showcase your service at an international conference or gathering. You can apply in English, Russian, French or Spanish.

With less than a month to go, the deadline – July 31 – is tight.

Libraries everywhere are providing valuable health services, using cutting-edge information and communication technology (ICT). For example, in northern Ghana, a public library uses mobile phones to send vital maternal health care information to pregnant women; in Kyrgyzstan, a public library is leading a campaign to combat TB; in Armenia, patients are asking their doctors questions through their library’s interactive website; in Kenya, health workers and patients have free access to the internet through their library’s e-health corners. EIFL-PLIP wants to make stories like these known, so that innovative libraries whose services improve lives win recognition and support.

If your library is using ICT to improve community health, then this award is for you. To enter, all you have to do is tell EIFL-PLIP your story and show the impact of your service.

For further information and details of how to apply, visit www.eifl.net

Source: ElFL-PLIP
Author: Jean Fairbarn, EIFL-PLIP Communications

Portuguese Public Libraries and Digitisation

Today Margarida Oleiro’s presentation in last NAPLE Assembly is available to read clicking here. It shows the situation of digitisation in Portuguese Public Libraries.

Lithuanian Public Library Created a Challenger to Prevent School Dropouts

With a support of eIFL Public Libraries Innovations Program (PLIP) librarians at the Utena A. and M. Miskiniai Public Library in Lithuania have launched a pioneering new learning game, called Iššūkis (the Challenger), that aims to encourage children to go back to school.

Through the game, the library aimed to solve a problem they have been struggling with for some time. Every morning, children come to the library, that has an attractive new building rather than go to school. Various methods have been tried to encourage the children to go back to school, including compulsion and punishment. But these have failed, and so the library came up with a novel idea – a computer game that is linked to the school curriculum.

Game was created in 2010, piloted during 2011. At the moment Lithuanian Ministry of Education and Science is adapting the game and experience for the wider initiative that include school librarians.

If you want to know more about the project “Play to study”, please read an impact assessment results here: http://www.eifl.net/utena-and-m-miskiniai-public-library-lithuania

Ramunė Petuchovaitė
Lietuvos Respublikos Kultūros Ministerija

Spain: Training Programme for Library Professionals from Ibero-America 2011

From last 17 October to 11 November this Subdirectorate of Libraries Coordination held the activities for Ibero-American librarians it had included in the Training Programme for Ibero-American Professionals of the Cultural Sector 2011. This Subdirectorate participates each year, in this Training Programme, called by the Ministry of Culture of Spain, from 1998.

2011 Participants and the Subdirectorate Team

 In every edition, different training stays in public and academic  Spanish libraries, a month long, are organised. The aim of these stays is for the professionals to become acquainted with the working and organisation of their destination’s institution in general, and more specifically with those aspects of their interest so that, when they go back to their countries they can apply this to some innovation or new project at their libraries.  A course is also organised on site in Spain, every year it deals with different technical, organising, skills and services aspects related t the theme chosen in each occasion.

 This year, the 15th edition of this programme –in 1999 two of them were held- the theme has been Digital Libraries. The contents have included: planning for a project of digital library, process of creating digital collections, selection criteria, technical aspects and treatment of digital objects, standards and digital policies application, legal aspects, and digital information search, retrieval and conservation systems. The programme has included a stay in the region of Galicia as well as the visit from Madrid to other Spanish towns to visit different libraries and highlighted virtual library projects.

This year's logo of the course

 The stays  were also held during this time: 4 inpublic libraries and 2 in academic libraries. The stays regarding the theme Management of Public Libraries were held in the State Public Library of Salamanca, in the Library of Andalucía, in the Library Service of the Diputaciò de Barcelona and in the  State Public Library of Murcia.  The stays on Managament of Academic Libraries were held in Academic Library of the Complutense University and in the Bibliographic and Documental Service from the University ofAlicante, which have been collaborating with great interest in this Training Programme for several years.

 From 1998 until now, more than 270 Ibero-American library professional have participated in this programme and its multiplying effect has been proved with the launching of projects  about which several reposts have been sent to this Subdirectorate.

First course, 1998 brochure

The objective of these activities, besides contributing to the training of library professionals, is also for Ibero-American professionals to know other professionals from Ibero-American countries. It is a consolidated programme of this Subdirectorate General for Libraries Coordination, which is intended to be repeated in the coming years, renewing and updating its contents and projects.

More information here

Subdirectorate General for Libraries Coordination
Ministry of Culture
Spain

Czech Republic: “I´m a reader!” Project

I am a reader! This is the title of a periodic project of the promotion of reading announced by the Association of Library and Information Professionals of the Czech Republic (SKIP). The full title is: I Am a Reader –The Book for Abecedarians. Schools in cooperation with public libraries enter in this competition with the pupils attending the first classes of the primary schools. The competition starts in December; at that time children already have essential knowledge of reading. The library prepares at least one excursion and other rich programme in addition (common reading, exhibitions, writer-reader meetings etc.). The award for children after a successful passing through this programme is a book. The book is exceptional, because it is the original Czech novelty that cannot be bought in a bookshop for the next three years.

More information in Czech: http://www.skipcr.cz/akce-a-projekty/akce-skip/projekt-uz-jsem-ctenar-2013-knizka-pro-prvnacka, about this latest competition (1.12.2011-30.6.2013).

Eva Bartunkova
Department Head of Information Centre for Librarianship
Czech Republic

Prague: Reading Statues

Some statues in Prague  have received books to read  in the next three weeks, within the framework of the project Prague, the Town of Literature.

Book for the statue. Photo of reading statues (Babies, artist D. Černý) in the park of the isle of Kampa

Eva Bartunkova
Department Head of Information Centre for Librarianship
Czech Republic

Digital Reading Project

The Project Digital Reading was launched, this week, in Lisbon, by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. With a budget of € 150.000, the two years project will study the Portuguese realitiy concerning the digital reading. Both the offer by the publishing industry and the demand by the portuguese libraries will be addressed.

The project team, which will be coordinated by the Technical University of Lisbon, also includes the Spanish Foundation “Gérman Sanchéz Ruipérez”.

Margarida Oleiro
Head of Libraries Department
General Directorate for Books and Libraries
Portugal

Tutorial of Job Searching

The tutorial was created by the Working Group of Information Literacy of the Council of Library Cooperation. This tutorial is a tool of help for training in job searching from the public libraries. It isn’t a definitive solution for this problem but it facilitates required materials to foster these activities in the public libraries in Spain.
The tutorial is formed by six modules:

– To make a curriculum vitae
– Where and How to search a job?
– Selection Process
– Self-Teaching for the job
– Source of information and bibliography
– Evaluation of the tutorial

For more information: http://www.alfared.org/content/862

Subdirectorate General for Libraries Coordination
Ministry of Culture
Spain