IFLA WLIC 2016 - Day Two

This is the sixth in a series of post about my experience of IFLA WLIC 2016. Other posts can be found here.

 

Day two of IFLA started with a thunderstorm. I'm told it's not usually this hot and humid here but the weather seems to be making an exception at the moment! I suppose it doesn't make much difference if you'll be inside all day (and I REALLY appreciate the air conditioning!).

 

Brave New World: the Future of Collections in Digital Times: Services without Content OR Content in Context

The first session kicked off the competition for longest title at the conference. I wanted to attend this session as it talked about born digital content and open access, two areas that are directly related to my work. The session started off with a difficult question - what will the library of the future look like? Will there be librarians at all? Hopefully yes or I'll need to start my career again! The session asked us to think about a world where librarians remained unseen and content is king but users still trusted us to put the information they found into context for them. This set the scene for the talks that followed.

 

Dan Cohen from the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) talked about the way in which his organisation brought its content to a wider audience. He described this as maximal access - not only making the information available online but connecting it with its audience. If Open Access is the how, maximal access is the why of sharing information. This really stuck with me and is certainly something I will be reporting back. He also shared the Rights Statements website which provides twelve clear and machine readable licences which can be applied to different types of material. The difference from other licences is that these allow the user to search by what they want to do, for example search an image database for all images they can use in a school report. Having taught copyright to confused users I think this is a great idea!

 

Another highlight of the session for me was James G. Neal's talk on born digital content. There is a wealth of digital content out there from research data to government information and if we don't preserve it we won't be able to give access to it in the future. Is this content going to be the end of libraries or a great opportunity? Librarians are ideally placed with the right skill set to help preserve this content and I think we are up to the challenge.

 

Guidelines for Continuing Professional Development: Principles and Best Practices

This interactive workshop promised to be a real highlight of the conference for me and it didn't disappoint. We divided into three groups - employers, training providers and members of professional associations - and discussed the Continuing Professional Development and Workplace Learning section's Guidelines for Continuing Professional Development.  I was in the Providers group as my job involves teaching and training. The results of the discussion can be seen in this Padlet (results from the Employers and Associations groups can also be seen). It was really reassuring to me to see that others had the same concerns as I do. I've been in my role for less than a year so I often feel like I'm still finding my feet and any reassurance is gratefully received. One important point that was made in my session was that it's important to build in iterative evaluation or you run the risk of leaving it out. I've been evaluating my own teaching programme at work but as a result of the session I need to think more carefully about how I do it. We were given homework to create an action plan. I've included mine below to make myself follow it through!:

• plan iterative evaluation of the Research Ambassador Programme
• determine a time allocation for staff development with key stakeholders
• collect evidence on the value of professional development to demonstrate importance to library managers

The Role of Stakeholders in the New Serials World

The final session of the day looked at issues surrounding Open Access. This is a subject I've come to know well during my time in the Office of Scholarly Communication but it was interesting to see the approaches taken around the world. Gaelle Bequet from ISSN International highlighted the problem of predatory publishers who appropriate journal titles in order to target early career researchers. We need to do more to equip our research community with the information literacy skills to avoid these sort of pitfalls. One website which aims to do this is Think, Check, Submit which gives researchers the chance to check the journal they are submitting to. I knew about the site but I think I need to work harder on educating our research community.

 

Birgitta Hellmark Lindgren from Stockholm University talked about the opportunities for libraries to get involved in the publishing process. At Stockholm they felt that this was a good fit for their existing portfolio of services. University libraries have access to and knowledge of their research communities and getting involved in publishing is one way to extend the help we offer them.

 

Tomorrow night is the cultural evening so the blog may be shorter (and possibly more photo based). As much as I'm looking forward to the sessions I'm also looking forward to meeting new people outside of the conference!

 



IFLA WLIC 2016 - Day One

This is the fifth in a series of post about my experience of IFLA WLIC 2016. Other posts can be found here. This post marks the start of my attendance at the conference.

When they tell you that these conferences can be overwhelming, they're not kidding! IFLA is BIG. Fortunately it's also friendly and there are plenty of volunteers to point you in the right direction if you get lost.

Newcomers session
The first session I attended was aimed specifically at those who were attending IFLA for the first time. It was a useful session to get an overview of the way things worked and information about our host city. As part of her address, IFLA president Donna Scheeder reminded us that everyone who sits on the board of IFLA was once a newcomer to the conference. You never know what might happen in the future! The session was also really valuable as it meant I could see how many other newbies there were in attendance - reassuring in such a daunting environment.

 

Opening ceremony

I'm not sure what I expected from the opening ceremony - maybe the usual welcoming remarks and wishes for a nice time in Columbus. We certainly got that but also a lot more. I've never been to a conference opening where there were dancing sweets and a real live penguin! The opening ceremony showcased the best of Columbus through history and even included a message from Barack Obama welcoming us to the US. Very impressive!

Photos from the event (which are better than anything I managed to take) can be seen here.

 

Copyright Matters: Libraries and National Copyright Reform Initiatives

This session on copyright took up most of the afternoon. The aim of the session was to look at copyright and its exceptions in a global context by highlighting the challenges faced by different countries.

Kenneth D Crews from WIPO has recently conducted a study into copyright and exceptions in countries worldwide. He spoke of how the mission of libraries and the mission of copyright is intertwined - copyright works to encourage the creation and dissemination of knowledge in a safe way whilst libraries work to provide access to this knowledge. In many countries exceptions to copyright for libraries are an integral part of copyright law different countries use them in different ways. This lack of consistency often leads to confusion for both librarians and users. There is also the digital challenge to deal with - copyright laws have traditionally been drawn up specifically to deal with analogue methods of copying. This is obviously out of date now and countries need to work together to come up with coherent solutions to the problem.

Nancy E. Weiss talked about the US experience. Weiss is Senior Advisor to the Chief Technology Officer for Innovation and IP, The White House, United States. She talked about how in the information society there is a greater need than ever before to preserve digital information. This goes hand in hand with users' who have an evolving view of the services that libraries should provide. The US government is currently looking at copyright law, particularly in relation to areas such as Open Educational Resources which have become a trend in recent years. The US is one of the lucky countries where fair use policy has helped in a number of areas where flexibility is needed.

Jessica Coates from Australia talked abut the advances being made in terms of access for people with disabilities. Although these rules are not yet mandatory, Australia are making voluntary best practice changes and hope other countries will follow their example. The country is also looking at preservation, safe harbours (extends ISP protection to online providers such as libraries), ending perpetual copyright for unpublished works and simplifying copyright for educational purposes. Given that the Australian Copyright Law is over 700 pages long anything that simplifies it must be a good thing!

At the other end of the spectrum was Mya OO from Myanmar National Library in a country recently emerging from a 50 year period of military rule. They currently use the 1914 copyright law which carries no explicit exceptions for libraries. Fair dealing for private research and review is allowed, works are protected for life of the author plus 30 years and there is no protection for foreign works. A proposed new law has been under review since 2012 and will hopefully make progress soon. Challenges in Myanmar include low bandwidth, lack of consistent IP addresses and the changing role of the library. Mya OO highlighted the need for libraries to be involved in policy making when it comes to copyright as they are familiar with their users' needs.

Finally Monika Mitera talked about the situation in Poland (site of next year's IFLA congress). Poland was the first country to have a copyright law which captured the concept of 'work' as the subject matter of copyright and is working hard to apply amendments to deal with digital material. Mitera  also highlighted the Copyright Forum - a group which brings together stakeholders to discuss laws and suggest changes that are needed. She also talked about the fact that not all libraries are viewed as educational institutions - something which has implications for copyright.

In conclusion it was shown that there is no one best model for copyright that will suit everyone but the better solutions move us all towards a worthwhile solution. It was also noted that all copyright legislation falls short when it comes to digital preservation - a problem libraries need to work to address.

Exhibition opening party
The final part of the day was devoted to the opening of the exhibition and poster sessions. Anyone who has ever been to a conference with an exhibition will know the feeding frenzy that happens when freebies are on offer. I talked to a couple of vendors and poster presenters but will go back and have a proper look another day as I was tired out.

Overall the first day was a success. Role on day two....

IFLA Conference Schedule

This is the fourth in a series of post about my experience of IFLA WLIC 2016. Other posts can be found here.

Hopefully if I've timed it right this blog post should be going out as I'm in the air on my way to Ohio for IFLA WLIC. It's going to be a very busy week and I'll try and keep up to date with social media during the conference. If people have questions or want to hear about something specific then let me know in the comments section here or via Twitter.

I've included below a link to my provisional schedule so you can see the sort of sessions I'll be attending. Things happen so it's not set in stone but hopefully it will make it easier to follow along. There are a lot of sessions happening and I'm sure I will get lost at some point! Luckily the conference organisers have made it easier by providing an online conference planner which is how I produced the schedule below. 

Claire's conference programme (subject to change)

Full conference programme

I've been thinking long and hard about which sessions to attend and I've tried to pick a variety that will be useful for leadership (as a grant from the CILIP Leadership Programme is enabling me to attend the conference) and for my role in Scholarly Communication. I've also included some sessions that are a little outside my comfort zone as often these are the sessions that turn out to be the most interesting.

I'll be back soon with another conference update....

Getting Social at IFLA

This is part of a series of posts about my experiences of IFLA WLIC 2016. Other posts can be found here.

Funny story: I once wrote on a conference bursary application that I wanted to attend in order to "expose myself to the profession". It was only when my friend was proofreading the application that she pointed out that might not be the wisest choice of words! I took the phrase out and ended up not getting the place (although I'm sure for other reasons). 

However as my time at IFLA approaches I'm thinking about all the different ways I promised to share my experiences with the wider library community. I'm fairly active on social media and I know the value that it can bring to those not able to attend conferences so it seemed like a sensible place to start.

What I'm really aiming to do with all this is demystify the experience of a major international conference. I'm hoping that if I can show via social media what it's really like it will encourage more people to apply for bursaries when they see them. I know a lot of people hold back from applying because they think they're not good enough in some way but it's not true. The worst people can say is no and if you don't ask you don't get!

With that in mind, below is a list of ways that you will be able to follow me at the conference as it happens:

• Blog - blogging gives me a chance to reflect and share things at the same time. One thing I really wanted to do with the conference blog is show people the full conference experience which is why there have been so many posts leading up to the conference itself. I'm aiming to blog about highlights when I'm in Columbus and then again once I am settled back into real life and putting into practice what I've learnt. 
• Twitter - as most people know I'm REALLY keen on live-tweeting. It helps me to record my thoughts and also allows people to follow along in real time. The time difference between here and the USA will have an impact on this but I plan to be tweeting as much as I can from the sessions I'll be attending.
• Facebook - I have a 'professional' Facebook so that I can keep my personal account private. If people are still using Facebook then I'll be sharing updates on there but it's more likely to be links to blog and Instagram content than anything new.
• Instagram - recently I've been thinking about different ways to follow along with conferences. I have seen a few people posting video reflections at the end of the session but I don't think I'm brave enough to try this. However, I know that sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words and I've joined Instagram to share quicker, visual updates. 

This does all come with the caveat that I am only human! There is only so much I can do at one time but hopefully I can keep these channels updated at the conference. I'm also going to be pretty dependent on technology so say a prayer to the gods of tech that everything keeps working and that I remember to pack my chargers!

Next stop Columbus, Ohio! 

CILIP Conference 2016

I really do like to be beside the seaside, especially with a group of librarians on Brighton Pier! Although chasing my colleagues around on the dodgems was fun there was also a serious side to the recent CILIP Conference and I felt that I came away with a lot. In this post I'm just going to focus on the keynotes or I will be here forever.

The most inspiring talk for me was given by Scott Bonner, Director, Ferguson Municipal Library. Most people will remember Ferguson as the site of violence following the shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown by a white police officer. During the crisis that followed Scott and his team kept the Library open to the local community, often in the face of personal danger. Teachers began to use the Library to hold classes, ensuring that local children still received an education when the schools were closed. 

Scott talked about the need for libraries in times of crisis, a theme that was echoed throughout the conference. He pointed out that "libraries are awesome all the time" as we do a lot for the communities that we serve, Ferguson was just one extraordinary example. He acknowledged that he made mistakes with his approach such as choosing to close the Library at one point but he learnt from them and took those lessons forward in dealing with the crisis that unfolded. 

One major decision was what the library would be during this time - did they remain a library, become a school or try to find a middle ground? Ferguson did the latter and found a workable middle ground that helped the community it served. This was the undercurrent of Scott's message - libraries do what they can to provide for their communities in emergencies and everyday life. It's hardly the same thing but Scott's talk made me think of the refuge that academic libraries can provide to students in exam term. Sure we're a place to study but we also provide a place to take a break, sleep (!) or a shoulder to cry on in some instances. As Scott pointed out libraries can be a "quiet oasis" in stressful times and I think this is often an underestimated service. His powerful message also made me think about the current Brexit crisis and it's implications for the academic community. I'm not sure yet what libraries can do in this context but I can bet we will be (and already are) doing something!

A Storify of tweets from Scott Bonner's keynote can be found here (many thanks to Emma Illingworth for compiling).

The second keynote was from Professor Sir Nigel Shadbolt who talked about 'The Challenges and Opportunities of Open Data'. This is an area I've come to know quite well during the past few months in my new role within Scholarly Communication. Shadbolt highlighted some examples of historical open data use such as Snow's Cholera Map which showed that the disease was spread via water pumps. He also talked about modern uses of data such as Transport for London who made their data available to others who then built travel apps which many people use on a daily basis. 

Whilst the overall message about open data wasn't new to me (and others in the audience and online) it was news to some. As I was coming out of the talk I overheard many people talking about how they hadn't seen things in this context before and how they were going to look into the area more. The keynote could be seen as preaching to the choir as information professionals really should know about these things but I don't think it deserved all the criticism it gained. The CILIP Conference attracts a range of people from across all sectors who may never had a chance to hear this sort of information before. I work in a major academic library and I know many colleagues who don't know about this area - it's one of the reasons my job exists at all. I know about it precisely because I've been to events like this and learnt about it, otherwise I would be just as clueless. My point is that everyone has to start somewhere and sometimes you have to go back to basics to get people interested. If the keynote has educated some people then it did it's job.

Once again a Storify of tweets by Emma Illingworth can be found here.

The final keynote came from Lauren Smith, a researcher in the information world. This keynote really brought together the conference as Lauren echoed Scott Bonner's comments by stating that libraries weren't waiting for a crisis to act - we are IN a crisis situation right now. With Brexit, the state of the UK government, service closures and issues surrounding immigration and refugees this is our time of crisis. Lauren called on information professionals to remember that libraries are political, they tackle issues of socio-political divides and unequal access to information. Although we are safe spaces we are not neutral as we provide a place for people to go to access information on topics that others might consider dangerous. Information professionals are there to provide access to information, not to judge.

Again I heard many comments as we were leaving the hall. Some colleagues complained that it seemed a strange note to end a conference on - at times it wasn't a happy and upbeat message. However I would argue that it was a message that got people thinking and talking long after Lauren left the podium. This is a sign of a good keynote and a good conference. Rather than taking the safe route by reassuring us that everything was perfectly fine it gave us a kick and made us take notice. Well done to CILIP for being willing to hear this message and well done to Lauren for delivering it.

A video of Lauren's speech can be found here (via SL McDonald).

Overall it was another great conference. It was also the first conference I feel I've attended as a 'proper professional' - I have a permanent role and this was a work sanctioned rather than self-funded trip. Hopefully this will continue long into the future - I can't wait for CILIP 2017! 

IFLA - Why I wanted to attend

This is the second in a series of posts about my experience of IFLA WLIC 2016. Other posts can be found here.

In this post I'm going to explore some of the reasons I wanted to attend IFLA. I can predict the answer people are currently shouting at their screens: "you're getting a trip to another country!". Well yes, it would be silly not to acknowledge that this was part of the attraction of applying for the bursary but it wasn't the only reason. Attending IFLA WLIC is my first chance to attend a major international conference. Many people assume that because I work at Cambridge I get money thrown at me to attend conferences and events all the time but we have the same financial constraints as everyone else. Almost all of the events I've attended have been due to bursaries or have come from my own pocket. There is no way I could afford to attend a conference abroad without assistance and I have been applying for bursaries to a range of events, including IFLA, for years. In 2016 I got lucky!

During my research for all of these applications I read the blog posts of previous winners who have had a chance to attend IFLA. Each person had different experiences but they all came away feeling inspired which is something I very much look forward to. Whenever I've attended conference at both a local and national level I have come away feeling inspired by the people I've met and the ideas that have been shared and I think that an international conference can only add to this. In my professional life I mainly come into contact with colleagues from the academic sector but I'm hoping to talk to those from across other sectors at the conference as I think we'll have much to learn from each other. Part of my role involves overseeing training for librarians from various Cambridge libraries (there are quite a few of them!) and I'm particularly interested to discover the different approaches to training that people use so that I can bring back some new ideas. I'm still relatively new to the world of scholarly communication but I know it's a growing area of interest in the profession. I'm hoping to talk to other attendees working in the same area about how they have developed their presence in the library. One thing I am especially interested in is securing staff buy-in with scholarly communication. Hopefully I'll be able to gain some insight and bring this back to Cambridge (and the rest of the library community).

Attendees also talk about the different experience of attending a major international event. Many call them overwhelming due to their size and scope. I'm not someone who normally thrives in situations like this but I know that I need to learn more about networking and putting myself out there. It's part of my role and part of the profession and is something I have been working on for the past few years. I'm not sure if or when I will ever get to attend an event of this size again so I'm going to make the most of this opportunity to develop my skills in this area. Nothing like jumping in at the deep end to make everything else seem less scary! Being in charge of professional development activities for library staff in my current role it's important to me personally to set an example and demonstrating a confident presence at an international conference would be an important step towards achieving this goal.

Following on from this on a more personal level this conference would give me a chance to make an impact in my workplace. My department has existed for less than two years and my role is a new one to the library. Whilst I'm excited about being part of providing professional development opportunities for staff it is a big responsibility (and hopefully one I can live up to) and I need to take a strong leadership role in order to make this a success. I've learnt a lot about leadership over the past year in the Leadership Programme and I'm looking forward to putting it into practice at the conference and beyond. IFLA will be a valuable chance to talk to world leaders in the information profession and I hope that this will help me with my own leadership journey moving forward.

As you may have guessed after reading this far this post is adapted from a section of my bursary application. I'm not holding it up as the perfect example by any means but at least people can see what I wrote. Hopefully if you are applying for similar opportunities in future this post will give you some pointers on where to start.

photo credit: Columbus' skyline via photopin (license)

Another New Challenge

I've recently taken on the role of Social Media Editor with the New Review of Academic Librarianship. Having been involved with social media for some time both through work and volunteering commitments this was something I was keen to do to test my skills on the next level. I've been tasked with starting the journal's social media presence almost from scratch and I'm excited for the challenge. 

Part of my motivation for taking on this role is to help demystify the publication process for those who want to get involved with academic publishing but maybe think it isn't for them. I don't want the social media channels to turn into purely an advertising resource - I want to have a conversation with people and share what the Editorial Board does. Time will tell if I succeed with this! My work with the Board will also give me a chance to explore the scholarly communication process from another angle, something which will fit in with my current role.

If you are interested in reading more I recently gave an interview to Taylor and Francis on how I will be approaching things which can be found here. I hope it proves an interesting read (and apologies for the smug photograph - I'm not that smug in real life, I promise!).