Making a reality of access to knowledge: new website supports advocacy and WIPO engagement – IFLA

“As part of a global group of organisations committed to promoting access to knowledge at the World Intellectual Property Organization and beyond, IFLA encourages the library field to engage with a new website which shares key resources and data for advocacy and awareness-raising….”

OER and Collection Development, Oct 05, 2022, 3pm (BST) | IFLA

Do you work with collections at a university library and want to know more about open educational resources (OER) and the way they can influence the development of the collection at your library? Then register for this webinar!

When: October 5, 2022
Where: online
Starting Time: 1600 CEST, 1500 GMT, 0700 PDT
Duration: 90 min

Audience

This webinar is targeted towards librarians who work with or have an interest in collection development and management at university libraries. We hope to prompt thinking about the topic generally and consider how those who work in acquisitions/collections might integrate OER resources into their work. Anyone who would like to learn more about the relationship between OER and library collections is also welcome.

Speakers

The following speakers will each give a 15 minute presentation about OER in relation to other collection development activities at their institution or country:

Cécile Swiatek (University of Paris Nanterre Library, France)
Ezra Shiloba Gbaje (Federal University Lokoja, Nigeria)
Erin Fields (University of British Columbia Library, Canada)
Mira Buist-Zhuk (University of Groningen Library, Netherlands)

 

IFLA Guidelines for Professional Library and Information Science (LIS) Education Programmes

“LIS education builds, holistically, the capacity of professionals with ingrained ethics and humanistic values. Equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility (EDIA) are essential to LIS professionalism, service-orientation, social responsibility, sustainability, education, and lifelong learning. Access to information, including open access (OA), as a public good; intellectual freedom; responsible stewardship of data, information and knowledge; and the technologies and intelligence driving them, are central to the profession….

Research proficiency includes problem-oriented research which analyses the basis of issues encountered in LIS and attempts to provide possible solutions and understanding for professional practice in diverse information settings. It also includes the ability to identify, collate, catalogue, retrieve, evaluate, and disseminate research produced by others for scholarship advancement across disciplines as well as for general societal impact and innovative policy development for the betterment of communities. Such scholarly communication includes open access which ensures unrestricted access to research for further knowledge generation….” 

Knowledge Rights 21 – 21st Century Access to Culture, Learning & Research

“The programme Knowledge Rights 21 (KR21) is focused on bringing about changes in legislation and practice across Europe that will strengthen the right of all to knowledge. It is built on a conviction that knowledge is essential for education, innovation and cultural participation, and that everyone should have the possibility – in particular through libraries, archives and digitally – to access and use it….

Copyright and COVID: Libraries take stock | EIFL

“In February 2022, EIFL and IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions) distributed an online survey to librarians seeking information on experiences relating to copyright and licensing of electronic resources during the pandemic. …

While temporary expanded access granted by publishers to certain electronic resources was a welcome gesture, it either didn’t last long enough or the usage conditions were too complicated to allow the content to be meaningfully integrated into teaching and research activities (48%)….

To help alleviate these situations, librarians looked to use alternative materials. For example, librarians in Malawi ramped up efforts to identify, encourage and promote use of open access materials and open educational resources. In Uganda, librarians made full use of materials in the public domain or content available under an open licence, for example, the National Curriculum Development Centre produced home-schooling materials licensed for non-commercial uses, such as teaching.

The pandemic has highlighted the benefits of open access for education, science and society and the need for a copyright ecosystem that supports online education and research. As the above examples show, current copyright rules fell short of what was needed during the pandemic….”

 

Save the date: next IFLA ARL Webinar series re: Research Ethics in an Open Research Environment – IFLA

“Research ethics guide the production of scholarly inquiry the world over. While there are differences in research standards in different regions of the world, and different perspectives between different groups of people (see Australia’s NHMRC as one example), standards exist, and human subjects rules guide researchers in their work. As we increasingly move to a more open access research environment, there are considerations to tackle as we share research instrumentation, data, and published output.

Join us as we consider these issues with librarians who have already been involved in adapting practices to a new open access environment.”

Research Report: How well did copyright laws serve libraries during COVID-19? – IFLA

“83% of responding library professionals said they had copyright-related challenges providing materials during pandemic-related facility closures. These intersected with ongoing challenges predating the pandemic, including budget pressures, external financial crises, difficult negotiations with publishers, and demand for eBooks that outpaces publisher offerings.

While many publishers offered expanded access to services and content during the early months of the pandemic, these offers usually did not last for sufficient time for libraries to meaningfully integrate them into teaching and research activities. 69% of respondents who had challenges said they included issues providing access to textbooks, and 52% of libraries that had copyright challenges indicated challenges with providing access internationally, as students and faculty returned to their home countries. To access content digitally, some libraries made use of programs such as the HathiTrust’s Emergency Temporary Access project and ‘Resource-Sharing during COVID’ (RSCVD)….”

CFP: Library Publishing Special Interest Group – IFLA WLIC 2022 | due May 2nd | International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions

“The IFLA Library Publishing Special Interest Group is seeking proposals for 5-minute lightning talks to be presented at its Open Session at the IFLA World Library and Information Congress 2022 in Dublin, Ireland. The session will be followed by 30-minutes of Q&A and discussion. This session will explore the contribution of library publishing to the advancement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The value of library publishing on these and like topics is that the work reaches and supports readers and policymakers where they live, with information relevant to their immediate needs and strategic challenges. Inspiration and engagement result from such publications, and they enable coherent and focused discussion, policymaking, and action in specific circumstances. Presentations will inform WLIC participants about a variety of initiatives through library produced publications that are often locally rooted and relevant, almost always openly accessible, and produced as trusted and high-quality content which address a range of global issues pertaining to the UN SDGs. Possible topics may include, but are not limited to

Promotes gender equality
Advocates for climate action
Supports quality education
Promotes good health and well-being
Creates partnerships for the SDGs
Advocates for peace, justice and strong institutions…”

Call for proposals: IFLA WLIC 2022 Science & Technology Section Program “Open Practices: Science Engagement” – IFLA

“Call for proposals: IFLA WLIC 2022 Science & Technology Section Program “Open Practices: Science Engagement” 26-29 July 2022

This call is an invitation to participate in a one-hour session at the WLIC 2022 in Dublin, Ireland, with 3 speakers who will address Open Practices: Science Engagement.  Consideration for diversity will be honored that cover practices such as different subject areas in the sciences, regions of the world, scientific publishing, funding mandates, and how to break down and remove any of the systemic or structural barriers that prevent more open practices in the sciences. WLIC will be an in-person international congress…

Possible topics may include (but are not limited to):

Diversity and inequity within Open Science…

Technologies, infrastructures & innovations that drive Open Science…”

IFLA | WLIC 2022

 

Simplicity, flexibility, equity – IFLA submits comments on South Africa’s Copyright Amendment Bill – IFLA

“IFLA has responded to a call for comments on the South African Copyright Amendment Bill, highlighting the need to reject proposals that will have a chilling effect on the work of libraries, and deepen divisions in terms of access to education, knowledge and culture.”

Knowledge Rights 21 – 21st Century Access to Culture, Learning and Research in Europe – IFLA

“Stichting IFLA Foundation is delighted to receive a €3m Arcadia grant to launch the new Knowledge Rights 21 (KR21) programme to promote access to knowledge for study, research and cultural life in Europe….

KR21 will be advocating for a 21st century copyright environment across Europe that is friendly to the modern delivery and use of education and research materials as well as the spread of culture and heritage in the digital age.

With a focus on evidence and capacity building, our goal is to achieve and implement reforms to copyright law and practice that enable knowledge institutions to provide unhindered access to copyright works for education and research purposes….”

IFLA — Libraries for Human Rights: good practices and key trends in Uganda

A joint submission by IFLA and the Uganda Library and Information Association to the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review outlines key developments and ways that libraries work to support the fundamental rights to education, health, and work in Uganda, and how more could be done.

Call for 2022 Entries: Library Publishing Directory and IFLA Library Publishing SIG Global Library Publishing Map | Library Publishing Coalition

The Library Publishing Coalition (LPC) and the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) Library Publishing Special Interest Group (LibPub SIG) have partnered to survey the landscape of publishing in libraries across the globe. LPC is seeking submissions for its 9th annual Library Publishing Directory. IFLA’s LibPub SIG has created a first-of-its-kind Map of global library publishing initiatives. Together, we invite you to share information about your library’s publishing activities.

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