Information Literacy

School Librarians Leadership

2012-01-23T23:47:00.000-08:00

Why Librarians are needed?

Without doubt, librarians have been around for centuries. Different eras, differnet centuries bring along with them differenrt information. Consequently, there is need for different skills if one desires to acquire information.

In the 21st Century, dominated by both technology and the proliferation of information in an unprecedented manner, the main issue is of being "an information literate person".

The issue is not one of access. This does not mean that one need not learn digital skills. However, the real challenge lies in the type of information which exists. Not all information is correct and not all that is found online is acceptable or good enough to be used and shared.

Librarians are the persons who are trained in information handling, ethics, and a variety of other skills, such as digital, among others. They are the ones who guide students, teachers & parents into the information paradigm in order to identify, select, evaluate, use effectively and ethically and finally present information in an appropriate way.

Therefore, librarians are not just librarians. They have different roles to play. They support teachers in their subject, assist students in their information quest and help parents where lack of skills are present.

Librarians need to show leadership among other things in their role as educators.

I invite you to take a look at this clip.

Link

(This clip was posted on fb by Judy O'Connell - thank you Judy)

Digital Words

2012-01-20T09:53:00.000-08:00

I also would like to contribute to the emerging discussion regarding 'the future of reading'.

Without doubt, this phenomenon will grow and will also start leaving its effect on society at large but particularly, we will start seeing the effect on our current teens - even the Gen Y.

This trend is fueled by the sophisticated technology which is being developed together with their possibilities and the 'always on' concept brought about. I will venture to add that the other concept which I would marry to this latter is, the 'always present'!

eReaders, tablets and mobile phones in their turn, has kept most of us sleepless and active all day long. The famous Ranghanathan said 'every book it's reader, and every reader it's book'. This can be equated to or linked to 'every user his tech and every tech it's user'.

Each user needs to identify own needs and decide which piece of technology will satisfy that particular need.

However, on the educational level, I believe that this trend will challenge the traditional 'textbook', since, the more our kids will be handling their 'tech', the more will they want to use it. To this end, we educators need to catch up the wave and use it to their advantage.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/jan/19/apple-unveils-ibooks-2-textbooks-ipad

Web 3.0 on the way!

2012-01-16T10:32:00.000-08:00

Dear Reader,

If you are reading this Blog, then, you must be acquainted with Web 2.0...its benefits, tools, speed, collaboration, ect.
Yet, we are moving into Web 3.0 now! Internet is a fascinating Tool indeed, yet, it needs to be accessed with cautiousness and responsibly.

Here is the Link to a glimpse of the coming Web 3.0. It works on the principle of "Mashups". Though Mashups have been around for some time, this video provides a concrete way on how Mashups can be used effectively. It is all in real-time and therefore, up-to-date information is possible - more up-to-date than Web 2.0., in the sense that it is happening 'actually'.

The Link provided shows that the video was taken in 2010.

Knowledge Management

2011-03-02T10:24:00.000-08:00

In February 2011 I attended an International Conference on Knowledge Management, entitled: "From Knowledge to Action". Overall, I think that the conference was a good one, with some sessions being more interesting and important than others, at least form my perspective.

Whoever attends/participates such International Conferences knows that, apart from good and challenging presentations from the various experts in the field, an important factor is that you manage to make good contacts.
Through these contacts, one manages to continue the conversations started at the conference. However, one may also challenge his own beliefs or start new ones.

A colleague of mine who was attending the same conference had a discussion morning. Both of us explored a definition of knowledge. We came up with the following concept:
knowledge is information (which is received) which is combined with experience (application), context (situated), adapted (through perception and cognition), becomes a belief (internalized), acquires an attitude (beliefs are intrinsically linked to attitudes) and this influences / motivates behaviour or action.
This concept compliments, and to a certain extent it even maps, the well-known theory: data -> information -> knowledge -> wisdom -> continuum.

Venue
The Conference was held in Innsbruck, Austria. It has snowed for the whole duration of my stay and was a fantastic time for me.
The organizers were fantastic and took care of all the participants' needs as they arose. One last thing to say about the organizers is that they offered us a fantastic dinner. Well done!

LIBER-EBLIDA Digitization Conference

2009-11-03T04:03:00.000-08:00

2^nd LIBER-EBLIDA WORKSHOP ON THE DIGITIZATION OF

LIBRARY MATERIAL IN EUROPE

The Hague, The Netherlands, 19-21 October 2009

The three-day LIBER-EBLIDA conference held in the Dutch capital brought together representatives from 27 national and university libraries and commercial entities across and outside Europe to discuss the way forward for the digitization of library material in Europe. The conference kicked off with a progress report by Paul Ayris, Director of Library Services at University College, London, of the actions recommended during the 1^st LIBER-EBLIDA conference held in Copenhagen in October 2007, where a LIBER Road Map toward digitization had been launched. Ayris analysed the status of the Road Map and illustrated the significant advances which LIBER had made in the field of digitization since the 2007 Workshop. The new LIBER Strategic Plan highlighted digitization as one of LIBER’s core aims. LIBER’s work aimed at putting the student/researcher at the centre of the web of provision of digitized material. The challenge for LIBER libraries and institutions was to reach out to meet the student/researcher in the space where they work and want to be.

A thought-provoking presentation was delivered by the representative of the European Commission, Javier Hernandez-Ros, who spoke about Public-Private Partnership in Digitization, thus introducing the subject of the Google Digital Library, which was to become one of the most heatedly debated topics during the workshop. Hernandez-Ros argued that since the first agreements between Google and US and European libraries for scanning library collections were announced at the end of 2004, little had been done in Europe to engage public commercial entities, like Google in the US, on digitization projects. Apart from Google initiatives, public-private partnerships have not yet really taken off as a common method of digitizing content in Europe. They have the potential of combining digital technologies and private investments with the invaluable collections of public cultural institutions. The resources and skills of the private sector are essential for digitizing cultural heritage and they can help to achieve the European Commission’s strategy for digitization, online accessibility and digital preservation of Europe’s collective memory. Ben White from the British Library gave an interesting exposition about the British Library’s experience of entering into public-private partnerships with publishers to facilitate digitization of its collections. The topic of public-private partnerships continued to come up frequently during the workshop, especially during the time reserved for questions or commentaries after each presentation.

Another main theme of the LIBER-EBLIDA workshop was Europeana, a project initiated by the European Commission as a search platform to a collection of European digital libraries with digitized books, paintings, films and archives. The European Commission had focused on Europeana as the main vehicle for bringing together already digitized material in Europe, expecting libraries to find their own funding for digitizing collections to contribute to Europeana. The main concern was that the digitization of library materials was being taken out of the hands of libraries and given to Google which intends to increase its control after agreeing the book settlement. This can be prevented if libraries find ways to fund and organize digitization and monitor what the other parties are doing to ensure the needs of the public and libraries are considered. Collaboration across European boundaries can help to prevent technical differences emerging, to find funding, to identify overlaps and efficiencies and to produce the tools needed to display and manage the content. While the Google model and its initiatives around content partnerships in the UK and the Netherlands were described by Jason Hanley of Google Books, Jill Cousins, Executive Director of Europeana, spoke about the challenges faced by Europeana in its efforts to aggregate digitized material from various sources. Aggregation aids the user of digital cultural heritage material and by increasing traffic keeps our cultural heritage institutions relevant in the 21^st century. The weaknesses of Europeana as a portal for European digitized material were highlighted by Ricky Erway, senior program officer in OCLC Research. She drew comparisons with other digitization programmes, especially Google, in areas such as access, funding and collaborative processes. During the break-out session on the topic of Aggregation held on the last day of the workshop, there were calls for a greater coordination across countries and within countries themselves for material to be digitized under a single portal for the benefit of researchers the world over.

Silvia Gstrein, Project Manager at the University of Innsbruck, described the interesting eBooks-on-Demand (EOD) initiative practised since 2007 in libraries in ten European countries ranging from Portugal to Estonia and from Denmark to Hungary. The EOD network allows users to order digital copies of copyright-free books from the EOD network libraries’ collections. Once requested the library digitizes a particular item and delivers it to the end user via the EOD service network. After a certain amount of time the book digitized in this way is then incorporated into the digital libraries of the participating libraries and thus made accessible to the general public via the Internet. The EOD service is implemented within the framework of a network. Each individual library is responsible for processing the order, digitizing the book and its long term preservation. A central database with web access is responsible for the generation of eBooks, their delivery to customers, electronic payment and automatic text recognition including recognition of gothic font texts. This is an initiative which the National Library of Malta would do well to look into.

Focus was placed on the needs of the user whose expectations and demands keep rising as technology advances. Stuart Dempster, Director of the Strategic Content Alliance, contended that in times of rapid change and budgetary constraints, digital libraries should be delivering programmes and services that make best use of resources and effort. Understanding one’s audiences is essential to deliver services which provoke the maximum public value and demonstrate impact. It is important to understand how audiences wish to consume digital content. Also, the issue of metadata cannot be underestimated. Catherine Lupovici, Operations Director at Europeana, gave an interesting presentation about the needs for metadata. The digitization process and organization includes the creation of metadata for custodial and access purposes that can cover medium to very long term objectives. They are currently mainly standardized for custodial perspective including description, persistent identification and administration. The same metadata have to allow the building of discovery and navigation user services for short term access to web and mobile devices users.

The workshop gave space to various single libraries to present their projects regarding digital collections. Such projects included the Gallica by the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (Arnaud Beaufort), the Cabrio project by the Bruges Public Library (Koen Calis) and the digitization project developed by the Lyon Public Library (Magali Haettiger).

We cannot conclude this report without mentioning the issues highlighted in the very interesting presentation entitled ‘What’s the point of digitization?’ by Alistair Dunning, Digitization Programme Manager at the Joint Information Systems Committee, UK. Dunning’s exposition summed up the core issues proposed for discussion during the entire workshop and brought home the basic question ‘Why, after all, are we digitizing?’ He explained that when digitization projects began in the 1990s, the advantages seemed evident because knowledge could be democraticized, fragile items could be preserved and hidden collections could be revealed to all. However, soon enough, cracks began to appear in cases where websites disappeared because they could not be sustained and where content was underused. This led creators of digital content to ask themselves why they are engaging in digitization and how do researchers, teachers, students, special interest groups and the general public engage with digital resources. Only if such evidence is gathered and synthesised will it be possible to make more coherent cases for the continued digitization of analogue material.

During this three-day conference, the highly important themes of relevant metadata standards, public-private partnerships, user needs and aggregation and cross-domain aspects were brought to the attention of all participants from across Europe. The reasons for digitization as well as the delicate Google vs Europeana issue also frequently came to the fore. Delegates were given plenty of material for thought and action. However, it is also stressed that national governments encourage and support digitization initiatives on the part of libraries and provide funds for the necessary infrastructure to be put in place in order to create a common national database of cultural heritage items from libraries, archives and museums. Once this is done, European libraries could be better equipped to face the major challenge of creating an integrated information environment by facilitating the access to digitized materials across Europe.

article by Claudio & Maroma

One last comment to: Carmen Morlon & Claudia Forero - You did a great job indeed!

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Liber news

2009-09-11T09:10:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers,

One of the latest conferences which took place in Padua, Italy, was the annual IASL Conference. This year's theme was "School Libraries in the Picture: Preparing Pupils and Students for the Future'.

Without doubt, school libraries are alive and kicking in certain parts of the world and dying or dead in other countries. However, the fact remains that school libraries must continue to prepare students for years to come. Many said (including teachers or persons in high positions) that libraries are not needed any longer. They might not have said it in words but surely, through the way they think about education or lifelong learning.

The concept of lifelong learning is not going to happen just by schooling. In fact, it will not happen through schooling unless, schools will incorporate the concept of introducing the 'Information Literacy Program' as part of the curricula.

You may want to follow more on the following Link.

eBooks

2009-02-10T11:30:00.000-08:00

Dear Readers,

I would like to start a new topic about eBooks. eBooks or eReaders (as I like to refere to them since you may read not only books but other electronic text files) are the latest gadgets in reading electronic text. As can be read in my newspaper article, there are various eReaders on the market. However, here I would like to propose other views regarding reading, eReaders and libraries found elsewhere on the Internet.
I hope that this will create a broader vision and an interesting reading.

Article Titles

Jan 2010
~ New on the market Link
~ 7 New ereaders from CES 2010 Link

Nov 09
~ New ereaders on the market Link
~ Barnes & Noble: Nook Link

Sep 09
~ Price is right? Asus to launch low-cost ereader Link
~ Ebook readers need to get a lot cheaper Link

Aug 09
~ Sony takes on Kindle Link

May 09
~ What's next for Amazon, Kindle DX and eReading? Link
~ Publishers nurture rivals to Kindle Link
~ Once again: 1981 video predicts the death of print newspapers Link
~ The rise and rise of e-readers Link
~ Paperback will survive e-readers Link
~ The death of print? Link
~ New chapter as books go digital Link

Feb 09
~ Are real books nearing the end of their shelflife? Link
~ Library of the Future Link
~ Why arent's ebooks taking off? Not enough pirates? Link
~ Stephen King helps Amazon launch new Kindle Link

Jan 09
~ eBooks beginning to reach UK readers Link

Sep 08
~ They still haven't cracked the ebook Link
~ Capsule review: Sony reader Link

Aug 08
~ What kind of ebooks can the Kindle handle? Link

Jul 08
~ eReaders: A guide Link

2009-02-05T00:19:00.000-08:00

This is my latest Web2.0 accomplishment...I've put up some of my favourite photos. They are varied and they represent different personal events in my private and professional life. I hope that you enjoy them.

My Flickr photo stream
Link

Newspaper Articles

2009-01-31T03:00:00.000-08:00

2009
eReaders: Trends for Reading (Jan 2009): Link

This article "Library of the Future" really compliments my article about eReaders.
follow this Link.

UNESCO TTT Workshop on Information Literacy

2008-09-11T07:37:00.000-07:00

Introduction
The Fifth UNESCO TTT Workshop on Information Literacy (IL) has come to an end. UNESCO has understood and identified the next educational move that is needed to take our society to the next level, namely, so that our society becomes a society of lifelong learners (LLL). Consequently, only then we can speak about the "Information Society" or even the "Knowledge Society".

Information Literacy is Key
Without doubt, IL is KEY for the 21st century student, parent, adult, researcher, academic, professor and all who desire to become LLLs. It is only through a solid and secure training in IL that a LLL is possible to emerge. IL encompasses all other literacies which are necessary. IL builds upon the other literacies, such as:
(i) reading;
(ii) computer;
(iii) media;
(iv) visual;
All of these different literacies form the basis of IL. An IL Program builds upon and furthers these literacies.

The UNESCO TTT Workshop
All the Workshop was a great event. Everything was catered for by our host: Hacettepe University in Ankara, Turkey. There, all the participants had all there needs met, including, an excellent venue for the lectures, workshop area with a WiFi network for seven laptops, refreshment area and also a dining area.

Another aspect of the conference was the food. I can truly say that although I have not tasted each food item, yet, the food was delicious indeed. Besides, some of the Turkish food was the same as Maltese food.

Without doubt, the speakers were of top-notch calibre. Each speaker took time to explain in detail each item. Yet, each one of the speaker maintained a very friendly approach which continued to broaden our relationship with each one of them.

The Programme
As can be seen from the Workshop Program, the extensive coverage of every aspect of IL was covered from 'top to bottom': theoretical and practical, pedagogical and curricular. After each lecture, we were divided randomly into groups and started our workshop. These workshops were intended so that participants will put into practice their new learnt knowledge. The beauty of these types of workshops is that at the same time, cross-fertilization of ideas, methods and styles comes out to the fore through the intense and diverse interactions. Social networking is at its peak in these types of settings. It is actually during these interactions that most of the acquired knowledge is understood, clarified and accentuated. These workshops are what makes the conference excel and reach powerful heights.

What's Next?
Without doubt, a lot of analysis and assimilation of all the new material/Knowledge gained must take place in the coming weeks or months. Understanding thoroughly what has been delivered by the excellent speakers is a must. Therefore, taking time to reflect, read and assimilate the content of each lecture is necessary.

Another thing is to consolidate the IL Vision. This needs to be clear not only for me but also for the other persons who will be involved in delivering the IL Program especially because the IL Program leads to LLL, the information society and the knowledge society.

Also, the IL Vision has to be communicated and hopefully be implemented in the educational system. This is my aim. I know that there is a need at all the educational levels: primary, secondary and tertiary. In my six years as a school librarian in a private secondary school, the need to have an IL Program as part of the curriculum and as evidence based practice became ever more clear to me.

The Future of the Internet - OECD Conference

2008-07-29T06:48:00.000-07:00

On the 17 - 18 July 2008, the OECD organised an important conference entitled: The Future of the Internet Economy. This had in mind to shape policies for creativity, confidence and convergence in the digital world. Various documents have been published and are accessible online including video clips on youtube. Link to youtube.

Without doubt, the Internet is 'platform' which is establishing itself and is exponentially growing. Information professionals (librarians) and other professionals have to ride this wave and maximize its benefits. Every profession or any other profession yet to be born will surely have to make use of Web2.0 in order to communicate with the rest of the world.

Creativity
The concept of creativity fits well with Internet. Creativity is one of the structures holding the beauty of the Net together. However, librarians (including teacher librarians or those people who work in a school library or otherwise) need to exploit this concept further. We need to find news ways to communicate with our users - whoever they may be - using different methods and gadgets to reach them. If my school or organisation does not have the correct structure to aid web2.0 capabilities, then, most probably your school/organisation are lagging behind.

Confidence
We all know that at times IT fails us at crucial moments: when lecturing, or giving a powerpoint presentation, or explaining how to evaluate sites using a smartboard. It is true that this is annoying but it is not sufficient reason why one should not use IT.
Confidence has to do more with and within the person using IT. Confidence in knowing how to solve unpredicted mishaps; confidence in using IT gadgets; confidence in using the computer in general. IT will only improve and get better though the security aspect can never be undermined at any stage. However, under the proper and normal circumstances, when one uses Internet as it should be used - without unnecessary surfing from site to site but, using known sites, professional sites, public library sites, etc., there is no fear of breaching any security rules or codes.

Convergence
Man and machine (IT) have always battled it out. Who can do without who! To the contrary, both need each other for the advancement of society at all levels. Let us make good computers and use them properly so that humanity may prosper and the knowledge economy really takes place with benefits for all.

The 7th CLA Meeting (Carmelite Librarian's Association)

2008-07-06T12:16:00.000-07:00

The beginning of this year was an exciting time for me. I have been approached by Fr Sandro (the provincial of the Carmelites here in Malta) asking me whether I could help him with the setting up of a new library in Mdina. When something new and challenging is in view, I normally accept such an invitation.

The First Meeting
When Fr Sandro and I met for our first meeting, I asked him what he had in mind. His only words were "I would like to have a library for our students who will be reading for their MA in Spirituality". These were the only words Fr Sandro said. For the rest of the 2hr meeting, I gave an overview of what those words meant.

As those involved in the library scenario know, a "library is a living organism" - as stated by Ranganathan. This is true in all aspects even for the librarian him/herself. This means that both the methods and the librarian need to develop to better serve the user and the professional service is always delivered.

At Mdina
In the meetings that followed, Fr Sandro and I met where I was introduced to the various manuscripts and other volumes of works residing at Mdina. Needless to say...it was a daunting task. However, I sought to start the work. With the help of Fr Sandro, we managed to identify the first round of books that had 'content value' for the Carmelite Order. This resulted in selecting 311 manuscripts and books dating from the 16th century (1540) to the 18th century.
Subsequently, fumigation was needed on these works.
There is a lot of other work to be carried out to start the library and great care is needed to do the right things the first time round.

The CLA Meeting in Malta 3-5 July
It was a great conference here in Malta. From the first day, the members engaged in deep and at times, long discussions on various matters. This is important in any Association.
However, it was not only 'work', but there was also time to culture ourselves by visiting the following places:

(i) the National Library;
(ii) the Mdina Cathedral and its Museum;
(iii) St John's Co-Cathedral and its Museum;
(iv) various Carmelite churches (Mdina, Valletta, Sliema and the Retreat house of Lunzjata).

The Carmelite's patrimony is big in every sense. Consequently, this brings big responsibility on the CLA to carefully make the necessary adjustments to its structure (IT) in all the provinces around the world so that as much as possible, this wealth of resources will be available not only to the students studying at their institutes - including here in Malta - but also to the believer who wants to furhter both his/her knowledge and faith.

Storytelling

2008-06-22T00:32:00.000-07:00

What is Storytelling?

Storytelling is very simple to describe: to tell a story.
However, it is not that straight-forward. There are various techniques that can be used. Also, it is noted with regret that not all adults know how to read a children's book.

One thing is certain...Two things are evident: children love it...and the benefits are concrete.
Storytelling is an important building block in the life of children. Research suggest that we read to our children on a daily basis. Also, Research encourages reading since reading is considered as the "brain food" that our children need to be "learning ready". A 30 minute daily reading to our children from birth till age 5 will result in a 1000hrs of "brain food". This is true "learning readiness". Children will take to school what they have discovered and learnt at home by their parents (not parent but by both parents). Consequently, if this building block - reading, conversation, positive approach, etc., is not part of the "kid's learning bag", it will hamper our child to progress especially where reading is concerned.
The educational circle has to be comprised of the parent, the child and the teacher. The three stakeholders are needed for our child to be successful. Schools on their own will not do miracles. This concept is also suggested by the present children laureate Michael Rosen <http://www.michaelrosen.co.uk>. Michael states that schools not only want but they need parents in the kids' education.
Without doubt, this will eventually result in a "learned society", and a society of "lifelong learners".

The Parents
In this scenario, the parents play the greatest role in all this.
Parents are the "first teachers" of their children. Whatever the parents do or fail to do, the children will copy. Children say and do what they hear and see. Therefore, parents, who happen to pass most of the time with their children, greatly influence their attitude and behaviour towards life in general and, without doubt, they influence their kid's behaviour and love for reading and the book.

In one of the latest publications on the early years, these five points have been pointed out on the importance of early learning:

(i) contributes to the brain's developing architecture;
(ii) stimulates optimal brain development; (Blakemore & Firth cited in Ward, 2008, p. 179);
(iii) provides the cultural structure that underpins the development of intellectual schemas;
(iv) helps children learn from conversations with adults and older peers; and
(v) experiences shapre children towards a 'mastery' orientation in learning.

All this contributes to the "learning dispositions" (Sylva, 1994b cited in Ward, 2008, p. 179).

What's Next?
What is for sure is that we need to create an environment shouting with "I love reading", and "I love the book". To create this type of environment there are various steps to be taken.

Step 1 ~ parents read to their children
Step 2 ~ schools (teachers) read to the children (not using reading to instruct)
Step 3 ~ children read to the parents, teachers and their class mates
Step 4 ~ a rich print environment (not old tattered and discoloured books)
Step 5 ~ introduce a vast array of new authors

Step 6 ~ be enthusiastic about reading
Step 7 ~ buy books for presents (not soft-toys or sweets)
Step 8 ~ talk about the story, the book or the author
Step 9 ~ parents do not get bored of re-reading a book to you child
Step 10 ~ make time for reading

Step 11 ~ decrease the time of watching TV, DVDs or videos
Step 12 ~ sing nursery rhymes
Step 13 ~ share with other children and parents about books and authors
Step 14 ~ visit the library
Step 15 ~ go to book fairs

These are only a few steps to help give birth and grow a love for reading and the book

Finally, I am happy to collaborate with Mrs M'Anne Theuma (site) who is doing streling work in working with mothers and their children in various areas. One of these areas is STORYTELLING.
It is great to see mothers and fathers interested in cultivating a love for reading. This is truly what our society needs to have competent lifelong learners and and informed society.

---------------
References
2008, "The Routledge reader in early childhood education", EW (Ed.), Routledge, London.
Rosen, M. "The bigger picture: the 2007 Patrick Hardy Lecture", The School Librarian, Spring 2008, vol. 56, no. 1, pp. 2-7.

ENSIL formally recognised

2008-06-04T11:17:00.000-07:00

I am very pleased to announce that ENSIL (European Network for School libraries and Information Literacy) has been formally accepted as a Foundation. I have been part of ENSIL since 2004.

Here is the PRESS RELEASE.

----------

Formalisation of the Network ENSIL

In March 2003 the network ENSIL was founded in Amsterdam by twelve people from eight different European countries. These people represented various national associations for teachers and librarians, and also a number of Ministries of Education. Now, in June 2008, the network has almost 80 members in 21 European countries.

ENSIL is the only specifically European organisation in the field of School Librarianship and has proven to be a vital entity for collaboration, professionalization and dissemination of information and knowledge in this field.

Recently, in order to be able to continue the important work which ENSIL is doing, and make it more effective, a decision was made to formalise ENSIL into a foundation. This foundation, which is based in the Netherlands, has now been legally formalised and will be known as the ENSIL Foundation (Stichting ENSIL) .

The new ENSIL Foundation (Stichting ENSIL) has made the following statement about its goals:

“Based on international research which shows that the quality of students’ learning outcomes is greatly enhanced by effective school libraries, ENSIL promotes the basic principle that all pupils in schools in each country of Europe are entitled to quality school libraries/media centres and services, run by professional and accredited school librarians/ information specialists.”

The Foundation will try to achieve this goal by:

Supporting and promoting research about school librarianship, especially in Europe;
The dissemination of information about school libraries and the work carried out by professional school librarians;
Advocacy of school libraries/media centres and the profession of school librarianship;
Communication among professionals in the field of school librarianship;
Promoting the professional development of school librarians/information specialists.

More information about the ENSIL Foundation (Stichting ENSIL) can be found on the website http://www.ensil.eu

ENSIL Foundation (Stichting ENSIL)

C/o Rijksweg 26
6095 NC Baexem
The Netherlands

T: +31 475 453885

E: ensil@meles.nl

W: www.ensil.eu

Coordinator/Chair: Lourense H. Das

SpringEvent Conference: Report

2008-05-24T03:19:00.000-07:00

SpringEvent Conference in Rome

(Organized by the US Embassy to Italy, Roma 3 University and the American University of Rome)

11^th April, 2008

It was an excellent experience and a great opportunity for me to be one of the main speakers in this International Conference for librarians. The conference theme was: The 21^st Century Information Professionals.

I have been invited to give a presentation on: Information Literacy – a theme which is very current in library scenario. The Title of my presentation was: “From one to many: Information Literacy is Key with a SOA Concept”.

A word about the Title

In the above mentioned Title, I wanted to link the ‘book’, which is still part of the information paradigm to the other many different sources of information which have been given birth through the Internet and the Web. Therefore, the need to become Information Literate is sine qua non. The SOA concept (Service Oriented Architecture) has to do with the professional approach with which information professionals are to serve the users. This is further explained in this article.

My Presentation

I had to speak in Italian…even this was new for me I still enjoyed it. However, since I received positive feedback both for the delivery and the content of my presentation, it means that what I wanted to deliver did come across to the participants. I will not go into details about information literacy but it will be worthy to note the following statements: (1) being computer literate does not mean being information literate; but (2) being information literate means being computer literate.

What is the SOA Concept

The SOA concept formed the second part of my presentation. In these two years, with a vision to lead the IRC (information Resource Center) to new pastures and spending most of the time reading, researching and alerting colleagues, I came across various acronyms such as SOA, CRM, KPI, etc. I started wondering whether I might extrapolate the SOA concept from an IT perspective to the information paradigm – specifically to Information Literacy. As I continued to read and discover various principles, I concluded that SOA can form part of the information professional’s scenario since the ‘focus’ is the ‘user’. Without a ‘user’ there can never be a service.

In the end, I synergized this concept to the information professional (librarian) paradigm. I find that this concept enhances more and more my profession and all the work it vouches for especially when one considers the other important aspect of ‘social networking’.

SOA and Social Networking

I consider these two aspects to go hand in hand from an information professional point of view. The SOA concept which focuses on the ‘user’ – very fundamental for librarians – hones in the architecture of the whole idea to connect the user to other aspects of the information available. For example, the information professional working in a library can connect the user not only to the specific book or article but also to the author. This implies suggesting to the user to locate other pieces of information related to that particular author. Another environment where the SOA concept can be applied to is, in a school especially tertiary level. Most probably, a user/student would not have much knowledge about the author. Therefore, the information professional, through the ‘reference interview’, would engage in a conversation whereby, he links the user not only to the source but to the author or to other authors on the same subject.

The SOA concept ensures that the user would not find the needed information by chance but by design.

Additionally, the information professional could make various suggestions about other articles on the same theme to aid the student, or even other sources such as web sites which might be of interest to the student. It is worth noting that, suggesting other resources does not imply doing the actual research for the student but the SOA concept ensures that the student/user is being aided enough to remain focused and ensures that authoritative, reliable and accurate information is acquired.

Furthermore, the SOA concept can easily be applied in public or national libraries in the way librarians assist and handle queries from users. Thus, the SOA concept does provide an edge for librarians in the information paradigm.

Personal Learning Curve

First of all it was a ‘breath of fresh air’. All professionals need to keep on developing themselves professionally. Conferences are really important events for continuing professional development.

There were three speakers whom I would like to mention in relation to what they said. Giacomo and Rosella of the Bocconi University in Milan are librarians who also teach Information Literacy to students. Both their presentation and mine were in synch on various accounts and therefore, it emphasized the need for an Information literacy Program to be implemented. Another speaker was Fabio from the US Embassy in Rome who heads the IRC and from whom I learned the importance of ‘mashups’ – an area which I would like to explore more. Luisa, who is an academic lecturing at Roma 3 University emphasized the importance of an Information Literacy Program in schools. In her presentation she mentioned various sources which I was aware of and therefore, I concluded that I was on the right track. Furthermore, Luisa highlighted the different approaches, models and standards for Information Literacy.

Finally, James, who heads the American University of Rome (AUR) showed us how he applied different mashups to create a unique interface for the collection housed at AUR. His argument was to create new ways to interact with the library’s collection which attracts the ‘Google generation’, - a term also used by myself in my presentation to signify those people who were born post-1993.

It is worth saying that Jim and I had a very long and interesting conversation and explored what can be termed as new ways of how the OPAC may change in the future especially through mashups.

Conclusion

This conference has been an excellent experience and making contacts is also important in such events. The expertise and experience of the different librarians present at the conference adds to the importance of these meetings and receiving their encouragement gives you the necessary impetus to go forward. Lastly, I believe that in the future, we will hear more about the need to become Information Literate and the eventual Program implemented in schools. Adopting a SOA concept will help focus on the most important aspect that is the student/user and therefore, devising the necessary architecture in a way that we will truly have lifelong learners and informed citizens.

UNESCO on Information Literacy

2008-05-22T08:53:00.000-07:00

One of the most important organizations in the world is without any doubt, the UNESCO.
I am one of the lucky few to have been shortlisted to attend their workshop in September in Ankara. The three day workshop will be entirely on "Information Literacy". As you might imagine, I am extremely looking forward to this conference: new contacts, new people, new information and knowledge and new place.

As I have been saying since 2000, IL is proving to be the KEY to lifelong learning (LLL). But as always happens, the famous dictum..."A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and in his own house."
And here we are...now it is the UNESCO saying the IL is KEY to LLL. It is even dedicating professional training to us in order to be able to teach the students and whoever would like to become a LLL and IL.

I will end here for now.

My Sponsors
A big thankyou goes to my sponsors, namely,
1) Klabb Kotba Maltin ~ a local leader in publishing (Link); and
2) Charles Degiorgio ~ a leading Distributor of Healthcare products in Malta (Link).

Both these sponsors contributed to the possibility of me going to this excellent conference organised by UNESCO and from which, I am sure to come back fulfilled and more knowledgable.

European Digital Library

2008-05-13T11:59:00.000-07:00

One of the beauties of technology is the way collaboration is facilitated and consequently accessed by a multitude of end-users. Even though not without difficulties, however, technology has enabled the concept of networking a forward looking concept.

A project with the Title: Europeana (http://www.europeana.eu/), is facilitating not only the access but also the concept of culture is becoming digital.
Since the project is still in its infancy, submitting relevant material or clips or photographs is also permissble.

The digital revolution is a great way of preserving our past and present in a new way. Yet, the problem arises in the future when new methods both in software and hardware are created. However, becasue of the former, we cannot do without digitising or archiving our present or past. The secret is to always move on, to change as times change and adopt a 'nomad' approach. Migrating is the only solution to keep what has been archived in the present condition and for all to enjoy.

I encourage you to visit the above link and enjoy the improvements and the new staff published on it.

Of Reading and librarians

2008-05-01T00:28:00.000-07:00

The basis for becoming Information Literate is what is known as the three Rs. This is the foundation on which we are to construct our knowledge.
However, 'foundations' alone do not comprise the 'house'! Information Literacy gathers the momentum of this foundation and expands it to make out of each person a lifelong learner and an informed citizen.

Lately, the Eurobarometer, in one of its surveys, concluded that the Maltese people read the least. This is not news to us. Various articles appeared in the press all saying their bit on the situation.

However, I think that our system is not conducive to cultivate a 'love for books' in our children. There are various things which may be done to improve the situation and specifically the 'reading factor'.

Another factor which has contributed less to 'reading', or to the promotion of the 'book', is the great thrust which has been given to computers (locally). Whilst it is a good thing to ensure that joe-citizen has a computer, the same effort has not been invested in the creation for the 'love of the book.' Therefore, an unbalanced situation has been created. The effect: peeople or rather, a nation who reads less and less.

If the digital divide is a global issue which seems to preoccupy governments, surely it will never close up and this, for various reasons. Yet, it cannot be said the same when it comes to literacies and specifically to reading and the love for the book. There are very basic differences which enhance the book factor and make it a more promissing issue that it will succeed with a higher percentage. First, the basics are learnt at school and secondly, we have librarians.
Whether (1) we have professional librarians, (2) that all schools at all levels have librarians, (3) even whether authorities believe in this profession, (4) whether the profession is a recognised profession or not, (5) whether the librarian teaches information literacy, (6) whether the librarian storytells, all of these are unanswered questions.

Yet, what seems to be clear from this outcome, is that, the thrust in computer take-up year after year, has not produced a reading nation and the digital-divide is still present and on the increase since new technologies outcome the rate of the closing gap.

Therefore, I think that the time we are living in is a time for librarians to be counted and recognised as a profession. This will start the road to produce a reading nation and most importantly, creating a 'love for the book'.

Information Literacy Resources

2008-04-29T08:35:00.000-07:00

Here are different Links to authoritative, reliable and accurate sources on the topic of Information Literacy (IL).
I will try to keep this part of the blog updated as much as possible. So, bear in mind that it takes time to include valuable sources

It is worth noting that Information Literacy dates back to 1974 and is usually attributed to Paul Zurkowsky. This leads me to also state that IL is a subject in itself and one can even obtain both an MA and a PhD in the subject.

Copy the URL and paste it in order to access the sites.

ENSIL
Special Interest Group Information Literacy http://www.iasl-online.org/about/sigs/siglinks_infoliteracy.html

SOS Information Literacy
http://www.informationliteracy.org/

UNESCO
Title: Understanding Information Literacy: A primer
DOP: 2007
http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=25956&URL_DO=DO
_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

Title: 13000 students can't be wrong
DOP: 2004
http://www.ffos.hr/lida/lida2004/ppt/subota/LIDA_2004_Ross_Todd.ppt

Rutgers University on IL: http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/
lib_instruct/instruct_il.shtml

Title: Introduction to IL
last updated 2006
http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlissues/acrlinfolit/infolitoverview/
introtoinfolit/introinfolit.cfm

Title: A Librarian's Library Manifesto
Date: 2006
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZblrRs3fkSU

Title: Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education
DOP: 2000
http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlstandards/informationliteracycompetency.cfm

Title: A Progress Report on IL: An update on the ALA Presidential Committee on IL: Final Report
DOP: 1998
http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlpubs/whitepapers/progressreport.cfm

Lifelong Learning

2008-04-29T08:30:00.000-07:00

On March 10, 2008, a conference organised by the Slovenian presidency entitled: "Universities and Lifelong Learning" took place.

The concept of skills in order to become lifelong learners has once again emerged in this conference. Lifelong learning is an attitude towards life in a way that when the individual becomes aware of an information need, he/she is able to supply it for himself.

To enter this paradigm shift, a whole array of skills are needed. The basic literacy of reading and writing are the starting place of becoming informed citizens and lifelong learners. Then, we have to include other literacies and Information Literacy (IL) is what we need to start teaching at all levels in our schools. IL is the key to build and promote informed citizens who are able to think, analyze and present information in whatever format it may be found. Amongst other things, IL encompasses computer literacy but being computer literate does not make one an IL person. And here is the lacunae.

We cannot afford to continue on the momentum of promoting IT and ICT at the expense of IL. My background is in IT and ICT however, in my experience, the best use of a computer is garnered when one understands what it can do for you especially when one is trained in IL.

(Source: http://www.publictechnology.net/print.php?sid=14695)

Online Information

2008-04-29T08:28:00.000-07:00

An article from Infoworld has indicated that we are creating information at a more rapid growth rate than we can handle.

The amount of digital information includes not just the data on the HD but also data generated from video cameras, TV broadcasts, DVDs & CDs and the other media that captures data in its different formats.
It has been calculated that in 2007, the amount soared to 281 exabytes (281bln GB). By the year 2011 it is being estimated that this amount reaches 1800 exabytes of information.

The question, from my perspective as an information professional, is the following:

(1) How much of this created data do we actually make use of?
(2) How much of this created data is actually authoritative, reliable and accurate?
(3) How easy/difficult it is for a user to search for the needed information?

While I acknowledge that not all of this created information is academic in nature, or actually online, the fact that an amount of it is online, therefore, accessible, will create a relevant difficulty for the end-user to search.

If you want to check the amount of published information in real-time, follow the URL:
http://www.emc.com/leadership/digital-universe/expanding-digital-universe.htm

(Source: http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/03/12/Data-creation
-outstrips-storage-for-the-first-time_1.html?source=rss&url=http://
www.infoworld.com/article/08/03/12/Data-creation-outstrips-stor
age-for-the-first-time_1.html)

Conferences

2008-04-29T08:22:00.000-07:00

SpringEvent in Rome, April 2008

I will be participating as a speaker at the "Spring Event" in Rome organised by the American University of Rome. My presentation is entitled: "Information Literacy is key with a SOA concept".

I wanted to highlight the following:

(1) After the introduction of the 'printing', books have been the only 'true' source of information. This has been tied with the word 'ONE' aspect in the Title of the presentation;

(2) Since the introduction of the Internet, information has grown exponentially. This has been tied with the word 'MANY' in the Title of my presentation.

Subsequently, our Generation Y and the Google Generation have been inundated with the amount of information to which they are exposed to. This translates in different synergies and networks which, we as information professionals must build and provide not only for these generations but for posterity as well. Therefore, the SOA concept is introduced as a means to ensure that our strategies incorporated in proper information provision architecture, would enable us to have 'informed citizens' and 'lifelong learners'.

URL: http://springevent.ning.com/profile/ClaudioLaferla

Newspaper Articles

2008-04-29T08:20:00.000-07:00

Every now and then I like to write articles out of concern or reply to other articles. Here are some of the articles which, through them, I hope that you - the reader - may become aware of different situations both on the local and also international scene.
Also, you may come to know me better through my writings.

2008
World Literacy Day (Sep 2008): Link
Fifth UNESCO information literacy workshop held in Ankara (Sep 2008) Link
Thrust Where_3yrs later (May 2008): Link
Teaching English through storytelling (March 2008): Link

2007
Entrepreneurship: Is it the right choice? (June 2007): link
ICT: A tool not an end (June 2007): link
The internet: How to maximise benefit (June 2007): Link
School Projects (May 2007): link

2006
Networking: A need for the 21st Century (January 2006): link

2005
Lifelong Learning (December 2005): link
The Information Professional (September 2005): part 1 link ~ part 2 link
Thrust where? (September 2005): link