Programme and Proceedings - IFLA Durban, South Africa, 2007

Programme and Proceedings - IFLA Durban, South Africa, 2007: "28-1 SI - Division III (1)
Social inclusion: how can public libraries embrace the challenge of reaching out to serve all people in their community?
Democracy and social inclusion"

EBLIP6 | Evidence Based Library and Information Practice Conference - Valuing Knowledge and Expertise

EBLIP6 | Evidence Based Library and Information Practice Conference - Valuing Knowledge and Expertise: "EBLIP6, 27-30 June 2011, England, UK

Valuing knowledge and expertise

The University of Salford is proud to host the sixth Evidence Based Library and Information Practice (EBLIP6) Conference in Salford, Greater Manchester, UK, June 27th – June 30th 2011"

Bibliotecas são cada vez mais procuradas pelos jovens

As bibliotecas municipais e escolares em Portugal estão a ganhar importância como espaços privilegiados para utilização da Internet, revela um estudo europeu sobre crianças e riscos online hoje apresentado na Universidade Nova de Lisboa.

Este foi um dos dados que surpreendeu a coordenadora nacional do estudo, Cristina Ponte, que reforça o potencial das bibliotecas como espaço a apostar para ensinar os alunos a fazer uma boa utilização da Internet."

Veja a notícia completa no "Sol"
Bibliotecas são cada vez mais procuradas pelos jovens
4 de Fevereiro, 2011

Reunião dos órgãos sociais da BAD

Decorre a primeira reunião dos órgãos sociais recentemente eleitos da Associação Portuguesa de Bibliotecários Arquivistas e Documentalistas.
Entusiasmo e participação dominam o ambiente, acrescidos com uma grande vontade de mudança para uma reafirmação da profissão.
Começámos com uma análise SWOT. Muito estimulante e produtiva.

CILIP | Save Our Libraries Day

CILIP | Save Our Libraries Day: "Save Our Libraries Day


A day of action on the 5th February
CILIP is supporting Save Our Libraries Day, a day of action to bring greater attention to the cuts and closures facing many public libraries.

We want everyone who cares about reading, literacy and libraries to use their public library on the 5th February and tell as many people as they can to do the same.


Get involved using our 'sliding scale of spare time'

Got less than 2 minutes?
Tweet why you love libraries using the hashtag #savelibraries
Post this page to your Facebook profile and spread the word

Got 2 minutes?
Visit your library website to download an ebook or use online reference resources.

5– 10 minutes?
Contact all your friends and family, ask them to join their library and use library services on the 5th. Search and reserve books through this guide to library services in England.

10 – 15 minutes?
Email or write to your local MP, local press or Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport about the unique contribution public libraries make to society.

15 – 30 minutes?
Pop down your local library on the 5th. Borrow as many books as you can. While you are there read a newspaper, go online and find out what’s happening in your local community."

Sobre leis de Bibliotecas

A recente discussão sobre a legislação para bibliotecas publicas fez-me lembrar que tinha escrito sobre isso na minha tese em 2001. Aqui fica o extracto.

9.6. Legislation

The fact that Portugal does not have a library law was often mentioned by librarians as a hindering factor to the library being able to play their educational roles, and indeed affecting many aspects of the work of the library.

Some responses stressed the relevance that a law could have in helping libraries to gain more autonomy:

We are expected to do many things but we are not given the corresponding autonomy. This is an aspect that should be carefully looked at by librarians, and we should have legislation for the libraries.

(Librarian, small town, South of the country)

Another reason to justify the need for library legislation was the possible conflict of the roles of librarians and of elected members:

Libraries suffer from lack of autonomy. A Library Chart must be urgently defined; otherwise it may be very dangerous for us librarians, as we will be seen as competing with the elected members.

(Librarian, medium size town, North of the country)

The financing of the library was another issue considered by some respondents as likely to benefit from legislation, as illustrated in the following responses:

I think it would be important, for example, as far as the financing is concerned, that some national parameters existed, because, otherwise, we risk that some municipalities being penalised in favour of others with less sensitivity to cultural matters.

            (Councillor, medium size town, North of the country)

One response raised a set of diverse issues that justify the need for legislation for public libraries. Alongside the benefits associated with autonomy and financing, it considered that legislation could help to ease the administrative procedures by underlying the specificity of the library within the organization of the municipality. Another major issue was censorship of library materials by elected members, which, according to the respondent, a library law would make more difficult.

A different statute should be defined for the library. Presently it is considered just as any other service of the local authority. Or maybe specific rules should be defined within the local administration for the reality which is the library, even within the administrative constraints that we have mentioned. It should be defined clearly how bids should be considered, how acquisitions should be considered, how the autonomy of the management of the library should be considered, independently of some political pressures. I mean the role of the library, as a library, should be understood, for instance within the guidelines of the UNESCO Manifesto that cannot cope with specific political orientations. It happens, sadly, I believe it happens in some libraries, that they may be used by political powers to convey a certain way of seeing things and just a specific way of seeing things. I remember having heard some colleagues say that it was absolutely impossible for them to have in the library works that were not in favour of a certain political allegiance. A public library cannot be compatible with these things. This has nothing to do with what a public library should be. It is even hard for me to believe in such things, as I, myself, have never felt something like this but this is what I was told… and it is possible because, depending on the political power, it may intervene… All the entities that intervene at a cultural level, and are associated with political power, are vulnerable entities. I think that a specific statute should be established for libraries, I do not know what other solutions exist except for a library law.

(Librarian, medium size town, South of the country)

It should be underlined that this was the only response which raised the problems of censorship in Portuguese public libraries, suggesting thus that this is not a major issue in Portuguese public libraries. However, this is a topic that would need clarification and demands further research, since there is evidence of the importance of this issue in other parts of the world (Curry, 1997).

The literature provides arguments to substantiate the respondent’s perceptions about the usefulness of having legislation to serve as a framework for public libraries. Both the UNESCO Manifesto (UNESCO, 1995) and the new IFLA Guidelines (IFLA 2000) are clear in their acknowledgement of the positive outcomes of library legislation.  While the Manifesto states that the public library “must be supported by specific legislation…”, the guidelines suggest that this legislation “assures their continuance and their place in the government structure.”  According to Thomas (1997) several reasons may recommend the existence of legislation. These include preventing charges, guaranteeing a certain standard or avoiding cuts to activities and setting the conditions for state support.

Different legislative and administrative traditions in different countries may lead to different approaches to library legislation. Legislation, in itself, is not a secure panacea to solve all the problems of public libraries. Besides the evolving of society may make obsolete any piece of legislation within a few years of publication (Vittiello, 2000). However, the perceptions of the respondents to the present study result from their own experiences of working and living in a library universe that, literally, is outside the law. Their hopes for what library legislation could bring about match in many cases the positive outcomes achieved in other parts of the world.

This study suggests that the existence of legislation in Portugal could help public libraries in fulfilling their potential of supporting education. It could add to a clarification of their educational roles, it could help in guaranteeing that they are given the necessary resources in a coherent and continuous way, and it would allow a clarification of their management structures and processes. 

Debate sobre o código de ética dos bibliotecários

A ética profissional é um tema que tem passado algo despercebido aos bibliotecários alemães ao longo dos anos. No entanto, tendo em conta o papel que os bibliotecários desempenham na sociedade de informação actual, a questão da ética profissional está a ganhar cada vez maior importância.
Tradicionalmente, as bibliotecas das sociedades democráticas consideram sua missão assegurar o acesso à informação a todos os cidadãos. Tendo em conta esta grande responsabilidade social, é surpreendente constatar a falta de debate, entre os bibliotecários, sobre os princípios éticos do seu trabalho, especialmente porque, considerando devido aos cortes nos orçamentos e as novas tecnologias, os desafios não param de aumentar nos últimos anos, como por exemplo, no que à igualdade de tratamento de todos os cidadãos ou às questões sobre a protecção de dados diz respeito."
Veja o artigo completo no sítio do Goethe Institut

HISTÓRIA DO NATAL DIGITAL

:: rato de biblioteca ::: “A utilização dos recursos da biblioteca também se tornou uma constante…”

:: rato de biblioteca ::: “A utilização dos recursos da biblioteca também se tornou uma constante…”

Carlos Pinto Coelho, o bibliotecário honorário

Decididamente esta ano de 2010 é um ano malvado, e já perto do fim, traiçoeiramente, lá me levou mais um amigo.
Carlos Pinto Coelho tinha a bondade dos corações grandes,e talvez por isso ele lhe falhou. Era generoso, entusiasta, idealista até perto da ingenuidade, sempre com a cabeça a fervilhar de ideias e de projectos novos. Era um esteio e uma fonte de inspiração.
O Carlos era um dos (não muito numerosos) verdadeiros amigos das bibliotecas, em especial das bibliotecas públicas. Ponho de parte de propósito todo o muito que ele foi na sua área profissional e nos seus interesses pessoais, como a fotografia, pois o que  me fica na memória e nos afectos é o seu permanente interesse e apoio militante à causa das bibliotecas.
Ele era da maior importância e muito hábil naquilo a que em inglês se chama "advocacy". Interessava-se, procurava saber pormenores, ouvia atentamente e valorizava, encorajava o nosso trabalho. Sabia que tinha uma imagem pública influente e sempre esteve disponível para a pôr ao serviço das bibliotecas, e em apoio do trabalho dos bibliotecários, que sei que admirava e respeitava. "Já sabe, quando precisar de alguma coisa..." era a frase a princípio surpreendente com que muitas vezes se despedia.
Sendo um comunicador dos maiores, a sua participação em qualquer sessão era garantia de um brilho, de um ambiente caloroso, de relações fortes que se estabelecem. Ele era alguém que sentíamos estar sempre "do nosso lado", mesmo quando tinha críticas a fazer, e fazia-as docemente e com respeito pelo interlocutor. De algum modo (e com toda a razão), sendo um homem da comunicação, fazia-nos seus colegas, sendo o inverso igualmente verdadeiro. Por isso não hesito em propor que ele seja proclamado bibliotecário honorário, o que sempre será nas nossas memórias e nos nosso afectos.
Quando cheguei a Évora, o Carlos foi uma das pessoas que mais abertamente e de uma forma permanente se mostrou disponível para ajudar a Biblioteca Pública. De vez em quando almoçávamos e trocávamos ideias sobre o que estávamos a fazer. Infelizmente, a partir de agora isso não vai ser mais possível. Malvado ano de 2010!