librarian.net » ifla

new eyes on old organizations

jessamyn — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 22:14:26 +0000

I always try to read at least a few library student blogs, because I think having a new set of eyes on some of the things we’ve been doing for years is often useful. Graham Lavender just went to an IFLA conference and I found that his experiences mirror my own feelings about my first national ALA conference. Librarians: friendly, love to dance. Really.

I had the opportunity to sit in on a meeting of the Conference of Directors of National Libraries, where the head librarians from over 50 countries sat around a table and each had a tiny little flag at their seat, which is exactly what I imagine the UN must be like. Afterwards, some of them stayed behind to have a glass of wine with the students (there were seven of us, one from each library school in Canada), and it was all very casual and friendly.

im in ur library readin ur b00k5

jessamyn — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 06:14:17 +0000

There is a lot of stupid inside joke to explain in this image if you’re not already familiar with this meme. You could ask your librarian (good luck with that) or you could Ask MetaFilter. I do hope you recognize Ranganathan though.

source page, original image, via

two good links from resource shelf: IFLA & LOC

jessamyn — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 02:18:27 +0000

Two things stuck out from the most recent Resource Shelf posting by Gary Price today

“The Library of Congress has launched a new public Web site to cover the groundbreaking work of a special independent committee. By 2006, this committee will recommend changes to copyright law that recognize the need for exceptions to the law for libraries and archives in the digital age.”

Highlights released IFLA/FAIFE World Report 2005 on Intellectual Freedom and Libraries: Libraries, National Security, Freedom of Information Laws and Social Responsibilities. Of note: filtering use on the rise, digital divide still a problem, consequences of war on terror affecting libraries, intelelctual freedom issues still a problem worldwide, including this quote In Turkmenistan it was reported that libraries have been closed under presidential order, on the grounds that ‘no one reads’. Damn. Read more IFLA blogging from the Rambling Librarian

while we’re on the subject of success

jessamyn — Mon, 18 Jul 2005 15:55:36 +0000

I’ve been enjoying watching the Library Success wiki grow. Now IFLA has a database of library success stories available to the public. It’s still getting started and some of the documents don’t seem to be quite web-ready [i.e. links aren't hyperlinked, lists aren't in list format] but it’s great to see people focussing on our successes instead of just our fears and our weaknesses. [thanks eoin]