   
IFLA Core Activity for the Advancement of Librarianship (ALP)2003 Annual ReportBy Gunilla Natvig, Administrative OfficerBackgroundThe mission of the Advancement of Librarianship Programme (ALP) is to further the library profession, library institutions and library and information services in the developing countries of Africa, Asia and Oceania, and Latin America and the Caribbean. The goals are to support the development of library associations; to assist in human resources development; to promote libraries and functional literacy, reading and lifelong learning; to promote new technology and to support dissemination of information and publishing activities to the community, with special attention to indigenous communities. ALP is mission oriented and not subject oriented like other core programmes. Therefore, co-operation with relevant IFLA professional bodies as well as with regional and international organizations is essential to carry out the programme. ALP achieves its mission through a carefully planned programme of different activities in close co-operation between the International Focal Point of ALP and IFLA's Regional Offices, IFLA's Regional Division and its three sections, and other partners. This co-operation includes fundraising, scholarships and attachment programmes, conferences, seminars and workshops, pilot projects, publications and databases. Staff and FinanceIFLA, Uppsala University and 17 Nordic library associations and institutions fund the International Focal Point (IFP) for ALP at Uppsala University Library. Sida (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency) funds are also used for the secretariat. To this should be added contributions in kind from Uppsala University Library. The ALP IFP is staffed by: Birgitta Sandell Director of the Programme and Gunilla Natvig, Administrative Officer (half-time) Professional ActivitiesThe sponsors in 2003 were Sida and the Swedish Library Association. In addition, those responsible for projects in the regions contributed with their own resources and raised considerable funds from external sources.ALP Meetings and SeminarsRegional workshop on the revitalisation of the East African Library Association (p. 156). The workshop took place in December 2003 at the Arusha International Conference Centre, Tanzania and was attended by 25 members of the three library associations of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The main objective of the workshop was to bring together librarians and information workers in East Africa to deliberate on ways and means of cooperating and networking in the provision of the required information to support the regional integration of the East African countries. The workshop was financed by Sida. Sub-regional seminar on public library services in the ASEAN/Asia region: Changes and challenges of public library services to bridge the digital divide (p. 268) The seminar was held in June 2003 in Malaysia with the attendance of 193 delegates, the majority from South East Asia. The aim of the seminar was to promote library and information services to the public, especially highlighting the role of ICT with particular attention to the needs of rural and urban marginal areas to bridge the digital divide. A report with proposed recommendations has been published in IFLA RSAO Newsletter 15: 2 (December 2003). With money from Sida ALP supported part of the seminar. Caribbean Seminar on IFLA/UNESCO's Manifestos and Guidelines for School and Public Libraries (p. 357). The seminar took place in Trinidad and Tobago and the objective was to present the IFLA/UNESCO Public and School Library Manifestos and Guidelines to the professional librarians in the Caribbean. Two participants from each of the ten Caribbean countries attended the seminar. Proceedings will be published. Sida funded part of the seminar. International seminar on Access to library service and information in indigenous communities in Latin America (p. 359). The seminar was organized by IFLA/LAC and the Amazonian Center for Anthropology and Practiacal Application, CAAAP, in Lima, Peru from 23-25 April 2003 and included delegates from Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela..The purpose was to recognize the most relevant experiences on the theme in the countries with indigenous populations and, based on this, to propose policies and standards for the promotion and expansion of library and information services. Sida financed part of the seminar. The 1st National Seminar on Archives, Libraries, Documentation centres and Museums took place in October in Maputo, Mozambique. ALP paid for the travel of Ms Auta Rojas Barreto from Brazil who presented a paper with the title "Preservação do Capital Intelectual - Memória Institucional utilizando Gestão do Conhecimento". IFLA's General Conference in BerlinSpeakers GrantsWith money from Sida ALP supported six people who had been selected to present papers at the Conference:
Birgitta Sandell and Gunilla Natvig participated in the Berlin Conference, took part in the Regional Standing Committee meetings and presented a poster session. IFLA Regional Standing Committee MeetingsThe annual meeting of the Regional Standing Committees in their own regions are most important for the development of ALP. Birgitta Sandell participated in the Africa Section meeting in Nairobi, Kenya and in the Latin American and the Caribbean Section meeting in Trinidad and Tobago. Gunilla Natvig attended the meeting of the Section for Asia and Oceania in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Scholarships and AttachmentsIn Service Training, Attachments, for Middle or Senior Staff Scholarships in Information Technology The candidates for both programmes were selected by the Advisory and Appraisal Committee of the Regional Standing Committee for Asia and Oceania. Both the projects have been of great value. Apart from the successful training the projects have developed platforms for networking of professionals, both at individual and institutional levels, and enhancing professional skills. Other Ongoing ProjectsJournal of librarianship and information science in Afric/Revue de bibliothéconomie et science de l'information en Afrique (p. 24). The project was conceived to improve the sharing of information on Library and Information practices among librarians and information workers in Africa. So far four issues have been published and the editorial committee is working on the 5th. The aim is to increase subscriptions to cover the costs of printing the journal. The project is funded by Sida. Information Management Curriculum Development in Vietnam (p. 265). The objectives are: to study the higher level training needs in Information management among professionals and librarians; to study Master's curriculum in IM in some developed countries like New Zealand and Australia; to propose a timetable and a core programme of master degree on IM; and to organise a national seminar/workshop on higher education in IM. The output will be a set of recommendations submitted to the Ministry of Education for implementation. Target groups are information professionals and librarians, teachers/lecturers from departments of library and information science and library and information centre' managers. The project is financed by Sida. The development of self-training package for information retrieval using distance education approach (p. 246). The project started in 2001 and is carried out in Thailand. Some changes have been done and a WEB component has been included. When the training package is completed it can be delivered in both offline and online modes. Sida has funded the project. Electronic didactic tool on cataloguing (p. 351). The Library school at the National University in Costa Rica will create an electronic tool to facilitate cataloguing. They will disseminate the tool and train staff of the libraries in Central America to use international standards when processing information in order to make it accessible to the public. Sida has financed the project. INFOBILA: The Digital Library in Latin America and the Caribbean (p. 354). From 1995 to 1997 ALP supported the establishment of a database within the library field in Latin America. It will now be amplified and digitized, since more countries in the region have expressed their interest to take part in this database with access to full text. Sida is supporting the project. Project to publish oral tales from Piura (p. 358). In 2000 the association "Yoyay Wasi" in Peru received the IBBY-Ashai Reading Promotion Award. The prize sum was used to launch the project "Tambogrande siembra lectura". For two years the project recorded oral tales on the countryside of Piura resulting in 100 audio cassettes. After revision there were 60 left and about 40% of the material has now been published in nine small books. The tales, legends and poems are in a format that makes them suitable for new readers. ALP paid for the publication of four books with money from Sida. Minor Field Studies (MFS). Sida has a cooperation programme with Swedish universities, Minor Field Studies (MFS), and the ALP secretariat is administering this programme within the information field. The programme aims at giving Swedish students the opportunity to carry out a two months study in a developing country. In 2003 one student carried out a study "Who does the mobile library reach?" in Thailand. Host institution was the Informal Education Promotion Centre in Bangkok. PublicationsALP Project Report Series (ISSN 1023-8212)
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