ST 7/12: Walk the talk

Within the IFLA system, The Statistics and Evaluation Section belongs to Division four.

Division four consists of sections that give technical support of a general kind (statistics, management, buildings, research and training) to sections that deal with topics that are specific to libraries (catalogueing, reference, preservation, …)

http://www.ifla.org/en/support-of-the-profession

At our Division meeting on Sunday, ably led by Anna Maria Tammaro, we had a lively discussion about communication within IFLA. The organization is definitely moving towards greater openness, participation and web awareness. I recognize and appreciate that.

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ST 6/12: Statistics for Advocacy in Africa

In June, a team of teachers from Oslo and Kampala conducted three training events at Makerere University Library.

The main event was an intensive two week LATINA workshop on elearning and digital librarianship for professional librarians from East Africa. (LATINA stands for Learning And Teaching IN A digital world). But we also arranged two one day courses. LATINA for executives was aimed at managers who sent staff members to the main course.

Practical statistics

And on Monday July 2, Maria Musoke, the director of Makerere University Library, and Tord Høivik (that’s me) co-directed the first Statistics for Advocacy training in Africa. The detailed program, with teaching materials, has been published here, in my Google Site on Practical statistics.

Nearly all the participants came from academic libraries. The course contents had been modified to fit their situation.

But big changes were not needed. In Africa academic libraries tend to be much more engaged in development issues than their counterparts in Europe and North America. Academic research is also more development oriented. This means that academic libraries also need to demonstrate their value outside the university campus.

ST 5/12: Metropolitan statistics

The section on Metropolitan Libraries at IFLA collects useful annual statistics.

In a digitalized society, libraries need to develop better information systems. Librarians need new skills and greater understanding of statistical and economic analysis. Our metropolitan libraries represent the most powerful community of public library professionals.  Their statistical work deserves to be better known.

Discussions about library statistics often take place in rather closed environments. The discussions in and around ISO is an obvious example. But many other organizations and network tend to do their statistical development work outside the public sphere. Limiting access may be comfortable in the short run, but it harms the profession in the long run.

ST 4/12: Mid-term in Berlin

Next week our Statistics and Evaluation Section will have its first mid-term meeting in a long, long time.

Or is it the first one ever? The sessions at IFLA itself tend to be hurried – and consumed by practical and administrative matters. I look forward to have more time for professional discussions with a cool cohort of colleagues.

The draft agenda looks as follows:

ST 3/12: Advocacy in Uganda

Statistics for Advocacy is going to Uganda.

Maria Musoke, the Director of Makerere University Library (Maklib) in Kampala, Uganda, and Tord Høivik, Secretary of SES (IFLA), will join forces and co-direct the first Statistics for Advocacy course in Africa on Monday, July 2, 2012.  Read more at Statistics for Advocacy at Makerere.

Professor Musoke attended the first pilot course in Chania, Greece, June 2010. She says: – Yes, Maklib is interested; this is something we should indeed do because all libraries need an update on statistics. … After the workshop you held at Crete during QQML, I tried to interest  libarians and some were indeed interested.

We plan to use the new training facilities that the LATINA Africa project is setting up at Maklib in mid-June. We aim for a group of not more than twenty and will start marketing well before Easter.

ST 2/12: Growing interest in Norway

In Norway, the interest in statistical advocacy and statistics-based library management is growing rapidly.

Photo: members of the regional statistics network in Buskerud.

Throughout society we find an increased demand for  numerical information. In a digital world, the access to data multiplies. We also have powerful tools to process them.

Academic libraries must defend their budgets.

• How do you contribute to teaching, study and research?

ST 1/12: Practical statistics in Nairobi

The planning committee for the SCECSAL conference in Nairobi June 4-8, 2012, has asked the SES secretary (Tord Høivik) to do a half-day workshop, rather than present a paper, on the topic Practical statistics in library management

I have revised my proposal (below) to fit the workshop format.

Very few African countries publish library statistics that provide a picture of the library situation at the national level. It is possible, however, for individual libraries to collect their own statistics. This approach works best if libraries learn from each other.

ST 10/11: Norway, Poland and Uganda

Statistics for Advocacy is a module within the BSLA training program.

It deals with the role of statistical reasoning and documentation when we need to argue the case of libraries. SFA provides a general outline of a full-day web-supported course that can be applied in all countries with an interest in library statistics. Interested learners should be able to work through the content in a flexible mode.

• This blog post is based on the application to IFLA for continued funding in October 2011.
• Picture: graffiti from Olsztyn

SFA has been tried out in two pilot settings and as several one day courses in Lithuania and Norway.  The Statistics and Evaluation section has selected the workshop as its new priority action.

ST 9/11: A new library census

This fall the Dominican Republic is conducting a new National Census of Libraries. During the IFLA conference in San Juan, the group of researchers involved asked the Section for Statistics and Evaluation to evaluate the project. Our report, developed by two members of the section, was sent five days ago. Yesterday we received the answer from the project (see below):

Statistics and Evaluation Section
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)

Last Thursday, on September 8th of this month,we received a valuable communication written by Mr. Tord Hoivik and Antoni Feliu, members of the Statistics and Evaluation Section of IFLA.

ST 8/11: Nuevo censo de bibliotecas

En este otoño la República Dominica esta realizando un nuevo Censo Nacional de Bibliotecas. Durante el congréso de IFLA en San Juan, el grupo de investigadores ha preguntada a la Sección de Estadísticas y Evaluación de  evaluar el proyecto. Nuestras notas, que han sido elaboradas de dos miembros de la sección, se enviaban hace cinco días. Recibimos ayer la respuesta de la Comisión (véase debajo):

Sección de Estadística y Evaluación
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)

Distinguidos señores;

En el pasado jueves 08 de septiembre del corriente, recibimos una valiosa distinción: un gratificante mensaje de los señores Tord Hoivik y Antoni Feliu, miembros de la Sección de Estadísticas y Evaluación de la IFLA, en el cual nos ratifica que el trabajo elaborado por la Comisión Técnica del 2do. Censo Nacional de Bibliotecas de la Biblioteca Nacional Pedro Henríquez Ureña (BNPHU), está muy bien fundamentado y es muy completo, tanto en su planteamiento conceptual y práctico como en su planificación; y el mismo está adecuado a las condiciones locales de la región.