“In order to be really good as a librarian, everything counts towards your work, every play you go see, every concert you hear, every trip you take, everything you read, everything you know.” – Allen Smith, PhD
Crítica Biliotecológica (Library and Information Science Critique: Journal of the Information Sciences Recorded in Documents)is a budding publication from the Facultad de Filosofia y Letras, Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Mexico. The online, open access, publication will be focusing on information sciences and critical analysis of the field. Some of the broader topics contributors are encouraged to discuss include, analysis of the “information society”, “research methodology”, “the limits of copyright”, “social injustice within the field”, and “privatization and monopolies from information providers”, among other challenging topics.
While the journal will specialize in articles by professionals, paraprofessionals and students debating various sides of issues within the library field, it also welcomes poetry, short stories, and other writings on the matter. The publishers expect to publish 4 times a year (January, April, July and October). Entries are welcome in both Spanish and English.
The first issues is already in the works, but people who wish to contribute and who already have an article that might interest the journal are encouraged to submit their work. (I didn’t find an obvious link where to submit your work, but I guess you can contact one of the organizers.)
The OLPC has reinvented their signature laptop and come out with a new model that looks more like an e-books, is more energy efficient, and will cost only $75. This new model looses the keyboard, but but functions through two touch screens, one of which can function as a keyboard. Another development on this project has been the adoption of Microsoft’s Windows as the machines operating systems. The new laptop will have a dual booting system.
Colombia’s Caldas region has signed up to offer OX laptops to about 65,000 children. Caldas’ governor Mario Aristizabal expressed the desire to offer children in this region the same advantages offered to children in developed countries around the world. There are plans for Manizales to join the OLPC project as well.
You can read about the new design here, and about the Colombian project here.
This morning I was reading Críticas and found a fascinating article by Loida García-Fedo about Wilton Hurtado Cuero, a man truly dedicated to making this world a better place. Hurtado Cuero is a librarian in Chocó, a department (state) on Colombia’s Pacific coast where poverty is prevalent, there is little infrastructure, and citizens have seen a lot of violence in recent years.
This dedicated man saw a need for services and did something about it. When a flood destroyed the public library where he worked, he asked the government for help in order to continue offering the community library services. Hurtado Cuero took up a bag full of books and started walking up and down the Santiago River bringing books to a number of schools and households in the area. This project became known as La Maleta Viejara (Traveling Suitcase). His visits later revealed that many of the children he was seeing where suffering from poor nutrition, which in part was attributed to the fumigations which are supposed to be killing coca plantations, but are instead destroying local crops. Hurtado Cuero worked to provide food security to this community.
Over the years I’ve discovered a number of similar projects. People truly dedicated to providing library services and promoting education. I’ve read about a Colombian who provides library services with a donkey, and a project where camels are used to provide library services to nomadic tribes in Kenya. These stories made me want to leave the comfort of the academic library I work at, and join these people who are truly improving the world we live in. On the other hand, I’m reminded that even in Colombia such noble actions get little attention. I asked my father, who lives in Colombia, about Hurtado Cuero and he said there was no mention anywhere. I also tried searching for more information about on him and came up empty handed. Still, if I can bring some attention to these brave souls, I want to do so, and I hope this drop in the bucket encourages others to take their careers to the full extent of the possibilities!
You can read Loida García-Fedo’s article here, and see Wilton Hurtado Cuero’s brief bio here.
A few librarians in Guatemala have set out to create a directory of Guatemala’s librarians in wiki format. The project is still quite new and with only a few entries, but they already have a number of enthusiasts offering their help either with providing content or helping with the technology needed.
As most wikis, the project is meant to be collaborative, and everyone is encouraged to contribute. The front page also offers a few links to existing projects which provide some information on Guatemala’s libraries; these include UNESCO, The Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, and a project through the International Center for Scientific Research.
In any case, the date was proposed to the UNESCO’s International Union of Editor as a day to promote culture and raise awareness around intellectual property rights. Final approval came on November 15, 1995.
Current festivities include a rotating title of World Book Capital. This began in 2001 with Madrid, last year it was Bogotá, and this year the world’s book capital is Amsterdam, next year it will be Beirut.
Click here for UNESCO’s page on World Book and Copyright Day.
At random, here are a few links to how a handful of libraries around the world are celebrating.
This week NYC is celebrating a legacy of immigration through Immigrant Heritage Week. The New York Public Library has created a number of events highlighting the culture of a number of immigrant groups. Events include bilingual story time, exploration of traditional Latin music, classes of Chinese ribbon dance, photographs illustrating Greek immigration into the city, a guitarist playing Caribbean tones, music from Bangladesh, Dominican folk dances, Mexican Mariachis, Flamenco music and dance, among others.
If you happen to live in NYC or close enough, stop by and enjoy the festivities!
Memoria Chilena is a project under Chile’s DIBAM (Dirección de Bibliotecas, Archivos y Museos) to help gather book, photographs, music and other works which have helped form national identity.
A significant portion of the project is a collection of e-Books. Each month books are recommended in one of the 5 areas of focus, which include; First Person Accounts, Classics of Chilean Literature, Works on Contemporary Art Criticism, Music and Dance from the 1900, and works by Foreigners in Chile during the Era of the Republic. All works can be found in full text (all in Spanish). Many of the original works are housed in Chile’s National Library, and other organizations under the auspices of DIBAN. The project began in 2001 and is part of national celebrations to culminate with Chile’s bicentennial in 2010.
The collection can be searched through their OPAC, which allows users to narrow searches by author, title, subject, and by time period, as well as type of material. Browsing can also be conducted by geographical regions, which then highlight some of the most famous locals. To see an example of these entries, take a look at the entry for Gabriela Mistral.
Based on the belief that American popular culture is shaping a new global environment which each day looks more hegemonic, the National Library of Venezuela has decided to fight back. Under the direction of Fernando Báez, the National Library of Venezuela will now try to fight what they believe is a global commercialization of world libraries, an effort, they believe is spearheaded by the Library of Congress in the USA. This project wishes to expand the country’s network of public libraries, promoting nation-wide reading, and build a National Digital Library.
Fernando Báez is the author of the world wide best seller “Historia universal de la destrucción de libros,” (Universal History of the Destruction of Books) and “La destrucción cultural de Iraq” (The cultural Destruction of Iraq) which made him a persona non grata in the USA.
Granted that this program could just as well limit local diversity, it is interesting to see a formal attempt at preserving local flavor. We’ll have to keep an eye on this one to see how it unfolds.
You can read the press release (in Spanish) from the National Library of Venezuela here.
Back in late February Álvaro Colom (official website), Guatemala’s president announced that he would be opening the country’s military archives to the public. The announcement was made in honor of Guatemala’s Día Nacional de la Dignidad de las Víctimas del Conflicto Armado Interno (National Day for the Dignity of Victims of Internal Armed Conflict). During his speech Colom acknowledge that the country will not be able to heal unless the state assumes responsibility for the violence that was perpetuated against the country’s indigenous population.
The archives should contain information on military activities during the country’s civil which lasted over 30 years, between 1960 and 1996. It is estimated that at the time as many as 2000,000 civilians were killed and about 50,000 were disappeared. The archives should also shed light as to the location of unnamed graves. In 1999 the UN truth commission estimated that about 90% of these deaths could be attributed to the army and state.
The military establishment and former national leaders have not welcomed this announcement, although it is expected that the opening of these archives will go forth since is it mandated by a presidential decree.
You can read more about this from a BBC article here, and from a Voltairenet article here (in Spanish).
Medellin’s neighborhood of Santo Domingo Savio is changing its face thanks to a new library that was inaugurated back in August 2007. The library includes a computer room, daycare center, art gallery and an auditorium. The library also offers training for adults, workshops for personal expression and story time for children.
In the past this area of the city was made famous (or infamous) though its depiction as one of the most violent places in the country at the hight of the country’s drug war. The city and its people have been included in books and movie that exhorted only its high levels of violence. Novels such as Fernando Vallejo’s “La Virgen de los Sicarios”, and Jorge Franco’s “Rosario Tijeras”, as well as the documentary “La Sierra” have shown the brutality of life in the region. Yet today things are turning around; today Medellin is a much safer and quieter city where residents are once again able to enjoy the city. This new renaissance is also being felt in the poorest areas of the city such as Santo Domingo Savio.
The new library has gained a significant amount of attention because of its unusual architecture, but hopefully soon news will come out as to how the collection is impacting the community. The library resembles three large borders siting precariously on the edge of a steep incline that overlooks Medellin. You can read -in Spanish- a detailed explanation of the architecture, including photographs here). The library fits into the overall renovation the city has been undergoing which aims at creating more public spaces that encourage people to come out, enjoy the city, and meet their neighbors.
This library is also part of an ongoing initiative to promote libraries in Colombia. In February of this year Japan donated enough money to build 13 new libraries (read the article -in Spanish- here), to be build in various cities through the country. There is also a heavy emphasis on promoting public libraries, something that certainly wasn’t the case when I lived there. You can access Senderos, the web portal -in Spanish- for Colombia’s public libraries here.
The video above -in Spanish- show the inauguration of the library and describes how the community has been changing in recent years.
