While we wait for the opportunity to host an in-person Internet Librarian International conference, we decided to go ahead with another Bite-sized one. On 11 May 2022, we'll have a half day virtual event, featuring librarians from the United States, Germany, and Mexico covering library technology, preserving videos, and information literacy topics.
Posted 3 May 2022
Bite-sized ILI is back for 2022! Save the date of Wednesday, 11 May 2022, for Internet Librarian International's latest half day of learning and knowledge exchange.
Posted 5 April 2022
Martin Paul Eve takes us behind the scenes to describe the development of Janeway, Birkbeck College's platform for scholarly communication that is used by universities in multiple countries and reveals the origin of the name of the platform.
Posted 5 April 2022
From his perspective as Librarian & Head, Central Library, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Nabi Hasan reflects on how libraries in India responded to the pandemic situation and celebrates the exciting stories of innovative library services formed during these difficult times.
Posted 1 March 2022
Infographics give an added dimension to textual information, as taxonomist and trainer Joyce van Aalten explains. Visuals provide powerful elements to get your message across--and they are not that hard to create.
Posted 1 February 2022
The call for speakers for the virtual Taxonomy Boot Camp London 2022 is very close to ending so now is the time to submit your speaking proposal.
Posted 5 January 2022
Artificial Intelligence (AI) pervades our everyday lives, whether we realize it or not. AI technologies power our digital personal assistants, show us traffic flows on our roads, monitor our health and diagnose diseases, guide our product selections when we shop online, and give financial advice. Libraries also benefit from AI technologies and AI applications are increasing.
Posted 5 January 2022
Following the success of the 2021 virtual series, Information Today Europe has set dates for three half-day events in 2022 and issued a Call for Speakers.
Posted 7 December 2021
"If I cancelled my Netflix subscription, I might use the library some more" is a quote from a user interviewed in connection with a Danish project on the Future of Library space and dissemination of literature.
Posted 7 December 2021
Here are five sites that can help you broaden your knowledge of what's findable (mostly for free—although I'd always recommend using the pay-to-use sites for corporate intelligence also).
Posted 7 December 2021
Pippi Longstocking, the children's hero in the Astrid Lindgren books, was never afraid to try out new things. You could even say that she was always looking for new challenges, not afraid to take some risks and brave enough to wander out in a new world. How we loved to read about her adventures. Didn't we all want to be like Pippi, while we probably were more like her careful and responsible friends Tommy and Annika? We should adopt the mantra of: "I have never tried that before, so I think I should definitely be able to do that."
Posted 2 November 2021
Save the dates! Bite-sized Taxonomy Boot Camp is back with another virtual session on 10 November 2021.
Posted 5 October 2021
Our wonderful Internet Librarian International community, confronted with the pandemic-dictated cancellation of our conference two years in a row, took full advantage of the virtual world to attend Bite-sized ILI on 22 September 2021. A half-day event, Bite-sized ILI featured three sessions and five speakers. Over 80 people registered, from 20 countries, emphasizing the truly international nature of ILI.
Posted 5 October 2021
Library professionals at the National Library of Scotland decided to see the pandemic as an opportunity. Revised work processes and innovative service provision to the public and to staff when library buildings were closed and physical access denied were the result. Craig Statham, Maps Reading Room Manager, explains.
Posted 7 September 2021
Information professionals have long been charged with educating people about information literacy, information management, copyright and licensing. Although librarians understand today's information landscape, non-information savvy people frequently don't. Even the word "research" has taken on different connotations. Mary Ellen Bates, internationally renowned independent information professional, consultant, speaker, and Online Searcher columnist, considers how we can better explain these concerns.
Posted 3 August 2021
The United Nations' Dag Hammarskjöld Library hosted a world-class, virtual Open Science Conference over 3 half-days, 21-23 July 2021. Designed to include speakers from around the globe, its tag line was "From Tackling the Pandemic to Addressing Climate Change". The host for the event, Thanos Giannakopolous, Chief Librarian at the Dag Hammarskjöld Library, kept the conference on an even keel, despite a few technical hiccups.
Posted 3 August 2021
One of Internet Librarian International's most popular speakers, Ned Potter, looks at the different types of videos that librarians can create and shares his tips for making library videos. It's not as hard as you might think, as his examples illustrate.
Posted 6 July 2021
Need to brush up your taxonomy skills? Want to learn more about what taxonomists are doing that could help you in your job? Join taxonomy experts for the second Bite-sized Taxonomy Boot Camp on 9 June 2021. It's all virtual; no travel involved.
Posted 1 June 2021
Barbara Band, School Library Consultant, reflects on what it means for the future of school libraries in a post-Covid world. Sparked by ideas from an IFLA webinar, she considers safety and technology in library spaces, evidence-based librarianship and the value of school libraries.
Posted 1 June 2021
We are living in historic times! Cohesive library leadership at national and global levels is important to bring transformative change that benefits communities deeply impacted by COVID-19 and to establish a vibrant future for global libraries, writes international library consultant Loida Garcia-Febo.
Posted 4 May 2021
Internet librarians spend much of their working life in the present. However, two presentations at the 2021 NISOPlus conference brought home the importance of both looking back and looking forward. The speakers, one a Ghanaian librarian advocating for Indigenous Knowledge and the other a researcher from Japan investigating a future society enhanced with avatars, stimulated so many thoughts in my mind about the role of libraries, librarians, and our digital future.
Posted 4 May 2021
Katie Birkwood describes the transcribathon that the Royal College of Physicians archives team took part in, organised to make ancient texts readable both to modern eyes and for digitisation purposes. However, some of the advice in the 17th century books should probably be disregarded, such as bramble leaves and white ginger to ward off the plague and a shovelful of bees to treat hair loss.
Posted 6 April 2021
The Lubuto Library Partners, working in Zambia for the past 15 years, established three libraries focussed on the needs of children and youth, providing books, technology, and library programming, as well as serving as safe havens. The pandemic has caused Lubuto Library Partners to consider new directions post-pandemic.
Posted 1 March 2021
[Editor's Note: If you heard Yvonne Campfens' inspiring keynote talk at Internet Librarian International 2019 all about creating, innovating, collaborating and what we can learn from startups, you won't be surprised to hear that she has taken her own advice and joined startup OA Switchboard as its executive director. I asked her to tell us about this new venture.]
Posted 2 February 2021
Google Trends presents excellent opportunities for Internet Librarians to examine differences in terminology and popularity of search topics over time.
Posted 5 January 2021
Neil Dixon describes how he and his team at Anglia Ruskin University Library set up training workshops to explore the impact of AI on libraries, using fictional writing techniques.
Posted 1 December 2020
Deciding to go out on your own and start a library-related business is a huge step. Anne Welsh gives us some tips and resources based on her experience of setting up her Beginning Cataloguing business.
Posted 1 December 2020
Covid-19 caused libraries worldwide to close their doors. Seema Rampersad, chair of SLA's Task Force on Reopening Specialized Libraries, reports on their findings, including an event on how library professionals are coping in the pandemic and a coronavirus hub for relevant content.
Posted 3 November 2020
A new public library branch in the Alver Municipality Library System in Norway became a reality very quickly and in the middle of the Covid pandemic.
Posted 6 October 2020
Heather Hedden, a highly experienced taxonomist, shares her top four tips for creating a taxonomy.
Posted 1 September 2020
The global COVID-19 pandemic has upended our lives, both personal and professional. It has also introduced a new word into our vocabulary: Infodemic. Inoculating yourself, your library users, and your community against the Infodemic should be a vital skill for librarians worldwide.
Posted 4 August 2020
Jan Holmquist reports on a Danish project where four municipalities offered stressed-out, anxious, or depressed people the opportunity to participate in cultural activities to increase their feelings of well being.
Posted 7 July 2020
At the National Library of Estonia, the digital competence training program aims to make people feel less afraid of using different digital programs, tools and technologies.
Posted 7 July 2020
The pandemic has focussed librarians' attention on copyright. WIPO has some new initiatives that affect the situation.
Posted 1 June 2020
Marydee Ojala shares some search tips from the session she prepared for the (postponed) Computers in Libraries conference.
Posted 17 March 2020
NAISC-L (pronounced noshk) provides a four-step method for creating an Interlink. Information professionals are invited to participate in the final evaluation phase.
Posted 1 January 2020
Marilyn Clarke on the Liberate our Library campaign that's working to give a voice to marginalised and underrepresented students at Goldsmiths University of London.
Posted 20 November 2019
To use marketing to its full potential, you have to understand what your added value to your clients is. Eric Kokke on why marketing skills are crucial for information professionals.
Posted 17 November 2019
Kimberly Moore is a school librarian and digital literacy educator who helps students create electronic collections of their work.
Posted 15 November 2019
Driven by the desire to improve online communications with customers, the team at Barrington Library (Cranfield University) invited all library staff to peer review the online enquiries they had been answering. Lauren Vizor and Rachel Daniels share the story of what happened.
Posted 4 November 2019
AcademicTech is bursting with innovation and innovators. Yvonne Campfens, Internet Librarian International 2019 keynote, explores the drivers for success in this fast-moving sector.
Posted 21 October 2019
Using free software librarians in Sweden asked users to immerse themselves in a virtual environment and create 'a perfect library'.
Posted 6 October 2019
Martin White asks if Microsoft is inhibiting enterprise-wide information management.
Posted 3 October 2019
There are three keynote speakers at this year's Internet Librarian International conference, talking about accelerating innovation, harnessing the power of community and collaboration and celebrating the love of libraries.
Posted 9 September 2019
Gary Horrocks reports back from UKeiG's special event focused on AI in the information sector.
Posted 25 August 2019
Reading for pleasure is more important for children's cognitive development than their parent's level of education.
Posted 19 July 2019
Insights from Silvia Modig, MEP and President of the Finnish Library Association; publishing expert Yvonne Campfens on innovating like a start-up, and Kajal Odedra of Change.org on harnessing the power of community.
Posted 8 July 2019
Helle Lauridsen reports from the tenth NEXT LIBRARY event, held in Aarhus, Denmark.
Posted 23 June 2019
The British Library has a fantastic track record when it comes to mobilising its digitised content.
Posted 8 June 2019
Laura Palmer enjoyed the whirlwind of learning, networking, and tweeting that was the 42nd UKSG Annual Conference.
Posted 22 May 2019