LibrarianActivist.org

Thanks to the PLG listserv for this bit of news about library innovation in Venezuela.

Here’s an excerpt:

Diving for books

A break came when it was my turn to ride a mule. I enjoyed a great view of the valley but held on tight as Chiquito veered close to the edge.

Hot and slightly bothered after two hours, we reached Calembe, the first village on this path.

Anyone who was not out working the fields - tending the celery that is the main crop here - was waiting for our arrival. The 23 children at the little school were very excited.

“Bibilomu-u-u-u-las,” they shouted as the bags of books were unstrapped. They dived in eagerly, keen to grab the best titles and within minutes were being read to by Christina and Juana, two of the project leaders.

“Spreading the joy of reading is our main aim,” Christina Vieras told me.

“But it’s more than that. We’re helping educate people about other important things like the environment. All the children are planting trees. Anything to improve the quality of life and connect these communities.”

And the full story through BBC News.

-PC-

A couple of weeks ago, the University of Windsor hosted a conference that arguably was history in the making. But before this starts to sound like hype, let me continue.

The goal of ‘20 Years of Propaganda?’ was to critically examine the current relevance and role of the propaganda model twenty years after the publication of Manufacturing Consent. The event congregated the likes of media scholars, journalists, independent media reps and librarians from the US, Canada and Europe. Amongst a gaggle of speakers, Chomsky and Herman provided a (fairly delightful at times) plenary session, and on the final day Chomsky gave a public lecture to an audience of about 1000 people to round out the conference. Overall the event was interesting and galvanizing, if somewhat lacking in the new information and critical debate department. In the end, there was a final session to discuss launching/coordinating a media reform movement in Canada.

Things got particularly interesting from the librarian point of view at the public lecture. From the balcony arose the question (and I’m paraphrasing … those in attendance please correct me if I’m wrong).

What significance do libraries and librarians have in relation to the propaganda model?

Chomsky’s response gave kudos to American librarians for refusing to comply with the Patriot Act … especially since they weren’t known for being a ‘radical’ bunch (ha ha). And that was it, save for the nod for being helpful and keeping the Interlibrary Loan service trucking along.

Chomsky reportedly answers all of his email messages. On the way out of the auditorium, a fellow librarian recalled Naomi Klein’s view of the radical nature of librarianship. I’m thinking maybe Chomsky would like to have a look.

Because as you all know, we are more than helpful. We are a force.

-PC-

LibriVox is a volunteer project with the goal of making public domain works available as audio books.

There’s a plethora of goodies here for bibliophiles.

Not only is the availability of classic works a beautiful thing, but access to audio books is a boon to those who benefit from having access to books through alternative mediums … coming to mind:

If you’ve been meaning to contribute your voice (literally) to an information cause, sign up to volunteer and read a chapter or two …

via Boing, Boing, who cited the recent addition of Darwin’s “On the Origin of the Species by Means of Natural Selection” to the collection.

-PC

Open Access and the Internet are a sure way of getting vital medical information to health professionals in disadvantaged areas. But when there’s no Internet access, open access to scientific literature is useless.

Unfortunately, there are still many areas in the developing world that have neither computers nor a reliable electricity supply. Thus, in spite of the rapid development of information and communications technologies, the gap between “the haves and have-nots” continues to blight isolated areas (those outside a capital city). In these areas, the appropriate solution to information access is still printed material. In response to this need for printed health information, WHO librarians created the Blue Trunk Library (BTL) project.

(…)

The BTL is “a ready-to-use documentation module” (…) of about 150 WHO and non-WHO books and manuals [and 3 or 4 subscriptions to medical journals] fitted into a blue metal trunk (…) . The materials are arranged and filed in such a way that users can easily identify the ones that they need. Fourteen topics have been chosen using a basic classification code, e.g., General Medicine and Nursing (100), Community Health (110), and these codes are written on each filing box.

Read all about it in PLOS Medicine. My first thought was that seeing the rapidity with which health information changes, do the BTL’s need to be weeded and renewed? It was answered in this article (PDF):

A procedure for keeping WHO publications up to date has been established, together with monitoring and evaluation of the operation of the Blue Trunk libraries locally by a national coordinator, with the support of the office of the WHO Representative.

[Source: Boing Boing]

Remy Chevalier is trying to get his Environmental Library Fund, an environmental library, up and running in South Norwalk, CT. Remy has been

collecting excess review materials from magazine editors and publishers, from environmental companies, researchers and writers. Storing them in [his] home, attic, garage, cellar, etc… as well as in many other people’s homes, attic, garages etc… in the hopes of one day being able to find a suitable public space where the collection would finally be made accessible to the general public.

If you’re interested in helping out, check out his business plan. Here’s a story with more info. [thanks chris]