Lyon Declaration on Access to Information and Development, launched August 18, 2014 at the World Library and Information Congress in Lyon, France

Transformational declaration from the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) 2014 World Library and Information Congress in Lyon

The Lyon Declaration on Access to Information and Development “aims to positively influence the United Nations post-2015 development agenda… The framework will succeed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and set the agenda for development for the next decade.” (http://conference.ifla.org/ifla80/node/522) Signatories from more than 270 institutions worldwide have already signed on, and delegates were sent forth to encourage home institutions to join in this important endeavor. For more information see (http://www.lyondeclaration.org/).

Standing Committee Report from the Serials and Other Continuing Resources (SOCR) Section

The IFLA Section on Serials and Other Continuing Resources “concerns itself with all issues which make serial publications unique in both the print and electronic environments.”(http://www.ifla.org/about-the-serials-and-continuing-resources-section) As American Library Association (ALA) Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTSco-delegate to this section, I am charged with reporting on the actions taken by the committee during the congress. The full report will be found in ALCTS News (http://www.ala.org/alctsnews/) in the fall of 2014.

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Standing Committee members posing at the Place Antonin Poncet before the group dinner at Le Sud Restaurant are, from left to right, Christina McCawley , West Chester University; Paul Hover, Virginia Tech (blogger, wearing hat); Sharon Dyas-Correia (Chair), University of Toronto; Margaret Mering (Secretary), University of Nebraska Lincoln; and Helen Adey (Information Coordinator), Nottingham Trent University.

In addition to meeting twice and going to dinner together, our Standing Committee partnered with the Academic and Research Libraries Section and the Committee on Copyright and other Legal Matters to organize a well-attended “programme” on big data (see below).

New friends, new collaborations, new hats

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New friends (from left to right) Anne Verneuil, president of the Association des Bibliothécaires de France (ABF) (French Librarians Association); Paul Hover, Virginia Tech (VT); Senovia Welman, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa (wearing Paul’s hat); and Lynn Kleinveldt, Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), Cape Town, South Africa. CPUT and VT have a librarian exchange program starting this academic year.

After the Closing Session, a few of us got together to take photographs commemorating our newfound friendships. It was in Lyon that I met Lynn (see caption under the photograph above), the first librarian I’ve met IN PERSON from our new strategic collaboration partner, the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT). 

It was also at this photo session I lost my hat. Actually, I gave it to Senovia. She beamed a warm South African smile at me and said she had long puzzled over the right souvenir to remind her of IFLA’s 80th Congress, but now realized that she would “loooooove” to have my hat! Well, colleagues, I did exactly what you would have done. I took it off and placed it on her head. As everyone stood admiring Senovia, incredulously, in my favorite hat, I made a deal with her: 

“Next year in Cape Town let us meet again, and you may replace it with an uber cool hat made in South Africa if you wish.”

“DONE!” It was all she needed to say to get my first meeting for IFLA’s 81st Congress in Cape Town on the calendar… 

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Having lost my Panamá hat, I needed something to protect me from the hot sun reflecting off the Rhône. Our French friends knew just the solution: a genuine béret Basque.

Nous vous remercions beaucoup, Lyon! 

More information on the SOCR Section’s presentations can be found here:

Research in the big data era: legal, social and technical approaches to large text and data sets

Conference Session 119, 19 August 2014 09:30 – 12:45 | Room: Amphithéâtre | SI

(source: http://conference.ifla.org/ifla80/node/335)