Dec 2006 issue - IFLA Libraries for Children & Young Adults Section Newsletter

The December 2006 issue (1.73MB PDF document) of the IFLA Libraries for Children & Young Adults Section newsletter is now available at IFLANET. Countries highlighted in this issue includes: Egypt, Japan, South Korea, Ukraine, USA, Denmark, Singapore, and the United Kingdom.

Contents

• The Chair Speaks - p1
• Editor's Note - p2
• Bibliotheca Alexandrina: Children's Library p3 - 5
• Campaign highlights what libraries offer children p-6
• Country Highlights: Japan - p7
• The happiest people in the world? The Danes seem to be! - p8
• Announcement: Nowon Digital PL is seeking a Sister Library - p8
• Report on our IFLA visit to Seocho District Children's Library - p9
• Engaging the Teens: The September Project at the Singapore Public Libraries - p10
• The National Library of Ukraine for Children - p11 - 13
• Country highlights: United Kingdom - p13 - 14
• Highlights of combined Minutes from SC Meetings, Seoul 2006 - p14 - 16
• IFLA/ IBBY/ IRA Memorandum of Understanding - p16 - 17
• Calls for papers: WLIC 2007 - p18 - 20
• SCL Standing Committee Members' Contacts - p21 - 22

Click here for the newsletter.

I'm the current Information Coordinator (hence, editor of the newsletter). Here's what I wrote for the Editor's Note (page 2):

Someone asked me, “What does your Section do?”

That was after my first ever IFLA conference in 2004, the same year I was inducted into this Section’s Standing Committee (SC). Admittedly, I wasn’t able to give comprehensive answer then. Looking at the Section’s webpage at IFLANET, one gets the impression that much of the work has to do with Guidelines and its translations.

But with almost a full year behind me, I now have a better sense of the work done by our SC. I’ve since learnt that our Section’s work is a lot more than that. I’m sure you’ll get an idea of the current and proposed projects from the Chair’s message (in this issue and past) and the minutes of meetings (even as highlights, they stretch to three pages this issue!).

Let’s take the conference sessions for one. The presentations, visits and related conference activities do not get organised by themselves. I’m stating the obvious, of course. But what’s not obvious would be the work done by the people responsible for putting the Section’s conference programmes and activities together. The SC members involved in organising them have a tremendous part to play (I’ve not been involved in organising one so far; kudos to my colleagues who have).

If someone were to pose to me that same question again, I’ll also add that for a group comprising of international members – living and working in different time-zones, all volunteers with our regular jobs, with no common first language -- producing something as seemingly (and arguably) mundane as a guideline is no simple feat. And the SC does more than that.

In my humble opinion, perhaps the most important role our Section can play is to facilitate dialogue and the exchange of ideas. I hope SCL News can extend that sort of exchange a little further.

Oh, by the way, I should humbly mention that SCL News was awarded Runner-Up for Best IFLA Newsletter 2006 -- we must be doing something right. SCL News is a group effort. There would be no SCL News without the articles from SC members and contributors.

As always, we’d love to hear from you. ✾

Ivan Chew
Information Coordinator, IFLA Section: CHILD
Singapore

The SCL News is published twice a year, in June and December. Issues are available primarily via IFLANET. Requests for materials via normal mail would be entertained on a case-by-case basis.

We welcome suggestions for stories and articles that promote international cooperation, as well as exchange of ideas and experience, in the fields of library services to children and young adults.

Please contact the Section’s Chair and/ or Information Coordinator for enquiries (see the SCL Standing Committee Members’ Contacts pages).