Find Your Way



Home

Caribbean E-Librarian Workshop

Resources of interest:
Youtube Video Channel Youtube Video Channel
PDF version

Librarians and information professionals from nine Caribbean countries attended the Caribbean E-Librarianship Workshop in Belize City, Belize. It was organized by UNESCO and the Belize National Library and Information Systems. The Workshop reviewed contemporary ICT concepts, platforms and their applications in the library system via lecture-type presentations and demonstrations.

Start Date: 
Wed, 2008-02-20 - Fri, 2008-02-22
Project Status: 
completed
ICT Focus Areas: 
Access / Connectivity
Cultural & Linguistic Diversity
eBusiness
eLearning, ICT in Education
Local Content Development
Related Member States: 
Anguilla
Antigua and Barbuda
Bahamas
Belize
Dominica
Guyana
Montserrat
Saint Kitts & Nevis
Saint Lucia
Keywords: 
library
librarian
Partners: 
UNESCO
Design of Project: 

 

The Workshop facilitators covered ten areas to the captive audience of thirty two participants. Selected highlights included hybrid libraries (libraries that use Web 2.0, RSS, streaming media, wikies and blogs). Other presentations focused on the following topics:

  • Web 2.0 meets Library 2.0: Digital resources in libraries; 
  • The impact of ICT on the organization of libraries and staffing requirements; 
  • Delivering reference services by means of the Internet; 
  • Free and Open Source Software: Building electronic communities; 
  • Professional profile and skills of the e-librarian; 
  • CDS-ISIS application software (CISIS, WWWISIS, IAH and ABCD).
Risk Assessment: 

The Workshop concluded that hybrid and digital libraries will require digital librarians who are open to using the technology in order to provide access to services and content specific to the Caribbean, and that greater priority should be given to libraries by the region’s governments. Libraries must be repositioned as the storehouses of national treasures that each country possesses, which can be digitized and shared online.

References: 
http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=26117&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html