June 2009 Archives

Well, there is no doubt that internet has turned information sharing into a fast process without boundaries; however, a new category of information users has arisen: the digitally excluded. South American librarians are aware of that a good percentage of the population in their countries faces obstacles to reach the expanded capabilities and potential that Web can provide, and these librarians understand their role in bringing this topic into discussions in conferences and seminars to instigate and contribute to positive movements. More than digital inclusion, these discussions are related to cultural inclusion. The South American libraries hold the most relevant information related to the local culture and history, and are searching for paths to make this information visible and available to users at point of need. With information migrating to the digital format, more people can be reached at levels and speed never imagined before. Thus, improving the accessibility of information through digital inclusion projects has become primordial. The socio-economic aspects involved in the process are undeniable because underserved communities are then woven into the Web while libraries accomplish the goal of providing intellectual resources that can lead to the growth of these nations.

Libraries benefit from the large inclusion of users to the digital world. On the other hand digital inclusion challenges libraries and librarians to extend their activities to a broader range of services in order to support digital inclusion projects. Some examples are:

Biblioteca Latino-americana Victor Civita (Memorial da América Latina) in Brazil offers a space for the digital inclusion project Acessa Sao Paulo and occasionally launches a series of workshops where users not only have access to a computer and internet but learn how to better take advantage of the available tools.

Bibliotecas Virtuales de Aragua, in Venezuela, provides internet access and workshops to teach how to use the computer and the Web tools.

BiblioRedes, in Chile, is a successful project with several activities related to computer literacy and inclusion to the digital world which is covering the entire country.

South American libraries are moving from discussions to action to serve their purpose as contributors to this movement. One can't deny that it's challenging to bring technology no only to the large cities in the continent but to the small villages as well. The road is long, the work is hard, and the obstacles are many. However, some projects are proving that there's light at the end of the tunnel.

More examples of digital inclusion projects in South America:

Projeto Inclusão Digital (Brazil)
http://www.inclusaodigital.gov.br

Inclusão digital (Brazil)
http://inclusao.ibict.br

Programa Nacional para la Sociedad de la Información (Argentina)
http://www.psi.gov.ar

Agenda de la Conectividad (Colombia)
http://www.agenda.gov.co

Agencia para el Desarrollo de la Sociedad de la Información en Bolivia
http://www.adsib.gob.bo/

La inclusión digital en Sudamérica.pdf (Espanol)

Inclusão digital na América do Sul.pdf (Portugues)

If you want to know the new National Library of Brasilia (the second national library in Brazil), just click on the link below to take the virtual tour:
http://www.bnb.df.gov.br/index.php/produtos/213-video-de-presentacao

I haven't visited the library in person yet but I'll be there soon, and I'll certainly write more about everything.

Visita virtual à Biblioteca Nacional de Brasilia
Se você quer conhecer a nova Biblioteca Nacional de Brasilia (a segunda biblioteca nacional do Brasil), simplesmente clique no link abaixo para a visita virtual:
http://www.bnb.df.gov.br/index.php/produtos/213-video-de-presentacao

Ainda não visitei a biblioteca pessoalmente mas estarei lá em breve e, certamente escreverei mais sobre tudo.

Visita virtual a la Biblioteca Nacional de Brasilia
Si usted desea conocer la nueva Biblioteca Nacional de Brasilia (la segunda biblioteca nacional de Brasil), haga un clic en el enlace abajo para la visita virtual:
http://www.bnb.df.gov.br/index.php/produtos/213-video-de-presentacao

Yo no he visitado la biblioteca personalmente todavía pero estaré allí en breve y, por supuesto escriberé más acerca de todo.

July 20, 2010 is the date when Colombians are celebrating their country's bicentennial of independence. Biblioteca Luis Angel Arango has created a webpage where the library, with the collaboration of other local institutions, is compiling historical documents, biographies, memoirs, maps, history of local habits, and other materials related to the history of the country and its independence process. According to the library, the original of the Declaration of Independence was burnt in a fire at Galerias del Cabildo in 1900 but a copy was published in 1872 on Diario de Cundinamarca which is also available on the webpage. The main idea of this project is to make available to the public as much information as possible regarding to the independence of Colombia.

The bicentennial webpage by Biblioteca Luis Angel Arango is nicely done, and visitors can find literature about Simon Bolivar (El Libertador), gravures of local habits, maps of Colombia since its discovery, besides of information in how locals used to live in the past. A material that called my attention was Diario de la independencia by José Maria Caballero, where the author writes about facts he witnessed during the independence process and describes several occasions when Colombia experienced earthquakes. The author even enumerated the fallen and damaged buildings and people that died or were injured in consequence of one of these events. In brief summary, the webpage contains information for students, researchers, or anybody interested in learning about the history of Colombia. The library continues adding material there.

*Image: Baile de campesinos (sabana de Bogotá).Torres Méndez, Ramón.Aguatinta. 26 x 33 cm, color
Published in: Torres Méndez, Ramón Album de cuadros de costumbres, París, A. De la Rue, 1860, p. 22
http://www.lablaa.org/bicentenario/index.html

Colombia Bicentenario de Independencia.pdf (Español)

Colômbia- Bicentenário da Independência.pdf (Português)

Patricia Lillo, Head of the Sub Department of Information Analysis and Bibliographic Standards at the National Library of Chile, has shared with me the project she has been working on with her team and in collaboration with the Library of Congress regarding to RDA (Resource Description and Access). The experience the National Library of Chile is having with the new rules (which are scheduled to be published this year) is being translated into materials in format of PPT presentations and PDF documents in Spanish to be shared online with the Spanish speaking library community at http://biblioestandares.bn.cl. As the library community gets ready for RDA, it is very nice to see what a library is experiencing when putting the rules into practice. Particularly, for the Latin American libraries, this is a good chance to observe how the local content will fit into the new rules.

This is the message Patricia has related to this project at the National Library of Chile:

Resource Description and Access (RDA). As they bring an important conceptual change, following the FRBR model, I organized a meeting at the National Library (Sala América, May 27) to share with the library community what we have learned until now in my department. We have some PPT slides and examples from our records to illustrate better the new concepts. We have been working on our web page as well (where we have the MARC Bibliographic Formats translated into Spanish), where we have uploaded some of the several existents documents about FRBR and where we will place our PPT presentations later.

A Biblioteca Nacional do Chile e RDA

Patricia Lillo, Chefe do Sub-departamento de Análise da Informação e Padrões Bibliográficos na Biblioteca Nacional do Chile, compartilhou comigo o projeto no qual ela vem trabalhando junto com sua equipe e em colaboração com a Library of Congress referente ao RDA (Resource Description and Access). A experiência que a Biblioteca Nacional do Chile está tendo com as novas regras (as quais estão marcadas para serem publicadas este ano) está sendo transformado em documentos em formato de apresentações PowerPoint e documentos em PDF em espanhol para serem compartilhados on line com a comunidade bibliotecária de lingua espanhola em http://biblioestandares.bn.cl. Enquanto a comunidade bibliotecária se prepara para RDA, é muito bom ver o que uma biblioteca está experimentando quando colocando as regras em prática. Particularmente, para as bibliotecas da América Latina, esta é uma boa chance para observar como o conteúdo local vai caber dentro das novas regras.

Esta é a mensagem que Patricia tem relacionado ao projeto na Biblioteca Nacional do Chile:

Resource Description and Access (RDA). Como trazem uma mudança conceitual importante, seguindo o modelo FRBR, eu organizei uma reunião na Biblioteca Nacional (Sala América, 27 de maio) para compartilhar com a comunidade bibliotecária o que temos aprendido até agora em minha unidade. Temos alguns slides PowerPoint e exemplos de nossos registros para ilustrar melhor os novos conceitos. Temos estado trabalhando em nossa página Web também (onde temos a tradução em espanhol dos Formatos Bibliográficos MARC), onde colocamos aguns dos vários documentos existentes sobre FRBR e onde colocaremos nossas apresentações PowerPoint depois.

La Biblioteca Nacional de Chile y RDA

Patricia Lillo, Jefe del Subdepartamento de Análisis de Información y Estándares Bibliográficos en la Biblioteca Nacional de Chile, ha compartido conmigo el proyecto en el cuál ella sigue trabajando junto con su equipo y en colaboración con la Library of Congress con referencia a RDA (Resource Description and Access). La experiencia que la Biblioteca Nacional de Chile sigue teniendo con las nuevas reglas (las cuales están marcadas para ser publicadas este año) esta siendo transformado en documentos en formato de transparencias PowerPoint y documentos en PDF en español a ser compartidos en línea con la comunidad bibliotecaria de lengua española en http://biblioestandares.bn.cl. Mientras la comunidad bibliotecaria preparase para RDA, es muy bueno ver lo que una biblioteca esta experimentando cuando poñe en práctica las reglas. Particularmente, para las bibliotecas de América Latina, esta es una buena chance para observar como el contenido local va caber en las nuevas reglas.

Esta es el mensaje de Patricia relacionado al proyecto en la Biblioteca Nacional de Chile:

Resource Description and Access(RDA). Como traen un cambio conceptual importante, siguiendo el modelo FRBR, he organizado una reunión en la Biblioteca Nacional (Sala América, 27 de mayo) para compartir con la comunidad bibliotecaria lo que hemos aprendido hasta ahora en mi unidad. Tenemos algunas transparencias PowerPoint y ejemplos tomados de nuestros registros para graficar mejor los nuevos conceptos. Hemos estado trabajando también en nuestra página Web (donde tenemos la traducción del F.Marc), donde hemos subido algunos de los numerosos documentos que ya hay sobre FRBR y donde pondremos después las PPT's de nuestra presentación.