Nineth News Update
RUTH RIKOWSKI
This News Update, No. 9, focuses on some more people. This includes Mikael Böök who is also now an Advisory Members of the Editorial Board of Information for Social Change at my invitation (at a time when ISC was very much in need of more people, resources and commitment). Also, a focus on our three sons: Alexander, Victor and Gregory Rikowski. This is followed by a number of information news items, and ends with some musical and entertainment news, to hopefully brighten up your day!
1. Focus on Mikael Böök
Mikael Böök studied Philosophy, Sociology and History at the University of Helsinki. In latter years, he became an internet service provider and a web-publisher. Mikael has his own web pages at: http://www.kaapeli.fi/book and http://blogi.kaapeli.fi/book.
In recent years he has been very involved in organizing Library Groups at the World Social Forum (WSF), providing training programmes and documenting the World Social Forum. Mikael also attended the conference at Cambridge on ‘Trading in Knowledge?’ in 2005 (referred to in my News Update, No. 8), which was organised by European Bureau of Library, Information and Documentation Associations (EBLIDA) and Society of College, National and University Libraries (SCONUL) (see http://www.sconul.ac.uk/events/WTOConference/wtoprogramme). He wrote a report about it for the Finnish Library Association Journal.
Mikael edited the winter 2006 issue of Information for Social Change, with Shiraz Durrani, on the topic of ‘Libraries and Information in World Social Forum Context’ – see http://www.libr.org/isc/issues/ISC24/ISC24_Full.pdf.
Mikael has a number of articles in the issue, including a report on the World Social Forum IV of January 2004. He thought that the workshop demonstrated an optimistic sign of involvement of professional librarians in the WSF.
There were some 80 people there, and it included a keynote speech from Kay Raseroka, the then President of IFLA (2003-05) and Director of Library Services at the University of Botswana. Kay Raseroka also wrote a piece for the ISC 2006 winter issue (see refs below). The initiative for the workshop came from the Network Institute for Global Democratization (NIGD). Mikael said that:
“There was a near consensus on the opinion that democratization of information can only be achieved through an adequately and publicly funded global network of libraries.”
Mikael wrote his first article for Information for Social Change in 2004, and this was also on the topic of the WSF.
RefsBöök, Mikael (2004) Librarians and the World Social Forum unite, Information for Social Change, Summer, Issue 19
http://www.libr.org/isc/articles/19-Book-1.html
Böök, Mikael (2006a) The public library as a political category, Information for Social Change, Winter, Issue 24 http://www.libr.org/isc/issues/ISC24/A6-2015.pdf
Böök, Mikael (2006b) Document: democratization of information with a focus on libraries: report for the World Social Forum IV, Mumbai, India, Jan 2004, Information for Social Change, Winter, Issue 24
http://www.libr.org/isc/issues/ISC24/A16-Book-democratisation.pdf
Raseroka, Kay (2006) Libraries: open spaces, Information for Social Change,
Winter, Winter, Issue 24,
http://www.libr.org/isc/issues/ISC24/A17-Libraries-public-spaces.pdf
N.B. The first paragraph of this profile has been adapted from information in the Profiles section of the ISC website (Mikael’s profile) – see: http://libr.org/isc/profile.html.
2. Focus on Kingsley Oghojafor
I wrote about Kingsley Oghojafor in my News Update No. 6, but I would like to add a little something else about him here. The reason for this will become apparent as one reads the section below.
I have always been someone that wants to do something to try to improve and change the world in some small way! So, when I started getting my writing published, it seemed like a great opportunity to try to contribute a little more. Through my book review work with Managing Information, I connected with Kingsley Oghojafor, who lived in Nigeria. Kingsley was very keen to write reviews. We started to communicate by email quite regularly, and he told me about the difficult conditions that he lived in, with no electricity in his own home, having to go to expensive Internet cafes to do all his I.T. work (which included designing websites), the instability of the government etc. etc. Yet, despite all this, he was always very highly motivated, worked very hard and so enthusiastically and always seemed to remain so cheerful.
I wanted to help him, but there seemed so little that I could practically do. Thus, I was delighted when I was able to put a few opportunities his way, such as providing him with the opportunity to write a book for Chandos, and becoming the webmaster for ISC, as well as getting involved with ISC in other ways.
Furthermore, once Mikael Böök became a member of ISC Editorial Board, he provided Kingsley with some more opportunities, and in particular enabled him to participate at the World Social Forum in January 2006, in Mumbai, India. Mikael also secured a grant for Kingsley from the Network Institute for Global Democratization (NIGD), which enabled Kingsley to attend the conference. Furthermore, the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) lent the money in advance, which was then paid back to NIGD.
Kingsley also wrote an interesting article about blogs for the winter 2006 issue of ISC and he has written a book about Uganda (see references below).
Kingsley continues to live in Nigeria, and continues to struggle (particularly financially). I do hope that the future will offer some brighter opportunities for him and I wish him all the very best for the future.
If anyone can offer Kingsley any help and/or opportunities, please contact him at kingsleyoghojafortrust@yahoo.co.uk
Refs
Oghojafor, Kingsley (2004) Uganda: countries of the world, Gareth Stevens Publishing
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Uganda-Countries-World-Gareth-Stevens/dp/0836831128/ref=sr_1_1/203-3483075-2256762?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176535446&sr=1-1
Oghojafor, Kingsley (2006) How to share information and ideas worldwide completely free using the new information called Blogs, Information for Social Change, Winter, Issue 24
http://www.libr.org/isc/issues/ISC24/A24-blogs.pdf
3. Focus on Alexander, Victor and Gregory Rikowski
The focus here is on our 3 sons – Alexander, Victor and Gregory, who all very much enjoy writing and thinking, and they definitely all have minds of their own!
Our website, The Flow of Ideas, as stated on the home page is:
“…principally concerned with developing and thinking on Marxist foundations and demonstrating how Marxism is relevant to interpreting and changing the capitalist social universe that we find ourselves in today.”
However, the website also contains information about, and material written by, our 3 sons. There is also a page about each of them in the ‘About Us’ section. Some further information, with URLs is listed below.
‘ABOUT US’ (in ‘Flow of Ideas’ website)
Alexander Rikowski
http://flowideas.co.uk/?page=about&sub=Alexander%20Rikowski
Victor Rikowski
http://flowideas.co.uk/?page=about&sub=Victor%20Rikowski
Gregory Rikowski
http://flowideas.co.uk/?page=about&sub=Gregory%20Rikowski
ARTICLES (Online)
Alexander Rikowski
Plato’s View of the Relation between the Self and the External World by (2005a) (On ‘Flow of Ideas’ website, under ‘Articles’ section)
http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=articles&sub=Plato
Which philosophical school had more plausible solutions to the problem of freewill - the Stoics, or the Epicureans? (2005b)
(On ‘Flow of Ideas’ website, under ‘Articles’ section)
http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=articles&sub=Freewill
Freedom is not acquired by satisfying yourself with your desire, but by destroying your desire (Epictetus) Discuss (2005c)
(On ‘Flow of Ideas’ website, under ‘Articles’ section)
http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=articles&sub=Freedom
In what way can Humans Develop Freedom by Developing Maturity?
(2006) (On ‘Flow of Ideas’ website, under ‘Articles’ section)
http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=articles&sub=Maturity%20and%20Freedom
Victor Rikowski
Future of Global Capitalism: Millionaires Ruling the Millions, Information for Social Change, (2002), No.14 (winter) (age 14 years)
RUTH RIKOWSKI
This News Update, No. 9, focuses on some more people. This includes Mikael Böök who is also now an Advisory Members of the Editorial Board of Information for Social Change at my invitation (at a time when ISC was very much in need of more people, resources and commitment). Also, a focus on our three sons: Alexander, Victor and Gregory Rikowski. This is followed by a number of information news items, and ends with some musical and entertainment news, to hopefully brighten up your day!
1. Focus on Mikael Böök
Mikael Böök studied Philosophy, Sociology and History at the University of Helsinki. In latter years, he became an internet service provider and a web-publisher. Mikael has his own web pages at: http://www.kaapeli.fi/book and http://blogi.kaapeli.fi/book.
In recent years he has been very involved in organizing Library Groups at the World Social Forum (WSF), providing training programmes and documenting the World Social Forum. Mikael also attended the conference at Cambridge on ‘Trading in Knowledge?’ in 2005 (referred to in my News Update, No. 8), which was organised by European Bureau of Library, Information and Documentation Associations (EBLIDA) and Society of College, National and University Libraries (SCONUL) (see http://www.sconul.ac.uk/events/WTOConference/wtoprogramme). He wrote a report about it for the Finnish Library Association Journal.
Mikael edited the winter 2006 issue of Information for Social Change, with Shiraz Durrani, on the topic of ‘Libraries and Information in World Social Forum Context’ – see http://www.libr.org/isc/issues/ISC24/ISC24_Full.pdf.
Mikael has a number of articles in the issue, including a report on the World Social Forum IV of January 2004. He thought that the workshop demonstrated an optimistic sign of involvement of professional librarians in the WSF.
There were some 80 people there, and it included a keynote speech from Kay Raseroka, the then President of IFLA (2003-05) and Director of Library Services at the University of Botswana. Kay Raseroka also wrote a piece for the ISC 2006 winter issue (see refs below). The initiative for the workshop came from the Network Institute for Global Democratization (NIGD). Mikael said that:
“There was a near consensus on the opinion that democratization of information can only be achieved through an adequately and publicly funded global network of libraries.”
Mikael wrote his first article for Information for Social Change in 2004, and this was also on the topic of the WSF.
RefsBöök, Mikael (2004) Librarians and the World Social Forum unite, Information for Social Change, Summer, Issue 19
http://www.libr.org/isc/articles/19-Book-1.html
Böök, Mikael (2006a) The public library as a political category, Information for Social Change, Winter, Issue 24 http://www.libr.org/isc/issues/ISC24/A6-2015.pdf
Böök, Mikael (2006b) Document: democratization of information with a focus on libraries: report for the World Social Forum IV, Mumbai, India, Jan 2004, Information for Social Change, Winter, Issue 24
http://www.libr.org/isc/issues/ISC24/A16-Book-democratisation.pdf
Raseroka, Kay (2006) Libraries: open spaces, Information for Social Change,
Winter, Winter, Issue 24,
http://www.libr.org/isc/issues/ISC24/A17-Libraries-public-spaces.pdf
N.B. The first paragraph of this profile has been adapted from information in the Profiles section of the ISC website (Mikael’s profile) – see: http://libr.org/isc/profile.html.
2. Focus on Kingsley Oghojafor
I wrote about Kingsley Oghojafor in my News Update No. 6, but I would like to add a little something else about him here. The reason for this will become apparent as one reads the section below.
I have always been someone that wants to do something to try to improve and change the world in some small way! So, when I started getting my writing published, it seemed like a great opportunity to try to contribute a little more. Through my book review work with Managing Information, I connected with Kingsley Oghojafor, who lived in Nigeria. Kingsley was very keen to write reviews. We started to communicate by email quite regularly, and he told me about the difficult conditions that he lived in, with no electricity in his own home, having to go to expensive Internet cafes to do all his I.T. work (which included designing websites), the instability of the government etc. etc. Yet, despite all this, he was always very highly motivated, worked very hard and so enthusiastically and always seemed to remain so cheerful.
I wanted to help him, but there seemed so little that I could practically do. Thus, I was delighted when I was able to put a few opportunities his way, such as providing him with the opportunity to write a book for Chandos, and becoming the webmaster for ISC, as well as getting involved with ISC in other ways.
Furthermore, once Mikael Böök became a member of ISC Editorial Board, he provided Kingsley with some more opportunities, and in particular enabled him to participate at the World Social Forum in January 2006, in Mumbai, India. Mikael also secured a grant for Kingsley from the Network Institute for Global Democratization (NIGD), which enabled Kingsley to attend the conference. Furthermore, the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) lent the money in advance, which was then paid back to NIGD.
Kingsley also wrote an interesting article about blogs for the winter 2006 issue of ISC and he has written a book about Uganda (see references below).
Kingsley continues to live in Nigeria, and continues to struggle (particularly financially). I do hope that the future will offer some brighter opportunities for him and I wish him all the very best for the future.
If anyone can offer Kingsley any help and/or opportunities, please contact him at kingsleyoghojafortrust@yahoo.co.uk
Refs
Oghojafor, Kingsley (2004) Uganda: countries of the world, Gareth Stevens Publishing
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Uganda-Countries-World-Gareth-Stevens/dp/0836831128/ref=sr_1_1/203-3483075-2256762?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176535446&sr=1-1
Oghojafor, Kingsley (2006) How to share information and ideas worldwide completely free using the new information called Blogs, Information for Social Change, Winter, Issue 24
http://www.libr.org/isc/issues/ISC24/A24-blogs.pdf
3. Focus on Alexander, Victor and Gregory Rikowski
The focus here is on our 3 sons – Alexander, Victor and Gregory, who all very much enjoy writing and thinking, and they definitely all have minds of their own!
Our website, The Flow of Ideas, as stated on the home page is:
“…principally concerned with developing and thinking on Marxist foundations and demonstrating how Marxism is relevant to interpreting and changing the capitalist social universe that we find ourselves in today.”
However, the website also contains information about, and material written by, our 3 sons. There is also a page about each of them in the ‘About Us’ section. Some further information, with URLs is listed below.
‘ABOUT US’ (in ‘Flow of Ideas’ website)
Alexander Rikowski
http://flowideas.co.uk/?page=about&sub=Alexander%20Rikowski
Victor Rikowski
http://flowideas.co.uk/?page=about&sub=Victor%20Rikowski
Gregory Rikowski
http://flowideas.co.uk/?page=about&sub=Gregory%20Rikowski
ARTICLES (Online)
Alexander Rikowski
Plato’s View of the Relation between the Self and the External World by (2005a) (On ‘Flow of Ideas’ website, under ‘Articles’ section)
http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=articles&sub=Plato
Which philosophical school had more plausible solutions to the problem of freewill - the Stoics, or the Epicureans? (2005b)
(On ‘Flow of Ideas’ website, under ‘Articles’ section)
http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=articles&sub=Freewill
Freedom is not acquired by satisfying yourself with your desire, but by destroying your desire (Epictetus) Discuss (2005c)
(On ‘Flow of Ideas’ website, under ‘Articles’ section)
http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=articles&sub=Freedom
In what way can Humans Develop Freedom by Developing Maturity?
(2006) (On ‘Flow of Ideas’ website, under ‘Articles’ section)
http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=articles&sub=Maturity%20and%20Freedom
Victor Rikowski
Future of Global Capitalism: Millionaires Ruling the Millions, Information for Social Change, (2002), No.14 (winter) (age 14 years)
http://libr.org/isc/articles/14-Victor_Rikowski.html
Five Endings of Desires (2005)(On ‘Flow of Ideas’ website, under ‘Articles’ section)
http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=articles&sub=Five%20Endings%20of%20Desires
Problems in Education Today, Information for Social Change, (2006) No.23 (summer):http://libr.org/isc/issues/ISC23/B9d%20Victor%20Rikowski.pdf
Gregory Rikowski
Transport by Gregory Rikowski (2003) (age 13 years)
(On ‘Flow of Ideas’ website, under ‘Articles’ section)
http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=articles&sub=Transport
Were the First and Second World Wars a real step forward for the Women of Britain? (2005) (age 15 years)
(On ‘Flow of Ideas’ website, under ‘Articles’ section)
http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=articles&sub=Women%20in%20World%20Wars
French New Wave Cinema by Gregory Rikowski (2006) (age 17 years)
(On ‘Flow of Ideas’ website, under ‘Articles’ section)
http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=articles&sub=French%20New%20Wave%20Cinema
POEMS (Online)
Poems by Victor Rikowski
Perfect Sound (2004), Information for Social Change, No.19 (summer) (age 17 years) http://libr.org/isc/articles/19-V.Rikowski-1.html
Selection of poems on ‘Flow of Ideas’ website
http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=articles&sub=Poems%20by%20Victor%20Rikowski
Poems by Gregory Rikowski
Selection of poems on ‘Flow of Ideas’ website
http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=articles&sub=Poems%20by%20Gregory%20Rikowski
It has been quite an eye-opener for Glenn and I to discover that quite a lot of people visit our website searching for subject matter that has been written specifically by our sons, and not by ourselves! That certainly helps to put things into perspective!
4. ‘Connecting with E-learning’ Book Series Launch
Chris Pegler, a friend of ours, from the Institute of Educational Technology at the Open University, recently informed us about the new book series that she is involved with, which is about to be launched (launch day on 30th April 2007, at the Open University). The series is entitled ‘Connecting with E-Learning’.
There will be 2 talks at the launch and this will be followed by refreshments. The first talk will be by Professor Allison Littlejohn and is entitled Can we plan for blended e-learning? The second talk is by Professor Robin Mason and is entitled Are E-Portfolios the next big thing?
The first 2 books in the Series have now been published – details are listed below:
Preparing for Blended E-Learning: Understanding Blended and Online Learning (Connecting with E-learning) by Allison Littlejohn and Chris Pegler, Routledge, 2006
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Preparing-Blended-E-Learning-Understanding-Connecting/dp/0415403618/ref=sr_1_3/026-6433971-3054849?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176962497&sr=1-3
It says on Amazon.co.uk that:
“Packed with practical advice and ideas, this book provides the core skills and knowledge that teachers in HE and FE need when starting out and further developing their teaching course design for blended and online learning.”
There is also a reference to Glenn’s MySpace profile, (http://www.myspace.com/glennrikowski), as an example of a form of e-learning in this book.
The Educational Potential of E-portfolios: Supporting Personal Development and Reflective Learning (Connecting with E-learning)
by Lorraine Stefani, Robin Mason and Chris Pegler, Routledge, 2007. See:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Educational-Potential-E-portfolios-Supporting-Development/dp/0415412145/ref=sr_1_1/026-6433971-3054849?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176962497&sr=1-1
It says on Amazon.co.uk that:
“ ’E-Portfolios’ is a comprehensive, practical guide for lecturers and staff developers who need to know more about the development of purposeful e-portfolios for supporting students in reflecting on their learning.”
For further details, see also:
http://connecting-with-elearning.com/
For further information about the launch and the series in general, please contact Chris Pegler at c.a.pegler@open.ac.uk
5. Saffron Walden, Essex - Meetings and Events
An interesting series of meetings and events are being held in Saffron Walden, beginning on 25th April, and going through until 20th May, which Martyn Everett informed me about (he is also participating in it). Martyn used to be a member of Librarians for Social Change (the predecessor to ISC). Also, Martyn and I both spoke at a Cambridge University Occupation of Sidgwick Lecture Theatre last October 2006 - see http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=articles&sub=Cambridge%20University%20Occupation. The first event will be a talk by Tim Coates about the problems facing our public libraries and some of his ideas for overcoming this. This will be followed by a week-long exhibition at Saffron Walden Museum of English Civil War publications, taken from the collections at Saffron Walden Town Library and the Museum. Further details are listed below (from the publicity that is being circulated).
“Saffron Walden Town Library Society
Wednesday 25 April 2007
The Battle to Save Public Libraries
Tim Coates, writer, publisher, and author of "Who’s in Charge? Responsibility for the Public Library Service" will talk about the problems faced by public libraries and his campaign to halt their decline. Tim is the former Managing Director of Waterstone’s bookshops and W.H. Smith’s book chain in Europe, who runs his own publishing company. His ‘Good Library Blog’ (http://www.goodlibraryguide.com/blog/), receives over 50,000 unique visits each month.
Friends' Meeting House, Saffron Walden High Street. 8.00 p.m.
Non-Members welcome.
Week-long exhibition at Saffron Walden Museum of English Civil War publications, 14 -20 May 2007
Monday 14 May 2007 From 10am - Museum Launch of week-long Exhibition at Saffron Walden Museum of English Civil War publications from the collections of Saffron Walden Town Library and the Museum
Tuesday 15 May 2007 8pm - King's Arms, Market Hill The tavern was the focus of social life and political intrigue in the 17th Century, so bring along your favourite poems and tunes from the English Civil War period for an informal evening £1 collection at the door
Wednesday 16 May 2007 9.45am to 4.30pm - Town Hall 'Saffron Walden: Cradle of the English Revolution 1647-8' – ‘Day School’ (http://www.1647.org.uk/dayschool.html)
for the general public in the Town Hall. The speakers will be: Martyn Everett on the Agitators, John Sutton & Sue Sadler on the Battle of Linton, Andrew Lacey on King Charles I and John Walter on Parson Drake, the Vicar of Radwinter Tickets - £15.00 - are available from the Tourist Information Centre, 1 Market Place, Saffron Walden CB10 1HR (Tel: 01799 510444) or you can order them by post by downloading an application form.
Thursday 17 May 2007 8pm - Town Hall 'Behold Your King' - a costumed presentation (http://www.1647.org.uk/presentation.html)
in the Town Hall by June & John Sutton on the seizure of King Charles I by the soldiers of the New Model Army in 1647 Tickets - £5 and concessions £4 - are available from the Tourist Information Centre, 1 Market Place, Saffron Walden CB10 1HR (Tel: 01799 510444) or you can order them by post by downloading an application form.
8pm - St Mary's Church First performance of 'Freeborn Englishmen' - a specially commissioned play featuring - enactments of the 1647 debates in St Mary's Church Tickets - £7.50 and concessions £5.00 - are available from the Tourist Information Centre, 1 Market Place, Saffron Walden CB10 1HR (Tel: 01799 510444) or you can order them by post by downloading an application form.
Saturday 19 May 2007 From 10.30am - Town Centre, Museum/Castle Grounds, The Common & St Mary's Church Parade & 1647 re-enactments with stocks in the town centre by The Sealed Knot (http://www.thesealedknot.org.uk/).
17th Century Puppet Show in King Street and the Museum Grounds17th Century 'Living History' tented encampment and displays of social skills in the Museum GroundsDemonstration of Arms on The Common with 'live' firing by The Sealed Knot17th Century Dance demonstrations and participation by Danse RoyaleThe above Saturday events are all freeSecond performance of 'Freeborn Englishmen' in St Mary's ChurchTickets - £7.50 and concessions £5.00 - are available from the Tourist Information Centre, 1 Market Place, Saffron Walden CB10 1HR downloading an application form.
Sunday 20 May 2007 From 10.30am - Town Centre, Museum/Castle Grounds & The Common 17th Century 'Living History' stalls in the Museum Grounds17th Century Puppet Show in the Museum GroundsDrill on the Common by The Sealed KnotSkirmish on the Common - re-enactment by The Sealed KnotThe above Sunday events are all free
Full details of all events are available on http://www.1647.org.uk/
or from the Tourist Information Centre, Saffron Walden.”
6. BiS
BiS (Bibliotek i Samhälle) is another organization that has similar aims to ISC and publishes its own material (in Swedish). BiS is a Swedish association that was formulated in 1989. BiS means ‘Libraries in Society’. Lennart Wettmark is the editor of BIS.
http://www.bok-form.se/bis/bis_english/5_1_program.htm.
As it says on the BiS website:
“BiS is a politically independent organisation working on a socialist basis to promote progressive librarianship. For BiS socialism represents the idea of human liberation and development based on true satisfaction of needs, and the fair distribution of material and socia1 resources. Its citizens should govern a society striving to realise these objectives, as directly as possible.”
Furthermore:
“BiS considers public libraries an essential source of culture, knowledge and information. BiS demands legislation mandating equal library standards throughout the country. Groups that currently do not use libraries should be involved in policy-making and planning. Libraries should be established in workplaces, schools, sparsely populated areas and suburbs, as well as be the recipients of outreach services. The growing emphasis on adult education demands increased resources for libraries.”
Lennart Wettmark, the editor of BiS, interviewd Rory Litwin recently, and this was published in BiS 2007 (1). The piece focuses on the ‘library left’ in the USA and on Rory’s publishing company, Library Juice Press LLC – see http://libraryjuicepress.com/. Rory hosts the web space, ‘Libr.org’, which has been ‘Supporting Progressive Librarians Since 1998’ (see http://libr.org/). There is also material by Mikael Böök in the same issue. This includes a report by Mikael on the most recent World Social Forum and a report on his visit to a library in Zanzibar, which is the one and only public library in the Zanbibar Islands.
Finally, I have an article in BiS, 2002, No. 3, pp. 6-9 about the WTO/GATS Agenda for libraries. It is entitled: Kommersialisering och Privatisering - WTO/GATS Agenda for Bibliotek I ett Engelskt Perspektiv (WTO/GATS agenda with special reference to public libraries in England). In Swedish only. See: http://www.foreningenbis.org/Gats/gatsrr.html
7. Information for Social Change Polices
Information for Social Change has just undertaken a review of policies and procedures, a process which reflects the formalisation of ISC as a voluntary led, progressive and collective-based organisation. The new policies and procedures are intended to define the aims and objectives of ISC as an activist organisation and as a periodical, but also to outline the means through which ISC undertakes its stated aims to reflect and comment on the broad range of social, cultural and economic issues in the context of information, education and related spheres of activity. The policy document also defines the submission and publication process for contributions to the ISC ejournal and web site, ensuring the mechanisms and procedures of ISC are transparent to ISC members, contributors and general users.The policy document was researched and drafted by Paul Catherall in 2007 and produced through agreement by the ISC collective. It is now available at: http://libr.org/isc/policy.html
8. Edgardo Civallero – new member of ISC EB
Welcome to Edgardo Civallero, from Argentina, a librarian and archivist, who has just become an Advisory Member of the ISC Editorial Board.
Further information about Edgardo (taken from ISC website)
“I started working in LIS social issues in 2001, developing libraries in indigenous and rural communities in northern Argentina. I became involved with the IFLA and UDC editorial board, and with Open Access Initiatives in Latin America, and with several LIS Journals' editorial boards here in my continent, so I have a leg inside the "official, academic" land and the other one in my beloved radical, activist, anarchist land. My feelings and my beliefs belong to the latter field…I also give classes, conferences and workshops on LIS social activism and the social role of librarians.
The points of view I have are an outcome of my direct experience working in my country. I have managed really difficult situations (including threats to my life) while working as a librarian, as well as hard situations (human rights violations, death, disease and suffering of library users), so my outlook may appear a little "radical", but I am convinced of the power of the library for changing realities. I have witnessed the power of information, the power of the book, the power of the journal and I think that this is the point we must encourage: the fair use of information in order to give tools and voices to the silenced and disadvantaged.”
This information has been obtained from the Profiles section of the ISC website. See: http://libr.org/isc/profile.html#h (under ‘Edgardo Civallero’)
Edgardo also has a weblog, entitled ‘The Log of a Librarian’. See:http://www.thelogofalibrarian.blogspot.com/
Finally, Edgardo wrote a Foreword (pp. ix-xiii) for Toni Samek’s book Librarianship and Human Rights: a twenty-first century guide, Chandos Publishing: Oxford, 2007. http://www.chandospublishing.com/catalogue/record_detail.php?recordID=82. The Foreword has also been translated into Spanish (pp.xv-xviii).
As Edgardo says in his Foreword:
“The librarian has not always been conscious of all the power resting in his/her hands, nor of the huge responsibility for making fair use of it….The librarian should pursue the laudable aim of keeping power from the hands of the minority…The librarian should help people to look in each other’s eyes on an equal footing.” (p.xii)
9. MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT
To lighten the load, I am including some information here about an entertainment event, which is free and open to all on 4th May 2007 in London.
Revolutions Per minute: a nite of unity in the face of climate change
On Friday 4th May 2007, 7pm-2am
The Cross Kings, 126 York Way, Kings Cross, London, N1 0AX
Free entry - donations welcome
Featuring:
Musicans: Peyoti for President, Planetman and the Internationalz, Rob da Rub,
King Blues, Millie Moonstone, Mike Freedman, Mark Hole
Poet:
Jack Blackburn
Stand-ups:
Dylan Strain, Sean Redmond, Whatshername (Radical politics in a see-thru dress)
In the publicity, it says that:
“Sordid Soup Productions is bringing together some of the best international artists who care about what's going on in the world and aim to release the album "Wake Up - Rise Up" in the summer. We need money to do all this so we have put on what is going to be a great evening of music, politics and unity. Please come and get involved if you really care. This non-profit venture is also helping to promote A World to Win.”
N.B. Many thanks to Chris Pegler from the Open University, Martyn Everett, Paul Catherall and Corrina Lotz from ‘A World to Win’ for providing information for items 4, 5, 7 and 9 respectively, of this News Update, No. 9. Also, to Mikael Böök for providing information about the latest BIS issue (in item 6).
Note: Martyn Everett also has his own web log, called ‘The Book Surfer’ – see http://booksurfer2.blogspot.com/
22nd April 2007
Five Endings of Desires (2005)(On ‘Flow of Ideas’ website, under ‘Articles’ section)
http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=articles&sub=Five%20Endings%20of%20Desires
Problems in Education Today, Information for Social Change, (2006) No.23 (summer):http://libr.org/isc/issues/ISC23/B9d%20Victor%20Rikowski.pdf
Gregory Rikowski
Transport by Gregory Rikowski (2003) (age 13 years)
(On ‘Flow of Ideas’ website, under ‘Articles’ section)
http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=articles&sub=Transport
Were the First and Second World Wars a real step forward for the Women of Britain? (2005) (age 15 years)
(On ‘Flow of Ideas’ website, under ‘Articles’ section)
http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=articles&sub=Women%20in%20World%20Wars
French New Wave Cinema by Gregory Rikowski (2006) (age 17 years)
(On ‘Flow of Ideas’ website, under ‘Articles’ section)
http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=articles&sub=French%20New%20Wave%20Cinema
POEMS (Online)
Poems by Victor Rikowski
Perfect Sound (2004), Information for Social Change, No.19 (summer) (age 17 years) http://libr.org/isc/articles/19-V.Rikowski-1.html
Selection of poems on ‘Flow of Ideas’ website
http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=articles&sub=Poems%20by%20Victor%20Rikowski
Poems by Gregory Rikowski
Selection of poems on ‘Flow of Ideas’ website
http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=articles&sub=Poems%20by%20Gregory%20Rikowski
It has been quite an eye-opener for Glenn and I to discover that quite a lot of people visit our website searching for subject matter that has been written specifically by our sons, and not by ourselves! That certainly helps to put things into perspective!
4. ‘Connecting with E-learning’ Book Series Launch
Chris Pegler, a friend of ours, from the Institute of Educational Technology at the Open University, recently informed us about the new book series that she is involved with, which is about to be launched (launch day on 30th April 2007, at the Open University). The series is entitled ‘Connecting with E-Learning’.
There will be 2 talks at the launch and this will be followed by refreshments. The first talk will be by Professor Allison Littlejohn and is entitled Can we plan for blended e-learning? The second talk is by Professor Robin Mason and is entitled Are E-Portfolios the next big thing?
The first 2 books in the Series have now been published – details are listed below:
Preparing for Blended E-Learning: Understanding Blended and Online Learning (Connecting with E-learning) by Allison Littlejohn and Chris Pegler, Routledge, 2006
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Preparing-Blended-E-Learning-Understanding-Connecting/dp/0415403618/ref=sr_1_3/026-6433971-3054849?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176962497&sr=1-3
It says on Amazon.co.uk that:
“Packed with practical advice and ideas, this book provides the core skills and knowledge that teachers in HE and FE need when starting out and further developing their teaching course design for blended and online learning.”
There is also a reference to Glenn’s MySpace profile, (http://www.myspace.com/glennrikowski), as an example of a form of e-learning in this book.
The Educational Potential of E-portfolios: Supporting Personal Development and Reflective Learning (Connecting with E-learning)
by Lorraine Stefani, Robin Mason and Chris Pegler, Routledge, 2007. See:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Educational-Potential-E-portfolios-Supporting-Development/dp/0415412145/ref=sr_1_1/026-6433971-3054849?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176962497&sr=1-1
It says on Amazon.co.uk that:
“ ’E-Portfolios’ is a comprehensive, practical guide for lecturers and staff developers who need to know more about the development of purposeful e-portfolios for supporting students in reflecting on their learning.”
For further details, see also:
http://connecting-with-elearning.com/
For further information about the launch and the series in general, please contact Chris Pegler at c.a.pegler@open.ac.uk
5. Saffron Walden, Essex - Meetings and Events
An interesting series of meetings and events are being held in Saffron Walden, beginning on 25th April, and going through until 20th May, which Martyn Everett informed me about (he is also participating in it). Martyn used to be a member of Librarians for Social Change (the predecessor to ISC). Also, Martyn and I both spoke at a Cambridge University Occupation of Sidgwick Lecture Theatre last October 2006 - see http://www.flowideas.co.uk/?page=articles&sub=Cambridge%20University%20Occupation. The first event will be a talk by Tim Coates about the problems facing our public libraries and some of his ideas for overcoming this. This will be followed by a week-long exhibition at Saffron Walden Museum of English Civil War publications, taken from the collections at Saffron Walden Town Library and the Museum. Further details are listed below (from the publicity that is being circulated).
“Saffron Walden Town Library Society
Wednesday 25 April 2007
The Battle to Save Public Libraries
Tim Coates, writer, publisher, and author of "Who’s in Charge? Responsibility for the Public Library Service" will talk about the problems faced by public libraries and his campaign to halt their decline. Tim is the former Managing Director of Waterstone’s bookshops and W.H. Smith’s book chain in Europe, who runs his own publishing company. His ‘Good Library Blog’ (http://www.goodlibraryguide.com/blog/), receives over 50,000 unique visits each month.
Friends' Meeting House, Saffron Walden High Street. 8.00 p.m.
Non-Members welcome.
Week-long exhibition at Saffron Walden Museum of English Civil War publications, 14 -20 May 2007
Monday 14 May 2007 From 10am - Museum Launch of week-long Exhibition at Saffron Walden Museum of English Civil War publications from the collections of Saffron Walden Town Library and the Museum
Tuesday 15 May 2007 8pm - King's Arms, Market Hill The tavern was the focus of social life and political intrigue in the 17th Century, so bring along your favourite poems and tunes from the English Civil War period for an informal evening £1 collection at the door
Wednesday 16 May 2007 9.45am to 4.30pm - Town Hall 'Saffron Walden: Cradle of the English Revolution 1647-8' – ‘Day School’ (http://www.1647.org.uk/dayschool.html)
for the general public in the Town Hall. The speakers will be: Martyn Everett on the Agitators, John Sutton & Sue Sadler on the Battle of Linton, Andrew Lacey on King Charles I and John Walter on Parson Drake, the Vicar of Radwinter Tickets - £15.00 - are available from the Tourist Information Centre, 1 Market Place, Saffron Walden CB10 1HR (Tel: 01799 510444) or you can order them by post by downloading an application form.
Thursday 17 May 2007 8pm - Town Hall 'Behold Your King' - a costumed presentation (http://www.1647.org.uk/presentation.html)
in the Town Hall by June & John Sutton on the seizure of King Charles I by the soldiers of the New Model Army in 1647 Tickets - £5 and concessions £4 - are available from the Tourist Information Centre, 1 Market Place, Saffron Walden CB10 1HR (Tel: 01799 510444) or you can order them by post by downloading an application form.
8pm - St Mary's Church First performance of 'Freeborn Englishmen' - a specially commissioned play featuring - enactments of the 1647 debates in St Mary's Church Tickets - £7.50 and concessions £5.00 - are available from the Tourist Information Centre, 1 Market Place, Saffron Walden CB10 1HR (Tel: 01799 510444) or you can order them by post by downloading an application form.
Saturday 19 May 2007 From 10.30am - Town Centre, Museum/Castle Grounds, The Common & St Mary's Church Parade & 1647 re-enactments with stocks in the town centre by The Sealed Knot (http://www.thesealedknot.org.uk/).
17th Century Puppet Show in King Street and the Museum Grounds17th Century 'Living History' tented encampment and displays of social skills in the Museum GroundsDemonstration of Arms on The Common with 'live' firing by The Sealed Knot17th Century Dance demonstrations and participation by Danse RoyaleThe above Saturday events are all freeSecond performance of 'Freeborn Englishmen' in St Mary's ChurchTickets - £7.50 and concessions £5.00 - are available from the Tourist Information Centre, 1 Market Place, Saffron Walden CB10 1HR downloading an application form.
Sunday 20 May 2007 From 10.30am - Town Centre, Museum/Castle Grounds & The Common 17th Century 'Living History' stalls in the Museum Grounds17th Century Puppet Show in the Museum GroundsDrill on the Common by The Sealed KnotSkirmish on the Common - re-enactment by The Sealed KnotThe above Sunday events are all free
Full details of all events are available on http://www.1647.org.uk/
or from the Tourist Information Centre, Saffron Walden.”
6. BiS
BiS (Bibliotek i Samhälle) is another organization that has similar aims to ISC and publishes its own material (in Swedish). BiS is a Swedish association that was formulated in 1989. BiS means ‘Libraries in Society’. Lennart Wettmark is the editor of BIS.
http://www.bok-form.se/bis/bis_english/5_1_program.htm.
As it says on the BiS website:
“BiS is a politically independent organisation working on a socialist basis to promote progressive librarianship. For BiS socialism represents the idea of human liberation and development based on true satisfaction of needs, and the fair distribution of material and socia1 resources. Its citizens should govern a society striving to realise these objectives, as directly as possible.”
Furthermore:
“BiS considers public libraries an essential source of culture, knowledge and information. BiS demands legislation mandating equal library standards throughout the country. Groups that currently do not use libraries should be involved in policy-making and planning. Libraries should be established in workplaces, schools, sparsely populated areas and suburbs, as well as be the recipients of outreach services. The growing emphasis on adult education demands increased resources for libraries.”
Lennart Wettmark, the editor of BiS, interviewd Rory Litwin recently, and this was published in BiS 2007 (1). The piece focuses on the ‘library left’ in the USA and on Rory’s publishing company, Library Juice Press LLC – see http://libraryjuicepress.com/. Rory hosts the web space, ‘Libr.org’, which has been ‘Supporting Progressive Librarians Since 1998’ (see http://libr.org/). There is also material by Mikael Böök in the same issue. This includes a report by Mikael on the most recent World Social Forum and a report on his visit to a library in Zanzibar, which is the one and only public library in the Zanbibar Islands.
Finally, I have an article in BiS, 2002, No. 3, pp. 6-9 about the WTO/GATS Agenda for libraries. It is entitled: Kommersialisering och Privatisering - WTO/GATS Agenda for Bibliotek I ett Engelskt Perspektiv (WTO/GATS agenda with special reference to public libraries in England). In Swedish only. See: http://www.foreningenbis.org/Gats/gatsrr.html
7. Information for Social Change Polices
Information for Social Change has just undertaken a review of policies and procedures, a process which reflects the formalisation of ISC as a voluntary led, progressive and collective-based organisation. The new policies and procedures are intended to define the aims and objectives of ISC as an activist organisation and as a periodical, but also to outline the means through which ISC undertakes its stated aims to reflect and comment on the broad range of social, cultural and economic issues in the context of information, education and related spheres of activity. The policy document also defines the submission and publication process for contributions to the ISC ejournal and web site, ensuring the mechanisms and procedures of ISC are transparent to ISC members, contributors and general users.The policy document was researched and drafted by Paul Catherall in 2007 and produced through agreement by the ISC collective. It is now available at: http://libr.org/isc/policy.html
8. Edgardo Civallero – new member of ISC EB
Welcome to Edgardo Civallero, from Argentina, a librarian and archivist, who has just become an Advisory Member of the ISC Editorial Board.
Further information about Edgardo (taken from ISC website)
“I started working in LIS social issues in 2001, developing libraries in indigenous and rural communities in northern Argentina. I became involved with the IFLA and UDC editorial board, and with Open Access Initiatives in Latin America, and with several LIS Journals' editorial boards here in my continent, so I have a leg inside the "official, academic" land and the other one in my beloved radical, activist, anarchist land. My feelings and my beliefs belong to the latter field…I also give classes, conferences and workshops on LIS social activism and the social role of librarians.
The points of view I have are an outcome of my direct experience working in my country. I have managed really difficult situations (including threats to my life) while working as a librarian, as well as hard situations (human rights violations, death, disease and suffering of library users), so my outlook may appear a little "radical", but I am convinced of the power of the library for changing realities. I have witnessed the power of information, the power of the book, the power of the journal and I think that this is the point we must encourage: the fair use of information in order to give tools and voices to the silenced and disadvantaged.”
This information has been obtained from the Profiles section of the ISC website. See: http://libr.org/isc/profile.html#h (under ‘Edgardo Civallero’)
Edgardo also has a weblog, entitled ‘The Log of a Librarian’. See:http://www.thelogofalibrarian.blogspot.com/
Finally, Edgardo wrote a Foreword (pp. ix-xiii) for Toni Samek’s book Librarianship and Human Rights: a twenty-first century guide, Chandos Publishing: Oxford, 2007. http://www.chandospublishing.com/catalogue/record_detail.php?recordID=82. The Foreword has also been translated into Spanish (pp.xv-xviii).
As Edgardo says in his Foreword:
“The librarian has not always been conscious of all the power resting in his/her hands, nor of the huge responsibility for making fair use of it….The librarian should pursue the laudable aim of keeping power from the hands of the minority…The librarian should help people to look in each other’s eyes on an equal footing.” (p.xii)
9. MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT
To lighten the load, I am including some information here about an entertainment event, which is free and open to all on 4th May 2007 in London.
Revolutions Per minute: a nite of unity in the face of climate change
On Friday 4th May 2007, 7pm-2am
The Cross Kings, 126 York Way, Kings Cross, London, N1 0AX
Free entry - donations welcome
Featuring:
Musicans: Peyoti for President, Planetman and the Internationalz, Rob da Rub,
King Blues, Millie Moonstone, Mike Freedman, Mark Hole
Poet:
Jack Blackburn
Stand-ups:
Dylan Strain, Sean Redmond, Whatshername (Radical politics in a see-thru dress)
In the publicity, it says that:
“Sordid Soup Productions is bringing together some of the best international artists who care about what's going on in the world and aim to release the album "Wake Up - Rise Up" in the summer. We need money to do all this so we have put on what is going to be a great evening of music, politics and unity. Please come and get involved if you really care. This non-profit venture is also helping to promote A World to Win.”
N.B. Many thanks to Chris Pegler from the Open University, Martyn Everett, Paul Catherall and Corrina Lotz from ‘A World to Win’ for providing information for items 4, 5, 7 and 9 respectively, of this News Update, No. 9. Also, to Mikael Böök for providing information about the latest BIS issue (in item 6).
Note: Martyn Everett also has his own web log, called ‘The Book Surfer’ – see http://booksurfer2.blogspot.com/
22nd April 2007
No comments:
Post a Comment