Webinar: Library Leadership and Management – building today’s African public and community library leaders for tomorrow

Overview

The 21^st century is characterized by changes especially in the information provision sector. Library leadership is critical for driving innovative services as the information needs and consumption patterns of our user communities change, expand, contract and take on different technological hues. Throw in stagnant budgetary allocations and inadequate funding for public and community libraries into the mix and the need for library leaders who understand networking and working with minimal resources while focusing on community needs become most vital. Furthermore, the rate of poverty in sub-Saharan Africa appears to be on the rise. What can public and community libraries do to provide access to needful information that can change lives, regardless of the pressing constraints? AfLIA, in partnership with the Finnish Library Association, presents a free webinar on the topic “Library Leadership and Management – building today’s African public and community library leaders for tomorrow” to answer these questions and more.

Learning outcomes

It is expected that the webinar will:

Deepen understanding about the concept of library and the role of modern library in a community.
Explore ways by which libraries can help reduce poverty through building contacts/partnerships with decision makers and local government.
Throw more light on crosscutting issues such as competence and qualification of library staff, education and lifelong learning, news skills in the digital age and networking and connection with colleagues.
Show how to develop and market library services, improve customer service and ICT infrastructure
Show how to develop innovative projects with limited resources, promote your library as a living room for the whole community and a place for all kinds of events.

Date and Time – 12noon GMT, Tuesday 26th November, 2019

Registration

This is a free webinar and open to members and non-members of AfLIA alike. Registration ends on the eve of webinar day.

Click here to register.

Please read the section on Technical Requirements to help you prepare adequately for this webinar.

Target audience

Heads of Public and Community Libraries
Departmental Heads of Public and Community Libraries
Heads of Sections in Public and Community Libraries
Other librarians who wish to gain deeper insights on library leadership and management.

Resource Persons

Ms. Pirkko Lindberg, is the Director of libraries and adult education services in Tampere City, Finland. She has a long career in library field, as she has worked in library management both in the university library and public libraries altogether for 30 years. She has also worked as a lecturer at Oulu University teaching information studies. She is a member of IFLA Public Libraries Section Standing Committee (2nd term) and a member of several national library organizations and former member and Vice President of Finnish Library Association board. Her experience in both national and international library field is wide and she has given numerous international presentations.

Ms. Ritva Nyberg, is the Development Manager of Vantaa City Library, one of the biggest libraries in Finland. She has over 20 years of experience in public library services in different positions. For the past five years as Development Manager she has been responsible for library strategy, economics, quality politics, assessment and international projects including a ten-year project in Namibia, Africa. She has been training library people both in Finland and abroad in library strategy and management and has attended as speaker at library conferences and other public administration occasions. Her major skills are management, Human Resources, Public Relations and international projects.

Technical Requirements

Upon registration, reminders will be sent to all registrants periodically. This webinar will be hosted on Zoom Conferencing Platform. Participants, who do not have Zoom on their mobile devices and or computers, need to download, install and create an account on Zoom ahead of time (CLICK TO DOWNLOAD). Webinar attendees are encouraged to join early, preferably 15 minutes before the start of the webinar, as one may need time launch the application. The speaker will use a webcam to connect with attendees. Audio and video for the session will be streamed over computer speakers. Attendees are therefore encouraged to connect with a headset or earpiece for maximum utility. Participants will be able to ask questions and interact with the presenters and other webinar participants via the Q&A and chat features in Zoom.

Webinar Materials

A list of resources and further information will made be available at the end of the webinar, to enable thorough engagement with the webinar content. All registrants will have access to the presentation slides. The webinar recording will be uploaded on AfLIA Youtube Channel soon after the webinar to facilitate continuous engagement with the webinar content by webinar attendees and non-attendees. Webinar attendees who will present for more than half the duration of the webinar may be eligible for a certificate of participation from AfLIA.

Queries

For further enquiries and assistance about the webinar contact us at afliacomm@aflia.net. Bring this to the attention of your colleague librarians as well as those in your professional circle. It is free!!! Also promote this webinar in your networks.