2020, 9-10 DECEMBER - THE 9TH INTERNATIONAL SUMMIT OF THE BOOK 2020 & WESTERN BALKAN INFORMATION AND MEDIA LITERACY CONFERENCE 2020

conference lnss

Between the 9th-10th of December, Lina Mihaluta, Deputy Director, Valentina Topalo, principal librarian, USARB Scientific Library, participated in the proceedings of the international online conference (Zoom platform) entitled "The 9th International Summit of the Book 2020 Western Balkan Information and Media Literacy Conference 2020”, hosted by the Limerick Institute of Technology, Ireland and the University of Bihać, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

They offered complimentary access to the to colleagues from Erasmus+ Programme Library Network Support Services: modernising libraries in Armenia, Moldova and Belarus through library staff development and reforming libraries [LNSS].

The participants were honored with the presence of world-renowned figures from the library world as well as pioneering figures in the development of the Internet as Keynote Speakers, including: Ismail Serageldin, Emeritus Librarian of Alexandria, the Founding Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the New Library of Alexandria (2001-2017) in Egypt; Vice-President of the World Bank (1993-2000) Vinton G. Cerf, Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist for Google, recognized as one of the "Fathers of the Internet"; co-designer of the architecture of the Internet; Christine MacKenzie, President of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA).

The following themes were covered in the conference and panel discussions: books and libraries enabling a sustainable, fairer world through universal literacy; libraries in support of research and learning; the visibility of university Information Literacy Courses; practice what we reach: strengthening the librarian’s referencing competencies in teaching information literacy, libraries and challenges for the future: data mining and its purpose, benefits and meaning ; reflections on e-books – diversity, growth, use; web page of information institution; the future of the text; allevation of library anxiety through Information Literacy teaching; digital preservation through the Portal to Texas History; the role of libraries and information centers in disaster management; Information literacy and knowledge economy: the broad technical concepts for Nigerian libraries etc.