Ethiopia Five-Month Update

December 20, 2010

The Segenat Children and Youth Library in Mekelle, Ethiopia, was dedicated in August 2010. Since that time, attendance has soared and a computer lab has been networked and records input into a fully functional online catalog. The Segenat Library caught the attention of Ethiopian TV and other broadcast media, opening up the possibility of adding branch libraries. Yohannes Gebregeorgis, project manager, has teamed with the Tigray Development Association for future collaboration. For more information contact tigrayreads@yahoo.com.

Contributions may be sent to the Tigray Development Association, Library and Literacy Project, P.O. Box 73295, Washington, D.C. 20095-3295

A solitary reader finds the great outdoors conducive to concentration.

Three young girls utilize the Reading Nook, an area that will become among the most popular areas of the library.

Three young boys peer over the counter as they check in to the library.

Over 3,000 copies of Yohannes Gebregeorgis’ book, “Tirhas Celebrates Ashenda” were distributed during the first week.

Students attend an “Intro to Computers Class” in a fully networked computer lab.

This four-year-old girl came to the library daily.

Most children had never put together a puzzle before, but these boys quickly picked up the skills.

Chess and checkers were popular activities among the teens.

A regular library user encouraged his mother, a reporter for Ethiopian TV to cover the library.

Many clubs were formed including a science club and a homework club.

Arts and crafts included local materials like eggs and corn husks for dolls. But even eggs were expensive commodities.

Children flocked to the library daily for a quiet place to study.

To move ahead, libraries need to understand where they are now

12 Ways Libraries Are Good for the Country

A gift from American Libraries magazine of one dozen ideals toward which libraries strive.

Latest Library Links

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Steve Tetreault writes: “Educators face more pressure and push-back than at any point I can recall. Decision-makers at the national, state, and local levels resist the idea of educators as trained professionals. Too many parents feel entitled to dictate every second of students’ lives, both in and out of the classroom. Even students exhibit widespread attitudes of disrespect and disdain for school. In short: Education is in a dark age. But within that darkness, there are points of light. We are each a star. And if we are willing to connect with others, we can create fabulous constellations.”

Knowledge Quest, Sept. 9
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“Choice and LibTech Insights have published a white paper developed by Sandy Hervieux and Amanda Wheatley, two librarians from McGill University in Montreal with extensive experience in artificial intelligence (AI) and librarianship (long before the wave of generative AI), that offers an innovative framework for AI literacy. ‘Building an AI Literacy Framework: Perspectives from Instruction Librarians and Current Information Literacy Tools’ integrates interviews with many librarians on the ground who are teaching AI and AI literacy to highlight the shortcomings of current models and the needs a new one must address.”

Choice 360 LibTech Insights, Sept. 4
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Betsy Gomez writes: “Award-winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay has been named honorary chair for Banned Books Week 2024, which takes place September 22–28. DuVernay will be joined by youth honorary chair Julia Garnett, a student activist who fought book bans in her home state of Tennessee. A staunch advocate for education and free expression, DuVernay directed two films inspired by frequently banned books: A Wrinkle in Time and Origin. Garnett has been honored for her advocacy for the freedom to read by First Lady Jill Biden and is a leader in the National Coalition Against Censorship’s Student Advocates for Speech program, educating other students about advocacy.”

Intellectual Freedom Blog, Sept. 6
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Kate Knibbs writes: “The Internet Archive has lost a major legal battle—in a decision that could have a significant impact on the future of internet history. The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled against the long-running digital archive September 4, upholding an earlier ruling in Hachette v. Internet Archive that found that one of the Internet Archive’s book digitization projects [the pandemic-era National Emergency Library] violated copyright law. Notably, the appeals court’s ruling rejects the Internet Archive’s argument that its lending practices were shielded by the fair use doctrine.”

Wired, Sept. 4
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Anne Ford writes: “From outside, Downtown Reno Library of Washoe County (Nev.) Library System looks like a big square brown box. ‘There’s no pizazz out front,’ says Kristen Ryan, branch manager. So when people walk inside and find a lush central atrium with an abundance of philodendrons, spotted begonias, and other greenery; several towering trees; and a reflection pool, they tend to gasp the same thing: ‘Oh my god, look at all the plants!’”

American Libraries column, May
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“Every year, ALA recognizes the achievements of more than 200 individuals and institutions with an array of awards honoring their service to librarians and librarianship. Winners are chosen by juries of their colleagues and peers and embody the best of the profession’s leadership, vision, and service as well as a continued commitment to outreach and equity, diversity, and inclusion. Award recipients were honored at a June 30 ceremony and reception during ALA’s 2024 Annual Conference and Exhibition in San Diego.”

American Libraries feature, Sept./Oct.
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Rick Anderson writes: “‘Are libraries neutral?’ This is the question that was posed at the ALA Midwinter President’s Program in Denver a few years ago. A diverse panel of librarians was asked to take turns responding to that question, with results that were sometimes very interesting and sometimes fairly predictable. There was a very big problem, though, and it lay in the organizing question itself. One can’t really answer it meaningfully without first asking a clarifying question: ‘neutral’ about what? In some ways neutrality in the library is clearly a very bad idea—and yet in some important ways, it’s absolutely essential.”

The Scholarly Kitchen, Sept. 3