Oral Histories

Members of the IFLA Library History Special Interest Group have started conducting oral history interviews with former IFLA presidents, secretaries general, and other leading IFLA personalities from as far back as possible. Along with many other IFLA members we were dismayed and saddened to learn of the recent death of former IFLA president, and Honorary Fellow of IFLA, Donna Scheeder (1947-2022). Her death is a great loss to the profession. It is also a reminder how important it is to collect oral histories and other information about our leading personalities while we can. In Donna’s case, we can no longer record an oral history interview. We are therefore inviting members who have recollections, photographs, documents or information relating to Donna, to share these with the SIG, so that we can compile an album or portfolio about her in lieu of an oral history interview. If you wish to contribute, please contact Peter Lor at peterjlor[@]gmail.com.

Peter Lor

IFLA Library History SIG

Libraries in the Time of Crisis: Historical Perspectives - A Report

It was the annual national congress of information specialists in Iran in November 2017. I had a lecture about our session in Wroclaw and I reported the papers presented about "Libraries in Times of Crisis". It was enjoyable for the librarians attended in our national congress. I think there was some common sense in all the presentations that every people in the world could understand it. Sense of responsibility, proud, concern and maybe regret. Here are some photos of that day I like to share with you.  

Parisa Pasyar, Iran, p.pasyar[@]gmail.com

Message from the Convenor, IFLA Library History SIG

It is lovely to see that as of today we have a number of followers on our IFLA Library History SIG blog. But where are your posts? Not that I can claim being a great contributor, but then again I don't want to load you with stuff from me. Many thanks to Peter Lor for his post and link to his draft chapter for the momentous tome that he is putting together. And that post was last November! 

On the Library History front: from my little part of the world I can report that because I detected a nascent interest in the topic here in Western Australia (WA), I thought it was time I got things moving – again. My recollection was that the last burst of interest in WA was in 1990 when we held a wonderful Australian Library & Information Association conference here in Perth (during a national commercial pilots' strike – but that's another story) and colleagues Robert Sharman and the late Anne Clyde produced a publication Western Perspectives, which did cover the present and  some of our library history. But since then? Very little has happened. Until now. So wish me luck as I pursue the interest here. We have our first presentation in mid March on From Card Catalogue to Ebooks; a History of Fremantle City Library: 1851-2016.

And you?

Kerry Smith, Convenor, SIG Library History