Conferences and Events

Below are details of events held under the auspices of the Libraries & Information Network, or as a result of projects linked to the Network. A number of events for publishers have also been organised as part of the ACU and INASP Publishers for Development initiative.

2010

Arcadia Digital Libraries Project, final project workshop, 18-20 February 2010, Nairobi, Kenya

A workshop for participants in the Arcadia digital libraries project to review the results of the study and consider ways forward. (Attendence by invitation only).

Euro-Africa Cooperation Forum on ICT Research, 4 February, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Three network members– Margaret Adeogun (University of Eastern Africa, Baraton, Kenya), Agnes Chikonzo (University of Zimbabwe) and Paul Muneja (University of Dar es Salaam) – were recently awarded ACU Mobility Grants to take part in the Euro-Africa Cooperation Forum on ICT Research.

The event was organised by EuroAfrica-ICT, an EU funded consortium project, of which the ACU is a member. Agnes also presented a paper on digital library services at the University of Zimbabwe. Margaret and Agnes report on the event in the the ACU Bulletin, no. 170.

2008

'The Changing University Library', part of the ACU Conference of Executive Heads, 28 November 2008, Hyderabad, India

A dedicated libraries session – 'The Changing University Library' was held at the ACU's Conference of Executive Heads in Hyderabad, India under the theme 'Dazzling Technologies: seismic shifts in higher education in a fast-changing and unequal world'.

The opportunity was used to present a briefing paper summarising the key messages of the Network's 2008 survey to VCs and other senior colleagues. In addition two members also presented papers – Dr Buhle Mbambo-Thata and Dr Margaret Adeogun.

2007

'An Information Lab for the Knowledge Society', inaugural planning meeting of the Libraries and Information Network, 22–24 October 2007, University of Botswana, Gaborone

The ACU and University of Botswana hosted a 3 day planning meeting for the Libraries and Information Network in Gaborone in October 2007.

The meeting was supported by the UNESCO Participation Programme, to consider key concerns and to identify ways forward.

Many of the challenges facing libraries globally pose particular problems for African universities and as a result this first meeting focused particularly on African libraries. It brought together librarians from Botswana, Cameroon, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, Uganda, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe, alongside colleagues from Australia, India and the UK.

The meeting considered a number of issues, including Information Literacy, Quality Assurance and Benchmarking, Strategic Engagement within Institutions, and Librarian-Publisher Engagement.

An article which discusses the meeting and its principal outcomes is available in LINK issue 2.

A full report of the meeting is also available, in addition to a further commentary from Dr Stephen Akintunde, University of Jos, Nigeria.