Monday 26 December 2011

CARIB LIN's Goals for 2012


2007-2011

This month marks the 4th year since the launch of this blog. It has not been easy to keep it operational. Many blogs start and die pretty quickly, and keeping CARIBLIN alive, without any partner, was not easy.

Nevertheless, the commitment to having the voice in the LIS blogosphere to report on LIS news about the Caribbean is one of the driving ideal that keeps me going. I also dream of the day, when this initiative will be collaborative, where many other young Caribbean LIS professionals and students will take over this initiative and truly apply blogging to keep each other up-to-date with what is going on in the region's libraries.

Such sharing is important, because there are so many valuable and practical information that this blog provides:


  • a source of research ideas and inspiration. Students who are considering research ideas, could use the news articles here to help them launch into research on what is currently taking place in the region's libraries.

  • a source for locating possible sponsors, donors and organisations that would give support to Caribbean libraries. News contained here could assist in the development of a donor database for libraries, that will indicate companies in the past that have donated to Caribbean libraries or the cause of libraries. 

  • a source of case studies in the regions libraries, for LIS education that wants to provide some global context (of comparative library studies) to their LIS curriculum


These are few of the ideas for which I see this blog as being extremely valuable.

For 2011, my goals were to


  • maintain the blog entries on the English-speaking Caribbean library and information environment to at least 3 entries per month.
  • maintain grammatically and error free entries, while ensuring that this blog is accurate, trustworthy and reliable.
  • provide a voice in the blogosphere for issues in Caribbean library and information service environment
  • and to report developments that are of interest to and affect librarians and information professionals who have an interest in the region.


For 2012, the latter 3 goals remain. Also for 2012, I want to maintain the survival of this blog through:

  1. At least one blog posting per month on news relevant to the region
  2. Trying to enlist at least one other partner blogger to post

I however want to publicly acknowledge  Emerson Bryan, one of my Caribbean LIS person that keeps sending me LIS news from the region so that I can post it here and else where. Thanks Emerson for keeping me informed. To CARIB LIN readers, I wish you a prosperous 2012 and further great reading.


Mark-Shane Scale

Blog Editor and Chief Contributor

  

Saturday 24 December 2011

New Jamaican initiative in family literacy aimed to get parent reading to babies


Author: Athaliah Reynolds, JIS Reporter
Title: PM Encourages Parents, Particularly Fathers, To Read with Children
Source: Jamaica Information Service
Date: MONDAY, 19 DECEMBER 2011
URL: http://www.jis.gov.jm/news/opm-news/29481-pm-encourages-parents-particularly-fathers-to-read-with-children

Abstract:
The article reports on a speech by the Prime Minister and Education Minister addressed to parents during a
handing over ceremony of Bookstart Jamaica ‘book packs’, at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) Paediatric Clinic, on Monday, December 19. What the Bookstart Jamaica project is about is outlined as well as the objectives of the programme and the vision for it to give parents and families a place in raising the literacy level of future students. Essentially the programme entails Jamaican parents of babies getting books from the government as part of an encouragement for parents to read to their children.


Excerpt:
Bookstart Jamaica is part of the Ministry of Education’s new family literacy initiative, which aims to create a nation of readers and encourage an early start to family literacy activities. Each Bookstart Jamaica ‘book pack’ has a locally developed board book suitable for infants, and information about the Jamaica Library Service, its locations and family programmes, including ‘We Likkle but We Tallawah’ - parents reading with infants and toddlers Bookstart Jamaica companion programme.

Mr. Holness noted that the programme was established as part of the Ministry’s National Literacy Strategy, as it was found that many Jamaican children were entering the school system unprepared.
“This places us at a disadvantage, because teachers now have to do the work that parents should have done as a natural part of their parenting responsibility. When we examined what was happening in the households, we realised that many parents did not understand the importance of early reading with their children,” the Prime Minister said.
He informed that the objective of Bookstart  is to provide parents with books at the earliest stage, “so that when the programme is fully implemented, every Jamaican child born in a hospital in Jamaica will be presented with a package.”

Belize National Library gets health science collection boost


Author/Reporter: Delahnie Bain
Title: PAHO and WHO add pages to the Library
Source: Channel5Belize
Date published: December 12, 2011
URL: http://edition.channel5belize.com/archives/64371

Abstract:


New health science publications donated to the Belize National Library Service & Information System (BNLSIS) by two agencies of the United Nations. The report outlines the scope of the collection/publications donated and the response of the librarian/library regarding the resources. Part of the report also mentions the audience that would benefit from the new donated collection. Finally the article ends on a note about pending negotiations for BNLSIS to access further electronic resources available.


Excerpt:

Two organizations of the United Nations this morning donated a heap of books to the national library service. The publications will spruce up the library’s health collection on a wide range of issues from bio-medical to technical literature that have been published by PAHO and the WHO. News Five’s Delahnie Bain also found out that the collection of publications will be available at libraries across the country.

There is a new collection of publications at the National Library Service, which puts an abundance of health information at the fingertips of every Belizean. Today PAHO/WHO officially handed over its full collection of health science publications at the Leo Bradley Library.