ࡱ> prou@ bjbj 7b<,`:<<<<<<<NPPPPPP$SR!\t9<<<<<t<<^^^<^<<N^<N^^vv< y9ܔtvN0v":"v"v<<^<<<<<ttHLibrary Association as a Bridge between the Academic and the Civil Sector Aleksandra Horvat, Ph.D. Department of Information Sciences Faculty of Philosophy University of Zagreb Ivana Lucica 3 10 000 Z A G R E B CROATIA E-mail:  HYPERLINK "mailto:aleksandra.horvat@zg.htnet.hr" aleksandra.horvat@zg.htnet.hr Abstract The relations between the academic field and the civil society in Croatia exist, but strangely enough have not always been recognized as such, especially not in the last two decades. Civil society has often and quite wrongly been (mis)understood as a group of organizations of local volunteers or specialized activist groups, gathered around a specific issue of interest which is in no way connected with profession or scholarship. Examples of civil society organizations would be associations of persons interested in women's or minority rights, ecological issues, or quality of urban life. Foundations as specific organizations with a philanthropic or humanitarian mission also belong to the civil sector, but their modest number and limited influence in the society cannot change much the overall impression of the civil society. Nevertheless, the fact that various professional associations exist in Croatia and that traditionally they have been called upon to provide advice and opinion when politicians have to deal with certain professional issues is often neglected. There is no doubt that professional associations are close to the civil sector, in spite of the fact that they might be and often are financed fully or at least in part by the government. In this paper the author will try to show how the activities of one such professional association - the Croatian Library Association - helped support and promote the library and information profession in the country and what kind of co-operation between the academic community, civil society organizations and the professional library association is feasible. Keywords: library association; civil society organizations; professional associations Civil society organizations and professional associations Along with the two important sectors of the contemporary society, i.e. business and government, the third one, named variously as the civil sector, voluntary sector, NGO sector, nonprofit sector or social economy sector (Salamon, 2002), seems to be gaining importance. The civil sector is formed by various citizen associations, often referred to as civil society organizations. Those organizations promote or defend certain opinions or interests and rely upon volunteers as their members. Often their activities are limited to the local community and remain unknown to the wider public outside of the community they belong to. Examples of civil society organizations would be a group of activists interested in ecological issues, women's rights or urban life quality, as well as a local club of blood donors or a club of a popular singer fans. Since the nineties, however, civil society organizations have become more and more visible in the international arena, perhaps also as a result of their participation at several world conferences and summits. Expectations have been voiced that they should become more important contributors to an accountable global civil society (Paul, 2000). Do professional associations belong to the civil sector? It is difficult to obtain a direct answer from the literature on civil society. Selian (2004, p. 206) states that civil sector is not necessarily distinct from private sector actors or entities, like scientific, professional, or trade associations. Paul (2000) defines civil society organizations as organizations that serve the public and are separate from the state. There is no doubt that the same could be said for professional associations, whose mission is provision of service and whose members are volunteers. Also, they are not state organizations, even if they are sometimes supported by the government. But the fact that they are quite old organizations, their origin dating back to the 18th and the 19th century, when they formed part of the civil society of that time, might make them seem different from the modern civil society organizations of the 20th & 21st century. Also, professional associations may seem different from civil society organizations because of the cumulated professional knowledge of their members, used to provide valuable services needed by the community. However, when they lobby for their interests, defend their purpose in public, promote their professional services, or stand up for professional solidarity they behave much like the civil society organizations. At the international level, for example, IFLA as an international professional association, joined other civil society organizations during the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in 2003. The transformation of IFLA from an international professional association into a transnational social movement organization was described by its former president Alex Byrne (2007). According to Byrne IFLA differs from what he calls social movement organization, because its primary reason for existence is professional solidarity, but it also differs from the traditional professional association because it places emphasis on social change. There is no doubt that the shift in paradigm from an orientation towards service to users into a responsibility to the community, both local and global (Byrne, p. 186), makes the traditional professional association a true member of the civil society. In Croatia civil society organizations have often been (mis)understood as organizations of local volunteers, in no way connected with professions or even less with the academic community. Foundations as organizations with a philanthropic or humanitarian mission are also considered to belong to the civil sector, but regarding their small number (104 foundations were registered in 2007) (Nacionalna zaklada, 2007) and their modest influence in the society they cannot change the overall impression that civil society organizations are weak organizations with little influence and importance in the society. Such impression is partly also due to the fact that various professional associations, which have traditionally been called upon to provide advice and opinion to politicians when they have to deal with professional issues, are not seen as part of the civil sector, as they could be. The reluctance to include professional associations among the civil society organizations might be connected to the fact that associations are often fully or at least in part financially supported by the government. But it also my be a result of the fact that associations rarely try to initiate a social change and are quite content to stick to their traditional role of offering professional services and advice. On the other hand the activities of professional associations, even when they organize training or engage in professional publishing are also seen as having little to do with the academic world. This is strange, since editing and publishing of professional literature has a direct influence on the development of the profession as such, and this fact should be of utmost interest for the academic community of students and teachers. It is possible that such views will change following the introduction of the Bologna process to universities and the adoption of the concept of lifelong learning. It seems that especially the latter opens many paths to possible co-operation between professional associations and academic institutions. The intention of this paper is to show how the example of IFLA has been followed by the Croatian Library Association and what has been done in the LIS field in Croatia regarding co-operation between the professional association and the academic field. It also aims to show how the Croatian Library Association became a partner with civil society organizations and obtained support of the National Foundation for the Development of Civil Society and what were the outcomes of the co-operation. We believe that this co-operation which grew up almost spontaneously, can prove that professional associations might serve as a kind of a bridge between the academic and the civil sector. The Croatian Library Association (CLA) Established in 1940 by a small group of librarians from the University Library in Zagreb and a few other major research libraries in the country, today the CLA is the national umbrella association for 16 regional library organizations with aproximately 1,300 personal members. It has been a member of IFLA and an associate member of EBLIDA (European Library, Information and Documentation Association). Its structure follows closely the IFLA model, its professional work being performed by numerous sections, committees and working groups. Since the '60s it has developed a modest but significant publishing activity. For a long time it was the only publisher of professional library literature; up to the present it has remained the strongest. For many years it has organized occasional professional training for librarians from all over the country. Thirty years ago it helped formulate the curriculum of the first graduate study programme in librarianship introduced at the Zagreb University in 1976. It includes practicing librarians from all kinds of libraries, as well as students and teachers of librarianship among its members. Over the years a number of CLA members have served on various IFLA committees and sections. The CLA had its representative in the IFLA/FAIFE Committee from its establishment in 1997 and the CLA Governing Board established its own FAIFE (Freedom of Access to Information and Freedom of Expression) Committee in 1998. It was the CLA/FAIFE Committee which started promoting the idea of social responsibility of librarians to the professional community by organizing a series of lectures for librarians in various parts of the country and by publishing articles about the topic. Education and Training The idea of spreading the news about the profession by organized training seemed attractive in the late '90s. At the time it was possible to obtain the funds for small scale projects in the library field from the Open Society Institute which had local offices in the region. The former relations with the Macedonian Library Association were used by the CLA to organize a training seminar in Skopje in 1997. The teachers from the Department of Information Sciences and a few practicing librarians from Zagreb were invited to lecture on the role of library associations in the period of transition, and on more practical issues, such as Internet services, subject indexing, and cataloguing formats. Macedonian colleagues were able to publish a book of seminar proceedings (Sovremeni trendovi, 1999). In 2001 an international call for projects announced by the Open Society Institute in Budapest was taken as a starting point for possible co-operation among various actors representing the library community in the country. The project called upon the establishment of a training centre for librarians. A project proposal was agreed upon and made up by four institutions: Department of Information Sciences, University of Zagreb, the National and University Library, the Zagreb City Libraries (the largest network of public libraries in the country), and the CLA. It was possible to make a commmon agreement due to the long-standing relations between the individuals in the academic community and the library profession represented by the CLA. Teachers at the Department have been members of the CLA and the Department has included practicing librarians from the National and University Library and the Zagreb City Libraries among its faculty as part-time staff. Thus an unofficial coalition of colleagues professionals was formed who then composed and submitted the common project proposal to their institutions for approval. Each institution had its own role: the teachers at the Department structured subject content of training courses, the National and University Library offered its premises and equipment, the Zagreb City Libraries and the CLA supported the proposal because they needed training for their staff and at the same time offered specialists in various library fields as trainers. A formal agreement was signed by the heads of the institutions and the application sent to the Open Society Institute which accepted the proposal. Due to the initial funds obtained the programme was successfully launched in 2002. The programming board consisting of the representatives of the four institutions founders was appointed and teachers of individual courses nominated. 59 training courses were offered in the first year delivered to more than 500 librarians from all over the country. A more detailed description of the establishment of the Centre is provided in Horvat (2004). Today the Centre is still the most important provider of continuing professional education for librarians in the country. Partly supported by the Ministry of Culture it also charges small fees for the participants. All attendants of courses receive certificate of attendance and are expected to evaluate the course by filling in evaluation forms. A great deal is still to be done regarding regulation of continuous education of librarians and the system of professional promotion, but the establishment of the Centre and its activities show clearly that the co-operation between a professional association and the academic department is feasible and can also be fruitful. Professional meetings and publishing activity The idea of organizing a series of annual Round Tables on Free Access to Information originated from the the CLA/FAIFE Committee and the Department of Information Sciences. Round Tables were seen as a practical and efficient tool for spreading the idea of free access to information as a basic responsibility of the library profession. It was hoped that they would help raise awareness among librarians about new topics important for libraries and would allow for easier adoption of numerous changes brought daily to libraries by the new information and communication technology and new legislation. It was envisaged that each meeting would identify possible obstacles to free access to information for library users and hopefully offer adequate solutions to overcome the obstacles. Following the first Round Table held in Zagreb in 2001 which was dedicated to free access to cultural information the topics were carefully selected to include access to official publications and resources, access for special categories of citizens, such as blind and physically handicapped, access to information in the academic community, the role of libraries in lifelong learning, professional ethics and libraries and intellectual property. Between 80 and 100 librarians from all kinds of libraries attended each Round Table. Books of proceedings were edited and published by the CLA (Slobodan, 2002; 2004; 2007; Library professional ethics, 2007). The proceedings have been used as students' optional literature at the Department of Information Sciences. Supporting the legislation The members of the CLA and the Department of Information Sciences participated in the drafting of the new Copyright Act and Freedom of Access to Information (FOI) Act. Prior to the adoption of the new Copyright Act in 2003 a working group of legal experts was appointed by the state to prepare the draft of the new law. The National and University Library, which is according to the Library Act the central point of the library system in the country, was expected to nominate a representative in the working group, but unfortunately it did not use that opportunity. Aware that libraries and archives have been explicitly mentioned in the EU Directive on Copyright (2001) as public institutions concerned with copyright issues, the CLA realized that it would have been important for librarians to participate, but was able to provide its opinion only unofficially. Contacts were made with a member of the expert group who was willing to pass the CLA opinions to the expert group. In 2002 the CLA joined an informal coalition of 17 civil society organizations which initiated the first FOI Act to be introduced in the country. The draft was composed by a group of legal experts from the Faculty of Law in Zagreb and the representatives of the coalition. The CLA was interested in the new law because it was well aware of the inadequate availability of official publications in the public libraries in the country. The Department of Information Sciences realized that new jobs for students of information studies could be created, since the new FOI Act required that public authorities and other government bodies employ information officers to deal with the public requests for information. The FOI Act was finally adopted in 2003, but since then not many information sciences graduates have been employed as information officers; somehow the authorities seem to prefer journalists. This may be a collateral proof of the insufficient understanding of the term 'information' and the FOI Act in general. 'Information on the EU' project In 2003 the CLA obtained funds for a small one-year project from the Government's Office for Associations. The aim of that project was to raise awareness among librarians in the country of the need to provide free access to information and to make them aware of the changes in the general policy toward libraries. Lectures and presentations were organized and held in public libraries in several towns in the country on the topics of free access to information as the basic responsibility of librarians, free access to information for children and young adults, privacy of users and protection of personal data collected in libraries, etc. But the project was very modest both in the scope and funds obtained and only a small number of librarians were reached. Therefore, a decision was made to apply for another more ambitious project which required the co-operation and support of regional library associations, members of the CLA. The aim of the project was to educate librarians for the task of informing both librarians and library users about the EU. The partner in the project was the Netherlands Public Association, the Netherlands being a member state of the EU and a twining partner of the CLA since 2003. The financial support was seeked and obtained from the National Foundation for Civil Society Development. The project 'Information on the EU in public libraries' was implemented in the period between 2005 and 2007 and consisted of a series of lectures and workshops (Program, 2007). It is interesting to mention here that the project was prepared and accepted before the Government adopted its document entitled Communication Strategy Aimed at Informing the Croatian Public about the European Union and Preparations for EU Membership in 2006. Thus librarians were among the first to become informed about the EU, its structure, bodies and information sources and were therefore prepared to deal with the users' requests for information about the EU. The Department of Information Sciences Foundation In 1999 a small bequest of money received from the family of a late professor of librarianship allowed the Department of Information Sciences to establish a small foundation with the purpose of granting awards to best students of librarianship. Each year students can apply for two or three awards which consist of a charter and a sum of ca 500 EUR. The Foundation also gives an annual award to an individual, association or library for a sigificant contribution to librarianship. The contribution may be a published book, organization of a symposium or conference or another similar achievement that helps promoting librarianship. This award consists of a charter and ca 1100 EUR. The candidates are selected by a five-member Board composed of representatives of the Department, the CLA, and members of the family who provided the initial funds. The occasion of the presentation of awards is used to promote librarianship, since press and media are regularly informed of the manifestation and invited to participate. Again a close and purposeful co-operation among the members of the Department and the CLA allowed the establishment of the foundation and its further activities. Libraries and individual librarians appeared ready to support the Foundation by donations. More details, unfortunately not yet in English, may be obtained at http://www.ffzg.hr/infoz/zaklada/. Conclusion The examples of partnership among various stakeholders in the library field outlined in this paper can hopefully prove that in a narrow field such as librarianship, co-operation is possible and even necessary. Professional library association can establish links with various civil society organizations and support them in the implementation of their interests to improve various aspects of citizens' life. Also, professional association must try to redefine its role and tasks in the society which is changing daily. The influence of information and communication technology together with the new legislation which tries to follow the changes brought about by the techology is very strong and requires changes in the management of libraries and the behaviour of librarians. The latter, however, must be based on professional standards and principles, which obviously have to be redefined. But in order to be able to do it, the professional association must first justify the need for the library profession in the changing society. This means that it cannot focus on professional solidarity only and that it must address the wider public. In other words the profession has to explain to the society what it does and what it can do for the society in the changing global community. What is it that libraries and librarians can do better than Google, for instance? If social responsibility is of concern for a professional association then it certainly shares at least some of the values of civil society organizations. The example of IFLA's engagement in the WSIS shows that engagement in broader social issues is possible and even necessary for a professional association. On the other hand co-operation with the academic sector is also necessary and will become even more important in the future, regarding the relative freedom that academic institutions now have in the design of their study programmes and the need of the association to regulate the profession, i.e. to determine who can be a member of the profession and how s/he can advance in the profession. Co-operation in education and training included in lifelong learning programmes is necessary. Practicing librarians can help the academic faculty to grasp and better understand the issues of the real library life. Also since the academic staff must engage in research it is hardly acceptable that research is not connected to the data collected in libraries, as is often the case at present. Publishing of professional literature is another common endeavour that can be envisaged. References Byrne, A. (2007) The politics of promoting freedom of information and expression in international librarianship : the IFLA/FAIFE project. Lanham, Md.: The Scarecrow Press. Directive 2001/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 on the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society. (2001). Official Journal L167, 22.6.2001,10-19. Horvat, A. (2004). Continuing education of librarians in Croatia: problems and prospects. New Library World 105, 370-375. Library professional ethics and civil society ethical norms : proceedings of the 6th Round Table on Free Access to Information. (2007). Zagreb: Croatian Library Association. Nacionalna zaklada za razvoj civilnog drustva. (2007). Retrieved February 9, 2008 from  HYPERLINK "http://www.zaklade.info/default.asp?ID=sto_su_zaklade&cid=definicija" http://www.zaklade.info/default.asp?ID=sto_su_zaklade&cid=definicija Paul, J. (2000). NGOs and Global policy Making. Retrieved January 20, 2008 from  HYPERLINK "http://www.globalpolicy.org/ngos/analysis/anal100.htm" http://www.globalpolicy.org/ngos/analysis/anal100.htm Program Informacije o Europskoj uniji u narodnim knji~nicama. (2007). Zagreb: Hrvatsko knjiznicarsko drustvo. Salamon, L.M. (2002). The third sector in global perspectives. Grassroots Development 23, 10-18. Selian, A. N. (2004). The World Summit on the Information Society and civil society participation. The Information Society 20, 201-215. Slobodan pristup informacijama u sluzbi kulturnog razvitka : zbornik radova. (2002). Zagreb: Hrvatsko knjiznicarsko drustvo. Slobodan pristup informacijama : 2. i 3. okrugli stol : zbornik radova. (2004). Zagreb: Hrvatsko knjiznicarsko drustvo. Slobodan pristup informacijama : 4. i 5. okrugli stol : zbornik radova. (2007). Zagreb: Hrvatsko knjiznicarsko drustvo. J^d    6 7 8 9 A B t"chlի짛ppccppVh3-5CJOJQJaJh- 5CJOJQJaJhC"?h(:C5CJOJQJaJhC"?h3-5CJOJQJaJh3-h3-OJQJh3-h3-5OJQJh3-hh3-0JOJQJ#jhh3-OJQJUhy]Xh3-OJQJjh3-OJQJUhBh3-OJQJh3-OJQJh3-CJ OJQJaJ JKd8 9 B .""%%$a$gd3-gd3-dgd3--.""n%% ' '''N(t(u()*h*r*, ,,9,X,%/&/h6CJOJQJUaJ#h>h0J6CJOJQJaJ.jh>h6CJOJQJUaJ(jh>h6CJOJQJUaJh>h6CJOJQJaJh>he6CJOJQJaJhY+6CJOJQJaJh $6CJOJQJaJh>hp6CJOJQJaJh>hP~6CJOJQJaJhDiii[j\jjjSkTkkkijklmnopqrstuvwxgdP~$a$gd/zgd/zgdj(j\jjjSkTkkjmouϵheCJOJQJaJh>he6CJOJQJaJUh>h/z6h>h/z6CJOJQJaJh>h6CJOJQJaJh>h`%6CJOJQJaJ Sovremeni trendovi vo bibliotekarstvoto : zbornik. (1999). Skopje: Bibliotekarsko drustvo na Makedonija. xyz{|}~gdP~5 0&P 1F:pm=. 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