During the course of 2006 national criteria for digital competence in Norway will be formulated. Among other things these criteria will serve to establish new indicators of quality, improved course design and new learning resources. They are also intended to give an indication of the level of individual digital competence. The creation of these criteria is one of the initiatives being taken in connection with eNorge 2009 (http://odin.dep.no/filarkiv/254956/eNorway_2009%20pdf).

The assignment has come from the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research and has been given to the National Centre for Learning in the Workplace (VOX). The task will be carried out in cooperation with professional organisations and the relevant working environments. The Norwegian Archive, Library and Museum Authority will participate in a working group that has been formed to assist VOX in this project. Arrangements have also been made for a working seminar where the library sector was well represented. Proposals for the national criteria should were submitted to the Ministry by 30th June. Further information can be found at http://www.vox.no/templates/CommonPage.aspx?id=171.

The road to our cultural heritage

In May 2006 Copenhagen became the venue for a meeting between two different tribal cultures; a meeting between representatives of the archive, library and museum sector and of the suppliers of technology and services. The occasion was the Nordic seminar, Our cultural heritage. ALM cooperation and technology. The scarlet thread running through the programme was "from concept to reality", the aim being to show the possibilities for various types of co-operation and technological solutions in the future development of services in the ALM sector.

The seminar’s most important function was to serve as an arena for discussion across professional and national borders which could contribute to the creation of networks between local ALM institutions, also to provide an opportunity for these institutions and the suppliers of management systems to meet each other and exchange views on requirements and solutions. This was the first time a workshop of this nature has been arranged and the participants agreed that there is a need for a joint approach to problems, an improvement in levels of competence and a greater coordination of content across professional and national borders. All the presentations and other material from this seminar can be found at www.abm-utvikling.no.

The Digital National Library of Norway

When the renovated building at Drammensveien 42 in Oslo and the Web site “nb.no” opened in August last year, the National Library had taken steps to ensure a greater focus on the dissemination of information and knowledge. The library’s ambition is to develop “nb.no” from a Web site into a library where collections are digitally available.

The National Library of Norway is the first among all its counterparts in Europe to start the digitisation of all its collections. The aim of this initiative, which will require a close dialogue with important copyright owners, is to ensure that the particular part of our national heritage in the care of the National Library is made available to the greatest possible number of people. In addition we wish not only to make certain that all content is preserved, even though the original documents may in the course of time deteriorate, but also to ensure that the material created in digital form is safeguarded for the future.

The National Library of Norway has already considerable experience in the digitisation of audio-visual material. The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation is obliged by law to hand its programmes over to the National Library for safe keeping by agreement with the Broadcasting Corporation some of this material is already open to search by the general public. This cooperation is a good example of finding the balance between public accessibility and commercial utilisation.

Visit the National Library’s home page at www.nb.no

Physical or virtual visits to Swedish public libraries

There are considerable differences between different parts of the country when it comes to public library service in Sweden. This is the conclusion to be drawn from key figures in public library statistics for 2005, published by the Swedish National Council for Cultural Affairs. The report also shows a continuous decrease in the loan of books and number of visits to the country’s libraries. The report covers statistics from 290 municipal libraries and their associated branches (1,031).

Books make up 93 per cent of the total stock of media in the libraries, while the rest are AV media. The total stock of media increased markedly in the 1980s and stabilised somewhat during the 1990s. Since 2002 the stock has decreased, whereas AV media have increased their number each year and tripled since 1980.

"Our statistics do not reflect the libraries’ complete activities", says Mats Hansson, case officer at the Swedish National Council for Cultural Affairs. "We have for example not counted number of visits to the libraries’ web sites.More or less all the public libraries are today offering a variety of services via the net. You do not need to visit the libraries as often as previously to obtain their services. But one should not underestimate the library’s role as a physical meeting place. Particularly for children, mature students and people with a mother tongue other than Swedish, the library plays an essential role.We feel it is very important to work out a model for assessing the library’s activities in a realistic perspective.

At the annual library directors’ meeting in autumn 2005 the Danish National Library Authority presented its proposal for a strategy for library development in Denmark. The proposal is based on a number of balanced studies and statistics concerning usage and development potential, and makes a number of suggestions for development initiatives. The proposal has since been debated in the library sector, which clearly endorses the principles of the proposed strategy. The strategy builds on the vision that the libraries can

• contribute to world-class Danish research and education
• support learning and innovation at all levels
• strengthen the cohesive force of society.

The means can be summed up as: Consolidation of a national infrastructure with national e-services, development of the research libraries’ e-services and development of the public libraries as scheduled places for culture, learning and meeting.

The strategy Fra information til viden (From information to knowledge) is now available in its final version on the Danish National Library Authority’s homepage, www.bs.dk.

The innovative library

The project 'The innovative library' should be seen in association with the Danish National Library Authority’s analysis and strategy initiative, which aims to re-develop Danish libraries (see also p. 25).

The study, which charts the libraries’ innovation competencies, was carried out in cooperation with Monday Morning Think Tank. It builds on the latter’s Innovation Cup, a new Danish competition measuring the innovation capability in companies and institutions.

The Danish National Library Authority invited 12 different libraries to take part in the analysis in order to get some idea of how the libraries can improve their efforts, and become better innovators in their every-day work.

Basically, the analysis shows that there are great differences between the libraries’ innovation competencies. The most innovative libraries are ahead compared with other public institutions that participate in Innovation Cup 2006. Despite considerable differences between the libraries in terms of innovative force, the analysis also shows that to a great extent the strengths and weaknesses of the libraries tend to fall within the same areas.

The report is available on the Danish National Library Authority’s homepage, www.bs.dk.

On the initiative of the Danish minister of culture, Brian Mikkelsen, who wants to promote the libraries’ loan of books, part of the Danish National Library Authority’s Development Pool in 2005 was set aside for this purpose. Projects were run to show whether there is a connection between purchased titles/ copies of books and the loan of these. At the same time the projects were supposed to develop and test new forms of mediation and initiatives.

Scholars from the Royal School of Library and Information Science have monitored the projects and have been able to conclude that all in all it is highly probable to generate a great number of loans as well as high circulation figures of a chosen material through focused acquisition and promotion.

Another point is that in this way lending figures can be augmented, not only in terms of popular material, but also in the case of more exclusive quality literature. It is quite clear, however, that it is not sufficient for the libraries to have the books in stock. Particularly literature that is not at the top of the list needs an imaginative exposure, and promotion is essential in creating bigger lending figures.

If the libraries are to ensure increasing lending figures for books in the future, they have to start by acquiring more books. This - and a more effective exposure - will do the trick.

The aim of the project was to test new ways of providing library service in a small community - Hatting - and compare it to a traditional branch library - Soevind. The project took place in connection with the Municipal Reform, where a new library structure had to be worked out by New Horsens Municipal Council.

The citizens in Hatting could subscribe to ready-packed library boxes, delivered to their door once a month. The boxes were packed individually for the families and contained books and other library material for children and adults. The project was a success, 88 % of the users preferred the 'Tailored library service' to a traditional branch library, especially families with children. But the library users in Soevind were also extremely satisfied with their branch library, so there were no unambiguous conclusions.

Right now the results of the project are being discussed with the local politicians, and one of the possibilities is to offer a book delivery subscription service, paid by fees from the users.

Homepage:
www.skraedder.horsens.dk/blog/eks.php