Naming as Significant. No. 525.

Lloyd, A. "Guarding Against Collective Amnesia? Making Significance Problematic: An Exploration of Issues." Library Trends v. 56 no. 1 (Summer 2007) p. 53-65

ABSTRACT

A nation's collective consciousness relies on the traces of memory collected by institutions such as libraries, archives, and museums. Such institutions have a responsibility to preserve documents and objects that reflect individual and collective endeavors and that have had an impact on culture and society at national, regional, and local levels. Institutions need to assess documents and objects against criteria that, in effect, "name" these items as significant. Most institutions claim that this process is objective, failing to acknowledge that it is underpinned by ideological, political, economic, cultural, and social influences. The position adopted in this paper is that the process of naming a document or object as significant will always reflect the directions and consciousness of a society's dominant groups, and that this will shape interpretations and narratives of the past. Thus the voices of a community's minority or special interest groups will be silenced. This paper suggests that neither the concept of significance nor the process of assessing significance is benign; both should be seen as areas of tension and contestation.

Creative Economy- No. 524.

Creative Economy Report 2008: The challenge of assessing the creative economy towards informed policy-making.

A new development paradigm is emerging that links the economy and culture, embracing economic, cultural, technological and social aspects of development at both the macro and micro levels. Central to the new paradigm is the fact that creativity, knowledge and access to information are increasingly recognized as powerful engines driving economic growth and promoting development in a globalizing world.

Income Inequality 2008- No. 523.

INCOME INEQUALITY GREW IN MOST STATES OVER PAST TWO DECADES
Low-Income Families Lost Ground Since Late 1990s
The gap between the richest and poorest families, and between the richest and middle-income families,grew significantly in most states over the past two decades, according to a new study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Economic Policy Institute.
In fact, the nation’s longstanding trend of growing inequality accelerated since the late 1990s as incomes fell for poor families and stagnated for middle-income families in a number of states.
The study, based on inflation-adjusted Census data, is one of the few to examine income inequality at the state level. It measured and compared income trends among the highest-, middle-, and lowest-income families in three periods – the late 1980s, the late 1990s, and the mid-2000s. (If anything, the study understates inequality because it does not include income from capital gains, which goes overwhelmingly to
those at the top.)
Low- and middle-income families have reaped few gains since the late 1990s, despite the recent years of economic prosperity. Average incomes actually fell by 2.5% for those in the bottom fifth of the income scale and rose by just 1.3% for those in the middle fifth. Meanwhile, incomes climbed 9% for those in the top fifth.
“Before the recent downturn hit, our economy was generating solid income gains. The problem was that high levels of inequality meant these gains failed to reach middle- and low-income families, whose living standards stagnated or even declined,” said Jared Bernstein, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute and co-author of the report. “As we head into an economic downturn, these families are illprepared to weather the storm.”
Elizabeth McNichol, senior fellow at the Center and the other co-author, added, “Rising inequality raises basic issues of fairness, and harms the nation’s economy and political system. It dampens economic prosperity as incomes stagnate for tens of millions of average Americans and it threatens to widen the nation’s political cleavages, generating more cynicism about political institutions.”
During the longer time period – from the late 1980s to the mid-2000s – in 37 states, incomes grew much more slowly for the bottom fifth of families than for the top fifth. In these states, the incomes of the richest fifth grew by an average of $36,300 (39 percent), while the incomes of the poorest grew by only $1,600 (9 percent). The purchasing power of the poorest families increased by just $93 per year.
The states facing the largest income gaps between the top and bottom fifths of families are New York, Alabama, Mississippi, Massachusetts, Tennessee, New Mexico, Connecticut, California, Texas and Kentucky.

COUNTRIES IN CRISIS REQUIRING EXTERNAL ASSISTANCE (total: 37 countries).No. 522.

The David Lubin Library at FAO is the place to start on the world food crisis.

Today there is a world of asymmetric development, unsustainable natural resource use, and continued rural and urban poverty. Generally the adverse consequences of global changes have the most significant effects on the poorest and most vulnerable, who historically have had limited entitlements and opportunities for growth.

--Executive Summary of the Synthesis Report of the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD)
COUNTRIES IN CRISIS REQUIRING EXTERNAL ASSISTANCE (total: 37 countries)

FAO: Food Emergencies Update

David Lubin Memorial Library
Established in Rome at the 1952 FAO Conference, according to the decisions of the 1950 Conference. Named David Lubin Memorial Library by the Conference to honour the founder of the International Institute of Agriculture (IIA). The extensive IIA collection formed a solid base for the present-day Library which is considered one of the world's finest collections in food, agriculture and international development.

By Joseph Guyler Delva
PORT-AU-PRINCE, April 16 (Reuters) - Four days after the government took steps to lower the price of rice to counter food riots, Haitians complained on Wednesday that the cost of other staples needed to drop too.
Business owners whose properties were looted or vandalized during recent violence over the spiraling cost of living said they would sue the government of the impoverished Caribbean nation for failing to protect their investments.
At least six people have died in demonstrations that began two weeks ago in the southern city of Les Cayes. The unrest prompted the Senate to fire Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis on Saturday for failing to increase food production.

Poverty and Social Impact. No. 521.

Poverty and Social Impact Analysis (PSIA) and Poverty Impact
Assessment (PIA) are recently developed tool kits for analysing the distributional impacts of policies, programmes and projects on the well-being of the population, especially on the poor. PSIA involves rigorous in depth analysis of complex policy reform processes, while PIA is a ‘lighter’ approach focused on decisions concerning development projects and programmes.
Both approaches inform decision-makers on strategic choices during the design and implementation of development interventions and help to identify mitigating measures when negative poverty impacts are anticipated. This facilitates more evidence-based decisionmaking and implementation of policies and programmes. PIA and PSIA are thus valuable approaches to operationalise important aspects of the management for results agenda of the ’Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness’.

This [pdf] article discusses the basic characteristics of the PSIA and PIA approaches, their analytical building blocks, their potential influence on the political process, their contributions to the Paris Declaration and the challenges they face.

Library Service to New Americans. No. 520.

ALA releases ground-breaking study on library service
to new Americans by Dr. Christie Koontz and Dean Jue.

Libraries working to level playing field for non-English speakers

March 26, 2008. - About 21 million people in the United States speak limited or no English, 50 percent more than a decade ago. As our country’s demographics continue to change, U.S. public libraries continue their efforts to meet the demand for service to non-English users. Today the American Library Association (ALA) released PDF:“Serving Non-English Speakers in U.S. Public Libraries,” an unprecedented study on the range of specialized library services for non-English speakers.

“Serving Non-English Speakers in U.S. Public Libraries,” is the first national study to consider the range of library services and programs developed for non-English speakers, including effectiveness of services, barriers to library use, most frequently used services and most successful library programs by language served. The study also analyzed library service area populations and patron proximity to local libraries that offer specialized services. The most frequently used services by non-English speakers were special language collections (68.9 percent) and special programming (39.6 percent), including language-specific story hours and cultural programming.

Today’s libraries provide a wide range of opportunities for people with diverse needs and interests. Libraries reported the most successful library programs and services developed for non-English speakers were: English as a Second Language (ESL), language-specific materials and collections, computer use and computer classes, story time and special programs.

The study found that Spanish is the most supported non-English language in public libraries. Seventy-eight percent of libraries reported Spanish as the priority #1 language, after English, to which they develop services and programs. Asian languages ranked second in priority at 29 percent. Another 17.6 percent of libraries indicated Indo-European languages as a second priority.

Conventional wisdom predicted that the density of library service to non-English speakers would have been in larger, urban settings. The study data indicates quite the opposite. Public libraries in communities with fewer than 100,000 residents are the majority of libraries meeting the demands of non-English speaking residents. More than 53 percent of residents in these smaller communities traveled between 1-3 miles to reach a library, and another 21 percent traveled between 4-6 miles for library service. Although any distance may be a barrier when transportation is an issue, it was the lowest ranked barrier to use reported by libraries.

Literacy proved to be the most dominate barrier for non-English speaking library users. Literacy is both a barrier to using library services designed for non-English speakers and is what most libraries support in specially designed services and programs. Reading and library habits negatively impact use of the library by non-English speakers (76 percent). Knowledge of the services offered by the library was the second most frequent barrier to their participation (74.7 percent) identified by librarians. A lack of discretionary time was the third most common barrier (73.1 percent).

“Serving Non-English Speakers in U.S. Public Libraries,” was conducted by the ALA’s Office for Research and statistics. Completed in spring 2007, the study was made possible through funding from the 2006 World Book – ALA Goal Grant. Dr. Christie Koontz and Dean Jue of Florida State University conducted the research for the ALA. The ALA Offices for Literacy and Outreach Services, Public Programs, and Diversity provided additional support.
Bilingual spokespersons are available for interviews. Interested media should contact Macey Morales, ALA Media Relations, 312-280-4393 or mmorales@ala.org to schedule interviews.

Sites of Conscience: Opening Historic Sites for Civic Dialogue. No. 519.

Sites of Conscience:
* interpret history through historic sites;
* engage in programs that stimulate dialogue on pressing social issues;
* promote humanitarian and democratic values as a primary function; and
* share opportunities for public involvement in issues raised at the site.

Public Historian. Volume 30 (Winter 2008).

Sites of Conscience: Opening Historic Sites for Civic Dialogue

The Reconstruction of Memory at Constitution Hill
Churchill Madakida, Lauren Segal, and Clive van den Berg

Places of Memory as a Tool for Education: The “Peace in Four Voices Summer Camps” at Monte Sole
Nadia Baiesi, Marzia Gigli, Elena Monicelli, and Roberta Pellizzoli

The Museum as a Democracy-Building Institution: Reflections on the Shared Journeys Program at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum
Maggie Russell-Ciardi

The District Six Museum: An Ordinary People’s Place
Valmont Layne

Challenges on the Road to Memory
Maria Laura Guembe

Activities of Terezin Memorial
Jan Munk

Public Commemoration: A Case Study

The Struggle to Control the Past: Commemoration, Memory, and the Bear River Massacre of 1863
John Barnes