Knowledge sharing

The eIFL.net knowledge sharing network

Sharing knowledge is the key to effective international networking. eIFL.net encourages and supports mutual learning throughout its global network of libraries in a number of ways.

Providing ICT tools such as a dynamic website, listservs, blogs, wikis, enabling multi-faceted communication and information dissemination. eIFL.net coordinators receive training to make best use of these and other tools such as Skype. This helps ensure that barriers to communication such as distance, language, time-zone etc are reduced and that everyone in the global eIFL.net community is empowered by equitable access to the eIFL.net pool of knowledge and information.

Distributing a regular newsletter providing highlights of eIFL.net team activities, news and information useful to participating libraries. Country consortia are encouraged to share their best practice, events, experiences, and developments. The eIFL.net team reports on program activities and our ever-growing circle of international resource persons post interesting items to the newsletter, which is read by and receives comments from the large community of eIFL.net participants and ‘friends’;

Workshops and training seminars covering all of the eIFL.net activity areas provide many opportunities for meeting, discussion and interaction with peers. These events are usually intended for and undertaken in collaboration with national or regional audiences.

Country visits: countries may experience significant challenges on the way to building a sustainable library consortium or to providing long-term access to e-resources. In such cases, the eIFL.net community is ready to discuss specific problems and to seek the best way forward. Practitioners from eIFL.net countries are often willing to share their knowledge and experience to help overcome temporary barriers by visiting neighbouring countries;

Annual General Assembly (GA). This is the major, most intensive and forward looking eIFL.net knowledge-sharing event. National coordinators and library representatives come together to discuss eIFL.net activities and strategies and to debate state-of-the-art issues and developments with resource persons, publishers and representatives from many relevant sectors and international initiatives.