Resources for Contributors

Thank you for your willingness to participate in the creation of the Library Map of the World!

Here we have compiled some guiding information for you to get engaged in co-creating your country’s profile.

Content Contributors

IFLA works with one Library Map of the World (LMW) Contributor in each country who:

  • Takes responsibility for collaboration with local partners and stakeholders in their country during preparation of content for Country Profile, and
  • Acts as key contact for the Library Map of the World team during content submission and curation.

Becoming our Contributor for your country profile, means you are taking responsibility for the information you will provide. You will have to draw the national level picture as well as to provide information about all most important players in the library field in your country.

To fulfil this task, you will need to engage with other organisations (e.g. other library associations, national library, ministry departments, other library support organisations and institutions, etc.).

Improved partnerships and collaboration are an added value of our joint effort of creating your country’s profile on the Library Map of the World website.

Scope and Definitions

As our Contributor you will have to prepare one part of the content which will be displayed on your Country Profile, while another part will be automatically generated or imported from external data sources.

Here is how it works and where the content comes from:

Automatically generated content. Some of country profile’s content is generated automatically from other sections of the Library Map of the World website. This includes your country’s library data in the section of performance metrics, and the list of available SDG stories with direct links to them within the Library Map of the World website.

Imported content. Some of the content is imported from external data sources. This includes facts about the country, and data on contextual indicators, which comes from two main sources – the World Bank or ITU World Telecoms Database.

Contributed content. This is information which you as our Contributor will have to prepare and submit.

  • Overview of the library environment – description of the library field, including general information about the library system, facts and features of different library types, governance and funding models, development and policy priorities, role of library association, and some recent achievements in the library field.
  • Library location resources – information about web maps which include location data of all or part of a country’s libraries.
  • Organisations – information about national library associations, national libraries, policy making institutions, and library support organisations.
  • Policy and legislation – information about national policy for libraries, library law, legal deposit law, copyright law and library exceptions and limitations.
  • Education and events – information about professional qualification requirements, overview of librarians’ education in your country, professional publications and events.

Here are the definitions of each of items on Country Profiles.

Definitions of content items of Country Profiles

English | Arabic | Chinese | French | German | Russian | Spanish

Preparation

Use this overview to learn about What it takes to prepare the LMW Country Profile.

Take time to prepare your content. There are two main reasons why you should consider allocating enough time in preparations:

  • Limited number of words (350-500 words to describe the library field, and 100-350 words depending on item to describe organisations, policy and legislation documents, education and events). You may find it challenging to include all the important facts and information in this limit. However, we can assure you – it is possible. We would like to encourage you to follow the structure (list of questions is included to support your writing in the submission form), to start by including all what you find is relevant to know about the situation in your country, and then to try shortening it to the most important things and highlights.
  • Links to websites, further information sources, and full texts. Your Country Profile will link your reader to more detailed content through links to further information. This could include websites of national associations, national libraries or other institutions in your country as well as links to full texts of policy and legislation documents and publications. You should allocate the time to review whether the provided links to websites are current and up to date. Remember that outdated information does not reflect well on libraries for advocacy purposes.

Here is more information about word limits and the scope of content for each item:

  • Libraries in your country. You will be asked to provide a concise description of the library field in your country by answering a list of questions. The maximum number of words for this description is limited to 500.
  • Organisations. For each organisation, you will be asked to provide the name of organisation in English and local language, the URL to the main website, and a brief description of its role, broad areas of concern, responsibilities or operation. This description, excluding the name, is limited to 100 words for each organisation.
  • Library policy and legislation. You will be asked to provide information about policy documents and legislative acts, including title of document, the URL to the full text (if exists), and a brief description of the aim and scope of policy or legislation document. This description is limited to 100 words for policy documents, 250 words for library law and legal deposit law, and 350 words for copyright law and exception and limitations for libraries.
  • Education and events. You will be asked to provide descriptive information about formal professional qualification requirements and an overview of librarians’ education in your country. The description of each is limited to 250 words. In addition, you will be able to add information about professional publications and events; the description of each is limited to 100 words.

Submission

Submission of content for Country Profile takes place through an electronic submission form. Each LMW Contributor receives a unique link to the form from the Library Map of the World team.

You will need to prepare you content before filling in the form. We recommend the you review submission form to identify information gaps (download PDF). This is aimed at identifying the missing information necessary to complete the form.

It is expected that you communicate with other organisations in your country to fill in identified information gaps. Remember that by filling in this form you are asked to draw the national level picture as well as to provide information about all most important players in the library field in your country. To fulfil this task, you will need to engage and co-create (refer to the sections above for more information about this).

Once your content is ready for submission, please contact the Library Map of the World team at librarymap@ifla.org and we will provide you with access link to the electronic submission form.

When submitted, your content will be curated by the Library Map of the World team and published online when the final version is confirmed with you.

Keep In Touch

In case you have any questions during the preparation of your content or need any clarification related to the Library Map of the World Country Profiles, the Library Map of the World team is at your assistance to help you with any questions and/or issues related to your contribution. Please do not hesitate to reach out to: librarymap@ifla.org.

Once your content has been published, it is expected that you review and provide an update or confirm that the content is still up to date at least once a year. In addition, you can request updates of your content at any time by contacting the Library Map of the World team.

To stay up to date with the latest news, follow us on Twitter @IFLA_LibraryMap and use the hashtag #WorldLibraryMap.