Library statistics and their relevance for education and culture Simon Ellis Head of Science Culture and Communications Statistics

LIBRARIES AND EDUCATION lLiteracy lTextbook supply lHigher Education lContinuing Education lTraining lInformation literacy A Bangalore Primary School

International demand for information literacy statistics lMillennium Development Goals Indicator framework; Youth literacy levels an indicator of the sustainable benefits of primary education lWorld Summit on the Information Society Access to public information Indicator framework; Partnership for Measurement of ICTs for Development – UNESCO, ITU, UNCTAD, OECD, EU, UN lEducation For All Literacies important for all goals especially Goal 4 ‘ achieving a 50% improvement in levels of adult literacy by 2015’ Indicator framework; UNESCO Global EFA Monitoring Report includes ‘literate environment’ = information literacy

Measuring literacy lDichotomous measure – ‘literate’ v. ‘illiterate’ lProblems; »Up to 30% ‘proxy’ response by head of household »Self declaration »Single sentence lLiteracy rates on this measure have been rising in all regions lThe global number of illiterates is expected to fall from 692 million in 2005 to 657 million in 2015, half of these illiterates will be in south and west Asia while in Sub Saharan Africa the number of illiterates is expected to rise by over 13 million adults between 2005 and 2015

LAMP lDefinition stemming from OECD/Statistics Canada International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) lSees literac(ies) as a continuum of skills lLocator test divides people in those who are ‘literate’ and those with lesser skills levels lThose with lower levels take tests on ‘components’ such as Recognising the alphabet Reading short ‘nonsense’ words Simple sentence comprehension lLAMP background questionnaire also asks about access to media in the home; time spent reading, accessing a computer, listening to TV/radio.

Types of Skills lBasic skills literacy numeracy lGeneric skills team working, communications access to information lInformation literacy skills Recognise information needs Locate and evaluate the quality of information Store and retrieve information Make effective use of information Apply information to create and communicate knowledge

Higher Education lUIS collects enrolment and graduation data for all countries on an annual basis (OECD and EU provide data using common UOE questionnaire) »ISCED 5; ‘first degree’, ISCED 6; doctorate & research lThe data is organised by broad categories of Field of Study »….. 21 Arts, 22 Humanities….38 Law, 42 Life sciences lMuch interest in higher education mobility »Student mobility; ‘foreign’ or non-resident students »UOE (UNESCO/OECD/EU) Science study on careers of doctorate holders –motivations, university > industry, unemployment lUIS Education survey does NOT collect data on higher education libraries

LIBRARIES AND CULTURE lPreservation and archiving lTangible and intangible heritage lTransmission of cultural values lLanguages; translation,endangered, oral/written lPerformance and recording; video, music, dance, theatre lExpression of cultural diversity Books of Timboktou

UNESCO Framework for Cultural Statistics Why update from 1986? lGlobalisation of culture including digital production and dissemination lNeed for a holistic view of culture incorporating heritage assets, especially intangible heritage lNeed to fully reflect cultural products and practices from different countries/regions (cf Africa & NZealand on intangible) lNew UNESCO conventions on heritage and diversity

Principals of implementation lThere are NO resources for culture statistics in developing countries so we must start with what does exist, in the population census, the labour force survey, and economic data, using existing statistical frameworks > ISIC and ISCO, with CPC lPragmatic; start with what data is available to create demand lFlexible; choice of sectors must to some degree be left to countries to reflects cultural realities ie sports. lExtensible; where there is demand for cultural statistics in more depth the Framework should guide countries in how to go beyond the ‘minimal’ ie participation surveys lEurope is the region with the most experience in cultural statistics (Latin America 2 nd ). Europe will be able to refine definitions and produce statistics to lead the way

The creative chain

Suggested structure

‘Transversal dimensions’ lWill be placed across all domains in preceding figure lEducation; transmission of culture between generations development (critique) of cultural values lTraditional and local knowledge (is there a better name?) includes elements of intangible heritage Definition based on biodiversity convention and UN Forum of Indigenous people lArchiving and preserving; maintaining the ‘reservoir’ of cultural masterpieces and reference points inspiring new creative talent to build on earlier traditions (or break from it!)

Proposed way forward lAutumn 2008 further regional meetings in Africa, Asia and LAmerica lDec 2008 preparation of final draft reflecting comments lJan-Feb 2009 final expert meeting lApril 2009 UNESCO Executive Board lNovember 2009 UNESCO General Conference l2010 Formation of Working Groups according to country interests Traditional knowledge ??