VIII Encuentro de Biblioteconomía y Documentación: Conservación e innovación

On 23 November 2016, Casa África is holding its Eighth Meeting of Library and Information Sciences, addressing two key issues for professionals in information and documentation: conservation and innovation.

The objective of these meetings is to exchange ideas, expand knowledge, discuss and reflect on the challenges and opportunities of the digital society in libraries and documentation centres and to promote mutual understanding both between people in the sector and concerning related work taking place in our neighbouring continents.

Our goal this year is also to learn about the efforts being made to preserve the historical legacy of the mythical Libraries of Timbuktu. The event revolves around the main theme: the conservation and preservation of historical heritage and the ways in which libraries can innovate in this area, taking full advantage of technological developments.

Therefore, having the involvement of the national reference institution for the treatment of manuscripts is fundamental in order to establish synergies and understand how to optimise the preservation of historical heritage. In addition, we have the involvement of a company that is a leader in the treatment of digital content and which has been outstanding in the support they offer libraries through generation of reports and infographics that help us to “better understand the digital age in which we live” and therefore to improve our services to citizens.

The programme for the meeting is shown below:

• 10.00-10.10am Opening of the Eighth meeting of Library and Information Sciences
  Luis Padrón, director general of Casa África
• 10.10-10.50am Presentation by Abdel Kader Haïdara, director of the NGO Savama and head of the Mamma Haidara Library, where the manuscripts of the Libraries of Timbuktu are being digitized. He will talk to us about the history and importance of these manuscripts and their conservation: “The Immortality of Timbuktu”
• 10.50-11.30am Presentation by Javier Docampo, director of the Department of Manuscripts, Incunabula and Rare Books of the National Library: "The manuscript collection of the National Library of Spain"
• Break
• 12.00-12.45pm Presentation by Elisa Yuste, from the digital content company Dosdoce:
• "Reading today: new formulae, new challenges"
  The internet has transformed the way we discover and consume all types of content. In addition, the arrival of the latest generation of technology to the world of books offers an impressive range of possibilities to enrich the reading experience. These developments, on the other hand, are new challenges that we industry professionals (publishers, librarians, booksellers) must face in order to upgrade our products and services and continue to contribute to the development of readers.
• 12.45-1.30pm Discussion
  "Innovating in the library: goals and challenges"
  Participants: Abdel Kader Haidara, Javier Docampo, Elisa Yuste, Loly León (director of the Arucas Public Library) and Víctor Macías (head of digitization at the Library of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria)
  Moderator: Esther Núñez (documentary film maker).

Participant biographies:

• Abdel Kader Haidara, winner of the 2014 Afrikapreis Foundation Award. Abdel has been head of the Mamma Haidara Library in Timbuktu for the past 30 years. He created the NGO Savama-DCI to identify, preserve and restore Timbuktu’s valuable manuscripts. Most of these were rediscovered in the 1960s after being hidden by the families who owned them during the French colonization. In 2012 he played a key role in preserving the manuscripts of Timbuktu during the jihadist occupation.
• Javier Docampo Capilla (Madrid 1962), studied History of Art at the Complutense University, where he graduated in 1985 with the thesis Las miniaturas del libro de horas ms. 21.547 de la Biblioteca Nacional (“The miniatures of the book of hours manuscript 21.547 of the National Library.”) under the direction of Ana Domínguez Rodríguez. He has been a member of the Faculty Body of Libraries since 1991 and has worked in the Department of Drawings and Prints of the National Library and the Regional Government of Castile-La Mancha. In 2005 he was appointed Head of the Library, Archives and Documentation of the Prado Museum. His research has focused on the arts of the book (miniatures, engraving and bookbinding), subjects on which he has given numerous lectures and has curated several exhibitions. Since 2013 he has been a member of the Research Group The training of the painter and the practice of painting in the Hispanic Kingdoms (1350-1500) of the Complutense University. He is currently the director of the Department of Manuscripts, Incunabula and Rare books of the National Library of Spain.
• Elisa Yuste Tuero has a degree in English and Hispanic Studies from the University of Salamanca. Master's in Publishing, Children's Literature and Reading. Postgraduate degree in Leadership and Team Management and Protocol and Organization of Events. She has worked in the fields of education, publishing and translation. She now works as a consultant and trainer in the cultural, publishing, library and educational fields.
• Loly Leon Donate, holds a degree in Law and is a Technical Specialist in Library and Information Sciences, Archives, and Documentation. She has spent 25 years as head of the Arucas Municipal Library (Gran Canaria), which is a significant institution in this northern city and projects itself further than the physical library shelves to make its mark in much of America and Europe, through competitions and international projects that have made it one of the most influential libraries in the Canary Islands.
• Víctor Macías Alemán, has been part of the University Library of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (BULPGC) since 1990. He holds the position of chief librarian in the Automation and Digital Repositories Section of the ULPGC. He has participated in the launch of various digital platforms, web portals, institutional repositories and electronic resources among which are Jable: digital media file; Canary Islands digital memory; BUStreaming: self-publishing of digital audio and video; Toponymy of the Canary Islands or Acceda: open scientific ULPGC documentation.
• Esther Núñez Murillo has a degree in documentation and is a specialist in digital information services and audio-visual documentation. Since 2014, she has worked for the Documentation Service of Televisión Canaria. Currently she is working at Carlos III University on her doctorate on the digital dissemination of the historical and cultural heritage of the Canary Islands.

Meeting details:

• What? Eighth Meeting of Library and Information Sciences. Conservation and innovation
• When? On 23 November 2016 from 10am to 2pm
• Where? In Casa África Calle Alfonso XIII, No. 5. 35003 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
• Registration: Free access until full capacity reached.
  Attendees who would like a certificate of conference attendance should register before 22 November by email to info@casafrica.es
• Download the programme