TRACKER 24124 - REPORT ON U.S. SPEAKER SALLY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 006424

SIPDIS

STATE FOR IIP/G/EUR - CSIEMONH; IIP/T/GIC - GWILLIAMS;
IIP/G/IR - CBORYS; EUR/PPD - CTEAL;
ROME FOR IRO MMELUN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KPAO OIIP SCUL
SUBJECT: TRACKER 24124 - REPORT ON U.S. SPEAKER SALLY
GARDNER REED, SEPTEMBER 18 - 24, 2005



1. DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTIVITY: U.S. Speaker Sally Gardner
Reed, President of Friends of the Library USA, spent a week
in Turkey interacting with library professionals in Istanbul
and Ankara September 18-24, 2005. In Istanbul, Ms. Reed
delivered the keynote address at a conference that took
place at Istanbul Bilgi University on "Libraries as Gateways
to the Information Society: Increasing Public Awareness,"
organized by the Innovative Library Initiatives Promotion
Group (ILIPG) in cooperation with the Turkish Librarians
Association. Istanbul IRC specialists led a workshop
entitled "Lobbying for Libraries"; and IRC Istanbul and IRC
Ankara prepared a subject-specific web site and bibliography
focusing on the U.S. experience for the participants at the
conference and Ankara seminar.

In Ankara, Ms. Reed gave a seminar to 80 public library
professionals and government officials on "Advocacy for
Public Libraries" at Ankara's main public library, which was
attended by the deputy director of the National Library and
officials of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, which
administers libraries in Turkey. She called on the new
Director of the National Library and toured the Library,
accompanied by IRO Marge Melun, Ankara IRC Director Figen
Sahin, and the Dean of Ankara University's Library School,
Turkey's oldest. They also called on the head of the
Parliament Library and met with academics from three Ankara
universities that have library studies departments.


2. JUSTIFICATION AND OBJECTIVES: This is a pivotal year for
Turkey's public libraries, as their control and funding are
expected to move from the national Ministry of Culture and
Tourism to local government at the municipality level. As a
result, "libraries in Turkey are going through a difficult
time" and "library professionals are in a state of panic,"
according to the deputy director of the National Library.
Because new administrative procedures have not yet been put
in place, there is considerable concern about the immediate
future of public libraries among library professionals.
With the Istanbul conference, the ILIPG and the Turkish
Librarians' Association sought to galvanize librarians, NGOs
and the media to launch a proactive campaign to inform the
public and to lobby local government officials for increased
support and funding. The Ankara seminar provided an
opportunity for public library professionals to gain a
different perspective on their situation and to see the
opportunities that this change opens up for public library
support at the community level.


4. AUDIENCES REACHED: An audience of 140 librarians,
academicians, NGOs and state and local authorities heard Ms.
Reed's keynote presentation in Istanbul, and another 80
public library professionals and government officials
attended her seminar in Ankara. With the active
participation of the Undersecretary of the Ministry of
Culture and Tourism, the Istanbul conference received a
great deal of media attention. In Ankara, the seminar was
attended by the deputy director of the National Library and
officials of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.


5. RESULTS: Outstanding. The National Library deputy
director said Ms. Reed's presentation was "a source of
oxygen" that should give public library professionals
encouragement and enthusiasm. He said her presentation
offered not only a positive perspective but a number of
tactics and strategies that will be very helpful to public
librarians in Turkey as they go through the transition from
national to local government authority. Ms. Reed, a
professional librarian with more than twenty years of
experience at all levels, was an exceptionally effective
speaker. Friends of the Library USA is the preeminent
organization in the field of library advocacy. Her
presentations were persuasive, practical and inspiring; they
elicited excellent questions and comments from the audience.
Moreover, she offered to forward a "toolkit for public
librarians" that post will translate into Turkish for use by
library professionals in organizing advocacy activities.

The conference in Istanbul was significant in that it
brought together NGOs, local administrators and
professionals in the field of information science for the
first time. This was a major step in establishing
cooperation and communication for a sustainable relationship
between the relevant parties. Press coverage resulted in
articles in all major dailies and the conference was
featured in several national TV newscasts.


6. NON-USG SOURCES OF IN-COUNTRY FUNDING: The conference in
Istanbul was organized by the Innovative Library Initiatives
Promotion Group (ILIPG) in cooperation with the Turkish
Librarians Association and Istanbul Bilgi University. In
Ankara, the Adnan Otuken City Public Library, Ankara's main
public library, co-sponsored the seminar and provided the
venue.


7. QUALITY OF U.S. SUPPORT AND AGENCY OFFICE: Outstanding.
Post once again thanks Cathy Siemonh at IIP/G/EUR and Gerri
Williams in IIP/T/GIC for their support for this project.
MCELDOWNEY