LATIN AMERICA

142 million 25%PEOPLE LIVE WITH LESS THAN

DOLLARS A DAY (World Bank, 2006)2

566 MILLION (UN, 2008)

Carlos Slim from Mexico is the RICHEST MAN in the world (Forbes, 2010)

Soledad Ferreiro sferreiro@bcn.cl

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

26th IFLA Pre-Conference of Library and Research Services

for Parliaments

Current and Future Challenges for Latin American Parliamentary Libraries

6 – 9 august 2010 Stockolm

Sweden

A detailed analysis of the subjects

presented can be found here .

CHILE

AREA (SQ KM) 756,102POPULATION 16,746,491GDP PER CAPITA (US$) 14,700INTERNET USERS PERCENTAGE 32.6WORLDWIDE FACEBOOK ACCESS 40.7%

NICARAGUA

AREA (SQ KM) 130,370 POPULATION 5,995,928 GDP PER CAPITA (US$) 2,800 INTERNET USERS PERCENTAGE 3.1 WORLDWIDE FACEBOOK ACCESS Not available

NICARAGUA MEXICO COLOMBIA CHILE BRAZIL PERU ARGENTINA

A continent of contrasts

DIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES, CULTURESA WIDE RANGE OF REALITIES AMONG PARLIAMENTARY LIBRARIES

UNDERSTANDING OUR PAST AND BUILDING

OUR FUTURE

Image of MOVILE PHONE RENTAL SERVICE in Colombia

Facebook reaches 50% of the population in Latin America

High internet consumption/ penetration

EMBRACING ONLINE ENVIRONMENTS

• No longer plagued by

DICTATORSHIPS and violence.

• Ongoing DEMOCRATIC

TRANSITION and CHALLENGES

FOR CONGRESS.

• Still threatened by INSTITUTIONAL

weaknesses and public MISTRUST.

A REGION AT THE POLITICAL CROSS-ROADS

Congress as a space for inclusion,

discusion and dissent

Libraries have the POTENTIAL to

become NEUTRAL SPACES, key

players in the continuity of our

POLITICAL HISTORY, active

participants in the current

LEGISLATIVE MOMENT and help

visualize the FUTURE.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR LIBRARIES

PALIAMENTARY LIBRARIES:

drawing on our DIGITAL

CAPACITIES to build bridges

with our constituents and with

our fellow PARLIAMENTARY

LIBRARIES

Libraries must lead

Enhancing RELATIONSHIPS

through BI-DIRECTIONAL

COMMUNICATION channels and

COLLABORATIVE content building

Engaging with social networks:

Parliaments must listen

Major Leagues, a Library

initiative results in a digital

platform and today

Senior citizens

PARTICIPATE in ad-hoc

committees and

COMMUNICATE their

concerns

a proposal for Latin

American

Parliamentary Libraries

The way forward

KEY STRATEGIES

Redefining our role:

Provide subject-expert,

interdisciplinary, neutral

and high quality

advisory services to

Members

KEY STRATEGIES

Engage with citizens, to

promote society´s

understanding of

Parliament and the Law

KEY STRATEGIES

Make knowledge

available through the

provision of a

diversity of sources

assuring quality and

usability.

KEY STRATEGIES

Generate political

and legislative

history, as a way of

rescuing our

memory, creating

understanding for our

present and

strengthening our

future.

KEY STRATEGIES

Progress towards a

client orientated style

of management,

promoting the human

development of those

within our

organizations.

KEY STRATEGIES

Embrace appropriate

information and

technology

infraestructure aimed

at providing the best

possible experience

for our users

KEY STRATEGIES

Lines of action

The future is here – let´s grasp it!

Respond to the

concerns of the

Parliamentary

community

Encourage a closer

relationship between

Congress and

citizens

Teach citizens the

use of social

networks

Actively promote

civic education

Generate spaces for

the deliberation of

emerging issues

Maintain and transmit

the political

legislative history

Establish and nurture

relationships with

other Parliaments

I foresee an opportunity for Libraries to reposition POLITICS

and CONGRESS among citizens and NURTURE

DEMOCRACY

Soledad Ferreiro sferreiro@bcn.cl