Library statistics and their relevance for education and culture Simon Ellis

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

2. LIBRARIES AND EDUCATION • Literacy • Textbook supply • Higher Education • Continuing Education • Training • Information literacy A Bangalore Primary School

3. International demand for information literacy statistics • Millennium Development Goals • Indicator framework;Youth literacy levels an indicator of the sustainable benefits of primary education • World Summit on the Information Society • Access to public information • Indicator framework; Partnership for Measurement of ICTs for Development – UNESCO, ITU, UNCTAD, OECD, EU, UN • Education 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

4. Measuring literacy • Dichotomous measure – ‘literate’ v. ‘illiterate’ • Problems; • Up to 30% ‘proxy’ response by head of household • Self declaration • Single sentence • Literacy rates on this measure have been rising in all regions • The 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 Asiawhile • in Sub Saharan Africa the number of illiterates is expected to rise by over 13 million adults between 2005 and 2015

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

6. Types of Skills • Basic skills • literacy • numeracy • Generic skills • team working, • communications • access to information • Information 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

7. Higher Education • UIS 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 • The data is organised by broad categories of Field of Study • ….. 21 Arts, 22 Humanities….38 Law, 42 Life sciences • Much 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 • UIS Education survey does NOT collect data on higher education libraries

8. LIBRARIES AND CULTURE • Preservation and archiving • Tangible and intangible heritage • Transmission of cultural values • Languages; translation,endangered, oral/written • Performance and recording; video, music, dance, theatre • Expression of cultural diversity Books of Timboktou

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

10. Principals of implementation • There 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 • Pragmatic; start with what data is available to create demand • Flexible; choice of sectors must to some degree be left to countries to reflects cultural realities ie sports. • Extensible; 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 • Europe is the region with the most experience in cultural statistics (Latin America 2nd). Europe will be able to refine definitions and produce statistics to lead the way

11. The creative chain

12. Suggested structure

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

14. Proposed way forward 2008-2010 • Autumn 2008 further regional meetings in Africa, Asia and LAmerica • Dec 2008 preparation of final draft reflecting comments • Jan-Feb 2009 final expert meeting • April 2009 UNESCO Executive Board • November 2009 UNESCO General Conference • 2010 Formation of Working Groups according to country interests • Traditional knowledge • ??