Library Day in the Life Project

This week (July 25th - July 31st 2011)  marks the seventh round of the Library Day in the Life Project.  The project is a semi-annual event coordinated by Bobbi Newman.  This event focuses on the digital sharing of the daily routines and works of librarians, library staff, and library students from all over the world.  Participants share a week or day in their life via blogs, photos, videos, and twitter updates.  It's a great way to learn what librarians in a variety of positions do and allows perspective librarians get a glimpse into the actual day to day activities of library professionals.


A full listing of this year's participants can be found here.  The list of participants includes a number of great bloggers and some entertaining tweeters.   You can also follow the hash tag  #libday7 or read the saved tweets via Twapper Keeper or Netvibes.  

London's Reform Club

Ideas on CBC recently ran an interesting program on
London's Reform Club, also known as 104 Pall Mall.

The Reform Club was originally a private club restricted to men who pledged support for the Great Reform Act of 1832.  Shortly after its establishment the Club  developed as a political headquarters of the Library Party.  Since approximately 1920 the Reform Club became purely social in nature and moved away from its original overtly political purpose. The Club is also known for its association with Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days, as the club was the location  where the idea of the journey was thought of. 

The Ideas program provides a great audio tour and look at the history of this interesting historic site.

June's #builtheritage Chat

The topic for June's #builtheritage twitter chat was heritage tourism.   The chat was moderated by @PresConf and @jonaskayla.  The chat provided an interesting look into the planning, organization, and success of heritage tourism.

The first portion of the chat focused on the question What tips do you have for starting a heritage tourism program in your community? Some of the suggestions included: starting by hosting an event that will engage the local community, gain the support of the local tourism board, and strive for inclusiveness of organizations in your community.  @lloydalter brought forward the example of the Doors Open events as a successful heritage tourism program.  This example created an interesting side discussion about what causes Doors Open to be so successful and how to raise money for a free event.

The second segment of the chat focused on the question What strategies do you have for building out your heritage tourism program?  Some suggestions included working with the chamber of commerce, partnering with regional tourism programs, and promoting diverse programming.  @jonaskayla mentioned Heritage Toronto's great walking tour program that is run entirely by volunteers.  This walking tour program is a great example of a grassroots and low cost heritage tourism effort.

The third question in the chat was What is your favoruite heritage tourism place and why? A lot of great examples of heritage tourism sites were brought forth in this section, including: the Byward Market in Ottawa, the Rideau Canal in Ottawa, the distillery district in Toronto, and the Toronto railway heritage centre.

The final section of the chat focused on the question How do we ensure that heritage tourism is authentic? There was a ride range of responses to this question, but a number of them emphasized the need to find a balance in authenticity and accessibility. One of the more intriguing points in this portion of the chat was the idea that the authenticity of a building isn't always the same as an authentic visitor experience.

 The next #builtheritage chat  is scheduled for August 4th at 4pm, the tentative topic is under-served communities.

New UNESCO Sites

Ogasawara Islands, Japan

Each year the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) revises its list of world heritage sites.  The initiative to designate buildings, towns, landscapes, and other materials on an international scale began in 1972 following the ratification of the convention concerning the protection of the world cultural and natural heritage.   

This year's UNESCO meeting was held in June in Paris, France.  During this meeting 25 additional heritage sites gained UNESCO designation.  A range of sites were added, however the majority of the sites fall under the cultural heritage type of designation.  The 25 additional sites include: 

• Natural properties:
• Ningaloo Coast (Australia)
• Ogasawara Islands (Japan)
• Kenya Lake System in the Great Rift Valley (Kenya)

•  Mixed natural and cultural properties: 
• Wadi Rum Protected Area (Jordan)

• Cultural Properties
• Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison (Barbados)
• West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou (China)
• Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia (Colombia)
• The Persian Garden (Iran)
• Konso Cultural Landscape (Ethiopia)  
• The Causses and the Cévennes, Mediterranean Agro-pastoral Cultural Landscape (France)
• Fagus Factory in Alfeld (Germany)
• Longobards in Italy. Places of the power (568-774 A.D.) (Italy)
• Hiraizumi – Temples, Gardens and Archaeological Sites Representing The Buddhist Pure Land (Japan)
• Fort Jesus, Mombasa (Kenya)
• Petroglyphs Complexes of the Mongolian Altai (Mongolia)
• León Cathedral (Nicaragua)
• Saloum Delta (Senegal)
• Cultural Landscape of the Serra de Tramuntana (Spain)
• Archaeological Sites of the Island of Meroe (Sudan)
• Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps (Switzerland, Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia)
• Ancient Villages of Northern Syria (Syrian Arab Republic)
• Selimiye Mosque and its Social Complex (Turkey)
• Cultural Sites of Al Ain (Hafit, Hili, Bidaa Bint Saud and Oases Areas)               
• The Residence of Bukovinian and Dalmatian Metropolitans (Ukraine)
• Citadel of the Ho Dynasty (Viet Nam)

 Additionally, the Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve (Honduras) and the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra (Indonesia) were added to the World Heritage in Danger list.