CILIPS in solidarity with Ukraine – welcoming Oksana Boiarynova to Scotland
In the summer of 2022, we were honoured to welcome Oksana Boiarynova from the Board of the Ukrainian Library Association to Scotland. Here, Oksana shares in her own words what the trip meant to her.
I won a special grant from the European Union programme EU4CULTURE to attend the IFLA World Library and Information Congress 2022 that was held in Dublin this year, and I also travelled to Glasgow, Edinburgh and London to explore how British libraries contribute to democracy.
Inspired by the advice of CILIP and CILIPS, I visited:
- The Scottish Library & Information Council (Glasgow)
- The Mitchell Library (Glasgow)
- Glasgow Women’s Library
- The National Library of Scotland (Edinburgh)
- Scottish Poetry Library (Edinburgh)
- The British Library (London)
- The House of Lords Library (London)
- The House of Commons Library (London)
- Chatham House Library (London)
- Newham public library (London)
From SLIC, I learned about the strategies for the development of public and school libraries in Scotland – Forward and Vibrant Libraries, Thriving Schools – as well as the reading development work they support. I was impressed by the incredible collections kept by the libraries of England and Scotland, as well as how these libraries preserve cultural objects, while developing new modern services for their communities. I was also impressed that the use of libraries throughout Scotland and England is free. There is no need to pay even for issuing a ticket.
It was very valuable to learn that the National Library of Scotland previously focused only on supporting research, and now wants to be more open to the whole community – children, families and everyone who wants to learn about culture. I also thoroughly researched the specialist libraries I visited like Glasgow Women’s Library and Scottish Poetry Library, because there are no equivalents in Ukraine. It would be good to create similar libraries in Ukraine.
Oksana at the British Library.
The British Library impressed me with its own Сentre for Conservation. The British Library has offered internships here for Ukrainian librarians, because a project to create a National Digital Library is currently being launched in Ukraine. I also learned about the successful experience of creating Business & IP Centres in the libraries of Great Britain. These centres offer special resources and databases for business support, as well as conducting seminars and workshops. It is interesting that 55% of Business & IP Centre users are women.
It was useful to learn how libraries in the House of Lords and the House of Commons work with parliamentarians, satisfying their information needs and promoting democracy.
Oksana in the House of Commons Library.
As a result of the trip, I have established close ties with libraries and have some proposals for cooperation with the National Library of Scotland and the British Library.
I will share all the information I collected to Ukrainian librarians, because today Ukraine needs to strengthen its democratic processes to become a more democratic country, which means: improving legislative processes, more active participation of citizens in legislative activities, and strengthening the rule of law. And libraries can become reliable partners in these processes.
During my trip, I gave an interview to Scotland on Sunday in which I talked about the work of Ukrainian libraries during the war. Please read it here.
I would like to express great gratitude to CILIP and CILIPS for helping to organise my library visits, and to all the libraries that kindly met me.
Oksana Boiarynova, member of the Board of the Ukrainian Library Association
CILIPS is equally grateful to Oksana for sharing her expertise and experience with so many of Scotland’s libraries and wishes to reaffirm its solidarity with her, fellow members of the Ukrainian Library Association and all of Ukraine’s librarians, archivists and information professionals.
Please read Oksana’s interview with Scotland on Sunday and visit the CILIP Ukraine Crisis Hub to learn what you can do to support our Ukrainian colleagues during Russia’s invasion, including adding your name to our statement of solidarity and assisting Ukrainian information professionals who have sought or are seeking refuge in the UK with applying for free CILIP membership.