Advocacy: building skills and competencies in Brazil

Abstract

Libraries associations in Latin America and the Caribbean are distinct from other regions of the world, especially if compared to North America and Europe. This is due to several reasons both for the area of Librarianship and Information Science because it is not a cultural trait to work in the associative movement, nor for the lack of public policies for the area of culture and education that lead to discourage people to work for a specific cause. In Brazil, the vast majority of professionals work in Governmental agencies that also have an organizational culture and makes librarians almost not perceive themselves as an area but as part of the public service. This labour market also impacts on the curricula of training schools that do not discuss or stimulate discussions about advocacy and leadership. The members of the associations and therefore of their boards need to deal with other issues that are far from daily routine of libraries, regardless of type: academic, public, specialized, school, parliamentary and national libraries. Being in the associative movement means developing or enhancing a range of skills that will enable you to develop outstanding leadership in the country's librarian community. Based on the experience acquired by Brazilian Federation of Libraries Association and Institutions (FEBAB) in the construction of the “Santiago Declaration’ launched in 2018, it reaffirmed the need for professionals to be prepared to be in the places that will actually decide the life of the libraries. Based on Core Competencies for 21st Century CARL Librarians of the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (2010), ALA's Core Competencies of Librarianship (2008) and The Library and Information Sector: Core Knowledge, Skills and Attributes published by Australian Library and Information Association (2014) will define a set of competencies that we consider appropriate to Brazilian context.