it was an early start, attending the national libraries second standing committee meeting with hella to report on noir. thankfully the section will continue its support for the sig and for our new convenor guido. after the meeting i dashed to the v&a whaft food market to pick up some wines, cheeses and snacks, and to the wine merchant for, not surprisingly, wine for my hotel/appartment. then a dash back to the cticc to meet my friend victoria for lunch. from there i headed into the officers training session where i met new mlas chair barbara and other new setion leaders for a briefing on our duties and responsibilities from ifla hq staff.

popped to the room next door for the mlas session on (inter)national advocacy initiatives. there was a series of presentations from national association reps and ifla leaders on recent successful advocacy initiatives. then participants divided up for round table discussions. i moderated the group of people who are just getting started on advocacy initiatives within their own associations. it is clear that there is a demand for “how to” support from the mlas. for many associations, particularly those run entirely on volunteer capacity, national-level advocacy is a daunting prospect, but a necessary undertaking, as ifla increasingly depends on associations to brief government representatives to international bodies such as wipo and unesco.

next, on to the general assembly, ifla’s agm. i must admit, it’s become an increasingly placid affair in recent years; no resolutions for members to vote on, no demands or debates. almost makes me want to stir the pot – if i didn’t know what it’s like to be on the stage side of such events, where you cross your fingers and hope for a placid meeting.

some of the mlas group headed across to the westin bar for a drink between the assembly and the reception to mark the end of the ifla presidential term, as well as impending retirement, for sinikka sipila. it was a lovely event – long on sparkling wine, short on speeches – with good food and good conversations. eventually i slipped out with chris, back to my hotel for wine (signatures of doolhof single vineyard collection pinotage 2013) and cheese and more conversation. it’s unprecedented that we get two evenings together in one conference week, so we took advantage of the opportunity and had a good long chat.

i’m not used to 16 hour days…

i spent the morning at the joint session of the copyright and other legal matters committee (clm) and freedom of access to information and freedom of expression committee (faife) on the ethics of access, exploring copyright, licensing and privacy in the digital age. there were several very good presentations, some outlining actions that ifla has already undertaken on behalf of libraries, and other raising issues of concern for future consideration. it is a complex field, with lots of work to be done, and definitely more research needed.

had lunch with my mate john, whom i was surprised to encounter the previous evening at the oclc reception. we had a chance to catch up over glasses of local sauvignon blanc, and chatted about our respective creative endeavours (guitar-making for him, bookbinding for me) and recent travel adventures.

then back to the cticc to wander through the exhibits and posters, and chance encounters with a few people i hadn’t seen yet. one of the cool activities in the exhibits was the 67 blankets project, where delegates were able to knit or crochet squares to contribute to a goal of producing 67 blankets during the conference (a goal which was reached!). i was hijacked along the way by jukka, a finlander on the mlas committee who has a thing for hockey (we play the same position, left wing). at the mlas dinner the previous evening, he has challenged me to a skating race, to be held next year when ifla meets in columbus, ohio. he escorted me to the booth to speak with the columbus organisers about arranging ice time, and skate rentals for the other mlas members to join us on the rink after the race. (he’s been trash talking ever since about my impending humiliation – but the smart money’s on me!)

i had a quick meeting with my colleague hella to draft our report on noir sig for the national libraries section standing committee meeting, then back to the hotel to change for the cultural evening.

the convention centre had been transformed to a party venue. in the corridors, there were dozens of food stations serving seafood, cape malay and indian dishes. roving entertainment included traditional drummers and dancers, as well as giraffes and zebras on stilts. meanwhile, in the main hall the dancing started early when 3 tons of fun hit the stage. (disco is not dead, and the anticipated wardrobe malfunction never materialised.) a dj kept the vibe alive into the wee hours. lots of dancing (yes, librarians dance!), and a great evening.

ok, so it turns out that it’s really difficult to maintain blog postings during the ifla congress as there are just not enough hours in the day. so i still owe three days of congress reports, plus my fun weekend of activities in cape town. right now i’m  at FRA waiting for my final flight to YUL where teresa (bless her!) will collect me for the drive back to ottawa.  while it’s only 07.30 here, i’m tempted to have my traditional FRA layover meal: kartoffelsalat und ein hefeweizen. can’t break a ritual… (and just to note: i would not be the only person in the restaurant with a beer!)

more on cape town adventures to follow shortly!

i played hookey this morning from conference activities and went out into the sunshine to explore the city. i walked through the central business district, through the vibrant greenmarket square, enjoying the bustle and the eclectic architecture. but it wasn’t just an aimless wander: i was on a mission to find a leather shop:  woodhead’s leather for africa, which turned out to be a mecca for leather hides, tools, and every conceivable thing related to leather work. i spent more than an hour browsing through the selections and chatting with the friendly sales manager. having settled on a few exotic purchases (including antelope, springbok, and osterich) i meandered back to the hotel to change before heading in to the convention centre for afternoon sessions.

the big topic of the day was the united nations post-2015 development agenda and the impact of the ifla lyon declaration on the content of the newly released un 2030 agenda. access to information is essential for communities around the globe to attain the sustainable development goals, and ifla has done excellent work to ensure that libraries are recognized as critical partners for development.

i also attended a meeting of the national organisations and international relations special interest group (noir sig), a group i founded a few years back, and have remained involved with. we’re a small but committed group supporting people who have international relations as a major task in their daily work. we had a few interesting presentations of examples of international projects, and a lively discussion on future activities for the sig.

after a quick stop at the oclc reception at the stunning two oceans aquarium, off to the mlas dinner at gold restaurant. drumming, dancing, singing entertainment accompanied a pan-african array of food (oh, and wine, don’t forget the wine!), and great conversation with friends new and old, making for a memorable evening.

a leisurely start on an overcast and windy morning. i sat in my kitchen catching up on blog entries, then headed over to the convention centre to attend the opening session. we were treated to a narrative by a wonderful story-teller, a few interesting speeches from local dignitaries, and music from south african performers, including a vibrant children’s choir from soweto who had the whole room on their feet dancing and clapping. the south african minister of culture demonstrated the strong commitment of the government to libraries and literacy, and leadership within the wider african community in bringing together delegations from other countries to draft a declaration of support for the development of libraries and information policy. i expect we’ll hear more about this later in the week.

invigorated by the passion of the opening ceremonies, delegates headed into the first sessions of the congress. i had a meeting with a few colleagues to discuss the national organisations and international relations special interest group (noir sig), a group i founded at the ifla conference in quebec city in 2008. it has been a challenge to maintain momentum with our activities, but i think we have found a way to breathe new life into noir. will let you know if we succeeded after thursday.

i attended the oclc session to learn about their new worldshare program. it’s an intriguing development, making use of the vast information stored in worldcat to allow libraries to develop analytics based on local data. representatives from sabinet and the university of kwazulu-natal spoke about their experience implementing worldshare management services; it was particularly moving to hear the experience of one of their users, a post-doctoral student in chemisty who spoke so eloquently of how the system has enabled her advanced research.

i had a brief chance to catch up with my friend (and ifla immediate past-president) ingrid, and we wandered into the exhibition opening reception. there i exchanged greetings with lots of friends and colleagues from the library and vendor communities.

met up with janice and loren for a lovely dinner at the restaurant of the spectacular table bay hotel. my lamb shank and potato-leek mash was perfectly complemented by the beyerskloof 2013 pinotage. if there’s one wine that screams for good roast meat it’s a pinotage, and this combination hit the mark. it’s midnight now, so i’d better sign off and prepare for another full day tomorrow.

early morning, i met up with my friend janice and we headed down to the old biscuit mill, a former factory which has been taken over by creative forces who have opened some great boutique shops and restaurants. i was particularly impressed with the art lab, a printer/graphic design shop, where you can see all of the printing equipment in action, and browse their retail space where they display and sell large and small scale printed art works. the mill was teeming with people, as on saturdays the neighbourgoods market moves in, with dozens and dozens of stalls selling all types of fresh and prepared food and drink. there were lots of great things to sample, including some excellent cured sausages, tasty kalamata olives, and organic wines. it was an amazing vibrant atmosphere, and we could have stayed for hours, but had to get back to the real reason for this whole trip: our ifla committee work.

so back to the cticc to register and attend the management of library associations section standing committee meeting (mlas sc I). it was great to reconnect with colleagues from around the world, and welcome new committee members to our mlas family (we really are a close-knit and social group). we had a productive meeting, taking on board a lot of information from ifla hq on key advocacy initiatives. i’ll expand a bit on these as we progress through this week. also, we had a change in leadership for our section. barbara schleihagen from germany was elected chair, and i was acclaimed as secretary, and michael dowling from the u.s. continues as information coordinator. the three of us have known each other for a very long time, and i expect we’ll make a great team to help lead our group for the next two years. (arlene, i’m looking for some tips from my mlas secretary role model!)

had dinner with my friend chris, a former colleague from ifla hq. we don’t get together very often, so there’s always lots of catching up to do. with wine. and food. we went to a beachside restaurant (at least i think it was beachside – hard to tell on a dark and stormy night). we had a fabulous meal (i had local yellowfin on a bed of stewed beans and mussels) and we shared a bottle of local sauvignon blanc and tales of the past 5 months. an action-packed first day.

it’s a really long (10.5 hrs) flight from munich to jo’burg, which was followed by a really short connection for the final leg to cape town. i was convinced my luggage wouldn’t make it, but to my astonishment it actually turned up on the belt. didn’t sleep much during the flight. it’s disappointing that my few flights over the african continent to date have been at night, so not much to see on the ground. but the heavens are another matter. initially the sky was very clear and the array of stars was amazing. then, around 2am, somewhere over niger, the most spectacular electrical storm flared through the darkness. it was far enough away that it didn’t affect the flight, but it was quite a show for the few of us lucky enough to be awake: great jags of forked lightning followed by blinding bright flares of sheet lightning. it went on for more than half an hour, incredible to watch.

after the desperate sprint through passport control, across terminals, and through yet another security check, i made it on to the relatively short flight to cape town. i met up with a german colleague at the luggage carousel; we managed to purchase transit passes and find our way by public transit into town. along the route, the first sight was a rambling township, all corrugated metal roofs, cinder block walls, and satellite dishes. the second remarkable sight was a canal full of wading pink flamingos. the road winds around the edge of table mountain, and suddenly we were at the city centre.

i made my way over to the harbour bridge hotel. i’d stayed here on a previous trip to cape town, and had a good experience – and it turns out to be very convenient to the convention centre (cticc). i had booked the most economical standard room, but good travel karma has blessed me with a lovely apartment to call home for the next week. i’ve got a fully equipped kitchen, seating area, separate bedroom and large bathroom. it’s bigger than anywhere i lived when i was in my 20s.

i wandered into town to stock up my kitchen. instinct led me to find caroline’s fine wine cellar, where the friendly and helpful clerk helped me to select a couple of local bottles: a 2014 chenin blanc from the dry land collection (paarl region) and the “seriously cool cinsault 2014, a wine of circumstance by waterkloof” (stellenbosch region). both are very good, though i’m particularly impressed with the cinsault. found a supermarket where i picked up some breakfast foods, and headed back.

after a series of delayed email communications caused me to miss a dinner opportunity with friends, i made my way down to the waterfront to get dinner. had a plate of calamari and frites with a belgian beer at den anker, chatted with a friendly australian guy at the next table, and taxied home for much needed sleep.

welcome to my first official blog series. some of you were privy to my two previous emailed journal series: big adventure 2014 (my road trip through the northern united states to the west coast and bak through canada) and on the road again 2015 (a driving tour to washington dc and boston via unexpected wine regions in pennsylvania and maryland).

this series will chronicle my trip to cape town, south africa, for the IFLA world library and information congress, and promises to connect all of the disparate themes of my blog. this is my 14th IFLA conference, and the first where i’ve attempted to keep a written record, so here we go…
on wednesday, my friend teresa drove me the 2 hours from ottawa to montreal (thanks, mama t!) for the first leg of my journey, the flight to munich. it was an uneventful overnight flight. i watched the entire second season of broadchurch – excellent! – except i missed the last ten minutes of the final episode as we pulled into the gate. maybe i can catch it on the flight back.

challenge 1: how to spend 11.5 hours at munich airport

the airport hilton offers their “fit & fly” spa travellers. for €30 you have day-pass access to the gym, pool, sauna, steam room, jacuzzi and shower, with robe and towels provided. there are comfy lounge chairs near the pool, perfect for a nap. you can order food & drink too. i added a half hour massage, and managed to stretch my visit to nearly 6 hours. there is a large outdoor square between t1 and t2 which is home to, amongst other things, a bavarian beer garden. so i sat with a half litre of the house wheat beer and a plate of bread, cold meats, and salad. it was over 30c outside, perfect beer gardening weather. finally it was time to head to the gate for the flight to johannesburg. i got on board, started binge-watching season 6 of the good wife, and that was thursday.

welcome to my first official blog series. some of you were privy to my two previous emailed journal series: big adventure 2014 (my road trip through the northern united states to the west coast and back through canada) and on the road again 2015 (a driving tour to washington dc and boston via unexpected wine regions in pennsylvania and maryland).

this series will chronicle my trip to cape town, south africa, for the IFLA world library and information congress, and promises to connect all of the disparate themes of my blog. this is my 14th IFLA conference, but the first where i’ve attempted to keep a written record, so here we go…

my blog: the intersection of book arts, libraries, travel, cocktails and kayaking

more to come…