Cause for Concern: : Copycat Gender Identity Based Book Protests in Public Libraries in Ireland

This commentary briefly explores the rise of book bans in the US before giving an overview of similar protests emerging in Irish libraries. From being a very traditional and largely Catholic confessional State Ireland has been propelled into hyper-modernity over the last 50 years. The review briefly examines religious tensions in the Republic of Ireland and outlines ongoing conservatism, despite liberal social policies. The commentary concludes with a call for greater action and international solidarity to promote both inclusion and intellectual freedom

IFLA Succumbs to Dubai’s Soft Power Strategy

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) have announced that the 2024 World Library and Information Congress (WLIC) will be held in Dubai. It is clear that the IFLA has fallen prey to Dubai’s soft power strategy. Dubai routinely denies basic human rights, with particular restrictions evident in relation to women's rights, the LGBTQ+ community,  and those of migrant workers. The ruling regime in Dubai represents so much of what the IFLA and the American Library Association (ALA) stand against. This decision runs contrary to the wishes of a recent vote of the IFLA membership. This decision will significantly weaken the credibility of the IFLA. To attend the WLIC in Dubai confers tacit support, as well prestige and legitimacy on a regime that denies basic freedoms

Colombia’s Symbolic & Practical Support for the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC)

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The Athena SWAN Process to Promote Gender Equity in Third-Level Education in Ireland

Introduction: Sexism and misogyny remains an ongoing threat to optimal health and medical services. An important factor in health and medical services is the education and training pipeline into these careers. A substantial body of literature demonstrates the impacts of sexism in third-level education and training institutions developing future health service staff. Athena SWAN accreditation is a benchmark designed to counter such institutional and individual sexist practices in education settings to foster equality. In recent years the Athena SWAN process has expanded to include professional and administrative staff, as well as academics. This process has also evolved to move beyond a narrow focus on gender, to also include other crucial issues such as race, sexuality and gender identity. Methods: This examination is based on the author’s role as a participant observer and critiques the Athena SWAN process in an Institute of Technology in Ireland. Results: This examination identifies a substantial number of deficits in the Athena SWAN process, as well as also identifying institutional resistance strategies to such gender equality work. Conclusion: The current Athena SWAN process in Ireland is critically flawed. Suggested strategies for those engaged in such work into the future are outlined

Caught in Crossfire: Library “Troubles” in Northern Ireland Exacerbate Ongoing Issues

The Government of the United Kingdom (UK) has proposed a reduction in Arts & Humanities degrees in favour of STEMM disciplines. At the same time funding for Libraries in the UK continues to decline annually. This broader context of attack and decline is now being significantly exacerbated in Northern Ireland by an “Austerity Budget”. Libraries there will be severely hit by this budget and anticipate reduced opening hours and not purchasing any new books in the coming year. This punitive budget is designed to critically weaken services in an effort to force politicians in Northern Ireland back into a Power Sharing Government. Such an attack on libraries is inappropriate, unacceptable and will have negative long-term repercussions

Easter Eggs & ‘Easter Eggs’: Alcohol Branded Chocolate Eggs & Intoxigenic Environments in Ireland

Alcohol branded Easter Eggs were observed in a mainstream Irish supermarket. The Public Health (Alcohol) Act, 2018 fails to deal with such child-friendly marketing. An amendment to the current legislation to counter this deficit is urgently required. The absence of such legislation is particularly notable given the longstanding inclusion of clauses to this effect in tobacco control legislation in Ireland. Conflict of interests: None declared. &nbsp

Easter Eggs & ‘Easter Eggs’: Alcohol Branded Chocolate Eggs & Intoxigenic Environments in Ireland

Alcohol branded Easter Eggs were observed in a mainstream Irish supermarket. The Public Health (Alcohol) Act, 2018 fails to deal with such child-friendly marketing. An amendment to the current legislation to counter this deficit is urgently required. The absence of such legislation is particularly notable given the longstanding inclusion of clauses to this effect in tobacco control legislation in Ireland. Conflict of interests: None declared. &nbsp

An examination of the diversity of beer and cider products sold in Irish supermarkets in the context of health promotion advice

Aim: Current health promotion advice relating to the consumption of beer and cider in Ireland is very firmly based on nominal pints and half pints of beer. This study sought to determine if the assumed alcohol strength of beer and cider available in a sample of mainstream supermarkets was appropriate. This study also sought to examine if the assumed size of containers of beer and cider was accurate. Methods: All beer and cider products in a purposive sample of Irish mainstream supermarkets was examined. Data was input into SPSS and examined.  Results: There is a substantial level of variation in the container size and alcohol content of beer available in mainstream supermarkets in Ireland. Discussion: Current health promotion advice in Ireland is out of date and does not enable people to easily monitor their drinking and follow healthy drinking guidelines. The obvious answer is the enactment of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act, 2018, that has already been passed requiring alcohol containers to display the number of grams of alcohol contained. However, this element of the legislation, despite being passed into law, has yet to be either enacted, or even given a date for enactment

Linguistic Imperialism, Toponymy, Semiotics & Taxonomies: The Anglicisation of Irish place names in hegemonic library cataloguing systems

Background. Cataloguing systems are generally assumed to be logical, objective and non-political. In this sense they are often assumed to be rather like maps. However, assumptions around the neutrality of both are erroneous. Maps and cataloguing systems reflect and reproduce dominance and power. In Ireland the six inch to a mile mapping project in the early to mid-1800s is generally accepted as the point at which much of the Anglicisation of Irish place names was formalised. As such it is often assumed that this Anglicisation is a historic event and that similar practices do not continue into the present. Objective. This paper sought to examine how vernacular names for places are treated in a mainstream international library classification and cataloguing system. Methods. The treatment of vernacular place names vis-à-vis English was examined under the dominant Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, the Dewey Decimal Classification & Relative Index (DDC) and the Resource Description and Access (RDA) system. Results. This paper demonstrates how established international library classification and cataloguing systems continue to explicitly require English forms of names over the vernacular. Contributions. This paper reveals how library classification and cataloguing systems both reinforce the legacy of colonial oppression, and continue to assert the dominance of English. Cataloguing systems may therefore be viewed in terms of their power and purpose, and as such should not be seen as ideologically neutral