On 5-6 December 2019, the IFLA Government Libraries Section organised a conference on Informed Parliaments, Engaged Citizens, Effective Governments. Participants from around the world explored the changing roles of information and decision-makers, and how libraries could help.

Through providing access to information, and support to use it, all types of library help the communities they serve pursue their goals by taking better decisions. This is particularly true for government and parliamentary libraries, whose job it is to support decision-making in cases that will affect thousands, if not millions of people.

Yet at a time that the possibilities to use information are expanding rapidly – for good or otherwise – and the expectations of users with them, how can libraries continue to provide high-quality support?

The conference, organised at the UK Department of Work and Pensions in London by IFLA’s Government Libraries Section under the theme ‘Informed Parliaments, Engaged Citizens, Effective Governments’, shared examples of good practices and challenges, focusing on how to build strong institutions – the objective of Sustainable Development Goal 16.

The Power of Information

In his keynote speech on 5 December, Trevor Huddlestone, Chief Analyst and Chief Scientific Advisor at the UK Department for Work and Pensions illustrated the powerful role that information and analysis – including of historic data and texts, played in developing policy in the country’s largest government department.

Information helped not only to ensure that ministers were better placed to take crucial policy decisions, but also supported planning and operational changes.

Other speakers underlined the opportunities provided by social media not only to reach new audiences, but also to start conversations with users who no longer accepted being told what to do by governments.

Cinzia Iossa, of the library of the Italian Ministry of Education, shared the powerful example of her library’s work to give access to its own collections from the fascist era. This supported ongoing educational efforts to combat hatred, as well as encouraging other institutions to recognise their own role in the events of the past.

The Role of Libraries

Nonetheless, concerns about misinformation and disinformation could not be avoided. Nick Poole, CEO of CILIP, underlined that this did, potentially, serve to underline the uniqueness of libraries, given both their expertise and adherence to a code of ethics that offered real reassurance in a time of uncertianty.  

Penny Young, Librarian of the House of Commons, stressed the high level of appreciation that Members of Parliament had for the work of the library and its research service, an experience shared by the European Parliamentary Research Service, with the challenge being more to manage demand.

Nonetheless, as IFLA underlined, the connection between effective use of information and strong institutions was not always understood. Libraries needed to work – through evidence and advocacy – to make this connection.

In doing so, they could place themselves at the heart of efforts to deliver on SDG16, and develop the capacity needed in governments and parliaments to deliver transformative policies.

Find out more about what IFLA is doing around the SDGs.

The Global Sustainability Coalition for Open Science Services (SCOSS) is calling on the international scholarly community to support three vetted and vital open infrastructure services. The services are: The Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB), a digital directory of peer reviewed Open Access books and Open Access book publishers; and Open Access Publishing in European…

The post OpenCitations, DOAB and OAPEN and PKP latest services to earn SCOSS recommendation appeared first on LIBER.

This Saturday, 7 December 2019, IFLA wishes to highlight an important date for European libraries: we are 18 months from the final date of the implementation of the new European Copyright Directive in Europe, the Digital Single Market Directive. 7 June 2021 will be the deadline for the implementation procedure. 

This law concerns many private but also public actors such as libraries. Libraries in each country will need to be involved in this process, because it is the decisions taken in national capitals that will determine how much the new rules benefit libraries and their users.

This is because while European law has proposed a general direction, countries have a number of crucial choices to make when putting this into practice. It is exactly at this moment that libraries and their users must make themselves known and be recognised by their governments as actors and especially beneficiaries to be taken into account in the discussions!

Each country has its own way of dealing with this implementation: open public consultations, closed consultations via questionnaires, meetings with actors open to all or targeted at pre-identified actors.

Why should Libraries be part of the discussion on the Digital Single Market Implementation?

Libraries are the best stakeholder to explain their work and set out what they - and their users - need. Here are just a few reasons why libraries should engage on each provision.

Text and Data Mining (Article 3 and 4)

1. Libraries should care because enbaling text and data mining on all legally accessed materials without unnecessary barriers promises to support reesarch, innovation and journalism.
2. Libraries should care because they should be able to give access to their users to carry out text and data mining on-site and remotely.
3. Libraries should care because they should be sure that technological protection measures (digital locks) are removed from materials within 72 hours or be able to remove it themselves.   

Use of Works in Teaching Activities (Article 5)

1. Libraries should care because they support education themselves, and should benefit from new possibilities to copy works to support learning.
2. Libraries should care because they need to be able to respond to their users' needs for digital copies and non-digital copies for education purposes.
3. Libraries should care because online and cross-border education provide new opportnities to give access to infomration and develop skills.

Preservation Of Cultural Heritage (Article 6)

1. Libraries should care because cross-border preservation networks, which provide a key means of carrying out digitisation in a cost-effective way, should enjoy a solid legal basis.
2. Libraries should care because they should be able to make preservation copies without having to wait until it is almost too late.
3. Libraries should care because they should ensure that the widest possible range of works is covered (i.e. not limit the new rules to physical works, but also those held on third party servers to which they have open-ended access).

Contract Override and Technological Protection Measures (Article 7)

1. Libraries should care because their work must be simplified by the law, and reduce the obligation to check contracts every time they want to make a legitimate use.
2. Libraries should care because they should be able to provide access to the material protected by technological protection measures (digital locks) within 72 hours.
3. Libraries should care because they need clarity on the process for removing or circumventing technological protection measures.

Out-of-Commerce Works (Article 8-10)

1. ­Libraries should care because they need a legal and usable means to give access to collections of Out-Of-Commerce works.
2. Libraries should care about the definition of where exceptions or licences apply, to ensure that works are not left in a no-man’s-land where libraries cannot use an exception, but no collection society is willing or able to offer a licence.
3. Libraries should care because if the rules for deciding if a work is out-of-commerce or not are too difficult, libraries are not going to be able to use them.

Works of Visual Art in the Public Domain (Article 14)

1. Libraries should care because they care about encouraging and support research through public domain visual art reproductions in the public domain.
2. Libraries should care because they should be able to provide access to all users of works in visual art in the public domain. 
3. Libraries should care because they will gain from the development of a clear definition of the public domain in their national law.

Press Publishers’ rights (Article 15)

1. Libraries should care because they should not need to pay more to make use of clippings or short extracts from press publications as non-profit, public educational institution.  
2. Libraries should care because they can help limit the damage to the research, education and cultural heritage communities by defining an extensive list of excluded websites (such as blogs, social media, news site, press agency, scientific journals).
3. Libraries should care because news aggregators are a great tool for promoting media and information literacy.

Use of protected content by online content-sharing service providers (Article 17)

1. Libraries should care because their users rely on the rights of freedom of expression and access to information. Platforms supporting the work of cultural heritage and research institutions should therefore be excluded by having a very clear definition of “Online Content-Sharing Service Provider”.
2. Libraries should care because they are working with all types of scientific and educational repositories falling in the scope of this provision.
3. Libraries should care because they and their users need to be able to enjoy exceptions and limitations to copyright when using platforms, and not face filtering or restrictions imposed by service providers.

We invite you to contact your government to take part in the exchanges, suggest your recommendations and/or through your library association with whom you can join forces.

IFLA and its partners invite you to discover our guidelines for libraries to follow the implementation and benefit from the best laws for our field.

Feel free to take part in the discussion list on this topic.

For many libraries, good relationships with local town halls and councils are essential. But as IFLA President Christine Mackenzie set out in interventions at the World Congress of Local and Regional Leaders, libraries can also be key partners for success.

With a strong focus on providing adapted services to users, libraries are strongly implanted in their communities. Increasingly, in addition to providing access to books and other writings, they are helping to support stronger communities and partner with others.

In three separate interventions at the World Congress of Local and Regional Leaders, organised by United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) in Durban, South Africa, IFLA President Christine Mackenzie spoke alongside mayors and senior officials from major world cities to encourage them to work with, and through, their libraries in order to achieve their goals.

In one intervention, she focused on the role that libraries can play in future local cultural policies. Through their focus on universal access, on stimulating creativity and on making connections with other services, libraries offer an effective means of ensuring that culture really is for all, and has the maximum impact on wellbeing.

In a further speech, she talked about the application of the concept of the right to the city to libraries, and how they helped deliver on this. The potential for libraries to act as centres for interaction and connection-building within communities, as well as a gateway to information as a precondition for participation, is clear form many examples around the world.

A third panel discussion allowed her to underline again the role that culture can play in development, and the need to support libraries – often the most visited and nearest by cultural institution – in order to realise this potential.

IFLA looks forward to continuing to work with UCLG, and in particular its Agenda21Culture initiative, to build understanding of, and support for the work of libraries at all levels, around the world.

Read our submission to the Human Rights Council on how libraries advance human rights at the local level.

In 2020, the Wikimedia Foundation is launching the fifth edition of One Librarian One Reference (#1Lib1Ref) which will be held from 15th of January to the 5th of February 2020!

This event invites librarians from all over the world to add a reference to the article of their choice on the online encyclopedia. Indeed, the Wikimedia Foundation estimates that if each librarian spent 15 minutes to add a source to an article with a " reference needed" banner, it would be possible to improve the reliability of 350,000 articles.

Why should Librarians get involved?

• Because you will improve the quality of articles and their reliability on Wikipedia, and so improve access to information for library users.
• Because you will contribute to the discovery of books, authors sometimes little known in specific fields.
• Because this is an occasion for your users to learn about references and sources and encourage them to get themselves involved in Wikipedia.

Other gaps to fill?

Libraries all around the world have already been involved in #1Lib1Ref, and many (D.B. Weldon Library, St.Cloud State University Library, Waterloo Library, Penn State University Libraries) have also become involved in other wiki projects, particularly to promote the diversity of content on Wikipedia.

This includes the Gender Gap project (to promote female contents on Wikipedia), the representation of LGBT+ communities but also the development of content related to non-Western communities. 

To promote knowledge sharing and the representation of different cultures and opinions, we are encouraging you to contribute!

What are the first steps?

Librarians can be individually involved in adding references, but you can also set up workshops or events on the subject to raise awareness and teach users how to source articles!

To edit references on Wikipedia yourself, you will find below the first necessary steps (also available here)

Step 1: Create a Wikipedia account in the language of your choice if you do not already have one.

Step 2: Select an article.

Step 3: Consult the footnotes with references and see if you can add a source that would cross-reference this or that information.

Step 4: Add your reference! (Here, some instructions to add a reference).

To organise an event with your community, feel free to consult this page with the organisation guide!

 

 

UNESCO, in partnership with the Qatar National Library (QNL) organised a regional conference on “Supporting documentary heritage preservation in the Arab region”, held in Doha, Qatar on 1-2 December.

The rich documentary heritage tradition of the Middle East and North Africa is of extraordinary cultural and historic significance. Yet, these collections are facing a myriad of challenges – ranging from neglect, natural decay and inadequate housing, to looting and deliberate destruction.

Therefore, the goals of this conference were to share knowledge gained from the UNESCO-QNL survey on documentary heritage in the region, and bring experts together to present best practices, strengthen networks and highlight initiatives and strategies at the national and regional levels.

IFLA was represented by President Christine Mackenzie, Jeanne Drewes, Chair of the Preservation and Conservation Section, and Claire McGuire, IFLA Policy and Research Officer.

In addition, the IFLA Preservation and Conservation (PAC) Centre hosted by the QNL was central in the organising of this conference. The Centre’s Director Stephane Ipert and Specialist Maxim Nasra both represented the PAC Centre at the conference, providing an excellent example of how the PAC Centre Programme can promote regional knowledge-sharing.

In her keynote address, President Christine Mackenzie demonstrated the strong dedication IFLA has to building networks, creating tools and promoting capacity-building through our strategic programmes in cultural heritage preservation.

"Let's work together" was the main take-away from her address, urging all delegates to seek cooperation and collaborative solutions to preserving their documentry hertiage. 

Jeanne Drewes, Chair of the Preservation and Conservation Section, contributed to a panel discussion on Disaster Risk Prevention and Response, with a focus on countries in conflict. She shared a number of useful tools and guidelines which can be put into immediate action towards risk prevention and recovery.

Policy and Research Officer Claire McGuire represented IFLA as moderator of a panel discussion on strengthening regional efforts to mobilise partnerships. This was the final panel of the conference and focussed on keeping the momentum going through opportunities for networking, fundraising and establishing best practices.

The key outcome from this conference was the signing of the Declaration to Support Preservation of Documentary Heritage in the Arab Region. This Declaration was drafted by IFLA, the QNL and UNESCO, with input from the delegates. It calls on governments and governmental organisations at all levels to recognise fully the importance of documentary heritage and take measures towards its protection and access.

The final text of the Declaration to Support Preservation of Documentary Heritage in the Arab Region will be shared as soon as it becomes available.

Within the global transition to open access, libraries are trying to understand the total cost paid to publishers, both for subscriptions to content and for publishing of open access articles by their corresponding authors. While libraries know what they pay for subscriptions, determining open access publishing costs - namely the amount of Article Processing Charges (APCs) - paid to publishers can be difficult. One way of estimating the amount spent on APCs is to look at publication output data, and calculate based on average APC data. 

Within the global transition to open access, libraries are trying to understand the total cost paid to publishers, both for subscriptions to content and for publishing of open access articles by their corresponding authors. While libraries know what they pay for subscriptions, determining open access publishing costs - namely the amount of Article Processing Charges (APCs) - paid to publishers can be difficult. One way of estimating the amount spent on APCs is to look at publication output data, and calculate based on average APC data. 

The United Nations has agreed on the theme for the 2020 High Level Political Forum, focusing on accelerating actions to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals with only ten years to go until they should be achieved. IFLA and libraries are ready to engage.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have become a core part of IFLA’s work, in terms of our engagement both with external organisations, and with the library field. This is an ongoing effort, built on the energy, ideas and engagement of thousands of librarians around the world.

Yet while this work is taking place every day, there are key moments in the calendar which give us a particular opportunity to celebrate it, with the High-Level Political Forum – a week and a half of meetings and debates in New York each July, a high point.

The theme for the 2020 meeting has now been announced – accelerated action and transformative pathways: realizing the decade of action and delivery for sustainable development. 

This will not only shape the discussions in July, but also the five regional sustainable development fora which will take place in February and March:

• Africa: 24 - 27 February 2020, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
• Western Asia: 11 - 13 March 2020, Beirut, Lebanon
• Europe: 19 - 20 March 2020, Geneva, Switzerland
• Asia-Pacific: 25 - 27 March 2020, Bangkok, Thailand
• Latin America and the Caribbean: 28 - 31 March 2020, Havana, Cuba

IFLA looks forward to being represented in each of these meetings, and will work with libraries locally in each host country. As set out in our blog, the idea of the Decade of Delivery implies the need for new approaches - libraries can both be part of this approach, and build the capacity in government to take better decisions.

We are also working to increase our engagement with Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs). In 2020, 50 countries will present reports on their work to implement the SDGs, and we want to see libraries included in as many as possible.

To do this, we will work with libraries in these countries, and of course encourage libraries elsewhere to continue to engage with their own governments to keep access to information on the agenda.

A full list of countries doing VNRs in 2020, as well as further information, is available in our updated Briefing.

Find out more about what IFLA is doing about libraries and the SDGs, and read the Development and Access to Information Report.

Title: How Academic Libraries Enhance the UN Sustainable Development Goals through Research Support

Abstract: How does research supported by academic libraries help move the SDGs forward? As part of an ongoing Cornell webinar series focused on Academic Libraries and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Ellen Tise, Senior Director of Library and Information Services at Stellenbosch University and Haseeb Irfanullah, Independent Consultant and Visiting Research Fellow at University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh, will address how academic libraries in Africa and South Asia, respectively, are supporting research that enhances the UN Sustainable Development Goals.  Following the presentations, Cornell University Librarian, Gerald Beasley, will engage the speakers in a discussion, and then the speakers will answer questions from the online audience.

Bios: Ellen R. Tise is Senior Director, Library and Information Services at Stellenbosch University in South Africa since January 2006. She previously held the positions of University Librarian at the University of the Western Cape and Deputy University Librarian at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. She is a Past-President of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) (2009-2011) and of the Library and Information Association of South Africa (LIASA) (1998-2002).

She served on other major library and information bodies, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Access to Learning Award Advisory Committee in 2007, OCLC Members Council Delegate 2005-2008 and Director of the Sabinet Online Board since 2003. Ms Tise was appointed to the UNESCO International Advisory Committee of the Memory of the World for a four year period from 2011-2015. She served as Chairman of the Board of the National Library of South Africa from 2012-2015.

Haseeb Irfanullah is a biologist-turned-development practitioner, and often introduces himself as a research enthusiast. Over the last two decades, Haseeb has worked for different international development organizations, academic institutions, donors, and the Government of Bangladesh in different capacities. Currently, he is an independent consultant on environment, climate change, and research systems. He is also involved with University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh as a visiting research fellow of its Center for Sustainable Development (CSD) in Dhaka. 

Haseeb has been involved in designing and facilitating workshops, training sessions, and dialogues for young & mid-career researchers and journal editors of Bangladesh to improve their understanding of journal publishing practices and standards. He also writes articles and thought pieces on scholarly systems and works with relevant agencies to improve Bangladesh’s research ecosystem. Haseeb has a PhD in aquatic ecology from the University of Liverpool, UK.

Date & Time:  December 5, 2019, 9:00 AM EDT (NY) US time

Gerald Beasley (host and moderator)

Gerald Beasley is currently the Carl A. Kroch University Librarian at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. As the chief academic and administrative officer of the university's extensive library system, Beasley leads one of the world's largest research libraries, with a total budget of more than $64 million, a staff of more than 400 and more than 8 million print volumes, 1.5 million e-books and 128,000 e-serials. Cornell has 18 constituent libraries located in Ithaca and New York City. The staff supports teaching, learning and research across the university’s colleges and schools, and it actively serves scholars around the globe.

This webinar is free and open to the public. Please share this invitation openly.

Please click on this zoom link to join the webinar:

https://cornell.zoom.us/j/861551630

Series organisers: Reggie Raju reggie.raju@uct.ac.za,  Xin Li  xin.li@cornell.edu

Chair of ARL: Gulcin Cribb gulcincribb@smu.edu.sg

This session is in a series of presentations on topics relevant to Academic & Research Libraries. 

LIBER is Europe’s largest research library network. We help our university, national and special libraries to support world-class research. Founded in 1971 and based in The Hague, LIBER is involved in a range of funded projects addressing the barriers on the path towards Open Science. As our new Training Coordinator, you will take the lead…

The post Job Opening: Are You LIBER’s New Training Coordinator? appeared first on LIBER.

At the Third Roundtable Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Public Libraries in Africa, IFLA Secretary General Gerald Leitner underlined the scope for libraries to deliver on the goals set out in the Africa 2063 and UN 2030 Agendas, and called on governments to seize the opportunity.

Major international efforts to promote development in recent years have placed a growing focus on empowering citizens and promoting knowledge-based growth.

In doing do, governments have given increasing recognition to the importance of key library activities – supporting literacy, ensuring access to information, and providing a space and opportunity for community engagement.

Both the United Nations 2030 Agenda, with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals, and the African Union’s 2063 Agenda, represent important opportunities both for libraries to advocate to those in power, but also for decision-makers to place libraries at the heart of policy making and delivery.

The Third Roundtable of Ministers Responsible for Public Libraries in Africa, taking place a month ago in Accra, Ghana, provided a chance for these decision-makers to talk about the progress they had made in harnessing the power of libraries, and to hear from the library field about promising new practices and trends.

IFLA Secretary General Gerald Leitner participated on behalf of IFLA as a whole, underlining the vision set out in IFLA’s own Strategy 2019-24 of a strong and united library field powering literate, informed and participative societies.

Stressing that in their libraries, the ministers present had a great potential in their hands to support development, he called on them to engage libraries more in development policy planning and coordination, Voluntary National Reviews, promoting libraries at the World Intellectual Property Organisation and collecting and publishing library data.

IFLA looks forward to continuing to engage with libraries and governments across Africa, in particular in the regional workshop planned for 2020 where we will explore how the IFLA Strategy can help strengthen the field across the continent.

Find out more about what IFLA is doing on libraries and development.

Today LIBER and Communia are releasing detailed guidelines on the implementation of the Digital Single Market Directive. LIBER has specifically worked to develop the guidance related to text and data mining, as covered in Articles 3 and 4 of the Directive. The LIBER-Communia guidelines come in addition to detailed library guidelines on the Digital Single…

The post LIBER and Communia Launch Joint Guidelines on Text and Data Mining appeared first on LIBER.

​

Between 25 and 29 November 2019, IFLA participated in the 14th annual Internet Governance Forum meeting in Berlin. The key messages IFLA emphasised were the importance of policy support for public access in libraries, the role of libraries in enabling meaningful connectivity, and in generating meaningful internet content through digitisation efforts.

The Internet Governance Forum is a multistakeholder space for debate and cooperation towards an open, secure and free internet. The theme of the 2019 meeting was “One world. One net. One vision”, and over 5000 participants from public, private and civil society sectors participated.

From public internet access…

Within the framework of the Dynamic Coalition on Public Access in Libraries (DC-PAL), IFLA organised an open session alongside Electronic Information for Libraries (EIFL). The session examined how public access in libraries contributes to broadband and connectivity policy success, and how governments integrate libraries into planning.

The speakers highlighted the role of libraries in access, development, and affordability strategies, and presented a draft report which compares how libraries are included in broadband plans and policies in different countries.

Presentations and interventions by speakers from Uganda, Kenya, Germany and Ghana illustrated how including libraries in such policies works in practice, and the impact it delivers. In several cases, Universal Service Funds were highlighted as an effective mechanism to support public access and library connectivity.

… to other areas important for libraries

IFLA also joined the panel of a session organised by the Best Practice Forum on Local Content. IFLA shared how library heritage digitisation initiatives can help create online content that is most meaningful and/or relevant for a given community.

IFLA drew special attention to digitisation efforts carried out by libraries jointly with indigenous communities, and digital preservation of heritage materials at risk.

Other issues and questions relevant for libraries were discussed throughout the week, for example:

• Meaningful connectivity and meaningful access: many participants agreed that access to connectivity services and infrastructure alone do not bring the full benefits of connectivity. We need rather to think about making meaningful connectivity and access meaningful, for which can entail different elements: from affordability, appropriate access devices, and sufficient speed (e.g. as included in A4AI’s Meaningful Connectivity Standard) to digital skills, literacy, and availability of online content and services relevant for the user (which libraries offer).
• The issues of reconciling freedom of expression and intellectual freedom online with government and private companies’ efforts to address such concerns as disinformation or harmful content.
• On several occasions, it was pointed out that traditional connectivity models may not be effective in bringing the remaining billions online as fast as possible. Community networks were proposed as an alternative solution in several sessions – libraries can learn more about this connectivity model and see what roles they can play in community network projects.

You can watch a recording of the DC-PAL session and read the draft report. If you would like to get involved in IGF events and initiatives, the IFLA Get Into IGF Guide can offer an explanation of how the Forum works and how you can take part.

​UNESCO has announced that Tbilisi, capital of Georgia, will be World Book Capital 2021. IFLA is looking forward to working with the authorities and libraries there to show the power of our institutions in promoting books and reading.

The UNESCO World Book Capital programme focuses on supporting access to, and the production of books. Built on the understanding that high levels of literacy and reading are linked to greater well-being and performance in other areas of development, it looks to celebrate innovative and leading practices at the local level.

The title of World Book Capital is awarded by the Director General of UNESCO, based on recommendations from an advisory committee including IFLA and the International Publishers Association. Through its engagement, IFLA encourages bids that take full advantage of the potential of libraries to deliver on the goals of the programme.

From April 2021, the holder of the title will therefore be Tbilisi. In this, they will follow on from the current holder, Sharjah (UAE) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) which will take on the role in April 2020.

With the theme 'So your next book is...', the year will focus on increasing the number of people reading - in particular the young - and the role that new technologies can play in bringing books to new audiences. 

IFLA is looking forward to working with our members in Georgia in order to make the most of the opportunity to highlight the power of libraries.

Through providing access to books and other materials, as well as a truly public space, libraries are key to delivering on the right to culture. They are a key part of the social, educational and cultural infrastructure of any town or city.

We are sure that Tbilisi’s time as World Book Capital will provide examples that will help inspire other cities around the world to place libraries at the heart of their development policies.

​UNESCO has announced that Tbilisi, capital of Georgia, will be World Book Capital 2021. IFLA is looking forward to working with the authorities and libraries there to show the power of our institutions in promoting books and reading.

The UNESCO World Book Capital programme focuses on supporting access to, and the production of books. Built on the understanding that high levels of literacy and reading are linked to greater well-being and performance in other areas of development, it looks to celebrate innovative and leading practices at the local level.

The title of World Book Capital is awarded by the Director General of UNESCO, based on recommendations from an advisory committee including IFLA and the International Publishers Association. Through its engagement, IFLA encourages bids that take full advantage of the potential of libraries to deliver on the goals of the programme.

From April 2021, the holder of the title will therefore be Tbilisi. In this, they will follow on from the current holder, Sharjah (UAE) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) which will take on the role in April 2020.

With the theme 'So your next book is...', the year will focus on increasing the number of people reading - in particular the young - and the role that new technologies can play in bringing books to new audiences. 

IFLA is looking forward to working with our members in Georgia in order to make the most of the opportunity to highlight the power of libraries.

Through providing access to books and other materials, as well as a truly public space, libraries are key to delivering on the right to culture. They are a key part of the social, educational and cultural infrastructure of any town or city.

We are sure that Tbilisi’s time as World Book Capital will provide examples that will help inspire other cities around the world to place libraries at the heart of their development policies.

​

​​​With IFLA’s Strategy for 2019-24 in place, now is the time to ensure that we have the right structures, as an organisation, to deliver on our vision and mission. IFLA’s Governance Review – the process for achieving this – is already well advanced.

Throughout the Global Vision process, leading up to the presentation of the IFLA Strategy 2019-2024 at WLIC 2019 in Athens, IFLA’s Members have played a central role in our transformation.

Thanks to this, we are in a better place than ever before to build a strong and united library field. The Governance Review is the step that will ensure that IFLA has the structure to deliver on its new Strategy.

This process is already well underway, drawing strongly on the input provided by IFLA’s Members, reflecting IFLA’s commitment to listening and taking account of the library field’s feedback and views.

Governing Board Work Groups

As a first step in September, we created three Work Groups to examine our Governing Board, Professional Units, and Strategic Committees.

We asked them the following questions:

• Is the current structure the best to deliver IFLA’s mission, vision, values, and strategic directions?
• If not, what are the issues that must be addressed?
• What solutions would solve those issues, and are those solutions sustainable and aligned with IFLA’s values?

Since then, each group has been hard at work interviewing key stakeholders, and reviewing comments received during the Global Vision process, the IFLA Membership Survey 2018, and in Professional Unit workshops.

When the Governing Board meets in December, they will bring together their findings so far.

Read more about IFLA's Strategy 2019-24.

Governance Structure Survey

In October, we asked for your views about the performance of IFLA’s current governance structure. The results of this will be a key ingredient in these discussions.

The high relative response rate indicates the strong level of engagement in IFLA’s future.

We received responses from 269 members of IFLA’s professional units (a 33% response rate), with an average of 10 years of involvement, and 173 IFLA members who are not members of a professional units (12.7% response rate), with an average of 12 years of involvement.

The survey results provided the following highlights:

• IFLA’s Members appreciated that IFLA’s governance structure allows many opportunities for involvement in leadership and that it generally reflects the breadth and diversity of the library field.
• IFLA’s Members were in agreement that any changes proposed to the governance structure must be financially sustainable, provide for organisational stability, address regional representation, open doors for participation and inclusion more broadly, and allow new leaders to step forwards.
• In addition to issues of structure, IFLA’s Members also saw transparency, communication, and collaboration as important.

Next Steps

Based on the consideration of the results of the Member survey, as well as the results of their work to date, IFLA’s Governing Board will work to define concrete proposals for change.

They will meet in person again in April 2020, in order to take the next steps towards a final proposal to present to the General Assembly in August 2020. 

Throughout this time, we will be providing updates, and further opportunities to provide your input.

​Today we are celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the current edition of the Public Library Manifesto.

This document, agreed by IFLA and the Member States of UNESCO, places public libraries at the heart of efforts to promote education, democracy and participation in culture.

As IFLA Secretary General Gerald Leitner set out:

The Public Library Manifesto clearly sets out the values that don’t just underpin the work of public libraries, but to a large extent, all libraries, everywhere. These shared values can be a driver and guiding star for our work to build a stronger library field, and so stronger communities and societies around the world, as set out in the IFLA Global Vision.

To mark the event, IFLA has encouraged its members around the world to act to celebrate both the Manifesto and the work and missions of public libraries themselves.

With a growing recognition of the value of physical spaces and opportunities for building connections and community, the need for public libraries appears as strong as ever.

Nonetheless, the need for advocacy at every level, as well as efforts within the field to define, share and implement good practices, remains high.

Over the coming months, working in particular through our Public Libraries Section and with UNESCO, IFLA will be looking at where the Manifesto could be updated to make it ever more useful for libraries and decision-makers alike.

IFLA President Christine Mackenzie underlined:

The values and principles set out in the Public Library Manifesto are as important today as they were 25 years ago. So too is our work to make them reality. I look forward to working together with libraries and library associations everywhere to deliver culture, education and access to information for all, into the future. 

Read more about the Manifesto in our advocacy toolkit.

EIFL has signed a new agreement with Mathematical Sciences Publishers (MSP) that provides free access to MSP’s 17 journals specialized in mathematics and related sciences.

The agreement is valid until December 2022, and is open to libraries in 29 EIFL partner countries:

EIFL has signed a new agreement with Mathematical Sciences Publishers (MSP) that provides free access to MSP’s 17 journals specialized in mathematics and related sciences.

The agreement is valid until December 2022, and is open to libraries in 29 EIFL partner countries: