EIFL has pledged its support for the Open Covid Pledge for Research in Education to underscore the critical role of education research in the collective response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

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Networking and partnerships are what the IFLA Library and Research Services for Parliaments Section (IFLAPARL) is about. Their collaborative spirit and work aligned to the IFLA’s Key Initiative 1.2, is what brought them to IFLA’s spotlight!

Parliamentary library and research services are an aid to good governance.

When policies are debated, formed and passed into laws by parliaments, library and research services provide reliable and non-biased information to elected representatives, an alternative to what is supplied by governments, political parties, the media, pressure groups and lobbyists.

Filling a demanding and unique role for each jurisdiction – there is no one else who does this work locally.

This work requires expertise in networks and partnerships.

IFLAPARL’s collaborative approach leads to notable outputs:

1. Checklist on Parliamentary Research and Library Service Ethics
2. Valparaiso Declaration
3. Guidelines for Parliamentary Research Services
4. A significant contribution to the series of World e-Parliament Reports
5. Conference Session and workshop proceedings

IFLAPARL’s collaborative approach brings added value to regional parliamentary library organisations:​

1. IFLAPARL offers a truly diverse perspective:
   Parliamentary services are found in a variety of countries, cultures, development levels, services models, and types of parliaments, enriching its network of participants. While the strength of a regional association may be its commonalities, IFLAPARL’s strength is its diverse network.
2. IFLAPARL is unique in the sector for its global role:
   IFLAPARL synthesises global professional guidance and standards which aid in their acceptance at the institutional level and allows the profession to connect to global bodies and gives it a voice in global fora. They articulate professional concerns that may be difficult to express at the institutional or even regional level. IFLAPARL can increase value by improving communication and voluntary coordination.
3. IFLAPARL connects its members to a wider professional world:
   IFLA PARL Members have the opportunity to collaborate with other IFLA Sections such as Knowledge Management, Law Libraries, Government Libraries, and Government Information and Official Publications, to bring a diverse and global perspective to their work.
4. IFLAPARL provides a working model for new and developing associations:
   IFLA PARL mobilises practical support for regional associations and provides a basic network in regions where there is no strong or active association.
5. IFLAPARL explicitly and strongly represents research services:
   IFLA PARL supports professional cooperation amongst parliamentary research services, associations and libraries.

IFLA PARL Chair, Iain Watt describes the Section’s focus for 2020:

The new IFLA Strategy was a prompt for IFLAPARL to reflect on a changing world and to consider new opportunities. IFLAPARL’s relation to the regional associations of parliamentary library and research services is one example. Although many associations are formal members of IFLA, and there has been mutual communication of activities, the global and regional had largely a parallel existence. We thought more value could be created with collaboration, but respecting the role and independence of the regional associations we had first to reflect on the unique offer of IFLAPARL”

Stay connected with IFLAPARL via their website and on twitter.

On 28 August 2020, Blue Shield International held their triennial General Assembly virtually, bringing together national committees, committees under construction, and partner organisations, including IFLA as one of the Four Founding organisations.

Blue Shield International is a non-governmental, non-profit, international organisation committed to the protection of heritage across the world. The International Committee of the Blue Shield was created in 1996 by the Founding Four organisations, representing the fields of archives, libraries, monuments and sites, and museums:

• International Council on Archives (ICA)
• International Council of Museums (ICOM)
• International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)
• International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS)

IFLA’s participation helps ensure the safeguarding of global libraries in the face of armed conflict and other disasters. IFLA is represented on the board of Blue Shield International by Secretary General Gerald Leitner.

Due to COVID-19, a virtual General Assembly was held in August 2020 to allow national committees and the Founding Four organisations to elect the President and board members for the term 2020-2023. Other matters included the approval of the Report of the Board (2017-2020), the Financial Report (2017-2020), and the 2020-2023 Strategic Plan. All other business will be postponed to an extraordinary General Assembly, to be held in Prague in 2021.

IFLA thanks outgoing president Karl Habsburg for his years of service and excellent work raising the profile of Blue Shield. We welcome the incoming President, Peter G. Stone (United Kingdom), and incoming board members Hamady Gaye (Senegal), Kidong Bae (Republic of Korea), Klaus Weschenfelder (Germany), and Lidia Klupsz (Poland), who will join Gerald Leitner as IFLA’s representative, as well as the representatives of other founding organisations.

We are looking forward to working with the new President and board in setting out a clear path for the Blue Shield that maximises the value it brings for libraries, complementing IFLA’s own ongoing work to ensure the protection of libraries against disasters.

Interested in getting more involved in Blue Shield? Find out if your country has a National Committee here.

The EIFL General Assembly is our major knowledge sharing event of the year. This year, we will be holding a virtual General Assembly via Zoom. 

The EIFL General Assembly is our major knowledge sharing event of the year. This year, we will be holding a virtual General Assembly via Zoom. 

The EIFL General Assembly is our major knowledge sharing event of the year. This year, we will be holding a virtual General Assembly via Zoom. 

IFLA has submitted a response to the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights' call for inputs on women and girls’ sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). Libraries around the world are working to raise awareness and knowledge about women’s SRHR, helping deliver on their fundamental rights to health and access to information.

 

The UN OHCHR Working Group on discrimination against women and girls is examining the challenges and good practices in ensuring women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights in situations of crisis. One of the key elements in delivering on these rights is providing access to information – scientific and accurate materials about sexual and reproductive health and information about women’s rights and available services in these areas.

As part of their mission to deliver equitable access to knowledge and information, libraries help ensure that women and girls are able to acquire, understand and use SRHR information. Drawing on the experiences of different libraries in this field, IFLA has prepared a submission to this call for inputs, highlighting various good practices and key considerations.

This submission discusses:

• The role of core library services (access to relevant print and electronic courses, information services, public internet access) in ensuring women and girls’ access to SRHR information.
• Library-based targeted initiatives designed to raise awareness and knowledge of SRHR, especially initiatives focusing on girls and women in more vulnerable demographics.
• Examples of partnerships working to widen access to SRHR information and services through libraries.

 

You can read IFLA’s submission on the publications page.

The Permanent UNIMARC Committee will be holding its 30th Annual Meeting from 8-11 September 2020 virtually. Two hours of meetings will be during 12:00-14:00 (UTC). Observers are welcome to attend. If you plan to attend, please contact Gordana Mazić (chair) at gordana.mazic@izum.si for Zoom information. 

One of our members and part of our executive board, Cécile Swiatek co-chaired our LIBER Digital Skills for Library Staff and Researchers Working Group for its duration (2018-2020). She has recently given an interview about the results of the working group’s efforts in implementing methods and practices in European Libraries. Open Science is a field…

The post Open Science Training: How to Implement Methods and Practices in European Research Libraries appeared first on LIBER.

LIBER continues to work hard to support any efforts towards making Open Science the undisputed paradigm for using and publishing scientific knowledge across communities and across Europe. Starting in a few weeks, a webinar and a discussion series will begin, precisely to maintain a healthy momentum towards this endeavor. A joint project of OCLC and…

The post New Open Science Discussion Series appeared first on LIBER.

Would you like to know more about Persistent Identifiers (PIDs) and the role they play in building open research infrastructures? Join this introductory one-hour LIBSENSE webinar.

Date: Monday, 7 September. 
Time: 11:00 GMT (check your time).
To register: Click here to register.

Would you like to know more about Persistent Identifiers (PIDs) and the role they play in building open research infrastructures? Join this introductory one-hour LIBSENSE webinar.

Date: Monday, 7 September. 
Time: 11:00 GMT (check your time).
To register: Click here to register.

Would you like to know more about Persistent Identifiers (PIDs) and the role they play in building open research infrastructures? Join this introductory one-hour LIBSENSE webinar.

Date: Monday, 7 September. 
Time: 11:00 GMT (check your time).
To register: Click here to register.

IFLA’s Strategy is already one year old! A lot has happened over these first twelve months, both for IFLA and the world as a whole.

Since the first presentation at the World Library and Information Congress, we have seen a great mobilisation across IFLA and beyond in order to turn its vision into a reality.

With the huge disruption caused by COVID-19 to societies and the libraries that serve them, the importance of thinking strategically – and working together – has become clearer than ever.

A Strategy for Changing Times

The Strategy was designed to provide new energy and direction for everyone working across IFLA, as well as a reference point for library associations, libraries and library and information workers around the world. 

Its existence is the result of a uniquely inclusive process – the IFLA Global Vision initiative – which brought together tens of thousands of librarians and library supporters.

This work allowed us to identify the priorities and strengths of our field, and to define a vision towards which we can all aim. This vision – of a strong and united global library field, powering literate, informed and participatory societies – is as valid as ever.

Indeed, in a world where innovation, creativity and resilience will be at the heart of recovery, the vision only underlines the contribution that libraries can make.

We have already made major steps towards realising this, with just a small selection of examples highlighted below. These are just the tip of the iceberg through, with hundreds of other actions underway in IFLA’s Professional Units, Members and at our Headquarters.

Christine Mackenzie, IFLA President said:

It has been both a challenging and inspiring year working with the IFLA Strategy. I have been so impressed at how the field has responded with creativity and resilience, adapting and innovating to do the best for communities. The Strategy offers us a great tool for working together, making the most of all of our contributions, to ensure libraries can go from strength to strength.”

Gerald Leitner, IFLA Secretary General said:

Faced with challenges few had foreseen, the IFLA Strategy has proved its relevance. It continues to provide a guiding light for the work of our volunteers in working to strengthen our profession, and a reference point for associations and institutions globally. I am looking forward to working further with libraries globally in order to use the IFLA Strategy to realise our collective potential in the years to come!”

Your engagement with the IFLA Strategy

As highlighted above, many associations around the world and many IFLA Professional Units have been aligning their actions to the global IFLA Strategy. See their work and get inspired to do the same:

National Library Associations & the IFLA Strategy

• Paraguayan libraries align with the IFLA Strategy
• Suriname’s libraries align with the IFLA Strategy
• Interviewing Nick Poole: a discussion about the IFLA Strategy
• #IFLAFromHome in Latvia: An Innovative National Conference in Line with the IFLA Strategy

IFLA Professional Units & the IFLA Strategy

• Can old buildings be turned into libraries? A sneak peek into ENSULIB’s upcoming open access book
• Interlibrary loaning across the globe: a gap turned into a successful new global service by an IFLA Professional Unit
• IFLA Coaching Initiative: a dynamic IFLA Professional Unit programme
• IFLA celebrates World Refugee Day

Read more about the IFLA Strategy 2019-2024

How is your library or library association engaging with the IFLA Strategy? Let us know! Post on your social media, using the hashtag #IFLAStrategy and #WeAreIFLA or send an email to Despina Gerasimidou, IFLA’s Strategic Development Officer at despina.gerasimidou@ifla.org.

 

     

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Over the past two weeks, IFLA has organised a series of round tables, designed to deepen the conversation with our Members and volunteers about the future of our Federation. The feedback we have received will help the Governing Board improve and develop proposals to be delivered at our General Assembly on 5 November.

IFLA’s Governance Review aims to match the ambition of our Strategy with the decision-making structures that will allow us to deliver.

At the heart of this will be ensuring that our governance allows also for more efficiency and collaboration, stronger regional representation, greater financial and organisational sustainability, more varied opportunities for participation, and better support for volunteers.

These were the goals fixed by our Members in a survey in October 2019, and set in stone by IFLA’s Governing Board in December of the same year.

IFLA will not be able to do this without acting together, drawing on the ideas, experience and insights of the people who make our organisation what it is.

We have done this already, not only through the survey last year, but also through a second one in June-July 2020, through consultations with experienced members of our field, and through a constant process of listening to your views.

The result has been an updated Governing Board proposal for IFLA’s new governance, presented in early August.

Clear Commitment, Invaluable Ideas

The round tables organised throughout the second half of August were just the latest step in this consultation, designed to allow the IFLA Governing Board to move closer to proposals that will deliver on the goals set by our members.

Participants from all continents and library types therefore participated in a series of 11 virtual meetings, asking questions and sharing their views on the future of our Federation.

With six focused on IFLA’s Members across different world regions, and five on our professional units – the biggest brains trust in the library field – this provided an excellent opportunity to test out the ideas proposed by the Governing Board in its June first draft, and an updated working paper in August.

Participants welcomed the changes already made – notably to strengthen further the democratic nature of the Governing Board by adding two more directly elected members.

They also tackled key questions around how to find the balance between retaining talent and providing spaces for new voices, how to organise support to professional units, and how to shape IFLA’s proposed new regional structures.

Overall, participants underlined their commitment to IFLA, and to working together to continue IFLA’s transformation in support of the global library field.

Next Steps

The most immediate task now is for IFLA’s Governing Board to consider the feedback received – both during the round tables and shared subsequently by e-mail.

This will happen at the Governing Board’s mid-September meeting, and be followed by an intense process of preparing concrete proposals for amendments to IFLA’s Statutes and Rules of Procedure.

Members will then receive a presentation of the final proposals at our live-streamed General Assembly on 5 November 2020. At the same meeting, IFLA’s Members will vote on a separate amendment to our Statutes which will allow for remote voting on key decisions. 

Assuming this amendment is passed, Members will be asked to vote on changes to the Statutes that will implement the proposals in the Governance Review, allowing the new structures – if accepted – to be implemented in time for our elections in 2021.

Gerald Leitner
IFLA Secretary General

Iryna Kuchma, Manager of the EIFL Open Access Programme, will give a presentation on open science policies at the NI4OS-Europe (National Initiatives for Open Science in Europe) training event on open science for Moldova.

Iryna Kuchma, Manager of the EIFL Open Access Programme, will give a presentation on open science policies at the NI4OS-Europe (National Initiatives for Open Science in Europe) training event on open science for Moldova.

Iryna Kuchma, Manager of the EIFL Open Access Programme, will give a presentation on open science policies at the NI4OS-Europe (National Initiatives for Open Science in Europe) training event on open science for Moldova.

We are happy to announce that the EIFL Public Library Innovation Award - for public library services that improve lives - is now open for applications.

COVID-19 has made 2020 a difficult year, disrupting personal and professional lives everywhere. That’s why we’re launching the award earlier this year, to give you extra time to complete your applications. 

We’re also including a new Innovation Award  category - for new public library services introduced to help communities struggling to cope with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We are happy to announce that the EIFL Public Library Innovation Award - for public library services that improve lives - is now open for applications.

COVID-19 has made 2020 a difficult year, disrupting personal and professional lives everywhere. That’s why we’re launching the award earlier this year, to give you extra time to complete your applications. 

We’re also including a new Innovation Award  category - for new public library services introduced to help communities struggling to cope with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.