The next meeting of the Community of Practice (CoP) for no-fee OA publishing in Africa, that now includes 358 members, will take place on 20 August 2025 at 10:00 UTC. 

The meeting will be moderated by Femi Arogundade, of WACREN (West and Central African Research and Education Network), and Iryna Kuchma and Milica Ševkušić, of the EIFL Open Access Programme. Training programmes will be discussed and news and updates from CoP members will be shared. 

The next meeting of the Community of Practice (CoP) for no-fee OA publishing in Africa, that now includes 358 members, will take place on 20 August 2025 at 10:00 UTC. 

The meeting will be moderated by Femi Arogundade, of WACREN (West and Central African Research and Education Network), and Iryna Kuchma and Milica Ševkušić, of the EIFL Open Access Programme. Training programmes will be discussed and news and updates from CoP members will be shared. 

The fifth webinar in the DIAMAS Conversation Series will introduce the European Diamond Capacity Hub (EDCH) Training Platform – its structure and the training modules designed to support the growth of the Diamond open access ecosystem. The introduction will be followed by an open discussion on user experiences, needs and ideas about  how the training resources can be adapted to support capacity building at national and institutional levels.

The fifth webinar in the DIAMAS Conversation Series will introduce the European Diamond Capacity Hub (EDCH) Training Platform – its structure and the training modules designed to support the growth of the Diamond open access ecosystem. The introduction will be followed by an open discussion on user experiences, needs and ideas about  how the training resources can be adapted to support capacity building at national and institutional levels.

The fifth webinar in the DIAMAS Conversation Series will introduce the European Diamond Capacity Hub (EDCH) Training Platform – its structure and the training modules designed to support the growth of the Diamond open access ecosystem. The introduction will be followed by an open discussion on user experiences, needs and ideas about  how the training resources can be adapted to support capacity building at national and institutional levels.

EIFL will be celebrating International Open Access Week 2025 with libraries, researchers and students in our partner countries. Open Access Week is an annual, global event established by SPARC to raise awareness about open access and to call for open access to be the norm in scholarship and research.

EIFL will be celebrating International Open Access Week 2025 with libraries, researchers and students in our partner countries. Open Access Week is an annual, global event established by SPARC to raise awareness about open access and to call for open access to be the norm in scholarship and research.

EIFL will be celebrating International Open Access Week 2025 with libraries, researchers and students in our partner countries. Open Access Week is an annual, global event established by SPARC to raise awareness about open access and to call for open access to be the norm in scholarship and research.

EIFL staff member, Jevgenija Sevcova, will train master’s degree students in the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences at the National University of Laos in the use of  Zotero free and open source reference management software for managing bibliographic data and related research materials.

EIFL staff member, Jevgenija Sevcova, will train master’s degree students in the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences at the National University of Laos in the use of  Zotero free and open source reference management software for managing bibliographic data and related research materials.

EIFL staff member, Jevgenija Sevcova, will train master’s degree students in the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences at the National University of Laos in the use of  Zotero free and open source reference management software for managing bibliographic data and related research materials.

EIFL staff member, Jevgenija Sevcova, will train master’s degree students in the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences at the National University of Laos in the use of  Zotero free and open source reference management software for managing bibliographic data and related research materials.

Ramunė Petuchovaitė, Manager of the EIFL Public Library Innovation Programme (EIFL-PLIP), will participate in the final stakeholder event of the Digital Learning @ Ghana Public Libraries project.

Ramunė Petuchovaitė, Manager of the EIFL Public Library Innovation Programme (EIFL-PLIP), will participate in the final stakeholder event of the Digital Learning @ Ghana Public Libraries project.

Ramunė Petuchovaitė, Manager of the EIFL Public Library Innovation Programme (EIFL-PLIP), will participate in the final stakeholder event of the Digital Learning @ Ghana Public Libraries project.

Ugnė Lipeikaitė, EIFL Public Library Innovation Programme (EIFL-PLIP) Impact Manager, will speak at the Gaming & Gamification – Cross-Sector Applications & Impact webinar organized by the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Dynamic Coalition on Gaming for Purpose. Ugne will share how African public libraries use gamification to support digital skills and learning programmes for students.

Ugnė Lipeikaitė, EIFL Public Library Innovation Programme (EIFL-PLIP) Impact Manager, will speak at the Gaming & Gamification – Cross-Sector Applications & Impact webinar organized by the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Dynamic Coalition on Gaming for Purpose. Ugne will share how African public libraries use gamification to support digital skills and learning programmes for students.

Ugnė Lipeikaitė, EIFL Public Library Innovation Programme (EIFL-PLIP) Impact Manager, will speak at the Gaming & Gamification – Cross-Sector Applications & Impact webinar organized by the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Dynamic Coalition on Gaming for Purpose. Ugne will share how African public libraries use gamification to support digital skills and learning programmes for students.

How do you envision a project and design library buildings and facilities that will not be delivered for several years? The past 18 months has shone a new light on the need for resilient and responsive buildings. What library services and programmes will be provided in the future? How are innovative approaches to the delivery of library services imagined, implemented and accommodated in new facilities? What are the facilities that will fit future services not yet in existence? What are the challenges and debates within the design team and stakeholders as the planning and preparation are undertaken? What works best and what processes should be used? What differences, if any, are there in building a new facility or re-using and adapting an old site? On October 5th join Traci Lesneski, Philip Kent and thought leaders from Australia, Canada and The Netherlands to consider these important issues.

Register today!

The following statement was issued by Secretary General Gerald Leitner, on behalf of IFLA on 25 August 2021.

IFLA has followed closely recent legislative developments in Hungary, and in particular the provisions passed in June which prohibit the portrayal of homosexuality or gender reassignment in children’s books.

As has been noted by commentators, the breadth of the law creates the possibility that libraries, in providing access to books for young users, are covered by these provisions. As such, this raises significant questions about the ability and responsibility of libraries to fulfil their mission to provide access to information for all.

IFLA stands by its Statement on Intellectual Freedom (1999), which underlines that library collections shall reflect the plurality and diversity of society, and that selection and availability of materials should be governed by professional considerations and not by political, moral and religious views. 

In parallel, IFLA also underlines the message of the IFLA-UNESCO Public Library Manifesto (1994), which stresses the need to provide information to all, reflecting their needs, and evolutions in society. It also emphasises that ‘collections and services should not be subject to any form of ideological, political or religious censorship, nor commercial pressures’.

The IFLA-UNESCO School Library Manifesto underlines these same points, in connection with the development of children.

In the light of this, IFLA stresses that libraries should not face rules that prevent or hinder them from giving access to works which reflect the experience of any part of the communities they serve – including LGBTQ+ users and their families – or pressure to do so. This includes measures that make it harder for readers – in particular young readers – to find works, or the use of marks or other signs that stigmatise their use of such works.

Such steps limit the ability of library and information professionals to make their own judgements, based on professionalism and an understanding of the needs of users, in order to support the development of all members of their communities.

In parallel, IFLA also voices its support for publishers, authors and booksellers who have fallen foul of these new provisions, and calls for an end to similar restrictions elsewhere.

Gerald Leitner
​IFLA Secretary General 25 August 2021

Download the statement from our publications page.