Addressing persistent digital divides remains a key priority in internet governance policy dialogues and initiatives. Libraries bring valuable solutions, practices and lessons learned to this discussion – and the Dynamic Coalition on Public Access in Libraries (DC-PAL) continues to facilitate this learning and exchange within the Internet Governance Forum platforms. Read More
The 2021 Internet Governance Forum (IGF) took place in the week of 6 December. As always, this annual event offered libraries an opportunity to take part, listen in and contribute to crucial discussions shaping today’s digital environment. IFLA at the 2021 IGF As a member of the Dynamic Coalition on… Read More
A new working draft by IFLA and Electronic Information for Libraries (EIFL) explores insights about the uses and benefits of public access in libraries, emerging from recent reports and studies from different parts of the world, and the methodologies available for assessing these. Over the past decades, public access to… Read More
The past 20 months have required libraries around the world to not only find ways to deliver their services remotely when possible – but also to reflect on their broader roles in the digital ecosystem. Read More
​Libraries were early adopters of the internet, seeing its potential to connect people to ever more information. While numbers of people with home connections has increased, the value and importance of the possibility to connect in or via a library has remained. For… Read More
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. Read More
The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) process is a UN-based initiative to bridge the digital divide, foster an inclusive information society and promote the use of ICT for development. Libraries have an important role to play in achieving these goals, and IFLA has been actively involved with the WSIS process since its first phase in Geneva in 2003. This includes contributing to annual reports to take stock of the progress made towards the WSIS Action Lines and Targets – and the 2019 IFLA submission is now available! Read More
The internet has created unprecedented new opportunities to find, use and share information. Libraries around the world have been quick to offer access to it as a key part of their service to users. Read More
Connecting libraries offers a great way of bringing more people online, and providing a space where they can develop the skills and confidence necessary to get the most out of the Internet. The new Public Access Policy Toolkit looks at the different policy areas where libraries may need to advocate to make this happen. Read More
The Public Access Policy Toolkit looks at the different policy areas where libraries may need to advocate to ensure that all our institutions can provide internet access to their users. With much progress still needed to ensure that all libraries are connected to the internet, IFLA has… Read More