IFLA President Glòria Pérez-Salmerón

 

In celebration of this year’s Austrian Library Day, the Association of Austrian Librarians (LBA), the Austrian Library Federation (BVÖ) and the University Library of Linz held the 33rd Austrian Library Conference under the theme of “Wolkenkuckucksheim. Bibliotheken in der Cloud” (Cloud Cuckoo Lander: Libraries in the cloud) from 12 to 15 September 2017 in Linz, Austria.

Glòria Pérez-Salmerón opened the event, making this conference her first official appearance as IFLA President, and Linz a memorable and special place for her as she begins her two year leadership. 

In line with her Presidential Theme she stressed: “Our role is much more than running our libraries and information centres day-to-day, much more than agreeing and reaching a consensus on standards and guidelines of library work, our main task is being the gears of the motors for a real and visible change and the development of our society.”

As a clear opportunity to drive change, Glòria Pérez-Salmerón highlighted and called for action on IFLA’s Global Vision discussion happening now. She urged the library community not to wait until the deadline of 30 September but to vote today, so that their voices can be heard to unite the library field, advising that: “…tackling the global challenges together is the key to the success of our mission”.

It was a motivating first address, ideal for the start of a thought provoking and innovative conference, discussing topics such as the future role of libraries and the need to rethink skills and organisational development in future-oriented libraries.


Visit our President page for further details about IFLA President Glòria Pérez-Salmerón.