Today, elections open for key posts across IFLA. Following a great response to our call for nominations, there is a strong and diverse set of candidates ready to take IFLA’s work forward.

Those eligible to vote will receive an e-mail asking them to make their choice. The posts covered are our President-elect, Treasurer, Governing Board, Regional Council Chair, Regional Division Committee Members, and Professional Section Standing Committee Members. Individual candidate profiles can be viewed on our dedicated elections platform. Eligible voters have until 12pm CEST on 24 May to cast their votes.

Further elections will open on 3 May for the roles of Professional Council Chair and Professional Division Committee Chairs. You can read more about all of these roles on our elections webpage.

Engagement shows in high volume of nominations

IFLA received a great response to its call for nominations for positions on the Governing Board, Regional Divisions and Section Standing Committees.

We have never seen such a mobilisation of the library field. We are excited to announce that over the period – 1 March – 13 April 2021 – we received a total of 2,184 nominations.

This offers a clear sign of the commitment of the global library field to the future of our Federation.

In turn, the candidates nominated came from all library types and all parts of the world, representing the full diversity of our profession, and demonstrating the wealth of energy and talent that it offers.

In particular three candidates are eligible to run for the role of President-elect: Antonia Arahova, Loida Garcia-Febo and Vicki McDonald. Look out for the interviews with each of the candidates that we will be publishing later this week!

There was also a tremendous response to the call for nominations to Professional Section Standing Committees, giving us a total of 601 valid candidates for 480 vacancies. This means that 25 Sections require an election, a substantial increase on previous election rounds.

Next Steps

As highlighted above, those eligible to vote will receive an e-mail with a unique link, allowing them both to view the candidates for each post, and make their decision. If you have not, and think you should have, please contact elections@ifla.org.

Voting is open until 12pm CEST on 24 May 2021 (see what time this is for you).

Elections for other posts – those of Professional Council Chair and Professional Division Committee Chairs – will open on 3 May – all those who can vote will be contacted in advance. 

Keep an eye on our website, social media and your e-mail for further information and updates. And, crucially, use your ability to shape the future of our organisation!

We are IFLA! 

Kind regards,

Gerald Leitner
Secretary General
The Hague, Netherlands
26 April 2021