IFLA Professional Units and IFLA Review Groups

IFLA Professional Units 

The Professional Council of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) invites expressions of interest from those wishing to serve as co-opted members on a Professional Unit Committee (Section or Special Interest Group) for the term 2023-2027.   

Section Standing Committees and Special Interest Groups (SIGs)

At the heart of IFLA’s work are its diverse professional committees – a network of enthusiastic and engaged volunteer experts who bring their knowledge and energy to make IFLA a strong and vibrant organisation. Discover a committee in your area of interest and learn more about what they do! 

Co-opting benefits and limitations 
  • The co-opting process provides an avenue for IFLA Committee membership outside of the elections process for those individuals who may not have a direct connection to an eligible nominator, such as students, new professionals, or those residing or working in countries where there are no IFLA members. 
  • Co-opted members serve on Section or SIG Committees as full members for a term of up to four years.  If they wish to serve an additional term, they must participate in the IFLA nominations and elections process. 
Committee Member Responsibilities 
  • Virtually participate in the activities of the committee by serving on project working groups, or assisting with the running and maintenance of the committee 
  • Actively communicate the activities of your committee and of IFLA within your professional networks 
  • Attend online meetings to plan, discuss and continue Unit work 
  • (optional but encouraged) Attend the World Library and Information Congresses (WLICs) held during your term. 
Skills and Abilities
  • Expertise and experience in the thematic focus of the Section or Special Interest Group Committee.
  • Ability to integrate diverse perspectives and to collaborate virtually and in person with a diverse range of colleagues.
  • Proven record of developing ideas and successfully designing, organising and producing practical outputs which support the work of the library field.
  • Motivation and ability to devote time and energy to the role outside of their local time zone’s typical work hours – this can be 5-10 hours per month.
  • Time allowance to prepare and attend virtual meetings of the Committee which are held across a global set of time zones.
  • An ability to act with respect, trust, confidentiality and transparency and recognise the need to protect personal and privileged information. They must declare any conflicts of interest and abstain from discussions where they have a conflict or potential conflict of interest.
Expression of Interest 
Selection 
  • Co-opted members will be selected based on the needs of the particular committee. 
  • It is possible that the Unit for which you have expressed interest will not co-opt any members during the 2023-2025 term.  
  • Successful candidates will be notified of their selection by approximately 1 December
  • Unsuccessful candidates will not be contacted and will remain in the pool of available candidates 
  • Co-opting will be finalised by 1 December, though there may be additional opportunities throughout the term. 

Take this opportunity to join a vibrant and dynamic Section Standing Committee or Special Interest Group and play a role in building a strong and united global library field powering literate, informed and participatory societies. 

For questions, please contact elections@ifla.org

IFLA Review Groups

The Advisory Committee on Standards of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) invites expressions of interest from those wishing to serve as co-opted members of a Review Group for the term 2023-2027.   

Review Groups maintain, support and develop work on IFLA’s technical standards, bibliographic models, linked data and formats. Specific technical skills and experience are required to serve as an effective contributor to the ongoing standards revision processes of each Review Group.

Benefits and limitations 
  • The co-opting process provides an avenue for IFLA Review Group membership outside of the elections process for those individuals who may not have a direct connection to an eligible nominator, such as students, new professionals, or those residing or working in countries where there are no IFLA members. 
  • Co-opted members serve on Review Groups as full members for a term of four years. If they wish to serve an additional term, they must participate in the IFLA nominations and elections process. 
Review Group Member Responsibilities 

Anyone with the specific technical skills and experience as identified below is eligible to put forth an expression of interest for Review Group membership. Candidates do not have to be an IFLA Member or Affiliate to serve on this committee..

BCM Review Group

BCM Review Group members are responsible for revising the following: 

  • Library Reference Model
  • LRMoo
  • PRESSoo

Skills and expertise needed:

  • Understanding of entity-relationship modelling
  • Experience of working with bibliographic conceptual models, and/or their implementations
ISBD Review Group

Responsible for maintaining the International Standard Bibliographic Description (ISBD) by providing a coordinating body that:

  • Promotes the use of ISBD, including:
    • translation of the ISBD into various languages,
    • implementation of the ISBD in library systems and services,
    • co-ordination of activities such as webinars, conference presentations,
    • co-ordination of activities regarding ISBD user communities’ requirements concerning development of the ISBD,
    • maintaining and providing the ISBD elements for publishing in the IFLA Namespace;
  • Manages and oversees the revision of the ISBD by:
    • monitoring developments in the publishing and other relevant communities,
    • maintaining and developing the alignment of ISBD data elements with the IFLA Library Reference Model (LRM),
    • ensuring the representation of the ISBD in the Semantic Web environment,
    • ensuring the interoperability of the ISBD with other content standards,
    • ensuring the interoperability of the ISBD with format standards, such as UNIMARC;
  • Ensures activities concerning the harmonisation of the ISBD, with ISSN, RDA and other national and international cataloguing rules;
  • Works with other IFLA review groups, sections, and other relevant bodies to ensure a better overall consistency and efficiency in the development and maintenance of IFLA metadata standards.

Skills and expertise needed:

  • Experience with cataloguing and description standards,
  • Experience with, or interest in, Entity-Relationship cataloguing,
  • Experience with, or interest in, Linked Data,
  • Ability to get organisational support to participate in online and in-person activities, such as meetings, conferences, and project work,
  • Fluent in English (ISBD RG working language) and one or more other languages
LIDATEC Review Group

Responsible for:

  • Managing the IFLA Namespaces working with the other review groups
  • Setting goals and directions for the Review Group
  • Thinking about user needs in relation to the standards and how IFLA makes these open access standards available to the world
  • Working on projects, like our pilot project with ISBD-M to make it available online

Skills and expertise needed:

  • Experience with library cataloguing standards
  • Experience with or interest in linked data
  • Skills related to GitHub can be helpful
UNIMARC 

Responsible for the following revisions:

  • UNIMARC Authorities Format Manual 
  • UNIMARC Bibliographic Format Manual
  • UNIMARC Authorities Namespaces
  • UNIMARC Bibliographic Namespaces

Skills and expertise needed:

  • Experience working with UNIMARC or a UNIMARC-based scheme as a cataloguing or exchange format.
  • Ability to get organization support for working on UNIMARC formats proposals and for developing and promoting UNIMARC. 
  • Sufficient fluency in English (UNIMARC documentation is in English).
Expression of Interest 
  1. Provide a formal expression of interest to serve on a specific Review Group as a co-opted member here.
  2. Provide a statement of your specific skills and qualifications of 100-200 words 
  3. Indicate your communications preferences 
Selection 
  • Co-opted members will be selected based on the skills required of the particular Review Group. 
  • It is possible that the Review Group for which you have expressed interest will not co-opt any members subsequent to this call.
  • Only successful candidates will be notified of their selection.   
  • Unsuccessful candidates will not be contacted and will remain in the pool of available candidates. 

Co-opting will be finalised by 10 January 2024 though there may be additional opportunities to be co-opted throughout the term.