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IFLA is working hard to become a more inclusive organisation. Ahead of key decisions about our structures, we are contacting our Members to seek views on a change to our Statutes that will ensure that when we make such important choices, the voice of every Member counts – not only of those who are able to attend the General Assembly. Our aim is to adopt a process that truly includes all Members, in line with the spirit of our Strategy and Vision.

Dear all

A key element of the implementation of IFLA’s new Strategy 2019-24 is our Governance Review – a drive to ensure that we have the structures we need to deliver, effectively, efficiently and inclusively. As set out in our updates so far, we are working hard to ensure that this process is marked by the same level of engagement with the library field as the Global Vision and Strategy before it.

We have already seen great contributions which are helping our Governing Board to form proposals that reflect the needs of our field, with further consultations on the way. We look forward to presenting these to you at WLIC alongside necessary changes to our Statutes to make them a reality.

In line with the spirit and objectives of the Global Vision, Strategy and Governance Review itself, it is essential that any final decision be taken in an inclusive way, where the voices of all of our Members can be heard. However, under IFLA’s current rules, any decision to update the Statutes is not taken by IFLA’s Membership as a whole, but rather only by those Members present at the General Assembly at WLIC. This means that those who cannot attend can only have a consultative role through a prior online or postal ballot whose result does not need to be respected.

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IFLA’s Governing Board is therefore keen to ensure that the final decision on our future governance is one where every voice can be heard. As a result, we will shortly be contacting all of our voting Members by email with a request for views on a minor amendment to the current Statutes now, in order to ensure that all future changes to the Statutes (and other major decisions) must be decided by a binding ballot of all voting Members. This will inform a decision to be taken at the General Assembly in August.

If you are our main contact for IFLA Membership for your association, institution or are an Honorary Fellow, and have not received an email by Friday (13 March 2020), please contact us.

Find out more about IFLA’s Governance Review.

Kind regards,

Gerald Leitner
IFLA Secretary General

11 March 2020