Dear colleagues and friends

It has been a year since the Asia-Oceania Regional Division Committee (RDC-AO) was elected to office and it is time to review the achievements of the past year.  The mid-term meeting for the region will be held in Brisbane on the morning of 27 September 2024, before the start of the IFLA Information Futures Summit (IIFS) and we welcome any observers to join us. Further details of the meeting can be found here.

In relation to capacity building and professional development, the IFLA MLAS Academic Libraries Conference took place in May 2024 in Astana, Kazakhstan. With participation from RDC-AO members, the conference focused on advancing library associations and building partnerships. Upcoming, you can look forward to a webinar co-organized by RDC-AO along with the Rare Books and Special Collections and Preservation and Conservation Sections scheduled on 2 September 2024. This webinar will focus on the challenges and opportunities related to rare books and special collections, with an emphasis on conservation, preservation, and discovery. Interested participants can register here.

Given our focus on advocacy, it is worth noting that H.E. Dennis Francis, President of the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, made a recent visit to the Punggol Regional Library, one of Singapore’s newest and largest public libraries. His visit centered on the inclusive services and facilities available at the library. H.E. Francis’ visit serves as a testament to the role of IFLA in advocating for libraries, particularly in emphasising their potential to contribute to the achievement of UN goals such as the SDGs.

On behalf of the IFLA RDC-AO, I would like to extend warmest congratulations to the IFLA Academic and Research Libraries (ARL) Section for being awarded the Dynamic Unit and Impact Award for Membership Engagement and Leadership Development. This award recognises Sections that have made significant impact in IFLA’s global work by engaging members, developing strong leadership and identity, delivering high-quality services with measurable impact, and communicating activities within IFLA and beyond. The ARL has been acknowledged for its inclusiveness and involvement of all its committee members in planning and delivering initiatives through blogs, webinars, satellite meetings, newsletter articles, special journal issues and more.

In a related news, ARL will be sponsoring three attendees to IIFS happening in Brisbane from 30 September to 2 October. The recipients of the grant are:

  • Ane Ah Poe, Knowledge Management Assistant, Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme
  • Pham Ba Toan, Vietnam National University in Ho Chi Minh, University of Science Library
  • Adi Ela Radini Davuilevu, Library Information Assistant, Fiji National University

I am looking forward to the exciting line-up of talks and presentations at the upcoming IIFS and meeting you there!

Last but not least, a special congratulations to the National Library of Korea for the appointment of Dr Kim Hee-seop as its new Director. Dr Kim was a professor of literature and information at the Kyungpook National University.

Soh Lin Li, Chair, Regional Division Committee for Asia, and Oceania