NOTE: a version of this message was sent by the IFLA President on 30 August 2024 directly to all IFLA Members and affiliates, including directors and presidents of library associations. It was also sent to all IFLA volunteers.

August 2024 marks the half-way point in my term as IFLA President. Almost exactly a year ago, I had the privilege of taking on the leadership of our Federation. For someone who has spent their life in libraries, this role is a huge honour, and gives a unique insight into the global library field and the positive difference it makes.

I was aware that this needed to be an active presidency, following a period of uncertainty. As our centenary approaches, we needed to act to ensure our financial sustainability in the short and longer term. We needed to reaffirm our goals and purpose in an evolving world. We needed to ensure not just that our governance structures are working properly, but that they are seen to be working – and that they are providing all the opportunities they should for engagement.  And we needed to review our Congress model, given its central role in IFLA’s operations, outreach and financial situation.

I am pleased to say that IFLA’s Governing Board has strongly joined me in this commitment to leaving IFLA in a stronger position to face the future. We have established six key priorities, based on those shared in my first address to IFLA’s members at our World Library and Information Congress in Rotterdam.

August 2024 Priorities Dashboard

You can get an insight of the progress we are making against each of these in the latest version of my Dashboard, but in short, we are progressing well on each, with – in particular – the development of our 2024-2029 Strategy now complete. I’ve particularly welcomed the positive feedback you’ve shared about how our governance and communications are working.

IFLA-Presidents-Priorities-Dashboard-August-2024

In this message, I wanted to focus on two key aspects – our work on sustainability and, thanks to work being led by IFLA President-elect Leslie Weir, our Congress review.

Sustainability

We have talked for a number of years now about the importance of sustainable development in the world, and how libraries contribute to this. But to be able to make this contribution we – our institutions, our profession, our global Federation – need to be sustainable too. In other words, we need not just to be able to fulfil our missions today, but to do what is necessary to be able to fulfil those missions tomorrow.

One key pillar of this is our work with Stichting IFLA Global Libraries (SIGL). As announced at the General Assembly, we have agreed on a budget for 2024 with SIGL, and have moved quickly.

You may have seen the different requests for proposals – on evaluating our Building Strong Library Associations initiative, on building a typology to understand library fields, on leadership programmes, and on emerging leaders. These initiatives are all made possible by SIGL support, and contribute to the sustainability of our field by helping us make the best possible decisions in focusing our work going forwards.

We are also continuing with work to understand the landscape of partners for libraries, and how we can be ready to work more closely with others. Through this, we can help ensure that our institutions are seen as key players by decision-makers and funders in different areas, from education to health, and from innovation to democracy.

Of course, IFLA’s ability to fulfil its mission is reliant on its ability to attract and retain great people – as volunteers and as staff – and provide the best possible environment for them to realise their potential.

With our elections coming up, we’re looking at how to create more opportunities for talented individuals to stand for key roles, as well as how to ensure that everyone can make the most of their volunteer experience. As a board, we have also focused on ensuring optimal conditions at IFLA Headquarters, and have committed to an external staff survey by the end of the year.

As we plan IFLA’s budget for 2025 over the next months, we will be focusing strongly on how we can allocate resources in a way that best supports sustainability. As part of this process, we will also be working with SIGL to set a budget for the coming year.

Despite our success in the last 12 months, we  need to do more to realise our potential as the global federation of libraries, uniquely able to connect and mobilise libraries, and to support the development of the sector. We will need to draw on the lessons of the research we have commissioned, around emerging leaders, association development, library field structures and partnerships. In this, of course, the most important partnership will be with you, and I look forward to sharing more about this at our townhall meetings in September – see more about this below.

Congress Review

I’m very grateful to IFLA President-elect Leslie Weir for sharing an update on her work around the Congress Review below:

The WLIC Review continues!

Your voices are being heard loud and clear on the future of the IFLA World Library and Information Congress (WLIC). Huge thanks to the 534 IFLA members and volunteers that responded to the 2nd Pulse Survey on the Content and Programme of the Congress that closed on 31 July. We had great participation from every IFLA region. Respondents took the time to submit 960 comments that will help us shape the Congress for 2025 and beyond!

A few thoughts from some of our colleagues:

“I love attending IFLA because it takes me to countries and libraries all around the world. At IFLA I have time to interact with colleagues on a global scale. The international networking and opportunities to talk and share are precious.”

“More showcases/case studies of developmental efforts and stories achieved by libraries across the globe across sectors: national, universities, private, etc.. with special attention to the success stories from developing countries.”

“I’ve only attended 2 congresses, and both have transformed my professional conference experiences. Nothing I’ve attended since my first congress comes close to the learning, sharing, and networking I experienced there.”

We are analyzing the results from the survey now, and a report is coming soon.

Engage with us!

There are plenty of opportunities to engage coming up. The first Zoom Townhall on the future of WLIC, originally planned for June, will now take place in September with an announcement coming soon.

Meanwhile, those of you attending the IFLA Information Futures Summit can join us to discuss the future of the Congress at a dedicated session. For those of you that can’t make it to Brisbane, we will also hold our second Zoom Townhall for a virtual conversation in early October.

Finally, watch out for the 3rd Pulse Survey planned for September. This will be your chance to provide input on what the impacts, outcomes and take-aways should be from the Congress for members, volunteers and stakeholders.

More to come . . .

To conclude, I’m grateful for your continued engagement in IFLA. As highlighted, the first most important partnership we have is with our members and volunteers.

The next time I write will be after our September Governing Board. We will be sharing more about the Strategy and what’s on the agenda at the GB meeting. I encourage you to sign up for one of our Townhalls on 16-18 September, and of course to register for the IFLA Information Futures Summit on 30 September – 3 October. It would be terrific to meet you in Brisbane!

Kind regards,

Vicki McDonald
IFLA President 2023-2025