Standards work in progress

IFLA generally uses the term “standards” to refer to the following types of documents:

• Guidelines (documents consisting of instructions, advice and models of preferred practices)
• Best practice (documents consisting of procedures and techniques based on experience and research)
• Conceptual models
• Rules for resource description
• Digital format codes

They are developed following the IFLA Standards Procedures Manual.

Once completed and endorsed by the IFLA Professional Committee on behalf of the Governing Board, new Standards are published in the IFLA repository, announced via the news feed and included in the list of current IFLA Standards.

IFLA Standards in progress

The following IFLA Standards are in the standards review and approval process.

Standards under review

• International Guidelines for Library Services to Displaced Persons (Status: under review by CoS, December 2022). Further information, contact Library Services to People with Special Needs Section

Standards in final approval stages

• Library Services to People in Prisons, revision of the Guidelines for Library Services to Prisoners, 3rd edition, 2005 (Status: reviewed by CoS in June 2022; returned to Section with minor comments; reviewed by CoS in October 2022, returned with final edits prior to forwarding for PC endorsement). Further information, contact Library Services to People with Special Needs Section

Standards reviewed and returned to the Units

• IFLA Guidelines for Accessible Libraries and Services for Everyone, revision of the Access to libraries for persons with disabilities checklist, 2005 (Status: reviewed by CoS in June 2022; returned to Section to revise and resubmit). Further information, contact Library Services to People with Special Needs Section
• Reference and Information Services Guidelines (Status: revised draft reviewed by CoS in January 2022; returned to Section to revise and resubmit)
  Further information, contact Reference and Information Service Section
• Guidelines for Audiovisual and Multimedia Collection Management in Libraries (Status: CoS review comments returned to Section in June 2017; revisions projected July 2023)
  Further information, contact Audiovisual and Multimedia Section

Standards development in progress

• Guidelines for Library Services for People who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or Deafblind, revision (expected submission date December 2022). Further information, contact: Library Services to People with Special Needs Section
• Guidelines for Library Services for Persons with Print Disabilities (expected submission date late 2023). Further information, contact: Libraries Serving Persons with Print Disabilities Section

Recently completed and published standards

• Guidelines for Parliamentary Libraries, 3rd edition (endorsed by the Professional Council in July 2022) *Published July 2022
• IFLA Guidelines for Professional Library and Information Science (LIS) Education Programmes (endorsed by the Professional Council in April 2022) *Published July 2022
• Common Practices for National Bibliographies in the Digital Age (endorsed by the Professional Council in April 2022) *Published July 2022
• ISBD International Standard Bibliographic Description : 2021 Update to the 2011 Consolidated Edition (endorsed by the Professional Council in February 2022) *Published May 2022
• Competency Guidelines for Rare Books and Special Collections Professionals (endorsed by the Professional Committee in October 2020)
• Guidelines for Setting Up a Digital Unification Project (endorsed by the Professional Committee in August 2019)
• IFLA Guidelines on Public Internet Access in Libraries (May 2019, endorsed by the Professional Committee in June 2019)
• Gifts for the Collections: Guidelines for Libraries, expanded 2019 edition (endorsed by the Professional Committee in March 2019)
• IFLA Guidelines for Library Services to Children aged 0-18, 2nd edition, version 1.1.1, June 2018 (endorsed by the Professional Committee in August 2018)
• IFLA Guidelines for Library Services to People Experiencing Homelessness (endorsed by the Professional Committee in August 2017)
• Guidelines for translations of the IFLA ISBD namespace in RDF, version 1.0, April 2017 (endorsed by the Professional Committee in August 2017)
• IFLA Library Reference Model: A Conceptual Model for Bibliographic Information (endorsed by the Professional Committee in August 2017, amended and corrected December 2017)
• Definition of PRESSoo: A Conceptual Model for Bibliographic Information pertaining to Serials and Other Continuing Resources, version 1.3, August 2016 (endorsed by the Professional Committee in March 2017)
• Definition of FRBRoo: A Conceptual Model for Bibliographic Information in Object-Oriented Formalism, version 2.4, November 2015 (endorsed by the Professional Committee in December 2016)
• Statement of International Cataloguing Principles (ICP) (approved November 2016, endorsed by the Professional Committee in December 2016)
• IFLA Guidelines for Continuing Professional Development: Principles and Best Practices, 2nd edition (approved June 2016, endorsed by the Professional Committee in August 2016)
• Guidelines for Parliamentary Research Services (approved August 2015)
• IFLA School Library Guidelines, 2nd revised edition (endorsed by the Professional Committee in June 2015)

See also the full list of current IFLA Standards