The past year has been filled with exciting events, inspiring meetings and interesting debates on the cultural heritage front. It was also the year IFLA published its first ever guide to its work in the field, highlighting key areas of our work, why we are involved, and how to find out more.
But as 2017 itself becomes part of our history, we’re looking ahead to the opportunities – and challenges – that 2018 will provide. We know that our institutions are essential partners in providing access to information and culture. But they also have a vital role in ensure that this information and cultural heritage is there for future generations.
This is not always easy to explain to policy-makers who are focused on short-term concerns. Over many years, we have engaged with governments and others to underline the value of the work that libraries are doing.
Our New Year’s resolution for 2018 is to continue this work, and ensure that policy makers understand this, and give libraries the recognition they deserve. In doing this, we look forward to working closely with UNESCO and other partner organisations.
Into the Crystal Ball: New Outputs in 2018
We’re looking forward to developments in exciting new areas of IFLA’s work. Our Digital Unification Working Group, established to build up a better idea of the potential for using digital technologies to bring together documentary heritage that has been scattered by history. Digital unification is a growing international trend and a relevant topic for especially National Libraries. We are looking forward to gathering evidence over the coming year.
Our Preservation and Conservation Centres will continue their essential work, both in carrying out preservation activities themselves, and in delivering training and support to others. Following a successful workshop in July 2017, the PAC Centre in Sri Lanka will lead work in developing metadata standards for manuscripts as well as developing understanding on preservation techniques.
And after a successful meeting on safeguarding heritage in Francophone Africa, we look forward to more activity across Africa on preservation work. We are looking forward to many more initiatives and activities – together we are stronger!
WLIC 2018 – a Unique Opportunity
2017’s IFLA World Library and Information Congress, held in Wroclaw, Poland, set a high standard. Over 3500 librarians, information professionals and others working in the information field, participated in the more than 200 different sessions. Valuable discussions on topics as Born Digital Legal Deposit Policies and Practices, Safeguarding Our Heritage for the Future, The Agony of Long-term Access: Collection Building in the Digital Era, Best Practices in Moving Collections from the View of Preservation and Conservation, Documentary Heritage and Digitisation, and Born Digital Heritage took place, and brought together specialists from all over the world.
WLIC 2018 will take place 24-30 August in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and we are excited to join forces with likeminded from around the globe. There are some rich and relevant proposals for events, and we’re excited about the insights and ideas that will come out of this work.
These are just a few of the things we’ll be looking at in 2018 – follow our cultural heritage pages to keep up to speed! In the meanwhile, we want to thank you for the work of 2017, and are looking forward to the year to come.