Monthly Archives: November 2020

The 10-Minute International Librarian #28: Find Out Which International Organisations are Present in Your Country

The work of international organisations can sometimes seem very distant.

But it doesn’t need to be!

Rather than the big meetings and conferences, the main work of these organisations is often rather what happens on the ground, through support to governments, projects, and outreach.

All of the biggest organisations tend to have regional structures, in order better to manage this work. They are often present on the ground through regional and even national offices.

These can be useful potential contacts. IFLA has done a lot of work to support libraries to engage around the Sustainable Development Goals. Regional and national offices of UN institutions will likely be interested in forming partnerships around this.

But there can be many other areas where there can be interest in working with libraries.

So for our 28th 10-Minute International Librarian exercise, find out which international organisations are present in your country.

Many countries have a United Nations office (see the list of UN country teams), which can also host other organisations, such as UNESCO or the United Nations Development Programme.

Most countries also have UNESCO National Commissions, which provide a liaison between UNESCO as a whole and the national context.  And there are 59 UN Information Centres around the world.

Collect this information, together with information you can gather about the priorities of each of these offices. It can be a great contact list for your work, as we will discuss in next week’s post.

Share your stories of successful collaborations with national or regional offices of international organisations in the chat below.

Good luck!

 

This idea relates to the IFLA Strategy! 1.2 Build a strong presence in international organizations and meetings as a valued partner.

You can view all of our ideas using the #10MinuteInternationalLibrarian tag on this blog, and of course on IFLA’s Ideas Store! Do also share your ideas in the comments box.

The IFLA-UNESCO Public Library Manifesto: Past and Future Action

This month, we are celebrating the 26th Anniversary of the IFLA-UNESCO Public Library Manifesto. Since 1994, the Manifesto has been at the heart of public library advocacy – declaring UNESCO’s belief in the public library as a living force for education, culture and information, and its essential role in the promotion of peace and well-being.

Here is a look back at how librarians around the world have used the Manifesto, and a glimpse into what is coming next for this important document.

The Manifesto at Work

Earlier in 2020, IFLA’s Public Library Section launched a global survey to gather feedback from public libraries on the Manifesto, and how they have used it in their advocacy.

With over 600 responses, this was an extremely insightful look into how libraries around the world apply the Manifesto to their work.

39% of respondents said they have actively used the Manifesto to advocate and lobby for their library.

Of those who responded in the negative, the most prevalent reason given was that they have not yet had an opportunity or were not included in relevant conversations with decision-makers.

Survey participants were asked to share examples of the Manifesto being used in their library’s advocacy or operations.

Some excellent examples include:

  • using the Manifesto to power campaigns during National Library Week
  • referring to the Manifesto in strategic materials and in lobbying
  • featuring the Manifesto in negotiations with local city council and elected officials
  • using the Manifesto as a basis to create library activities
  • guiding funding decisions and budget
  • informing the selection of books and services provided by the library

IFLA would like to help public libraries around the world better use the Public Library Manifesto in advocacy. From this survey, we have learned that increased awareness-raising about the Manifesto in the future may help empower more librarians to put it to use in their advocacy.

For more on how the Manifesto has been put into action, refer to the IFLA Research Paper: Inspire, Inform, Indicate: How the UNESCO-IFLA Public Library Manifesto Makes a Difference.

For more ideas on how the Public Library Manifesto can be used in advocacy, please see our Advocacy Pack for Libraries and Library Associations.

The Manifesto in the Future

Another key development towards increasing the impact of the Public Library Manifesto is ensuring that it remains relevant to the work of libraries today.

Therefore, UNESCO, with the help of IFLA’s Public Library Section, is planning to update the Public Library Manifesto in the coming year. The goal of this revision will be to address the ever-evolving role of public libraries in their communities, while also acknowledging the substantial technological advances that have changed how many people access, create, and consume information.

The survey also plays a major role in this work – ensuring that the voice of the global library field is considered in the review process.

Here is a look at some ideas submitted by librarians on how to improve the UNESCO Public Library Manifesto for the future.

How can the Manifesto better reflect the missions of public libraries today?

  • Emphasize the role of libraries in the information society, such as highlighting the importance of Media and Information Literacy skills.
  • Expand the definition of lifelong learning
  • Reinforce the relationship between the library and the community
  • Increase mention of the importance of inclusivity, especially relating to marginalized communities

How can the Manifesto provide better guidance to decision-makers?

  • Highlight the importance of local knowledge
  • Promote participatory decision-making, both with library professionals and with communities
  • Appeal for sufficient human and material resources, which are required for libraries to fulfil their mission.
  • Link culture to the social and economic life of the community
  • Emphasize social impacts, and the fact that they are usually seen most clearly in subsequent generations

Next Steps

These suggestions, and all the others received during the surveying process, will be taken into consideration by the Public Library Section during the drafting of the Manifesto update. This is projected to be completed in 2021.

The significance of the Public Library Manifesto is that it has codified the exceptional value that public libraries have in their communities. By working to keep it relevant, reflecting the mission of public libraries today, we can ensure it remains a powerful tool for advocacy.

Together with UNESCO, IFLA is looking forward to delivering an updated Manifesto that can continue to support public librarians the world over in their essential work.

Library Stat of the Week #46: Where there are more libraries and librarians, people tend to be readier to engage in volunteering and more interested in politics

Last week’s Library Stat of the Week looked at the relationship between the strength of the library field in any given country, and levels of trust in government.

As highlighted, trust matters because it can be a determining factor in the effectiveness of policies, especially at the time of COVID-19.

This week we look to extend this analysis to indicators of the strength of civic life – i.e. the degree to which people are involved in the lives of their communities.

One way of looking at this is to look at the share of adults involved in formal volunteering opportunities. This can be a way of understanding how invested people are in helping others and improving their environment – i.e. mobilising energies to make for better lives. Data about this is available from the OECD’s Better Life Index.

Data on libraries comes from IFLA’s Library Map of the World.

Another is to look at democratic participation. Figures for participation in elections can tend to be skewed by the existence of obligatory voting, but information is available about levels of engagement, or at least of disengagement. Data on this can be found in the OECD’s Society at a Glance.

Graph 1a looks starts by looking at levels of volunteering across countries.

Graph 1a: Participation in Formal Volunteering

This indicates a high level of variation, with the United States, New Zealand, Norway, the Netherlands and Canada having the highest levels, with over a quarter of adults volunteering regularly. The lowest share is in Lithuania, at 4.2%.

Graph 1b: Public/Community Libraries and Library Workers per 100K People and Participation in Formal Volunteering

Graph 1b then compares this with the numbers of public and community libraries per 100 000 people. As last week, we have focused on countries with up to 20 public or community libraries per 100 000 people, and up to 70 public or community library workers per 100 000 people. This represents the large majority of countries, and avoids distortion from outliers.

This indicates that there is a generally positive correlation between the strength of library fields and prevalence of volunteering. While of course correlation is not causality, it fits with the idea of libraries as both catalysts and symbols of social and civic engagement.

Graph 2a: Share of the Population Uninterested in Politics

Turning to the question of levels of interest and engagement in politics, Graph 2a gives an idea of the share of the population in surveyed countries declaring that they have no interest in the subject.

This indicates that in most countries, young people (aged 15-29) tend to demonstrate higher levels of lack of interest in politics. The highest overall levels of lack of interest in the population as a whole are in Brazil, Chile and Colombia (all at 40% or more), while amongst younger people, it is Lithuania, the Czech Republic and Hungary that see the highest numbers of people declaring that they are not interested (50% or more).

Graph 2b: Libraries and Share of People Reporting No Interest in Politics

Graph 2b then compares these figures with the numbers of public and community libraries per 100 000 people. As before, we have focused on countries with up to 20 public or community libraries per 100 000 people, and up to 70 public or community library workers per 100 000 people.

This indicates that, in general, countries with more libraries tend to have smaller shares of people (both in general, and younger adults) declaring that they have no interest in politics at all. The relationship is slightly weaker with younger adults than with the adult population as a whole.

Graph 2c: Library Workers and Share of People Reporting No Interest in Politics

Graph 2c performs the same analysis with numbers of public and community library workers. Again, there is some correlation, with more library workers tending to be associated with lower numbers declaring no interest in politics.

As with volunteering, correlation does not mean causality, but would fit with the idea that libraries can support a greater feeling of community, and so engagement in decision-making.

 

Overall, the analysis presented in this post should support arguments that a stronger public and community library field is associated with stronger social and civic life, delivering both on SDGs 11 and 16.

 

Find out more on the Library Map of the World, where you can download key library data in order to carry out your own analysis! See our other Library Stats of the Week! We are happy to share the data that supported this analysis on request.

Libraries Delivering SDG Successes, Even Under COVID-19

The Sustainable Development Goals, and the wider 2030 Agenda that contains them, already represent an ambitious – but necessary – roadmap for a richer, fairer, more sustainable world.

2020 was already supposed to mark the beginning of the Decade of Action – a renewed, reinforced focus on the sorts of concerted efforts needed to succeed.

Of course, 2020 also turned out to be the year of COVID-19, obliging people and governments alike to focus efforts on limiting the spread of the disease, and dealing with its consequences.

As the United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Gutteres pointed out back in July, COVID has both made achieving the Global Goals harder, and underlined why success is nonetheless so necessary.

With governments facing a steeper hill to climb than before when it comes to delivering on the SDGs, the need to draw on what libraries can contribute is as strong as ever. Fortunately, libraries have shown themselves up to the task.

Drawing on the examples collected by IFLA from libraries across the world, throughout the pandemic, this blog offers an overview of how our institutions are showing their value on each of the 17 SDGs.

SDG 1 – No Poverty: the pandemic risks seeing major jumps in the numbers of people facing extreme poverty, with loss of access to housing or basic services. Libraries have looked to counter this, with, for example, libraries in Kansas making laptops and WiFi hotspots available to the local homeless shelter, while those in Toledo, Ohio donating vehicles, and those in Edmonton, Canada, other equipment, in order to ensure that poverty does not mean exclusion.

SDG 2 – Zero Hunger: increased poverty all too often means food insecurity, even in wealthier countries. In response, public libraries in Toronto, Canada, have started to host food banks, while those in Yarra and Monash, Australia are supporting food deliveries. READ centres in Nepal are also engaged in providing food rations.

SDG 3 – Good Health and Wellbeing: while the pandemic has primarily been a physical health crisis, it has clearly also brought significant negative consequences for mental health and wellbeing. Libraires have addressed both, for example helping to share information about COVID-19 (including in local languages, in the case of Kibera and Nakuru public libraries in Kenya, and through the National Library Authority of Ghana), and supporting wider research and decision-making, for example at the national level in Brazil, and at the WHO itself.

To improve mental health, the library in Kota, India, has promoted bibliotherapy, libraries in China have engaged closely with users, while the National Library of Medicine in the US has promoted collections on wellbeing and dealing with stress. Libraries have also been involved in direct pandemic response, for example helping with contact tracing in Ireland and San Francisco, and with wider health work by promoting continued vaccination programmes in Nepal.

SDG 4 – Quality Education: UNESCO has underlined the risk of the pandemic becoming an education crisis. With libraries a key part of the infrastructure in almost every country for both formal, and informal and non-formal learning, much of the library response to COVID-19 has therefore been about how to allow education to continue. We have seen school libraries in Portugal, Uruguay, Brazil and Bhutan develop platforms and tools, while National Libraries in France, Spain and Trinidad and Tobago have also created packages and materials to support home learning, while the National Library of Jamaica has worked to help students pass their final exams. Library teaching – for example around information literacy and research skills, has been brought online, for example in Bangladesh. Further examples are available in our blog for World Teachers Day.

SDG 5 – Gender Equality: as highlighted in the Gates Foundation’s Goalkeepers Report, the pandemic risks representing a setback in efforts to promote gender equality. With libraries often acting as a force for equality by providing services without barriers, much of what they do helps counter this risk. In particular, we have seen work by libraries in Brazil to gather and present information that supports women’s health during the pandemic.

SDG 6 – Clean Water and Sanitation: while libraries are primarily about providing access to information, their role as community centres and neutral spaces mean that they can also become essential point for delivering other basic services, such as sanitation during COVID-19, even when buildings are closed. For example, South Pasadena library in Colorado set up a portable toilet and handwashing station in its carpark, while Richland Library, South Carolina, has shared its hand sanitised stations with the local homeless shelter.

SDG 7 – Affordable and Clean Energy: similarly to sanitation, while providing access to energy may not be a primary goal of libraries, the fact of libraries being community spaces means that they can be very well placed to offer this. During the pandemic, recognising the challenges that some students may have with electricity bills and access, libraries at Arizona State University have therefore prioritised access to device-charging facilities as part of its re-opening plans.

SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth: In addition to the education crisis highlighted under SDG4, the pandemic risks also becoming an employment crisis, with businesses suffering and jobs being lost. Even with the doors closed, libraries have therefore been helping people apply for unemployment benefits, for example in Miami-Dade and Hilsborough County in the US, while libraries in Greece have widened access to job-search support, and those in Ferguson, CT in the US are helping people develop new business ideas.

SDG 9 – Industry, Infrastructure and Innovation: the pandemic has underlined clearly both the importance of innovation (in finding treatments and cures, and new ways of doing things under changed circumstances), and of digital infrastructure. Again, libraries have been active, for example prioritising computer and internet access for those without this at home in the UK and Sweden, and many examples of leaving library WiFi on in the US. Meanwhile, libraries have continued to deliver on their core mission to support innovation through providing access to existing knowledge, for example in Iraq and many other places.

SDG 10 – Reduced Inequalities: as highlighted above, the pandemic has hit some harder than others, with growing concerns that the deepening of divides in society may be lasting. Libraries, given their mission to promote equality through ensuring that everyone has access to education, research and culture, play a core role in the response. Among groups at risk of marginalisation, children who are speakers of minority languages have benefitted from storytimes in the US and Australia, while older people have been able to develop the skills needed for digital inclusion in South Africa thanks to a video competition run by Johannesburg libraries. As libraries start to reopen, many have paid particular attention to the needs of vulnerable groups by prioritising them in service provision, as in the UK.

SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities: even libraries have been obliged to limit access to spaces which had become important meeting places pre-pandemic, new ways of engaging and supporting communities have emerged. Those who rely particularly on libraries for human contact and interaction have benefitted from active outreach by libraries to their users, for example in New Zealand and Canada.

SDG11 also covers the importance of safeguarding heritage. Faced with difficulties in  carrying out in-person conservation work, libraries in Australia and France have prepared guides on how best to proceed. Meanwhile, they are also busy safeguarding the heritage of tomorrow by collecting materials that witness to experiences today, as set out in our blog from May, with examples from the US, Spain, Cameroon and many others.

SDG 12 – Sustainable Consumption and Production: for many, the pandemic has underlined the value and importance of living more sustainably, avoiding behaviours which tend to accelerate the development and spread of diseases. It also represents an opportunity to stop, think, and change ways of doing things. Libraries have kept up with these wider trends during the pandemic, not least with IFLA’s own Special Interest Group on Environment, Sustainability and Libraries graduating to become a full Section, and a renewed focus in the New York Library Association on how to promote sustainability in library operations.

SDG 13 – Climate Action: while we can hope to find ways to treat and prevent COVID-19 in the coming months, climate change will require a much longer term response. In a year’s time, COP26 will offer an opportunity for governments to set out their own commitments. Libraries, are, of course, already committed to this, with the American Library Association, in the middle of the pandemic, launching programming grants to help libraries address the climate crisis.

SDG 14 – Life Below Water: As with climate change, ensuring the health of our oceans and the sustainability of the life that exists there is an ongoing priority – it is vital not to slow efforts around conservation and research. For example, libraries at the University of Washington in the US serving the oceanography department have made special efforts to maintain services in order to ensure that students and researchers can continue their vital work.

SDG 15 – Life on Land: just as in the case of SDG 14, libraries have an ongoing role in supporting research that in turn helps improve knowledge about how to farm and manage the land sustainably. Libraries, however, are also helping people to connect better to nature during the pandemic – for example in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where libraries have produced a booklet with suggestions of activities for readers.

SDG 16 – Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions: the pandemic has underlined the importance of governments that work effectively and transparently in order to respond, as well as of legislatures than can oversee their work. IFLA has published the results of a survey on how parliamentary libraries are helping to make this happen, while libraries in Nepal have helped raise up information about the situation on the ground to help wider government decision-making. Libraries in Indonesia, meanwhile, have sought to help improve the effectiveness of governance issues by summarising relevant laws and regulations for the benefit of citizens.

SDG 17 – Partnerships for the Goals: This SDG covers a wide range of issues, including access to knowledge across borders and digital skills, both of which have proved their importance during the pandemic. A key contribution here has been the work of the American National Library of Medicine in creating an open database for use by scientists around the world. Meanwhile, libraries globally have been sharing their skills in information literacy, for example in Mexico and Bangladesh, while in Kuwait, libraries have been leading research to understand how information spreads and is used by people at the time of pandemic. Libraries in Spain and the UK have been finding ways to offer training in using digital skills online, helping to promote inclusion for all.

A Path to Progress at WIPO: Tackling Confusion, Complexity, and a Can’t-Do Attitude

The 40th meeting of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights was far from what was expected when IFLA and others last left Geneva in October 2019, at the end of the 39th meeting.

The dates had changed (the meeting had been planned for July), the WIPO Director General had changed (Daren Tang took over on 1 October), and of course the format had changed, with all but a handful of those involved doing so via an online platform.

Despite all that was different, the meeting nonetheless brought clarity around the long-standing challenges that the SCCR will need to overcome if it is to prove its relevance as a forum for delivering on fundamental rights and the Sustainable Development Goals.

With a new Director General and Chair in place – as well as the shock that COVID-19 has certainly brought – there is a great opportunity to act.

Challenge 1: tackling confusion as to the goals of the committee

With progress almost inevitably being slow in any such intergovernmental negotiation, it is perhaps normal that we all need to be reminded, from time to time, of why we are there.

In the case of the exceptions and limitations agenda, it is because WIPO’s General Assembly agreed, in 2012, to work towards a legal instrument, in whatever form, on provisions allowing for libraries, archives, education and research institutions, and subsequently museums, to carry out their core missions.

Crucially, this is not a discussion about the foundations of copyright, or of the business models that have grown up around the commercial uses of copyrighted works. No-one is suggesting that libraries or any other institution should be able to do more online than they can already do in person. The future of the copyright industry is not at stake, just one part of the structure.

In taking its discussion forwards, it will therefore be important for SCCR to set aside the dramatic rhetoric, dismiss suggestions that the future of the creative industries depends on limiting the ability of libraries to fulfil their missions, and focus on this one area where it can make a difference.

Challenge 2: reducing, not increasing, complexity

A further risk is that the Committee dilutes its focus by adding to its agenda in an unplanned, unsystematic fashion. This brings risks both for libraries, and to the credibility of SCCR’s overall work.

Crucially, it is not sure that creating new rights (and so licensing opportunities) will do much good. This is because, especially in current circumstances, even freezing the budgets that libraries have available for acquisitions and rights clearance is likely to be optimistic. Similarly, with governments looking for opportunities to make cuts, overall cultural budgets are likely to struggle to maintain themselves at current levels.

In this situation, adding new rights – for broadcasters, or public lending rights – will effectively mean that libraries (or their funders) will need to divert resources away from acquisitions towards rights clearance. Rather than this money going directly to creators, it will pass through a middleman, and only get to the original publishers or authors once overheads and other management costs have been subtracted.

Before embarking on any focused work on new rights, WIPO therefore should complete its exploration of what is really going on in markets and consider carefully where non-rights-based solutions could prove more effective as means of supporting authors.

Challenge 3: rejecting a ‘can’t do’ attitude

Finally, there is a broader question of how ready the Committee is to realise its own potential. It is important to remember that only 7 years have passed since the same Committee’s work led to the Treaty of Marrakesh.

The scope for action today, too, is clear, with serious challenges encountered by libraries, archives, museums, educators and researchers in going about their work (legally) with the doors of institutions closed. While some countries have laws which have allowed a relatively seamless passage to online provision, this has not been the case everywhere, and none provide certainty for cross-border uses.

The SCCR does have the potential to show leadership by preparing a declaration or other instrument which makes clear the flexibilities available to governments under international law to allow for education, research and cultural participation during COVID-19.

Similarly, looking ahead to COP26, it has it in its power to drive progress towards meaningful preservation provisions in copyright laws worldwide, including certainty for libraries and others looking to work across borders to safeguard heritage.

All the Committee needs to do is accept that, just as has been the case with Marrakesh, opposition to change from governments and stakeholders will likely be replaced with celebration as action has been taken.

 

Read IFLA’s news story about the meeting.

The 10-Minute International Librarian #27: Think of a Long-Term Vision

One of the purposes of our 10-Minute International Librarian series is to help you find ways to think beyond the world around you.

You are part of a global field, and can gain a lot by working with others, without needing to devote too much time!

But as well as thinking further geographically, it’s also good to think further in terms of time.

Libraries have been with us for millennia, and will certainly survive into the future. But in what form?

To help in your planning, a good start is to imagine your ideal end-goal – the sort of world you want to live in, in ten year’s time.

So for our 27th 10-Minute International Librarian, think of a long-term vision.

Write down a few ideas about what characterises this situation.

For example, IFLA’s vision highlights the importance of the library field being strong and united, and fulfilling its mission to power literate, informed and participatory societies.

You can draw on these ideas in your own vision, and add your own, reflecting your circumstances.

Once you have this, try to use it as a guide for decision-making in the shorter term. What will help you realise this vision? Where do you need to do more or invest effort, what is already safe?

Share your ideas for visions in the comments below!

Good luck!

 

This idea relates to the IFLA Strategy! 3.3 Empower the field at the national and regional levels.

You can view all of our ideas using the #10MinuteInternationalLibrarian tag on this blog, and of course on IFLA’s Ideas Store! Do also share your ideas in the comments box.

Ensuring All Children Enjoy Access to Information

Information matters for children.

This is most obviously the case for education, as children learn about the world around them, progressively broadening their horizons, and discovering new opportunities.

But it also matters for health and wellbeing, from helping find solutions in response to specific mental or physical issues, but also in supporting young people to form their identity and become comfortable with themselves.

Crucially, it is also key if today’s children are to become the full adult citizens of tomorrow, able to engage meaningfully in civic, economic and social life.

This reality is recognised in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, whose anniversary is marked by World Children’s Day.

Article 13, mirroring Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, underlines that: ‘The child shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of the child’s choice’.

Similarly, Article 17 notes that ‘States Parties […]shall ensure that the child has access to information and material from a diversity of national and international sources, especially those aimed at the promotion of his or her social, spiritual and moral well-being and physical and mental health’.

Clearly, the creation of relevant information is crucial to delivering on these goals. Article 17 goes on to note that the production of children’s books and other relevant programming should be encouraged.

Yet it also stresses the need for dissemination – i.e. making sure that this information ends up in the hands of the children who can benefit from it. While some children are lucky enough to live in households which can buy sufficient materials to fulfil their information needs, this is not the case for all. This is where libraries come in.

Indeed, we know that children at risk of marginalisation – for example those from immigrant or second-language backgrounds, who have fewer resources at home, or whose parents have less formal education – depend more on libraries.

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised serious concerns here. Children who rely on libraries – at school or in the community – have not been able to use physical locations, access physical materials or benefit from in-person services, from reference to storytimes.

Libraries have of course responded, recognising that for access to information to fulfil its potential as a force for equality and social mobility, it is vital to ensure that all children can continue to benefit.

As such, there are many examples of how libraries have sought to support teachers in providing education during the pandemic, as well as carrying out activities such as storytimes online. Take a look at IFLA’s COVID-19 page for more.

There are of course challenges also. An obvious one is connectivity – as UNESCO has underlined, billions of people remain without internet access, many of whom are children. Of course, even where there is connectivity, children may not have the devices they need to take advantage of online teaching.

However, in attrition to connectivity, there is also the challenge of content. Libraries and their users continue to depend, in far too many cases, on goodwill – either through unilateral actions, or following agreements with libraries – in order to be able to give digital access to the materials they already have in their collections.

While goodwill – for example in order to allow for uses beyond what is already standard practice in libraries – is certainly welcome, it cannot alone be relied upon to deliver on a right set out in international law.

As set out in a previous blog, there is a risk that the class of 2020 will be the least well informed in years, unless it is made clear (as governments in Australia and Japan look set to do) that in-person and remote access to information are treated in the same way under copyright laws.

If we are to ensure that children’s right to information is realised, we need to ensure a coherent and comprehensive approach, involving connectivity, device access, and content, including through digital library services which ensure that no child is left out for lack of resources.