– [English] Community networks and libraries, a short film I’m David [1], a Colombian librarian doing research at the Conector Foundation [2]. For some years I have been following the possibilities of work between community networks and libraries. It turns out that in large cities it is very easy to have several Internet service providers, […]

When we use the verb banned in a sentence, we immediately imagine something legally or officially prohibited, something that is not accessible, an item, a space, an idea not suitable for all. But, when we think of a book, our minds are filled with the possibility of reading: the exploration, the unknown, the pain, the […]

Supporting research has long been a core part of libraries’ mission. By collecting and giving access to information, they give scientists and researchers much of the raw material for their work. To use a (double) metaphor, they are the stepladder up to the giants’ shoulders from which Newton claimed to look. Of course what is […]

Libraries have traditionally acted as facilitators of access to information. In this role, libraries serve as intermediaries not gatekeepers or watchdogs. Libraries diffuse the use of new technologies to their patrons, empowering and unleashing the potential of human mind. The law generally views such intermediaries, especially libraries, not as primary actors when it comes to […]

IFLA’s Advisory Committee on Freedom of Access to Information and Freedom of Expression created the blog “SpeakUp!” to encourage people to reflect on human rights within daily life and work.[i] The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that every human being regardless of race, colour, and religion are entitled to human rights (http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/). However, there […]

Human rights are “rights inherent to all human beings, whatever our nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status” (Office of the High Commissioner, 2018). In this post to SpeakUP!, I suggest that human rights instruments serve as a foundation for empowered professional practice. Here I build […]

The Internet has allowed for a giant leap towards overcoming the challenge of information scarcity. By almost eliminating (marginal) distribution costs, and through rapidly growing server capacity around the world, it has never been so easy to get hold of so much information.  However, this is meaningless if the information received is unusable, for example […]

The IFLA Section for Library Services to People with Special Needs (LSN) welcomes this new FAIFE blog on the 70th anniversary of the UDHR. For many years now, our section has been considering library services for people with special needs a human rights issue. Our work and publications reflect that approach by frequently referring to […]

IFLA acknowledged the precarious roles played by library and information workers in its 1983 adoption at the General Conference in Munich of the Resolution on Behalf of Librarians Who are Victims of Violation of Human Rights. It reads: “In the name of human rights, librarians must, as a profession, express their solidarity with those of […]