We have so much to learn from each other! Wherever libraries exist, there are people reflecting on how best to offer services that meet the needs of users. Everyone has lessons to give and to take. Indeed, one of the key goals of the IFLA Strategy is to enable discussion and exchange between libraries in […]
Read moreThe lending of eBooks by libraries remains an area of controversy, with libraries often facing high prices and difficult licencing conditions, while publishers worry about impacts on sales and revenues to authors. A key challenge in this has been the relative newness of the format, and the lack of a shared evidence-base for understanding […]
Read moreRunning or working in a successful library can involve overcoming many different types of challenge. Resources – time, money, expertise – are always limited, and the demands libraries can face are not only high, but also change over time. As underlined in previous posts, it can be difficult to find the time to stop, think, […]
Read moreIn IFLA’s advocacy work, two recurring phenomena point to a key challenge that we need to overcome.
Read moreIn the first part of this two-part series looking at the UN General Assembly’s Resolution on Culture and Sustainable Development, passed on 19 December, we looked at key overall takeaways from the text that could help libraries and others in our efforts to get culture recognised fully recognised and integrated into planning.
The second part looks back to the previous such Resolution, from 2021, in order to get a clearer idea of what has changed between the two. While many elements are simply copy and pasted from one text to the next, each revision does offer an opportunity to reflect new thinking and approaches. Through this, we can get an idea of how the discourse on culture is evolving over time.
Read moreInternational Open Access Week is upon us! The theme of 2023 is Community over Commercialization. Libraries are places of community, and – as has been meme’d online, possibly tracing back to Neil Gaiman – are one of the few public spaces people can visit without being expected to buy something. ‘The default setting of libraries […]
Read moreLibraries will be back again at the 2023 Internet Governance Forum, held this year in Kyoto, Japan, on 8-12 October. Under the heading ‘The Internet We Want’, the focus is in line with the new emphasis of what can and should be done, and by who, in steering the development of the internet. This blog sets out a number of issues to watch out for.
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