Support for copyright limitations & exceptions strong at the WIPO General Assembly

On July 15 & 18, the Standing Committee on Copyright & Related Rights (SCCR) presented the outcomes of its 42nd meeting (SCCR/42) to the WIPO General Assembly. IFLA was there to reiterate support for strong limitations & exceptions (L&E) for libraries. We were joined on-site by other organizations – including EIFL – and national delegates – including those from South Africa, Iran, Malawi, Brazil, and Uganda – who spoke of their support for strong L&E’s and the WIPO African Group’s proposal that was adopted into a workplan at SCCR/42 two months earlier.

Libraries: Vectors of Solidarity

For the last fifteen years, the United Nations has marked International Human Solidary Day on 20 December. The goal of the day is to celebrate the place of solidary as a fundamental and universal value that should underlie relations between peoples. As this blog argues, libraries are vectors of solidarity – a way in which […]

Virtual Engagement / Actual Connection: building community around digital collections

When COVID-19 began sweeping the world in the early months of 2020, public life made a collective retreat indoors. Schools closed, museums shuttered, and many libraries had no choice but to halt in-person services for their communities. On our COVID-19 and the Global Library Field page, IFLA has made an effort to aggregate methods by […]

Is the Library eBook Market Working? Identifying Areas for Further Investigation

With the obligation to close their doors for the safety of users and staff alike, the ability of libraries to offer services digitally has never been so important. Libraries have responded, diverting available resources and energies into providing online storytimes and consultations, and developing their presence on social media. Some have sought to reassign budgets […]

Home is Where the Start is: Libraries open the door to Lifelong Learning during COVID-19

What do people lose when they have to stay at home? Social connections, leisure activities? A sense of accomplishment, purpose, mental well-being? Livelihoods, jobs, the security of a regular income? Losing any combination of these things is deeply personal experience, varying from individual to individual, but also reflect a larger picture of social welfare. This […]

Advoc8: Library Advocacy in March

As much as anyone else, libraries work across a wide range of policy areas. Our institutions are engaged daily in work to promote research, support education, facilitate free access to information and expression, and deliver social inclusion. Library values and experience give us a unique voice in these debates, helping to support fairer, stronger and […]

Report on status of Copyright Amendment Bill by Denise Nicholson

Over the past few years, the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) has been engaged in the reform of copyright laws in South Africa. Indeed, IFLA has submitted on many occasions comments and proposals on draft amendments. This reform contains ambitious provisions which could have an extremely positive impact on libraries and heritage […]

Library Policy and Advocacy Blog

an informal forum for sharing ideas about the key policy and advocacy challenges and opportunities for libraries around the world

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