Vol. 2, No. 12: IFLA Elections 🗳️

December 2022 — Vol. 2, No. 12
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Every other year, hundreds of volunteer positions across our Federation open up for passionate, innovative, open-minded people from all over our field to fill.

2023 will be just such a year, and we are hard at work to prepare to launch our nominations and elections process. This is an important moment for our members to exercise a key benefit – to put forward candidates who can both bring valuable energy and experience to the work of one of our dozens of committees, and who can share what they learn back with their own networks.

IFLA as a whole of course relies on our members doing just this, and for a wide and diverse range of candidates to be ready to stand, making our work more global, more representative, and more effective.

This edition of the IFLA newsletter is therefore focused on these upcoming elections. It shares insights from our Professional and Regional Council Chairs, and updates on how the process is being run. There's also an update from our latest Governing Board meeting, news about our advocacy, professional and regional activities, and a look ahead to next year's WLIC!

Happy reading!

IN THE FIELD

The beginning of December proved to be a busy time with meetings of the IFLA Governing Board and Regional Council.

The Governing Board held a face-to-face meeting in The Hague to discuss the reports and positive progress on the activities identified in the the Plan for Securing IFLA's Future. These included the work on the Code of Ethics for the Governing Board, the Handbook for IFLA volunteers and a draft whistleblower's policy. They approved a draft operational plan and budget for 2023 and heard about options for a hybrid experience at WLIC 2023.

A full report of the meeting and the updated Plan will be on the IFLA website shortly.

The Regional Council met with the aim of sharing experiences and defining goals for the final stage of their term. As a new structure within IFLA, the Regional Council has been able to amplify IFLA's position in each region and strengthen their advocacy on behalf of libraries to stakeholders. The Regional Division Committees add substantially to IFLA's diversity and will be a focus area in the upcoming elections. Lessons learned from the past term will be gathered to assist the next Regional Council in a smooth transition.

In addition to attending the Governing Board meeting, IFLA President Barbara Lison spoke at the first scientific conference organised by the Department of Libraries and Information at the Faculty of Arts, Tripoli University, Libya, and at the Serbian Library Association Conference, Belgrade, Serbia. She also visited Japan to speak at the 3rd UNESCO Memory of the World Policy Forum, and met with the Director Yoshinaga of the National Diet Library of Japan.

IFLA representatives also spoke at the CONSAL conference, online and in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and the Pacific Islands Archives and Library Association conference.

EXTRAORDINARY ELECTION RESULTS

We are pleased to announce the result of the IFLA Extraordinary Election for the key post of Chair of the Professional Council. Te Paea Paringatai (New Zealand) will hold the position until August 2023.

In less than a month, the call for nominations for volunteer roles across IFLA's will open! We will be relying on passionate individuals with something to contribute to come forwards, and on our Members and Affiliates to nominate them.

To get you thinking about what it means to be an IFLA volunteer, including the benefits it brings, we asked two of our Governing Board members, each overseeing structures of volunteer groups, to share their insights - Te Paea Paringatai (Chair, Professional Council) and Nthabiseng Kotsokoane (Chair, Regional Council).

TE PAEA PARINGATAI

What are the most important characteristics of IFLA's body of volunteers for you?

Te Paea: There are a range of key characteristics and it is so important to ensure that these characteristics demonstrate and give effect to the diversity of our volunteer membership and in doing so, are reflective of the communities our library associations and institutions serve. As a starter, my top five that comes to mind include:

A. Accountability: own your decision and actions to take full responsibility for your own performance that contributes to collective impact

B. Curiosity: stay curious to help improve IFLA culture and practices by questioning the norms and learning alternative ways to achieve shared goals C. Reliability: being reliable helps foster a sense of trust and healthy intercultural relationships that can support predictable patterns for your actions and expectations

D. Positivity: maintain a positive attitude and offer positive affirmations to others

E. Empathetic listening: effective listening fosters meaningful connection with people who are different from you. This skill helps with conflict resolution as it allows one to consider multiple and different perspectives to find a range of options, refine them and make considered solutions

Te Paea Paringatai
Professional Council Chair

NTHABISENG KOTSOKOANE

What are the most important characteristics of IFLA's body of volunteers for you?

Nthabi: For me what matters are the following:

Passion: about libraries and IFLA’s work. IFLA needs people who will be able to share and believe in IFLA ‘s work and cause. As a volunteer you need to be able to share your mission with everyone you know, encouraging others to get involved and become motivated to give. You may even find extra-passionate volunteers who have a personal attachment to the cause and the project’s mission. That’s why passion is the most important part of any volunteer’s personality.

Team work: It is important to be able to work with different people and a diverse team. Be very accommodating, listen, be patient with everybody, especially with people who do not speak and understand your language.

Creative and Energetic: some of the roles may require one to attend long meetings and some of the work may require one to motivate the team, IFLA needs volunteers who are open-minded and creative, people who will bring a fun and exciting spirit to your organisation.

Compassion: It is important to always remember why you have volunteered; it must be the ability to bring change to the library field, improving the life of our users and communities we serve not only in your country or region but also by thinking globally. You should be able to learn and understand that all regions and countries are not at the same level of development, and be able to engage and again listen to and accept different viewpoints.

Positive attitude: this is key since you will be challenged and be pushed out of your comfort zones, you will work with diverse people from different cultures. It is important to be respectful and cautious at all times.

Nthabiseng Kotsokoane
Regional Council Chair

IFLA ELECTION GUIDE

Interested in finding out more about how the IFLA elections process works? In addition to the targeted communication we're sending out to our Members, Affiliates and volunteers, we've also brought all the key information together into a guide for you!

If you have any questions, please contact us at elections@ifla.org.

Have you ever wondered about the benefits of getting involved with IFLA? If so, these videos are just for you!

Our stellar volunteers share with us how they got involved, what their biggest accomplishments are and, finally, their favourite memories with IFLA.

Get started with the upcoming IFLA Nominations and Elections and be part of the future of IFLA!

Watch now →

IN CONVERSATION…LIDIA PUTZIGER

Lidia Putziger has been working with IFLA for 17 years and has served as its Nominations and Elections coordinator for eight years. Here, Lidia shares some information about IFLA's upcoming 2023 Elections:

What role does IFLA HQ play in the nominations and elections process and what role do you play in supporting volunteers, members and other nominees?

IFLA Headquarters is committed to conducting an open and transparent nominations, elections and appointments process. This work has been underway for several months, with current volunteers contacted and informed about the opportunities available. We have encouraged our Members and Affiliates to check their Section registrations (this determines where you can make nominations and vote) and have prepared communications resources to explain the process.

The Nominations and Elections Coordinator guarantees all deadlines are met and the information aligns with the IFLA Statutes and Rules of Procedure. The Elections team is now responding to the needs and questions of our current and potential future volunteers, Members and Affiliates.

Read now →

Lidia Putziger
IFLA Nominations and Elections Coordinator

IFLA ANNUAL REPORT 2021

IFLA's Annual Report provides a comprehensive overview on our activities throughout the preceding year. Check out the latest report to celebrate the resilience, innovativeness and passion of our field, as well as to think about how we can go further still, and how you can contribute.

Library Professionals at COP27: Reflections on attending the 2022 UN Climate Change Conference!

From 6-20 November 2022, 35,000 delegates from 190 countries, including more than 90 heads of state, came together in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, for the 2022 UN Climate Change Conference – COP27. Thanks to our participation in the Climate Heritage Network, IFLA was excited to bring a small delegation to Sharm El Sheikh to take part in the first week of COP27. This offered opportunities to bring library perspectives into the discussion and explore possibilities for the library field to engage in climate action even further.

Delivering the right of access to information for persons with disabilities

On 3 December, the world marked the International Day of Persons with Disabilities – the 30th anniversary of the celebration. With a future-orientated theme – the role of innovation – it is nonetheless also an opportunity to remember the need to get the basics right, not least the right of access to information. IFLA encouraged those working with providing this access to help us update our Marrakesh Monitoring Report.

Role of libraries in advancing effective, inclusive early years education recognised

IFLA was present at the World Conference on Early Childhood Care and Education, held on 14-16 November 2022 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. With around 1500 delegates, it provided an opportunity for ministers, officials and experts to share updates and ideas. Thanks to engagement by IFLA’s representative, Marianne Martens, Chair of the Section on Library Services to Children and Young Adults, libraries were recognised in the resulting Tashkent Declaration for their role in supporting early years care.

Libraries for an inclusive internet – and internet governance!

IFLA was active at the 2022 Internet Governance Forum, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, speaking both in UNESCO sessions on Internet Universality Indicators, and the Dynamic Coalition on Public Access in Libraries session on inclusive internet governance.

IFLA Policy and Advocacy Officer Claire McGuire at the Transforming Education summit in New York.

Out now: December 2022 IFLA Journal

Leading off with an excellent report on libraries in Ireland, the December 2022 issue contains 18 articles that represent perspectives from across the LIS field. Articles range from those focused on academic libraries in Jordan, Ghana, and Thailand to the growth of the field in the Maldives and the implementation of the Marrakesh Treaty. Also featured are innovative approaches to the role of LIS in society, including as a soft-power actor and critical component in delivering access to health and agricultural information to rural regions of the world.

IFLA MLAS Launches webinar series on SDGs and Library Associations

IFLA’s Management of Library Associations Section (MLAS) in collaboration with the New Professionals Special Interest Group (NPSIG) and IFLA Regional Divisions is proud to announce a webinar series on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Library Associations.

Call for bids to host the 18th IFLA Interlending and Document Supply Conference (ILDS) 2024

IFLA invites bids from IFLA Members to host the 18th IFLA Interlending and Document Supply (ILDS) Conference to be held in September or October 2024. This conference typically runs 2 to 4 days in length, attracts between 150 and 200 delegates, and operates with a budget of approximately EUR 50,000.

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS: IFLA HONOURS AND AWARDS

Do you know someone who has made an outstanding contribution to IFLA and/or to the global library field? IFLA’s Honours and Awards recognise those who have given significant service and made distinguished contributions to the profession.

Deadline: 28 February 2023

REGIONAL FOCUS

Building a stronger and more sustainable library field – IFLA workshop for Asia-Oceania libraries

In recent years, IFLA has focused strongly on how to develop library fields – the people, institutions, infrastructures and services that make it possible for communities to benefit from all that libraries can provide. A key element to this work has been the recognition that while the global field is brought together by a shared mission and values, delivering these depends on the strength and sustainability of library fields at the regional and national levels.

1st Regional meeting of the Ibero-American System of National Public and School Library Networks, Lima, Peru

IFLA representatives played a central role in the first meeting of a new network focused on strengthening and realising the potential of public and school libraries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Information for development: Libraries and UN experts engage in Bangkok

Access to information is often taken for granted, but represents a key condition for achieving innovation and positive change. At a seminar at the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia-Pacific in Bangkok, around 50 libraries explored opportunities for stronger engagement in development initiatives.

IFLA met with the Dutch National Committee and KIT-Group in Rotterdam at the end of November to continue the preparations for WLIC 2023.

In case you missed them, the 2023 Call for Volunteers, library visits registrations, congress registrations, and a few grants are already announced!

Conference Participation Grants

With generous support from various sources, a number of grants and awards are available every year for supporting delegates to attend the IFLA World Library and Information Congress.

Grants and awards provide selected delegates with support to cover their congress registration and/or other costs (travel, accommodation, daily expenses). These grants and awards opportunities are are collected on this page as soon as they become available.

Shawky Salem Conference Grant (SSCG) 2023
Deadline: 31 March 2023

IFLA ARL Attendance Grants
Deadline: 6 March 2023

More grants to follow, so stay tuned!

How to be a Rotterdammer
By Catherine Kalamidas

Want to know more about Rotterdam? Did you know that Rotterdam’s Witte de Withstraat is the world’s 6th coolest street, or that our historic Katendrecht District was listed among the top 50 coolest neighborhoods in the world by TimeOut Magazine? We think you will be surprised by what Rotterdam has to offer!

Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library, Visit Flanders, (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Library Visits

Check out the Library Visits page to view libraries part of the tours and do not delay booking your seat for day-long or half-day long tours in The Netherlands or Belgium. Seats are limited. Additional Walking Library visits tours will be added shortly before the congress.

Flight Discounts

Air France KLM Global has been appointed as the Official Airline for IFLA WLIC 2023! This means WLIC 2023 attendees can access discounts of up to 15% on their flights.

Check our Travel Page to find out more!