Vol. 3, No. 9: The Literacy Issue 📔

Welcome to the September 2023 IFLA Newsletter, focused on Literacy!

September 2023  —  Vol. 3, No. 9 View in your browser → THE LITERACY ISSUE Welcome to the September 2023 IFLA Newsletter! This is a special editorial for me, my first as IFLA President. As those of you who followed the closing session at WLIC – in person or online – will know, I have chosen 'stronger together' as the theme for my presidency. I set out the steps I think we need to take in my speech there – concerning how we meet, how we work with our membership, how we work with partners and beyond. But the common goal in there is that it by working more effectively with each other that we can deliver for the communities we serve. A key way in which we do deliver to our communities is by building literacy, or perhaps more correctly, literacies, as key enabling skills that open up new possibilities and opportunities. Vicki McDonald IFLA President 2023-2025 Read the full editorial → IN THE FIELD Our World Library and Information Congress was, of course, the highlight of the previous month; you can read more about it below. IFLA Secretary General Sharon Memis and Regional Council Chair Alejandro Santa, also were able to make time to participate in the SDG Action Weekend in New York on 16-17 September, engaging with key stakeholders and officials. Read on to find out more about what they achieved there. GOVERNING BOARD IFLA's new Governing Board 2023-25 met for the first time the day after the closing of the World Library and Information Congress, on 25 August 2023, at the Rotterdam Ahoy Conference Centre, The Netherlands. Read more → POLICY AND ADVOCACY Recognising the potential: IFLA at the SDG Action Weekend Libraries have a great story to tell of making a difference to development across the policy agenda. As our participation at the SDG Action Weekend demonstrated, this story is gaining traction within the United Nations among those working on sustainable development. Next step: new partnerships and impact. Continue reading → Advocacy look ahead: Key dates September - December 2023 What opportunities are available to highlight and celebrate the work of libraries to decision-makers and partners between now and the end of the year? Our look ahead sets out some key moments at the international level to help you in your planning! Start planning → Libraries empowering climate action: Ideas generated during WLIC 2023 Climate session IFLA challenged delegates at the 88th World Library and Information Congress (WLIC) to think boldly about their role in tackling the climate emergency in the open session: How can libraries accelerate climate empowerment? Read more → 10 actions you can take to advocate for libraries after WLIC Motivated by all you've heard and seen at WLIC about how libraries can engage in broader policy agendas? Here are ten ideas for concrete things that you can do to follow up. By doing so, you help advocate for libraries, build your own profile and connections, and hopefully also gain ideas and insights for yourself! Take action → PROFESSIONAL AND DEVELOPMENT IFLA METLIB takes on urban sustainability The Metropolitan Libraries Section has adopted its goals for 2023-2025: Libraries will be agents for sustainable urban development (SDG 11) and catalysts for civic engagement. Read more about METLIB's recent and upcoming work, including their October conference being held in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Read on → EDUCAUSE: a shared resource for information literacy The Information Literacy Section provides an international platform for libraries and educational communities to share and improve information literacy practices, research in IFLA and with the broader library community. INFOLIT shares their go-to resource for topics related to the intersection of education and information literacy. Explore resource → IFLA C&YA and LITREAD: Journeys into reading The WLIC 2023 Satellite meeting hosted by IFLA's Library Services for Children & Young Adults (C&YA) and Literacy and Reading (LITREAD) Sections saw a vibrant gathering of professionals dedicated to fostering a love for reading among young people. Titled "Journeys into Reading," this satellite event was co-organised by the Dutch reading Foundation, and held at the National Library of the Netherlands in The Hague. It featured a series of insightful presentations that delved into innovative approaches, challenges, and successes in encouraging our very youngest to embark on the lifelong adventure of literacy and reading. Read the report → REGIONAL FOCUS Libraries as catalysts for youth innovation and entrepreneurship in Africa At the 5th African Youth SDGs Summit in Lusaka, Zambia, libraries were actively present through participation in major sessions to share evidence of their work in contributing to the SDGs. We are grateful to Damilare Oyedele for this report. Read on → IFLA announces Regional Offices 2024-26 We are happy to announce that our Governing Board has agreed on the institutions that will host our Regional Offices in 2024-2026 for Asia-Oceania, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Continue reading → OPEN CALLS Call for nominees and nominators: Open Science and Scholarship Advisory Committee Nominations and nominees are welcome for positions on IFLA's new Open Science and Scholarship Advisory Committee, whose creation was agreed by the IFLA Governing Board on 25 August. 1 place for a chair and 9 places for members are available. Nominator and nominee forms are due by 17:00 CEST on 4 October 2023. Apply now → WLIC 2023 LOOKBACK Online sessions and recordings are available! It's hard to believe it's been almost a month since our time in Rotterdam during IFLA WLIC 2023. But don't worry, you can still catch up on all the conference highlights. Rewatch the conference wrap-up video: Relive the excitement by watching the fantastic wrap-up video of the conference. Live streamed sessions: During the IFLA WLIC 2023 in Rotterdam, we live streamed four engaging sessions on our YouTube channel. See the recordings on our YouTube playlist. Missed a session? If you happened to miss any of the sessions, whether you attended virtually or onsite, don't worry! You can still access all the sessions that took place in Rotterdam. These recordings will be available online on demand until the end of October 2023. Simply head back to your profile on the Swapcard platform and explore the videos from each day of the conference. Flickr albums: Explore hundreds of photos captured during the conference sessions, Flashmob, Cultural evening, and other events! Vox Pops and Inspiration: Lastly, we had the pleasure of interviewing numerous attendees during the conference, resulting in some fantastic Vox Pops. Check them out and get inspired! Stay connected with the IFLA community and make the most of these valuable resources. 👉 Follow the WLIC social media accounts below to ensure you don't miss any updates! UPCOMING EVENTS IFLA Metropolitan Libraries Conference (METLIB Section) 2-4 October 2023, Buenos Aires, Argentina Open science policies and best practices in academic and research libraries (ARL Section) 11 October 2023 at 15:00 CEST – virtual Practical Application of Artificial Intelligence in Libraries (IT Section) 20 October 2023 at 9:00 am CEST – virtual NEW MEMBERS Welcome to all our new members over the past month! Bibliothèque Nationale de Tunisie / National Library of Tunisia – Tunisia Kadir Has University Information Center (Library) – Türkiye National Library & Archives of the Islamic Republic of Iran – Islamic Republic of Iran We look forward to your engagement and involvement! SOCIAL SPOTLIGHT Want to get featured here? Don't forget to use the #IFLA hashtag! Not yet subscribed? Sign up 📩 to the IFLA Newsletter here → Update your preferences / Unsubscribe