Thursday, July 31, 2025

Vol. 5, No. 7: Strengthening partnerships

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July 2025 —  Vol. 5, No. 7
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an illustration of the ruins of Library of Celsu with digital coding and text

STRENGTHENING PARTNERSHIPS

No library is an island.


Not only are we defined by the difference we make in our communities – present and future – but we are also part of a wider ecosystem that contains many other institutions, organisations and actors.


The question then is whether we are ready to see connections as a chore, or as an opportunity to do things we could never manage on our own (and to let our partners do the same!).


Happy reading! 🤝

IFLA Highlights

IFLA President Vicki McDonald shared her July President's message at the end of the month, with both highlights of the Governing Board meeting, and updates on wider work towards the six goals she set out at the beginning of her term. Don't forget that you can access the latest dashboard, showing how far we have got, via the President's page on our website.


Additionally, she participated in the visit to Busan, Republic of Korea, to evaluate its readiness to host WLIC 2026, meeting with local librarians, getting to know the National Library, and sitting down with its CEO. She also gave speeches at the Forum on the Future of World Academic Libraries in China, the University of the Philippines Librarians' Conference, and will contribute to the 80th Anniversary celebrations of the National Library of Korea in Seoul.


IFLA Secretary General Sharon Memis participated at the LIBER conference in Lausanne, Switzerland, as well as the German library conference in Bremen, Germany.


IFLA's Governing Board as a whole also met twice in July – once to approve the financial statements to be shared with members ahead of our General Assembly on 20 August (highlights here) and once to approve the selection of Busan as the venue for our World Library and Information Congress 2026 – see more below!  

IFLA selects Busan, South Korea to host the 2026 World Library and Information Congress

WLIC logo with text: WLIC updates. 2025 Astana

Sarangoo Radnaaragchaa and Kaïs Hammami announced as Keynote Session speakers

We're excited to announce two keynote speakers have been confirmed for IFLA WLIC 2025: Sarangoo Radnaaragchaa, UN Resident Coordinator, Kazakhstan, and Kaïs Hammami, Director, Centre for Strategic Foresight, ICESCO.


Learn more about their sessions and the speakers' backgrounds through the link below.

Download the IFLA WLIC 2025 App

Stories of heroes: WLIC 2025 flash mob announced 🦸

Organised by the IFLA New Professionals Special Interest Group (NPSIG), this WLIC flash mob addition is all about celebrating the hero(es) who inspire us all!


Find out what to bring, where to meet, and what to expect through the link below.

Picture of a group of people at a library. Text: From the field

IFLA PARL as network partner

In the spirit of collaboration, IFLA Library and Research Services for Parliaments Section (PARL) showcases examples of recent global partnerships in their upcoming newsletter:

Just released: Statement on Universal Bibliographic Control - 2025

IFLA's 2025 Professional Statement on Universal Bibliographic Control highlights the importance of reliable, standardised metadata amid growing digital content.


This new statement reaffirms IFLA's commitment to global bibliographic coordination.

IFLA launches Digital Cultural Heritage (DCH) Network

Digital cultural heritage brings rapidly evolving opportunities and challenges to memory institutions. There has been a lot of innovation, but the scope and range of digital cultural heritage is vast, and knowledge is fragmented.


IFLA is therefore excited to launch a new Network focusing on Digital Cultural Heritage, coordinated by the Advisory Committee on Cultural Heritage.

ENSULIB proudly announces the release of its new book "Libraries Driving Education for Sustainable Development"

An image of people sitting around a table with microphone. Text: IFLA Standards

Just released: IFLA Advisory Committee on Standards July 2025 newsletter

The IFLA Standards Newsletter offers global news and discussions on IFLA standards and guidelines. It showcases standards developed by IFLA committees, helping libraries improve operations. It also highlights work by peer institutions and standardisation bodies on library standards.

Picture of megaphones, text: policy and advocacy

Defending inclusive knowledge societies

Our new statement highlights the varied and parallel threats to the efforts of libraries to ensure that everyone can engage in, and benefit from, access to knowledge.

Strengthening your advocacy in the framework of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and related processes

This is a pivotal moment for the WSIS+20 process as it will undergo an overall review by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on 16-17 December 2025, where the assembly will provide strategic direction for the next phase of its implementation.


Read this article to find out more about its most relevant outcomes for libraries and how you can use this to strengthen your advocacy efforts.

Information Integrity a key topic in climate meetings: updates and a global call to action

Making the case for the right copyright

Copyright can sometimes be portrayed (especially by those with an interest in slowing reform) as complicated and conflictual. But as new IFLA research shows, all library associations and actors around the world can get involved and help both build confidence and promote the laws and policies we need.

Picture of a globe. Text: Regional focus

Addressing the perceptions gap: IFLA Regional Advocacy Priorities Survey results 2025

Globally, while there is a lot of attention to threats to intellectual freedom, library and information workers are primarily concerned about the level of financial and political support for libraries and its impacts on how they can do their jobs. Yet there is, at least in some regions, optimism about the future.

MENA librarians named recipients of QIMAM: Qatar-IFLA Award for Aspiring Minds

Qatar National Library (QNL), home of the IFLA Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Regional Office, named Raghad Ghanem Alqahtani of Saudi Arabia and Salma Mohamed Ayoub of Egypt as the first recipients of the QIMAM: Qatar-IFLA MENA Award for Aspiring Minds, recognising their leadership potential and professional contributions.

Speech bubbles made of paper. Text: Open calls

Call for trainers: transforming Armenian public libraries into dynamic community and cultural centers

The Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian Library Association NGO are inviting expressions of interest for leading two trainings for Armenian public librarians this September.


This is a part on an effort to transform Armenia's public libraries into dynamic community and cultural centers that meet the evolving needs of their users.

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📢 Members! Coming to the IFLA Congress in August?

New members, welcome! 🌟

SOCIAL SPOTLIGHT

Want to get featured here? 👇 Don't forget to @IFLA and use the #IFLA hashtag!