NOTE: a version of this message was sent by the IFLA President on 20 September 2024 directly to all IFLA Members and affiliates, including directors and presidents of library associations. It was also sent to all IFLA volunteers.

Today I am writing to you again with an update on what is going on at IFLA, as well as upcoming opportunities to make the most of being part of our global community.

We’re certainly in the middle of a very busy period. In addition to our Governing Board meeting on Wednesday (more on this below!), we’ve had a round of three townhall meetings on general updates on IFLA work and two consultation sessions as part of our ongoing Congress review. All this as we are finalizing planning for the Information Futures Summit which kicks off in just ten days.

I am really looking forward to welcoming you to my hometown Brisbane, Australia. And of course, there is still time to register!

This is only just a part of all that is happening across IFLA, with meetings, events, publications and much else on the agenda. For me it really highlights how dynamic our Federation is, and all the strengths that we can build on as we work towards our centenary.

We had a full agenda at our Governing Board meeting, which offered an opportunity to advance work on many of the issues that I know matter for our members and volunteers.

IFLA WLIC 2025 and Congress Review

I know there is particular interest in our future conferences. Of course, the most immediate priority is making sure that the Information Futures Summit is not just an exciting and impactful experience for participants, but also contributes to the work of the wider library field. As explained in our townhall meetings, the Summit is going to be the opportunity to launch some key resources to support the field as a whole – our Trend Report 2024, our Strategy 2024-2029, and the Brisbane Declaration.

In addition to an update on registrations and planning for the Summit, we discussed a zero draft of the Brisbane Declaration. This will be discussed and commented on by Summit participants in order to reflect the discussions during the event, and a final version will be launched at the closing session. The Board agreed that this promised to be a great way both of focusing reflections, and sharing ideas and priorities with colleagues globally.

Our next Congress will be in August 2025 in Astana, Kazakhstan. We heard a report from the August site visit, and have now selected a Congress theme and logo.  Our Professional and Regional Councils are already hard at work on planning, and we’ll be sharing more information soon, including a timeline of key announcements and deadlines.

Finally, you will soon see a call for expressions of interest (EOI) in hosting Congresses after 2025. While decisions about the frequency of future events come with the conclusion of our Congress Review process in December, we want to return to having much longer preparation times for WLICs. The EOI process will identify which cities and countries are interested in hosting a future Congress and we will be able to progress discussions much earlier.

IFLA’s Sustainable Future

Another key issue for many of you is of course IFLA’s own financial sustainability. I  focused extensively on this both in my August message and in our townhall meetings in the last few days. At the Governing Board meeting, in addition to reviewing our finances for 2024, we agreed on a timeline towards a full sustainability strategy, closely tied with our operational planning for 2025. This will focus strongly on how we can make the most of the things that make IFLA unique, both within the wider library field, and in our engagement with partners, and how we can best set ourselves up for the future.

One of our strengths is of course our volunteer community, and so we were pleased to approve new members of our Committee on Standards.  We also discussed the recommendations from the Professional Council’s review of our Special Interest Groups. We will share more in the coming weeks, but recognise in particular the work of the Council’s chair, Te Paea Paringatai, for leading this process.

I strongly encourage you to look out for upcoming announcements about our nominations and elections process. We decided on the timeline for this at the Board, as well as a new pre-nominations phase. You will be hearing a lot about this in the coming months, but I hope that you will all make maximum use of your rights to stand and nominate.

As someone who has engaged for many years in IFLA as a volunteer, I know how great an experience this can be for you and those around you. As President, I  acknowledge the significant contribution you make collectively to the future of our field.

IFLA President's Priorities - Sept 2024

September 2024 Priorities Dashboard

Beyond the GB agenda, I’m happy to say that we will shortly be able to declare one of the items on my President’s Dashboard completed, when we launch our Strategy 2024-2029 in Brisbane. You can see how we’re doing on everything else using the links from my page on the IFLA website.

In the meanwhile, I look forward to seeing as many of our members and volunteers as possible in Brisbane, and to being in contact again next month.

Kind regards,

Vicki McDonald
IFLA President 2023-2025