MLAS is delighted to welcome the following new members for the term 2025-2027:

MLAS new members AUG2025

Laura Ballestra is President of the Italian Library Association. She is Chief Librarian and Information Literacy Instructor at Mario Rostoni Library – Carlo Cattaneo University LIUC. She has been serving IFLA since 2009. She is author of articles and books about Reference services and Information literacy: ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8329-4902

Louis Coiffait-Gunn, CEO, CILIP – the library and information association. Louis is responsible for championing CILIP members and the whole information profession, and ensuring the talented CILIP team keeps performing and evolving to meet members’ needs. He is passionate about helping members to inform decision-making at all levels and in all sectors of society, to support people to learn, and to enrich our culture. Louis has worked in government, research organisations, professional associations, universities, trade bodies and the press, and has volunteered on the boards of schools, universities and charities. The experience he brings to CILIP includes influencing policy, delivering high quality membership services, opening up access to knowledge, and research on everything from education recovery after the pandemic, to reaching Net Zero, to how best to inform policy with evidence.

Juha Manninen– Finnish Library Association. MBA, serves as the Executive Director of the Finnish Library Association since 2022. He has extensive hands-on experience in the field, having held numerous positions at the Turku City Library over 2 decades. He advocated in Finnish Library Association 2012-2019 and is a member of IFLA Public Libraries Section 2021-2025. In August 2025 he will begin a four-year term in IFLA Management of Library Associations Sectuib, He was a member in Finnish Library Act revision working group in 2015.

Davaasuren Myagmar- Mongolian Library Association. Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Mongolian Library Association, leading national initiatives to modernize library services, strengthen professional capacity, and expand equitable access to information. She also serves as Director of Partnerships and Outreach at the American Center for Mongolian Studies (ACMS), where she oversees institutional projects, stakeholder engagement, and the ACMS Library. With over 15 years of experience in library development, capacity-building, and international
collaboration, Davaasuren previously held senior leadership roles at the National Library of Mongolia, directing strategic planning, international relations, and major national initiatives. An Australia Awards alumna with a Master of Information Management from the University of South Australia, she also serves on the board of the Mongolia–Australia Society (MOZZIES). She is a passionate advocate for the transformative power of libraries to advance democracy, protect human rights, and strengthen communities.

Juliana Pranke – German Library Association. Since March 2025, Juliana Pranke is responsible for International Cooperation within the „Network of Excellence for Libraries“ (knb) at the German Library Association (Deutscher Bibliotheksverband) in Berlin. Before that, she was Head of the Public Service Division at Germanys largest public library, the Central and Regional Library Berlin. In that role, Juliana Pranke was in charge of user-oriented and customer services and oversaw projects related to the promotion of digital and media literacy. In 2018, she was the Program & Project Manager for the Berlin edition of the NEXT LIBRARY® CONFERENCE. Before joining the world of libraries in 2017, she worked as an events manager and organised events all over Europe and in Asia. She has lived in the United States and Sweden and holds a Magistra Artium degree in North American Studies, Teaching German as a Second Language and Modern History (Dresden University of Technology).

Laura Winton– Canadian Federation of Library Associations. Laura is the Director of the Beaumont Public Library in Alberta, Canada, and has worked in public libraries for over 13 years. A dedicated leader in the library sector, Laura is the past president of the Library Association of Alberta and currently serves as vice-chair of the Canadian Federation of Library Associations. With a passion for building strong, resilient library associations, Laura believes that healthy, connected associations are essential to ensuring the vitality of the library sector as a whole. Her leadership is grounded in the conviction that advocacy, professional development, and shared resources are the cornerstones of a thriving library community.