Picture from Astana, with IFLA WLIC 2025 logo and the hashtags #WLIC2025 and #IFLAPARL2025
IFLAPARL in Astana

Wednesday, August 20, 09:00–10:30

Knowledge Café: Libraries as Incubators for Civil Society – Strengthening Trust, Democracy and the future

Session ID: 135

Room: Astana Hall/Hilton

Organizers: Professional Division B (Government Information and Official Publications Section, Government Libraries Section, Law Libraries Section, Library and Research Services for Parliaments Section, Artificial Intelligence Special Interest Group, and Women, Information and Libraries Special Interest Group).

The Knowledge Café will explore how the libraries and institutions of the Professional Division B contribute to civil society by fostering access to trusted information, supporting democracy, and promoting public trust. Five key topics will be up for discussion in rotating groups:

  1. libraries as providers of legal and government information,
  2. their role in democratic participation and access to justice,
  3. the impact of AI on information integrity and public trust,
  4. strategies for strengthening libraries’ civic role, and
  5. inclusive access to knowledge for women, equity and social empowerment.

Open to librarians from all sectors, the session offers a participatory, Knowledge Café format that reflects the democratic ideals at the heart of libraries, aiming to generate actionable insights for professionals and policymakers alike.

More information on the session at the WLIC 2025 programme.

Thursday, August 21, 13:30–14:45

Documenting Library Association Histories through Oral History and Born-Digital Libraries

Session: 165

Room: Yesil, Congress Center

Organizers: IFLA Special Interest Group on Library History, in collaboration with the IFLA Sections on Preservation and Conservation, Information Technology, Library and Research Services for Parliaments, Library Theory and Research, and the Kazakhstan Library Union.

The session aims to explore the opportunities and challenges of using oral history to document the histories of library associations and their evolving practices, with a focus on diversity, collaboration, and preservation in the digital age.

More information about the session at the WLIC 2025 programme.

Saturday, August 23 & Sunday, August 24

The 39th IFLAPARL Satellite Meeting, hosted by the Nazarbayev University Library

Registration required (please contact IFLAPARL Secretary Julie Anderson [email protected], or IFLAPARL Information Coordinator Iouliani (Lila) Theodosi [email protected])

More information: https://www.ifla.org/events/iflaparl-39th-satellite-meeting/ and https://library.nu.edu.kz/iflaparl39thsatellitemeeting