The below message was distributed to IFLA’s members and volunteers directly by e-mail in IFLA’s official languages from 9 April 2025 .

Gamba daru* 

I’m happy to be writing to you having just got home from a busy week of IFLA activities, including the first in-person meeting of the Governing Board of 2025, held in Berlin. It was terrific to meet with German colleagues and visit libraries. 

My colleagues and I are strongly aware that we are in the last quarter of our mandate (2023-25), and are focused on ensuring that we deliver on the commitments made when we started our work in August 2023 in Rotterdam. 

It is of course a human tendency to focus more on what still needs to be done rather than standing back and recognising what has already been achieved. So, whilst we were in Berlin, we took the opportunity to also reflect on our achievements. 

If you have been following the postings of the dashboards on my pages on the IFLA website – as well as our wider communications channels – will have seen how much has already been achieved. 

Therefore, in this message, I wanted to update you on our discussions at the Board, and through this, of where we stand in the achievement of our goals.  

A stable, sustainable financial framework for IFLA has always been our first priority, given how essential this is for enabling our work. The Legacy Grant provided by the Gates Foundation to support IFLA’s work is not infinite, and the Board is strongly aware of the need both to make best use of it, as well as to plan for a post-Legacy world.  

We received updates on IFLA’s financial performance in Q1, as well as forecasts for the rest of the year, over which we continue to anticipate a surplus. Nonetheless, recognising the priority given to this topic, a working group led by our interim Treasurer and working with IFLA HQ will be looking to make recommendations to rescope our budget, as well as updating our investment policies for the future. 

Partnerships will certainly play a major role in our future, and I am happy to say that with the renewal of the Knowledge Rights 21 programme, funded by Arcadia, we are showing what is possible.  

Our work here is allowing us, alongside our partners, to do much more to support library associations and others to advocate for legislative and policy change to enable access to research, education and culture in Europe. In this context, the Board strongly underlined its desire to ensure that the research published through the programme, as well as the lessons learned, also benefit libraries around the world.  

Also key to sustainability, of course, is our work to strengthen our member and volunteer community.  

We heard the good news that following an earlier start and more regular outreach, membership payments have been coming in faster than in previous years. With progress towards a new platform for membership, we should also see further improvements in member experience in future.  

We also noted the hard work already underway to support our different volunteer committees in preparing handover to the new committees that will start in August, as well as agreeing plans for the implementation of our Code of Conduct for volunteers. Through this, we are strengthening the guidance and support for those who give their time to help achieve IFLA’s missions, and so reach our goals. With record numbers applying for open positions on IFLA committees through our elections, the signs are positive.  

The Board is also clear that IFLA’s Headquarters team needs the tools and conditions to realise fully their potential to serve the Federation. There has been significant investment in training and internal communications, and an externally conducted staff satisfaction survey will be the basis for further work to support the team in The Hague. 

The story is a simpler one when it comes to the next two major priorities that we established at the beginning of our term – the finalisation of our Strategy 2024-29 and the publication of our Trend Report 2024. I am happy to say that both are now complete, and I can report that both are being taken up by members and volunteers around the world. 

The Trend Report in particular served to inspire the Board itself in a discussion about our long-term goals, helping us to explore different scenarios that we might face, and how IFLA can be ready for each. Having also used the report in my own library, I encourage you all to draw on it as a resource in your own planning and reflection.  

With the World Library and Information Congress only four months away, we also received updates on preparations for this, which are accelerating rapidly. I’m grateful to all those involved, including the national committee, all the members of the planning committee, and our Headquarters team, and of course encourage you to register ahead of the early bird deadline on 15 May if you have not already.  

We also looked to the longer term, with an emphasis on implementing the findings of our WLIC Review. The call for candidates for 2026 and 2027 is still open, and we are looking forward to exciting bids.  

The next few months will be intense, as we aim to announce these hosts at our next WLIC in Astana. As a Board, we noted in particular the importance of the Congress for our members, and so the need to ensure that we are putting the necessary resourcing into it to make it a success. 

Finally, we have made a priority both of improving the functioning of the Governing Board, and boosting our engagement with members. The Board undertook a self-assessment and the outcomes will influence how we work together. They will also be shared with the incoming Board. 

In addition to our own reflection within the Board, I am happy to say that work is advancing well on our governance structure health check. I am leading this work, and with the agreement of our President-elect, Leslie Weir, will continue to do so until February 2026, when we will report back. 

We have a great team of volunteers from different parts of IFLA’s structure working on this, and ambitious plan for surveys, focus groups and town halls in order to fully understand how well the structures implemented in 2021 are working for you, and what might be improved. Look out for more! 

More broadly, we discussed further steps to boost communications with members, while noting also the positive response to messages such as these, as well as other steps. I’m happy to say that we will be piloting the opening up of Governing Board meetings online in accordance with our Rules of Procedure, in order to test the technological and practical feasibility of this. 

In addition to the six priorities we set back in 2023, I did ask the Board to reflect on whether there were additional areas where we could focus in the remaining months of our term.  

A recurring response was that we should continue to work to ensure that we are visible and engaged with the world beyond libraries. Alongside the well-publicised attacks on the Institute for Museum and Library Services in the US, other Board members shared experiences of challenges from their own countries, and the importance to members of IFLA speaking up.  

To support work here, we approved an updated framework for producing IFLA statements. We also approved two statements related to copyright – one setting out core principles, and another focused on AI. These will soon be published and available to support library and information associations, institutions and professionals in their advocacy.  

A dialogue with Fiona Bradley, Chair of the Open Science and Scholarship Advisory Committee, in particular gave us an opportunity to explore specific challenges around open science, and to discuss how and where IFLA can support libraries engaged around this. A parallel dialogue with Ana Stevanovic, representing the Committee on Standards in turn also highlighted why IFLA needs to be involved in the wider standard-setting world. 

Finally, we were able to get exciting insights into the work, too of our Professional and Regional Councils, as well as our Management of Library Associations Section, chaired respectively by Te Paea Paringatai, Alejandro Santa, and Loida Garcia Febo. 

What I’ve shared here is of course only a very high-level overview of our discussions in Berlin, let alone all that is happening across our volunteer groups and headquarters.  

I am grateful to them all, and  of course to my colleagues on the Governing Board. I add my thanks in particular to Barbara Göbel and Christoph Müller at the Ibero-American Institute for hosting us, as well as to the Bibliotheque nationale de France for their welcome to me and the President-elect at the 30th anniversary of their François Mitterrand site earlier in the week.  

I look forward to sharing more with you next month.  

Kind regards,  

Vicki McDonald, IFLA President 2023-2025  

  * “Gamba daru” means “Good day” in the language of the Barunnggam people from the Darling Downs region of Dalby and Bunya Mountains – the community where I grew up.