The below message from IFLA President Leslie Weir was shared directly with IFLA Members and volunteers last week. 

Dear all,

Welcome, Bienvenu(e), Boozhoo, in Anishenaabemowen the language of the Algonquin Anishenaabe First Nation upon whose unceded, unsurrendered lands I have the privilege to live, work, and play.  

And of course, a very Happy New Year 2026! I hope that all of you who took a break had the opportunity to rest, recharge, and be with loved ones.  

It’s exciting to be back at work, entering into the middle year of my term as IFLA President, guided by my theme: “Be Bold!”. 

Even in the first days of the year, global events have shown that we cannot expect 2026 to be any less unpredictable or calm than what has come before. At such a time, we need to be bold – in our thinking, in our planning and service development, and in our advocacy. We cannot just ‘hope for the best’, but must rather mobilise to make the best happen.  

IFLA is there to support libraries in doing this. While of course the actions we take will look different from one context to the next, IFLA can and should be a source of insight, inspiration and impetus.  

Our ability to do this relies on the generosity of our members and volunteers in sharing their expertise, energy (as well as paying membership of course!), but also a readiness to look beyond difference, and to value what we can learn from others.   

There are plenty of opportunities to take forward this agenda in 2026! With this message, I wanted therefore to share a few highlights and opportunities to make the most of your engagement in the global library community. 

Libraries Powering Transformation: IFLA WLIC 2026 in Busan, Republic of Korea 

For many of you, as in almost every year, a highlight is our World Library and Information Congress (WLIC). It’s great to be returning to east Asia for the first time in 20 years, and to experience first-hand the work of a national library field which has more than proven its own ability to be bold.  

You’ll hear plenty more about the Congress in the coming months, but having led the WLIC Review process over 2024, I am looking forward to seeing its lessons start to be applied, and to learn from experience.  

In the meanwhile, don’t forget to benefit from our early bird rate for registration. I know that our different volunteer groups are working on session proposals, and of course encourage you to look out for our call for posters later this month and other opportunities! 

Launching IFLA100 

A particular highlight of WLIC will be the launch of our centennial year – IFLA100. Alongside my colleagues on the Governing Board, I see this as an opportunity really to ‘think big’ about our Federation, our wider field, and the world we want to see. 

Work is already well advanced on a major publication on IFLA’s history, and this year, you will be seeing much more about how we can use the year to think also about our future. We want the year to be an opportunity for everyone to reflect on the value of international engagement, as well as to build on our Trend Report by developing our readiness to plan for an uncertain world. 

 

In addition to the opening of the year in Busan, we’ll be planning for a wide variety of different activities and opportunities for engagement and input. Look out for more!  

And of course, if you have ideas or suggestions you can contribute to IFLA100, please do share your ideas via [email protected].  

A stronger and more sustainable IFLA

Delivering on these flagship activities – our Congress and IFLA100 – are of course opportunities to pursue our wider Strategy and missions. There is of course plenty else going on! 

Crucially, our different volunteer groups – Sections, Special Interest Groups, Advisory Committees, Regional Division Committees, Review Groups, Networks and more – have now defined their action plans, and are now hard at work delivering. We’ll be finding new ways to celebrate this work during 2026, marked by the UN as International Volunteer Year.  

With IFLA100 turning our attention to the long-term,  the Governing Board and I are strongly focused on making sure that we are ready to deliver internally. Following some great discussions on our sustainability at the December GB meeting, we’ll be following up with further in-depth discussions and action planning. 

The team working on our Governance Structure Health Check will also be delivering their findings in the coming months. I am grateful to Vicki McDonald for leading this, and am looking forward to the results and the insights they will give us to ensure that our structures truly support our mission. 

As with every year at IFLA, there’s plenty going on. We will need to be ambitious and quick to seize the opportunities we have, and resourceful and resilient to deal with the inevitable challenges. With the huge range of committed and talented professionals that make up IFLA – and the right mindset to be bold – this can be a great year.  

I want to encourage you to be bold in thinking about how you can make the most of being part of a global library field this year. I look forward to working with you!

Kind regards,  

Leslie Weir 

IFLA President, 2025-27