IFLA’s 2024 Trend Report promotes efforts to strengthen relationships among people, public authorities and citizens, as a strategy to address both development obstacles and deeper drivers of insecurity. Cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible, results from different cultures and their interactions.

While culture plays an essential role in ensuring education and providing an inclusive dialogue through freedom of expression, it can be a driver of conflict, a target in crisis situations, neglected or abandoned after natural disasters. Protecting cultural heritage is not only a stake of preserving physical evidence of a culture, it is vital for peace building, security resilience and development of communities.

In this context, IFLA’s Preservation and Conservation Section (PRESCONS) has an important role to play towards a more inclusive, just and peaceful world, and the revision of IFLA’s standard Disaster Preparedness and Planning: A Brief Manual from 2006 is an important opportunity to help libraries become active participants in this objective. The revision process aims at reinforcing collections security in two main directions: data collections and emergency preparedness and response procedures.

Data collections and inventories are key in securing cultural heritage. Knowing what is kept is the first step to safeguard it. They will avoid illicit export and transfer of ownership of cultural property, resulting from theft or looting. These data are needed for emergency procedures and to address possible restitution requests.

Anticipating potential threats to cultural heritage through preparedness and mitigation measures is also essential and important. These measures are meant to ensure the physical protection of cultural heritage and prevent its destruction. While some libraries across the world have drafted their emergency plans, the revision process of IFLA’s manual will focus on providing templates and examples of typical procedures.

Securing cultural heritage is key to avoid and mitigate possible crisis situations. Demonstrating the ability to secure cultural heritage is a confidence building measure between communities, public authorities and citizens, and between countries.

Céline Allain – Bibliothèque nationale de France, Mentor, IFLA Preservation & Conservation (PRESCONS) Section