Earlier this year, we shared a survey designed to collect your ideas about what makes a successful major anniversary, and what you wanted from IFLA’s own centenary in 2027. We are happy to share the results here.

Major anniversaries can be excellent opportunity for associations, organisations and institutions. They are a chance to look back and forwards, celebrating, reflecting and planning. IFLA will turn 100 on 30 September 2027, meaning that we have barely two and a half years to go.

To ensure that we can make the most of this, it is important to start planning now. To help with this, IFLA launched a survey in January of this year aimed at gathering ideas from across the field, both about other examples of successful celebrations, and specific hopes for IFLA’s own anniversary.

We are happy now to share the results of this work, to which colleagues around the world contributed.

Access the report via our Repository

Key insights from the survey include:

  • A strong interest in the anniversary as an opportunity to raise the profile of libraries in general, and IFLA in particular
  • A need to ensure that the anniversary is truly global, including activities at all levels
  • A call for flagship publications – on which work is already underway – but also a wider variety of outputs that can be taken up by members and volunteers
  • A desire to explore how to use IFLA100 to reach out to wider communities, including those not yet involved in our work
  • We should not miss the opportunity to launch new initiatives, within the limits of resources, and as long as they are in line with our overall strategy

Look out for more announcements and opportunities to get involved in the coming months!