Updated IFLA-UNESCO School Library Manifesto Endorsed by the UNESCO Information for All Programme
28 April 2025
An update to one of IFLA’s key advocacy publications, the IFLA-UNESCO School Library Manifesto, has been unanimously endorsed by the Intergovernmental Council of the UNESCO Information for All Programme in their 13th Session on 24 April 2025.
The Manifesto was first endorsed by UNESCO’s General Conference in 1999. It was intended as a companion to the IFLA-UNESCO Public Library Manifesto, in order to define and advance the role of school libraries and their role in helping students succeed.
This update is a new chapter in IFLA and UNESCO’s historic partnership. It helps present a joint vision of how school libraries improve and enhance teaching and learning for the entire school community through active collaborations for literacies, critical thinking, creativity, and global citizenship.
Find it in IFLA’s Repository here:
IFLA-UNESCO School Library Manifesto 2025
The IFLA-UNESCO School Library Manifesto 2025 is an updated edition of the former IFLA/Unesco School Library Manifesto: The school library in teaching and learning for all (1999). The new edition reflects the many changes in technology, society and education, and represents an important and useful t...
Manifeste IFLA-UNESCO pour la bibliothèque scolaire 2025
Le projet de bibliothèque scolaire améliore et renforce l’enseignement et les apprentissages pour l’ensemble de la communauté scolaire grâce à des professionnels qualifiés, travaillant en équipe, grâce à des collections physiques et numériques, à des espaces et équipements adaptés,...
Additional translations coming soon.
Updating the Manifesto
The update was led by IFLA’s School Libraries Section, in order to reflect the changing landscape of education, including technological advances, the evolution of the teaching role of school librarians, and the role of education in sustainable development.
Together with the International Association of School Librarians (IASL), school librarians from around the world contributed to the update of the Manifesto. It was endorsed by IFLA’s Governing Board in 2023.
Over the course of 2024, IFLA worked with partners at UNESCO through the Information For All Programme, and especially the IFAP Working Group on Information Literacy, and eventually presented a final version to the Intergovernmental Council for approval.
What comes next?
Like IFLA’s other Manifestos, including the IFLA-UNESCO Public Library Manifesto, this is a tool for use in advocacy.
With our partners at UNESCO’s Information for All Programme, we will jointly promote the Manifesto to help underline the important contribution of school libraries to UNESCO’s goals on access to information.
You are invited to share as well! Use the Manifesto in your schools and in your engagements with local and municipal policymakers.
Thank you to the huge contribution of IFLA’s School Library Section on this project. Follow the Section to keep up to date on news about the Manifesto.
We also welcome volunteer translations. If you would like to translate the School Library Manifesto into a language, please contact [email protected] and we will provide you with a template and instructions.