IFLA 2010 Gothenburg - 10 August
Tuesday 10th August 2010
Hello from Sweden and the 76th World Library and Information Congress in Gothenburg. There are a few board members here with me this year – Graham Black, Julie Rae and Gill Hallam. The WLIC always goes for many days, and the main volunteers of IFLA get together for a day of section gatherings and meetings of other groups the day prior to the opening of the Congress.
There are a few Australians involved in standing committees and groups, and some of us also hold office bearer positions. I am the Information Co-ordinator for the Management of Library Associations section and during the year I aim to put together (with lots of assistance from other IFLA volunteers) a couple of newsletters and update the MLAS part of the IFLA website. MLAS involves the Executive Officers/CEO’s and some honorary presidents of library associations – which are also the key members of IFLA.
Each standing committee has at least one meeting at Congress, and MLAS usually has two. Then a mid-term meeting is held at a location around the world, and for MLAS that is usually in February.
At our standing committee today we discussed wide ranging topics and info and heard some great stories. The IFLA President and Secretary General also come along to the meetings briefly to give a report. Just some of the things on our agenda today were : The IFLA Strategic Plan and also how the MLAS Strategic Plan will contribute to that. Feedback on the successful MLAS Mid-term meeting in Stellenbosch in February 2010. New IFLA Publications soon to be released were discussed, and I am very pleased that the IFLA Public Library Service Guidelines are being released soon. (IFLA Publications Series No. 147) The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation representative reminded us of closing dates in September for this year’s Access to Learning Award (US1million). Fiona Bradley, one of a number of Australian “IFLA exports” J gave an update on the Building Strong Library Associations program. It has been a year-long preparation for the program being launching this week, a capacity building program to improve the work of smaller library associations around the world (and for all library associations to contribute). Look at the website here or email her at fiona.bradley@ifla.org A way for fledgling library associations to take the first step. Quite a few Aussies have been involved in the preparation of the materials and case studies. There will be funding available from ALP for this program with applications for funding closing November 15 2010. You will also be able to download the materials from the program website from September 2010.
Stuart Hamilton, IFLA Senior Policy Advisor, also gave a brief presentation – there is also a good ‘Intro to IFLA’ video of Stuart available here. Stuart mentioned a story of how Internet Manifesto workshops were being conducted in remote Peru and some of the other IFLA policy work happening around the world.
Standing committee day is also a time to catch up with IFLA friends and colleagues. Many of these volunteers have been involved in IFLA for many years. Enthusiastic greetings, reminiscences and lots of ‘what have you been doing for the past year?’ conversations start. The registration hall is often like an airport arrivals area, filled with people glad to see those that have travelled far, and warmly sharing their experiences and stories, as they continue the work of IFLA for another year.
I hope that you are catching up with other Congress news at this website http://2010.ifla.org and you can also follow the conversation on twitter with the #ifla2010 hashtag. Follow me here as well http://www.twitter.com/alianational
Sue Hutley, ALIA Executive Director