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CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS Newsletter of the IFLA Women, Information and Libraries Special Interest Group

You are invited to contribute to the IFLA Women, Information and Libraries Special Interest Group (WILSIG) Newsletter.

IFLA ARL Blog post: "Library Publishing Through the IFLA Global Lens (the WSU case)"

Here is a new IFLA Academic & Research Libraries (ARL) Section blog post, sponsored by the Library Publishing Special interest Group of IFLA, and kindly contributed by Talea Anderson, a Scholarly Communication Librarian at the Washington State University, USA.

Information Access: the Internet and AI

Artificial Intelligence (AI) may be about to usher in a golden age of access to knowledge. The power of AI to treat text, audio and images as data and to find patterns in them promises new types of deeper search. Services like recommendation, personalisation of information and translation are improving to make it easier for all to access knowledge. Generative AI’s ability to summarise and synthesise is evolving to make it easier to use and create information. Read more about how the AI SIG supports learning around information access and AI.

Is your city a future World Book Capital?

UNESCO has opened the call for candidates to be World Book Capital City from 23 April 2026. IFLA warmly encourages libraries to engage with city authorities to explore submitting bids that celebrate and strengthen the contribution of books and reading to urban development.

Now available: IFLA ARL Newsletter issue #10

Headlines for this issue include the registration link to IFLA Division D Mid-Term meeting in Istanbul, Turkey for this June; updates on the next (and this time, virtual) always awaited yearly IFLA ARL Hot Topics session – and much more!

The Internet library publishing wants

The internet is fundamental to library publishing facilitating the publication, dissemination, discoverability and preservation of scholarly works globally through open access publishing platforms and institutional repositories, and serves as a catalyst for community building and professional networking within the Library Publishing Community, exemplified by initiatives like the Global Library Publishing Map produced by the IFLA SIG. The internet we want will further empower library publishers to expand their reach, enhance discoverability, uphold the values of global knowledge dissemination, and will build on universal access initiatives.

The stuff the Internet is made from: conceptual models  

How can information on the internet be categorized, related and interpreted? We’ve all had experiences searching and getting results that are not what we were thinking, such as searching for feline jaguars and getting motor vehicles or a sports team. If only we could get across what kind of thing we’re looking for, this noise could be reduced.  Read more about how the IFLA LRM (Library Reference Model) and the jointly-developed LRMoo (Library Reference Model Object Identifier) make for successful searching.

Thinking about a hybrid event? Here are some tips from the IFLA Management & Marketing Section Experience 

Thinking about a hybrid event? Here are some tips from the IFLA Management & Marketing Section Experience 

Message from the IFLA President, 19 April 2024

I’m happy to be writing to you, just a day after the IFLA Governing Board’s first in-person meeting of the year has come to an end! It was great to see colleagues together in The Hague for a really positive and productive meeting – the three days flew by, but I believe that we are making excellent progress against the commitments set out in August of last year.

Who is funding library projects? New open data resource

In addition to core funding received from host institutions, governments or others, libraries represent great partners for others who share our commitment to supporting sustainable development. The results of a project made possible by Stichting IFLA Global Libraries, and carried out by The Doyenne Project, give an idea of who has a track-record of supporting libraries among private donors and public development agencies.

Health information is a right – new IFLA statement

Libraries of different types, through providing inclusive access to information can make a major contribution to making the right to health a reality. Governments, in turn, can and should help realise this potential through law, regulation and funding, as a new statement from IFLA underlines.

Celebrating the fourth-year celebration of RSCVD

It was four years ago on 21 April 2020 that, during the early days of the COVID pandemic, the IFLA/DDRS committee launched an initiative to share resources with libraries throughout the world.

Landscape of Data Structure and Exchange Standards Survey

Take a 5 minute survey on the Data Structure and Exchange Standards Landscape and share your needs, ideas, projects and challenges in transforming library metadata.

Library Associations in the MENA Region

In its attempts to establish contacts with the library community in the region the IFLA Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Regional Division Committee has compiled a list of  information on library associations in the regions.

Framing the Future of Knowledge: IFLA launches International Futures Summit Programme

We’re thrilled to publish the high-level programme of the Summit, setting out the key themes we’ll be exploring and questions we’ll be looking to answer.

IFLA Sub-Saharan African Regional Division (IFLA SSA RDC), April 2024 Newsletter

[Webinar] Building a National Bibliography: Models from Around the World - Two Weeks Left to Register!

Two weeks are left to register to the IFLA Bibliography Section upcoming webinar "Building a National Bibliography: Models From Around the World"!

Launch of 'Everywhere All the Time' - a digital literacy intervention that fosters critical conversations about technology and AI

With a growing generation of people relying on the internet for learning, entertainment and socializing, it's crucial to cultivate their capacity to ask critical questions about how technology impacts their lives, their communities and the planet. But how can educators guide teens to understand and navigate the digital world confidently? “Everywhere, All the Time” is a creative and playful digital literacy intervention, aiming to do just that.

Talking copyright: The week ahead at WIPO

Ahead of the meeting of WIPO’s Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights this week, we are happy to share an overview of the issues on the table, and some of the materials covered.

Building the Future of the World Library and Information Congress (WLIC) together– your input needed!

Over the coming months, IFLA will be asking for feedback from its members and volunteers regarding their perspectives, desires, and experiences regarding the World Library and Information Congress (WLIC). This will enable the WLIC Review Steering Committee to adequately assess the needs and the views of IFLA members and volunteers.