IFLA

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) is the leading
international body representing the interests of people who rely on libraries and information
professionals.

IFLA was founded in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 30 September 1927, when library associations from
14 European countries and the United States signed a resolution at the celebration of the 50th
anniversary of the Library Association of the United Kingdom. Isak Collijn, head of the National
Library of Sweden, was elected the first president.

IFLA has now grown to over 1,700 members in approximately 155 countries.

It is headquartered in the National Library of the Netherlands, in The Hague.

Barbara Lison is the present President of IFLA& Halo Locher is the secretary General

 IFLA declares that human beings have a fundamental right to access to expressions of
knowledge, creative thought and intellectual activity, and to express their views
publicly. IFLA believes that the right to know and freedom of expression are two
aspects of the same principle.
 IFLA currently has seven official languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German,
Russian and Spanish.

𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚:
IFLA has 6 Core Activities:

• ALP (Action for Development through Libraries Programme)

• CLM (Committee on Copyright and other Legal Matters)

• FAIFE (Committee on Free Access to Information and Freedom of Expression)

• PAC (Core Activity on Preservation and Conservation)

• ICADS (IFLA-CDNL Alliance for Digital Strategies)

• UCA (UNIMARC Core Activity).

There are 48 Sections and 12 Special Interest Groups (SIGs), distributed among the following 5
Divisions:

I. Library Types

II. Library Collections

III. Library Services

IV. Support of the Profession

V. Regions
E.g., Division I (Library Types) has the following Sections:

★ Academic and Research Libraries

★ Art Libraries

★ Government Libraries

★ Health and Biosciences Libraries

★ Law Libraries etc.

And the following SIGs:

★ Agricultural Libraries
★ National Organisations and International Relations (NOIR)

There are Joint Activities as well:

★ IFLA/IPA Steering Group

★ World Summit on the Information Society

IFLA is directed by the Governing Board. It is formed by 21 members, responsible for governance,
financial and professional directions. Those are:

• President

• President-elect

• Treasurer

• Chairs of the Committees, Divisions, etc.

• Secretary General

𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙨:

★ Professional Committee (12 members). Ensures coordination of the work of all the units
within IFLA responsible for professional activities, policies, and Programmes.

★ Executive Committee (6 members). Executive responsibility delegated by the Governing

Board.
𝙊𝙗𝙟𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙨 :
IFLA bases its activity in three pillars:

• The society pillar, focusing on the role and impact of libraries and information services in
society

• The profession pillar, focusing on the professional practice and helping libraries and information
services to fulfill their purposes.

• The members pillar, including services to members, management of their membership of IFLA,
conferences and publications.

IFLA aims to:

• Promote high standards of provision and delivery of library and information services

• Encourage widespread understanding of the value of good library & information services

• Represent the interests of our members throughout the world It represents a large number of
library and information professionals worldwide, now estimated to be between 500.000 and
1.000.000.

Core Activities:
Issues common to library and information services around the world are the concern of the IFLA
Core Activities. Directed by the Professional Committee, the objectives and projects of the Core
Activities relate to the Federation's Programme and the priorities of the Divisions and Sections.
ALP (Action for Development through Libraries Programme) has very wide scope, concentrating
on the broad range of concerns specific to the developing world. The others cover current,
internationally important issues.

1. Hold open Standing Committee meetings at IFLA conferences to promote the exchange of
information, discussion of issues and collaboration between national libraries.
2. Collaborate with other Sections on conference sessions to promote shared goals as
appropriate.
3. Collaborate with other Sections on projects to achieve shared goals as appropriate.
4. Support and cooperate with the National Organizations and International Relations
Special Interest Group.
5. Support the cooperation with the National Information and Library Policy Special Interest
Group.
6. Post frequent updates about activities to National Libraries Section web pages.
7. Take proactive measures to retain and recruit new members for the Section.
8. Maintain the web page for the Section, ensuring it is updated with minutes, and
information describing the work of the Section.
9. Work with the Chair of CDNL to align the agendas of both groups more closely and ensure
the strategic directions of the Section complements the strategic directions of CDNL.
10. Work with CDNL (Conference of Directors of National Libraries) to ensure that the
Section's IFLA sessions reflect the needs and interests of both Section and CDNL members.
 11. Promote the directory of national libraries on Wikipedia and encourage National libraries
to maintain their entries.
12. Seek ways of cooperation with the Regional Division of IFLA.

Publication:
i. IFLA Journal (Quarterly)
ii. IFLA Annual (The Annual Report records IFLA's achievements during the previous years)
iii. IFLA Trends (Biennial Report),
iv. IFLA Medium Term Programme
v. IFLA Statutes and Rules of Procedure
vi. Divisional and Sectional Newsletters
vii. IFLA Directory of Association
viii. IFLA First 50 Year
ix. Standard For Public Library
x. ISBD For Serials
xi. ISBD For Monographic Publications
xii. World Directory Of Administrative Libraries
xiii. National and International Libraries Planning
xiv. Organization of library Professions