Everyone knows that the real IFLA action is in the divisions, sections, and committee meetings; for that reason, the August 14 General Assembly of the 76th World Library and Information Congress in Gothenburg, Sweden, was short and sweet. The assembly made a swift hour’s work out of a series of reports and resolutions that concern the inner workings of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions.
Presiding over the assembly, IFLA President Ellen Tise of South Africa delivered a short assessment of her first presidential year, saying that one of the most important things she did was visit earthquake-stricken libraries in Haiti in June, when she saw firsthand the enormous need for aid. Visits to India and China confirmed her belief that there is enormous membership potential for IFLA in those two countries. Tise has been promoting an ever-more user-centered approach to library service, and word on the street is that this emphasis has spilled over to IFLA customer service.
Some of that shift no doubt has to do with the leadership of IFLA Secretary General Jennefer Nicholson, whose management of IFLA headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands, has seen the launch of a new website, new advocacy initiatives, new and better uses of information technology, and a growing partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Tise pointed out that despite the economic slump that has afflicted much of the globe, IFLA membership retention for the last fiscal year was an impressive 90%. IFLA Treasurer Barbara Schleihagen of Germany presented a rather positive assessment of IFLA finances, calling them “stable” and pointing to $83,505 in income over expenses for FY2009.
American Library Association President Roberta Stevens, citing the problems the U.S. economic recession has created for ALA, rewrote an IFLA Governing Board resolution on membership fees, fixing the increase at 2% for 2011 and replacing language that called for the board to increase fees up to 2% “in a year when the average retail price increase is below 1%.” The amended resolution passed, and still leaves the board empowered “to increase the membership fees in all categories by the percentage of the official retail price inflation, as recorded by the Netherlands government, since the time of the last increase.” The General Assembly will continue to approve the IFLA membership rates for all categories at intervals of no more than two years.
An interesting resolution introduced by French delegates from Agence Bibliographique de l’Enseignement Supérieur asked the federation to scrutinize requests for exhibition space at IFLA congresses more carefully and reject organizations “whose values are contrary to those defended by libraries.” With cheers from some parts of the audience, the resolution went to the Governing Board.
Another resolution called for IFLA to sign the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities. It also asked the Governing Board to commission the President’s Working Group for Open Access to produce a white paper on open access that “clarifies IFLA’s position and strategy for action concerning open access and other areas of information.”
As IFLA moves into the last day of its 2010 congress and toward its closing session (number 159), one outstanding improvement in the federation’s use of technology can be seen on the IFLA website, where photos and stories from the conference are posted daily on the “Follow the Conference as it Happens!” pages.