Scenes from the opening session, clockwise from top: IFLA President Donna Scheeder; Ohio inventors, including lightbulb creator Thomas Edison, were highlighted through costume and song; a handler with a binturong ambassador from the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. Photos: Rebecca Lomax/American Libraries; Dane Khy/Columbus Metropolitan Library (zoo)

Connections, Collaboration, and Community

September 23, 2016

The Opening Session celebrated its host state with appearances from Cleveland Cavaliers announcer Olivier Sedra and some animal ambassadors from the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. It also recognized the state’s history as the “birthplace of aviation” with an aerialist tribute to the Wright Brothers and a video message from astronaut and former US Senator John … Continue reading Connections, Collaboration, and Community


Mayor Rafal Dutkiewicz invites delegates to the 2017 IFLA conference in Wrocław, Poland.

See You in Wrocław!

August 22, 2016

“I’m happy to say I saw action at this meeting and a commitment to positive change,” said IFLA President Donna Scheeder at the Closing Session. Annual awards Maria-Carme Torras i Calvo, chair of the Professional Committee, presented the Professional Committee Award to two sections this year. “The jury really struggled to selection just one winner,” … Continue reading See You in Wrocław!


(Left to right): Joakim Lennartsson, Mauritza Jadefrid, Harri Sahavirta (SIG chair), Hong Xu, and Saima Qutab.

The Library’s Role in Sustainability

August 22, 2016

At “Green Libraries: Together for All,” a Thursday afternoon session presented at the IFLA World Library and Information Congress in Columbus, Ohio, the group accomplished all three—welcoming research from Saudi Arabia, Sweden, and the US, and presenting the IFLA Green Library Award for 2016. “Sustainability has many aspects,” said Saima Qutab from the University of … Continue reading The Library’s Role in Sustainability


Top row (left to right): Lesley Farmer, Gertrude C. Umunnakwe, Emmanuel U. Anyanwu, Valérie Glass, Isabel Mendinhos. Seated (left to right): Clayton Copeland, Karen Gavigan, and Elizabeth Burns.

Inclusive School Libraries

August 22, 2016

At “Inclusionary Practices to Support School Libraries,” a Thursday morning session at the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) World Library and Information Congress, librarians from Nigeria, France, Portugal, and the United States attempted to answer this question by examining inclusionary and accessibility strategies in school libraries. Clayton Copeland and Karen Gavigan, both … Continue reading Inclusive School Libraries


IFLA Poster Sessions

August 19, 2016 Ji Yun Jeong and Seo Hyon Kwon with the National Library for Children and Young Adults in the Republic of Korea donned their yellow vests to promote the library’s Read Me a Book program. Children at the library are encouraged to choose a book and take it to a volunteer in a yellow vest who … Continue reading IFLA Poster Sessions

Panelist discuss great marketing initiatives for libraries. From left: Sandra Singh, chief librarian, Vancouver (Canada) Public Library; Christie Koontz, associate in research at Florida State University’s School of Information; Silvère Mercier, IFLA Marketing and Management Section; and Nancy E. Gwinn, IFLA Management and Marketing Section.

Inspirational Library Marketing

August 19, 2016

Christie Koontz, associate in research at Florida State University’s School of Information, offered this wisdom, along with basic marketing definitions and best practices, at the outset of “What Makes a Great Marketing Initiative in the Library?,” a session at the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions’ (IFLA) World Library and Information Congress in Columbus, … Continue reading Inspirational Library Marketing


Dan Cohen, executive director of the Digital Public Library of America, speaks at “Brave New World: The Future of Collections in Digital Times,” a program at the IFLA 2016 World Library and Information Congress in Columbus, Ohio.

The Future Is Digital

August 18, 2016

ALA president-elect James G. “Jim” Neal opened his segment of “Brave New World: The Future of Collections in Digital Times,” a program at the IFLA 2016 World Library and Information Congress in Columbus, Ohio, with a warning. Digital content is growing exponentially. The world produces daily ebooks, online games, 3D-printed work, MOOCs, social media content, … Continue reading The Future Is Digital


From left: Erica Lake, associate librarian from the University of Utah’s Eccles Health Sciences Library; Mary White, a public health librarian with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Praba Naidoo of the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa; and Dijana Sabolović-Krajina, from the Public Library Fran Galović in Koprivnica, Croatia.

Bridging the Health Divide

August 18, 2016

Librarians from South Africa, Croatia, Sri Lanka, and the United States presented findings from diverse initiatives, campaigns, and studies, mostly focusing on the librarian’s role in facilitating health information for the public and acting as a bridge to professional medical resources. Praba Naidoo of the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa, presented on a … Continue reading Bridging the Health Divide


Presenters at “Reclaiming Subject Access to Indigenous Knowledge,” a session during the International Federation of Library Associations’ 2016 World Library and Information Congress in Columbus, Ohio.

Removing Barriers to Indigenous Knowledge

August 18, 2016

Librarians from the Philippines, Canada, and the United States discussed their research on the barriers to accessing indigenous materials, ideas to modify metadata and subject headings, and obstacles to implementing new cataloging and classification systems. Cristina Villanueva, librarian at the University of the Philippines Baguio, presented her findings on classifying and indexing Philippine indigenous materials, … Continue reading Removing Barriers to Indigenous Knowledge


Jake Orlowitz, head librarian of Wikipedia, tells attendees how libraries and Wikipedia can work together.

Come Together, Right Now

August 18, 2016

Stinson and Orlowitz began with a general Wikipedia overview, and the stats were staggering. Wikipedia ranks in the top five visited websites on the planet, with 15 billion page views each month. It features 40 million articles; has 80,000 monthly contributors; contains 32 million media files in its Wikimedia Commons; and has 280 different language … Continue reading Come Together, Right Now


From left: Irene Munster, associate director of the Priddy Library for the Universities at Shady Grove in Rockville, Maryland; Raymond Pun, first-year student success librarian at California State University, Fresno; and Sharon McQueen, a faculty member at the University of Wisconsin‒Madison.

Immigrants and the Library

August 18, 2016

Irene Munster, associate director of the Priddy Library for the Universities at Shady Grove in Rockville, Maryland, described the waves of Jewish immigrants to Argentina from 1889 to the 1930s, many of whom established their own library collections in Yiddish, Russian, German, or Polish languages in the towns and cities they settled in. As refugees … Continue reading Immigrants and the Library


David Ferriero, archivist of the United States, delivered a plenary address on open government at the 2016 World Library and Information Congress.

The National Archives and Open Government

August 17, 2016

In December 2009, Ferriero said, the president issued an Open Government Directive that called on each government agency to submit an open government plan to increase the availability of its documents. NARA is now developing its fourth plan with 50 specific commitments to strengthen open government. These feed into a National Action Plan (currently the … Continue reading The National Archives and Open Government