The IFLA National Libraries Section is a focal point for supporting the vital role of national libraries in society as custodians of the worlds’ intellectual heritage, providing organisation, preservation of and access to the national imprint in all its forms.

The Section aims to provide leadership in the areas of concern to national libraries, always in recognition of the needs and views of every region of the world and in recognition of IFLA’s vision as the trusted global voice of the library and information community.

General Activities

  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. Work with colleagues in Division 1 to achieve common goals, in particular open access to information.
  5. Support and cooperate with the National Organisations and International Relations Special Interest Group.
  6. Support the cooperation with the National Information and Library Policy Special Interest Group.
  7. Post frequent updates about activities to National Libraries Section web pages.
  8. Take proactive measures to retain and recruit new members for the Section.
  9. Maintain the nat-lib discussion list for all Section members and encourage discussion and information sharing through this channel.
  10. Maintain the web page for the Section, ensuring it is updated with minutes, and information describing the work of the Section.
  11. 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.
  12. Work with CDNL to ensure that the Section’s IFLA sessions reflect the needs and interests of both Section and CDNL members.
  13. Promote the directory of national libraries on Wikipedia and encourage National libraries to maintain their entries.
  14. Seek ways of cooperation with the Regional Division of IFLA.

Section Objectives

For the period August 2017-August 2018, the Section will concentrate on five objectives:

More details can be found in the Section’s Annual Plan 2017-2018.