Standards Procedures Manual

The IFLA Standards Procedures Manual provides guidance for the development and revision of standards and guidelines by IFLA professional units. It seeks to establish: how to present the need for specific standards and guidelines; maximize consensus about the content and applicability; ensure high technical and editorial quality; promote consistency; and earn endorsement by IFLA and the wider library and information community.

IFLA recognizes the multiple contributions members of professional units make to the development and maintenance of IFLA standards. In some cases, financial support for the work can be obtained via Professional Council project funding.

The first edition of the IFLA Standards Procedures Manual was compiled by a Working Group established by the Committee on Standards (CoS) in early 2013. It was endorsed by the Professional Committee in 2014. A new working group was established in 2019 to review the manual and update it to align with the changes to the IFLA governance structure, simplify and clarify application. The revised edition was approved and published in December 2023.

Standards template (appendix a)

  • [MS Word]
    last revision: 3 March 2023

Standards development proposal form (appendix c)

Standards approval request form (appendix d)