IFLA works alongside its members to uphold intellectual freedom, access to culture and education, digital inclusion, and freedom from discrimination.

We engage with external partners to highlight libraries’ unique position and to collectively realise their potential to deliver on these rights and values. This includes IFLA’s cooperation with and contributions to partner organisations and platforms such as UNESCO, the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Through work across its Professional Units, IFLA also develops and distributes practical and tangible tools for members to use in their advocacy work in defence of core library values. We issue statements, guidelines and standards to support and guide professional practice, and facilitate good practice exchanges through World Library and Information Congress Session content, Journal articles, poster sessions, virtual events and online.