ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


1002 /  C&RL News ■ November 2001

CONFERENCE CIRCUIT

Libraries and librarians: Making a difference in the knowledge age
The 67th IFLA Conference

by Hannelore B. Rader

T he International Federation o f Library 
Associations (IFLA) Conference this year 

was held in Boston from August 17-25, 2001. 
More than 5,300 persons attended the meet­
ing, 2,000 more than attended any previous 

IFLA conference. More than 1,300 American 

delegates attended the conference, thus mak­
ing the United States the country with the most 
representatives. (It has been 15 years since the 
IFLA Conference was held in the United States.) 
This conference also had the biggest exhibi­
tion ever, the highest number of first-time at­
tendants, and the highest number of countries 
represented (150).

The theme of the 67th IFLA Conference, 
“Libraries and Librarians: Making a Difference 
in the Knowledge Age,” addressed a multitude 

of topics, such as advancing the leadership role 
of librarians in the knowledge age, lifelong 
learning across space and time, managing in­
formation and technology, information poli­
cies, and collaborative partnerships.

More than l6 0  conference papers— trans­

lated into one or more of the five IFLA lan­
guages (English, French, German, Spanish, and 

Russian)—were presented at 261 different meet­
ings, sessions, and workshops.

The U.S. Organizing Committee worked 
with many donors to sponsor 91 fellows from 
various developing countries around the world,

particularly Africa and South America. IFLA and 
OCLC continued to sponsor five Early Career De­
velopment Fellowships for 2002 to support library 
and information science professionals who are in 
the early stages of their career development and 

from countries with developing economies.

The IFLA Council m eetin g
The following activities occurred at the coun­
cil meeting:

• A resolution related to Cuba was adopted 
emphasizing information sharing activities.

• ALA President John W. Berry unveiled the 

campaign for the world’s libraries, @your library.
• The first IFLA/FAIFE (Freedom to Access 

of Information and Freedom of Expression) 
World Report on Libraries and Intellectual Free­

dom was launched during this conference. IFLA 

President Christine Deschamps stated, “Librar­
ies have a cmcial role to play. They are an 
essential tool for the achievement of democ­
racy and social development. Libraries provide 
access to information, ideas, and work of imagi­
nation. They serve as gateways to knowledge. 
Libraries must reflect the plurality and diver­
sity of society, opposing all forms o f censor­
ship without being influenced by any political, 
moral, or religious opinions.”

• Publication of the new IFLA-UNESCO Guide­
lines by K. G. Saur, 2001 (IFLA Publication 9)

A b o u t th e  a u th o r

H a n n e lo re  B. R ader is u n iv e rs ity  lib ra ria n  a t  th e  U n ive rsity o f  Louisville a n d  ALA/ACRL R epresentative to  IFLA Section o f  
U niversity Libraries a n d  o th e r G eneral Research Libraries, e-m ail: h.rader@ louisville.edu

mailto:h.rader@louisville.edu


C&RL News ■ November 2001 /  1003

entitled T he P u b l i c  L ib ra ry S e r v ic e : IFLA/UNESCO 
G u i d e l i n e s f o r  D e v e l o p m e n t w a s  announced.

The Section o f University Libraries 
and O ther General Research Libraries
The Section of University Libraries and Other 
General Research Libraries, which has the larg­
est membership (430) within IFLA, sponsored 
a successful pre-conference on leadership in 
cooperation with Harvard Institutes for Higher 
Education and ACRL.

The section’s open meeting program ad­
dressed partnerships. Four speakers from Den­
mark, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, 
and the United States gave presentations fea­
turing university libraries and a diverse array 
of partnerships. Some of these papers are avail­
able on the IFLA Web site at http://www.ifla.org.

The section also sponsored meetings on 
marketing academic libraries, user education, 
and performance measurements. In addition, 
the section held a half-day workshop at North­
eastern University on “Managing Partnerships.” 
Hannelore Rader (University of Louisville), Ilene 
Rockman (California State University System), 
and Tom Wilding (University of Texas at Ar­
lington) addressed the following:

• managing academic and research librar­
ies partnerships;

• managing partnerships with other insti­
tutions; and

• managing partnership with university 
support units.

Fifty participants held a productive discus­
sion session with the presenters. The papers 
will be published in 2002 in L ib r a r y  M a n a g e ­
m e n t , published by MCB University Press in 
England.

The section also finalized its strategic plan 
for 2002-03, which features topics related to 
quality and evaluation in academic and research 

libraries, changing roles o f librarians in 
academia, the crisis in scholarly communica­
tion and publishing, and global higher educa­
tion development and trends.

In summary, the 67th IFLA Conference was 
most successful, and Boston offered numer­
ous opportunities for our international partici­
pants to become acquainted with American 
history, culture, and life. Interaction with col­
leagues from around the world demonstrated 
repeatedly that librarians share similar concerns, 
issues, and challenges at the beginning of the 
21st century. ■

http://www.ifla.org