IFLA President’s Message, May 2025

The below message was distributed to IFLA’s members and volunteers directly by e-mail in IFLA’s official languages from 30 May 2025.

Gamba daru

With just three months to go until our World Library and Information Congress in Astana,Kazakhstan,I know that many of you,just like me,are hard at work making sure you deliver on everything you wanted to get achieved under this mandate.

Elections

The Governing Board’s work continues.An Extraordinary meeting of the Governing Board was held last month,to agree a solution to a problem identified in the election results for Professional Section Standing Committees.This issue related specifically to the vote-weighting system used by our elections provider,which was incorrectly applied to the Professional Section Standing Committees.

I believe that quick action,aligned with the principles of fairness and transparency,has helped achieve a good solution,with all affected parties rapidly informed and more details shared on our election results pages.

I extend thanks to all nominees–thank you for your interest in supporting IFLA’s work.We had our largest number of nominees ever–an indicator that our Federation is strong.To those who were unsuccessful,I urge you to think about how to engage with IFLA in other ways–we need you all!

Congratulations to all those elected.In the coming months you will be planning for a successful mandate from August 2025.I look forward to meeting with you in Astana.In the rest of this message,I wanted to focus on two initiatives that I am proud to be leading,and where I hope that I can count on your engagement.

Governance structure health check

Firstly,there is our governance structure health check.Four years after the implementation of the results of our governance review,it is certainly time to reflect and look back on how well these changes have worked.

While,ultimately,it is always people who make an organisation like IFLA work,the structures that we offer can have a supportive or restrictive effect.IFLA needs to be ready to evaluate how well these structures are working,and propose changes,if needed.

This review process has been a key part of my agenda as President,and I am pleased to report that we are making great progress.A steering group has been formed.You can read more in the dedicated pages about the process.This is not a process that we should rush,and so I am glad to say that IFLA’s incoming President Leslie Weir has agreed that I continue in this role into early 2026.

There will be many opportunities to contribute your ideas and experience–firstly through a set of targeted surveys in the coming months.But then,please also look out for invitations to Town halls,focus groups,and a session at WLIC.We will be updating the site regularly.

A second initiative I want to highlight is one that I am undertaking together with President-elect Leslie Weir,and which will–I hope–underline the continuity between our two presidential themes.

World Library and Information Congress

Leslie and I will be dedicating both the President’s and President-elect’s session at the World Library and Information Congress to showcasing and exploring examples of where librarians have been able to take radical action to fulfil their missions,and so deliver for their communities.

The session draws inspiration from the Trend Report launched at last year’s IFLA Information Futures Summit,and is at the heart of our response to the need for mobilisation,cooperation and innovation in the rapidly changing and unpredictable world around us.

We will be holding two pre-events in July where we will be sharing insights from leaders across the field in order to stimulate your own thinking.I also look forward to seeing you at our sessions in WLIC2025 in Astana.Don’t forget to take advantage of our early bird rate!

Take a look at the news story to find out more.

Elsewhere,our work continues,and I know that many of those involved in IFLA’s volunteer groups are intensifying their efforts in order to deliver on their plans in time for August,as well as to hold great sessions in Astana.

I have been glad to see further progress on rolling out our Code of Practice for volunteers,led by Te Paea Paringatai,who will be President-elect from August.It has also been very welcome to see the revised IFLA School Library Manifesto approved by UNESCO.I also encourage you to respond to our Regional Advocacy Priorities Survey by 9 June.

Governing Board meeting&Townhalls

Finally,I encourage IFLA Members and Affiliates to look out for an invitation to register to attend open parts of our next Governing Board meeting on 20 June.As highlighted in my last message,we are carrying this out as a pilot in order to learn lessons about providing digital access to our meetings in future.

You can catch up on other areas of progress towards the agenda I established at the start of my term in the May edition of my dashboard.I also warmly encourage you to sign up for one of our Townhall meetings planned for June-July:

·30 June 2025(12:00 UTC)

·2 July 2025(06:00 UTC)

·7 July 2025(20:00 UTC)

I look forward to sharing more in my next message.

Kind regards,

Vicki McDonald,IFLA President 2023-2025

“Gamba daru”means“Good day”in the language of the Barunnggam people from the Darling Downs region of Dalby and Bunya Mountains–the community where I grew up.