IFLA and You

Ever wondered how you can get involved with IFLA and how it all works? Well now is the time to find out because it is IFLA election season. Elections only happen once every two years so take the opportunity to be nominated to be on a committee – there are more than 800 positions up for grabs! Find out more by reading the announcement and the IFLA Election guide.

You might want to consider seeking nomination as a Member of a Professional Section Standing Committee or a Member of Special Interest Group. ALIA’s membership of IFLA enables us to nominate people for the following Professional Sections. The number of vacancies are indicated in brackets:

  • Public Libraries (9)
  • School libraries (8)
  • Bibliography (9)
  • Information Technology (8)
  • Education and Training (10)
  • Library theory and research (10)
  • Literacy and reading (11)
  • Management and marketing (14)
  • Management of Library Associations (14)
  • CPD and workplace learning (14)
  • Indigenous matters (5)

If you want to be considered for nomination please read the IFLA instructions about the requirements for the nomination and complete the nominee form. Please advise ALIA CEO Cathie Warburton by email if you wish ALIA to nominate you. If you have any questions about the election process please contact [email protected]. Nominations close on 24 February 2023.

Find out more about the various committees here.

Other things you can do to get involved include:

  • sign up to a mailing list in an area that interests you – IFLA has a mailing list for everyone with everything from Artificial Intelligence to Marketing and Cataloguing.
  • check out the events calendar and join a webinar. There is one coming up on the IFLA/UNESCO Public Library Manifesto at 8pm AEDT on Friday 20 January. If you can’t make it live (because the time difference often makes the start time not very appealing) then the webinars are often available for viewing later.

Australians who are currently active in IFLA in various roles include:

Governing Board

Vicki McDonald - President Elect

Professional Council

Jan Richards - Professional Council Committee Member, Chair, Division E

Professional Divisions

Lilly Hoi Sze Ho - Secretary, Division F Chair, Acquisition and Collection Development Section

Marian Morgan - Bindon Secretary, Division A Chair, Library Buildings and Equipment Section

Regional Divisions

Jayshree Mamtora  - Member, Asia-Oceania Regional Division
                                    Member, Academic and Research Libraries Section

Advisory Committees

Fiona Bradley - Member, Advisory Committee on Freedom of Access to Information and Freedom of Expression
                          Member, Artificial Intelligence Special Interest Group

Ben Rice - Member, Advisory Committee on Copyright and other Legal Matters

Sections and Special Interest Groups

Margaret Allen - Chair, Public Libraries Section

Edmund Balnaves - Chair, Information Technology Section

Rebecca Bateman - Member, Indigenous Matters Section

Jane Cowell - Secretary, Public Libraries Section

Gulcin Cribb - Chair, Academic and Research Libraries Section

Janet Fletcher - Member, Library Buildings and Equipment Section

Jane Garner - Member, Library Services to People with Special Needs Section

Suzie Gately - Member, Metropolitan Libraries Section

Gillian Hallam - Member, CPD and Workplace Learning Section

Philip Hider - Member, Subject Analysis and Access Section

Brad Hinton - Member, Government Libraries Section

Paula Kelly Paull - Member, Literacy and Reading Section

Philip Kent - Member, Library Buildings and Equipment Section

Margie Kirkness - Member, Library Buildings and Equipment Section

Atlanta Meyer - Chair, Literacy and Reading Section

Antonia Mocatta - Member, Environment, Sustainability and Libraries Section

Anne Reddacliff - Member, Reference and Information Services Section

Nicholas Sparks - Member, Rare Books and Special Collections Section

Heather Todd - Member, Health and Biosciences Libraries Section

Andrew Finegan - Secretary, Library Services to Multicultural Populations Section

Carmela Ieracitano - Member, Library Services to Multicultural Populations Section