11 August 2014

IFLA Trend Report sessions at the World Library & Information Congress in Lyon

The 80th World Library & Information Congress (WLIC) taking place in Lyon, France from 16-22 August 2014, will mark one year since the release of the IFLA Trend Report. In the 12 months since its launch at the 79th WLIC, Trend Report discussions have taken place in libraries around the world and the Insights Document, Riding the Waves or Caught in the Tide? Insights from the IFLA Trend Report, has been translated into 14 languages.

Themes from the IFLA Trend Report shaping the future information environment for libraries are reflected across a number of sessions at the 80th WLIC this year in Lyon, with topics spanning open access, text and data mining, privacy and surveillance, copyright and contracts, digital preservation, libraries as agents for ICTs and development, and many more. Two sessions will draw directly from the IFLA Trend Report, and reflect on ways in which the information environment has already evolved since its publication and how libraries are positioned, or are positioning themselves, to be agents for change.

On Wednesday 20 August from 9:30am - 11:30am, the Management of Library Associations section (MLAS) and Committee on Freedom of Access to Information and Freedom of Expression (FAIFE) are jointly hosting a lineup of internationally renowned speakers in their session titled What's Next? Moving on from the IFLA Trend Report. Join speakers including Anriette Esterhusyen from the Association of Progressive Communications, David Greene from Electronic Frontiers Foundation, ICT Development Associates' David Souter, IFLA Plenary Speaker Pierre Dillenbourg and ALA Councillor at large and IFLA Governing Board member Loida Garcia-Febo as they reflect on each of the five high level trends identified in the IFLA Trend Report one year on.

Then come Thursday morning 21 August it's your turn to contribute to the discussion, with IFLA President-Elect Donna Scheeder focusing on the Trend Report as a catalyst for change for the library and information sector. From 8:30am - 10:30am, you'll hear lightning talks from speakers from around the world before embarking on discussions of your own in groups as to ways in which your library and your community is adapting to new opportunities and challenges of the information age. Speakers at the IFLA President-Elect session include Eelke Bosman from the Netherlands Institute for Public Libraries; IFLA Governing Board member and Director of the National Library of Singapore, Ngian Lek Choh; Damian Lodge from the Australian Library & Information Association (ALIA); University Librarian for Columbia University James G Neal; Jaime Rios-Ortega from the IFLA Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, IIBI-UNAM; and Buhle Mbambo-Thata, Executive Director of Library Services, University of South Africa.

Come to the sessions and take part in what promises to be stimulating, thought-provoking debate about ways in which the information environment is shaping (or not shaping!) the services and role of libraries. You can also follow the discussions on twitter using the hashtag #iflatrends.