World Library and Information Congress (WLIC) 2019

IFLA today announced that the World Library and Information Congress (WLIC) 2019 will take place in Athens, Greece. Following the opening of a new national library building, and its designation as 2018 World Book Capital, the city will in two years’ time play host to the biggest truly international gathering of the library field.

President Glòria Pérez-Salmerón said, ‘Libraries are motors of change, and WLIC is the biggest single opportunity each year to refuel. By exchanging with colleagues across the world, hearing about how others are providing excellent library services, and discussing the challenges we face, we can create an unstoppable momentum in favour of better libraries, and a better society’.

Secretary General Gerald Leitner added, ‘I am thrilled that we are returning to Athens, where we started the IFLA Global Vision process earlier this year. We are building a united library field, one that is empowered not just to react to change, but to shape it. We can only do this when we meet, talk, and build together’.

With thousands of library and information professionals, from all corners of the world, all types of library, and all career stages coming together, WLIC provides a unique opportunity to learn and grow, both for individuals, and the library field as a whole.

Hundreds of formal sessions, as well as countless opportunities for discussion make WLIC the ideal place to get a global perspective on how the library field is meeting the challenges of today, and ensuring that libraries make an ever greater contribution to growth, education, innovation and social cohesion. Through streaming and social media, many thousands more will benefit.

Echoing the Athenian agora of over two thousand years ago, we look forward to a Congress that will bring the latest ideas and innovations to bear in the service of better library services and a strong library field. See you there!