IFLAPARL at the 85th IFLA World Library and Information Congress, Athens, 2019
The 85th IFLA World Library and Information Congress (WLIC) took place between the 24th and 30th of August. More than 3,300 delegates from over 130 countries came to Athens — the cradle of democracy and the world’s first public library — as the floor was given to more than 500 speakers at over 250 open sessions, nearly 200 poster sessions and 30 lighting talks. Several important announcements were made during the Congress, including the launch of IFLA’s transformative new Strategy 2019 – 2024 and the introduction of major new features to the Global Vision Ideas Store.
The IFLA Section on Library and Research Services for Parliaments (IFLAPARL) convened its own open session entitled: Informing dialogue, enabling change (Session 105), with presentations from Brazil, Canada, Chile, Ghana and Sweden, followed by table discussions on the questions raised. The session looked at the opportunities and challenges of designing and introducing new digital tools, how to develop and sustain outreach programmes to engage with citizens, and how librarians and researchers collaborate to improve services to Members and the public.
The presentations were highly engaging and set the scene for some lively and constructive discussions:
1. A new tool for the legislative process for the Congress of Chile / Enrique Vivanco Font, Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional (BCN), Santiago, Chile (Presentation: Part 1, Part 2)
2. From Day One Helping Members Find their Feet and Beyond / Julie Anderson, Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Toronto, Canada
3. New Digital Tools for Citizen engagement: partnering civil society organisations for effective service delivery / Mohammed Nyagsi, Parliament of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
4. Brazilian Chamber of Deputies Library and the ‘social agenda’ / Janice Silveira, Brazilian Chamber of Deputies, Brasilia, Brazil
5. Embedded librarianship in a digital age / Sofia Lindgren, The Riksdag Library, Stockholm, Sweden (Paper)
In addition, the IFLAPARL Standing Committee reviewed its past and future activities during the two business meetings and cooperated with other IFLA sections to arrange a popular knowledge café on the changing role and development of information professionals. The Report of this 2019 Knowledge Cafe has now been issued.
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