"New grant will help build capacity within the profession to advocate for positive policy change to support public access to digital information in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Global Libraries Initiative.
LYON, – 19 August 2014
World Library and Information Congress in Lyon – The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) today announced a new grant for international advocacy activities in support of access to digital information. The investment will develop libraries’ ability to react to emerging issues in the digital environment, increase awareness within the public library community of the link between this emerging environment and their work, and create capacity to undertake advocacy activities in support of policy change.
Public access to ICTs, copyright and licensing or eBooks and eLending are just some of the issues being tackled by policymakers at national, regional and international levels, often without satisfactory results for libraries and their users. As a result, libraries can often find themselves having to work in policy environments that are not sensitive to their issues and services to the public in the digital information environment are degraded."
Via Karen du Toit