IN THIS DOCUMENT:

Introduction

Role of Libraries

General Policy Issues

Cultural, Educational and Social Role

Improvement of Access to and Availability of Information

Enhancement of the Library Profession

Development and Application of New Information Technology

IFLA's Long Term Policy

This Long Term Policy was developed by the IFLA Executive Board. The text below was officially approved on 10 April 1991 for submission to Council in August 1991.

Introduction

IFLA's Role and Mission

IFLA is an independent professional international federation, without profit motive whose purpose is to promote international understanding, cooperation, discussion, research and development in all fields of library activity, including bibliography, information services, document delivery, and the education of personnel. As a non-governmental organization IFLA provides a body through which worldwide librarianship can be represented in matters of international interest. In pursuing its objectives, IFLA supports the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that "everyone has the right to participate freely in the culture of the community, to enjoy the arts, and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits" (Art. 27).

In fulfilling its mission, the Federation focuses its attention on

• broadening access to and availability of information to users worldwide
  
• stimulating the development of the profession
  
• supporting the growth and expansion of libraries
  
• extending the range and variety of information resources available through libraries.

IFLA's Long Term Policy

IFLA's Long Term Policy aims to support the role and mission of the Federation: to advance the leadership role of its members for the benefit of society and to create a visionary framework for the development of the library profession.

The international library profession requires a clear indication for future action, a strategic plan to ensure that the profession knows where it is going and why.

IFLA's Long Term Policy is formulated both for its members as well as for the Federation itself to enable them to establish its strategy, plans and programmes that affect the next 10 to 15 years. IFLA's operational plans, based on Long Term Policy, are reflected in its Medium-Term Programme.

The Long Term Policy is based on the assumption that the library profession has common goals throughout the entire community; the level of its development may differ from region to region and from country to country because libraries and librarians operate in specific and distinct social, economic and political environments. There are, however, common concerns which all professionals and institutions share. IFLA's Long Term Policy focuses on such concerns while allowing varying methods of implementation, depending on local circumstances.

The purpose of this document is to enumerate the different issues which call for a policy response.

Role of Libraries

Libraries, as major components of the information field, have witnessed major changes during the past two decades. Information has become one of the key elements in contemporary social and economic life. The increasing involvement of the information industry, including publishers and brokers in information processing and document delivery, as well as the application of modern information technology and telecommunications has created a new information environment in which libraries are one of the multiple partners in the information transfer chain. Library institutions must provide facilities for all users to access their collections both through traditional and electronic media for all users, thus remaining the primary source of information.

Libraries also have a central role in society as cultural and educational institutions, and as agents for promoting literacy. IFLA considers books and libraries, as well as the promotion of the reading habit, essential for better international understanding, and as such they are a fundamental precondition for peace, human rights, literacy, intellectual freedom, and a better environment for all peoples.

General Policy Issues

The monitoring of the library profession worldwide as well as observations of trends which forecast the nature and function of libraries in the coming decades have resulted in the following list of issues which require policy consideration:

• the role of libraries in the cultural and social dimension of society including their mission in the fight against illiteracy

• provide and protect the right of every individual to have access to needed information

• strengthening the ability of the individual to make mature, responsible decisions

• the development of libraries in order to bridge the information gap between the information rich and the information poor

• intellectual freedom including the protection of library materials and personnel from censorship

• the growth of the worldwide information market and the recognition of information as a commodity

• the improvement of the status of the profession, including education and professional development: rights and obligations of library personnel; and the development of effective professional associations

• IFLA's leading and catalytic role among library institutions and associations

• influencing the development and application of new information technology and telecommunications, especially those information tools, technologies and standards which assist librarians in providing services responsive to changing needs.

The above-mentioned policy issues can be grouped under four headings which form the main subjects of IFLA's Long Term Policy:

• Promotion of the cultural, educational, and social role of libraries in society.

• Improvement of access to and availability of information.

• Enhancement of the library profession.

• Influencing the development and application of information technology and telecommunications.

These topics are considered below.

Cultural, Educational and Social Role

Libraries are considered the historical and cultural memory of society, preserving accumulated knowledge for future generations. Using modern information and audiovisual technologies, libraries are able to preserve written and oral traditions and literary expressions in both the book and other information media and protect the originality of each culture by strengthening its cultural identity.

Libraries are generally recognized as educational and cultural institutions and are the main material resources for training and education. Similarly, libraries function as information and cultural centres, and, apart from their traditional library activities, organize exhibitions, conferences, concerts, etc. for their communities.

In addition to these roles, libraries are evolving towards a new and expanded role within society. The opportunities offered by the new information technologies and by socio-economic changes in the information market call for a redefinition of the role of libraries and librarians. It is a duty of the Federation to provide guidance on what libraries should do and how they can best serve their users.

IFLA's Long Term Policy will

• continue to ensure that the cultural heritage of all societies is preserved and maintained;
  
• expand the role and recognition of libraries as educational and cultural centres;
  
• assist libraries, in addition to their information provision functions, to assume a commitment to continuing education by their involvement in open and distance education such as community resource centres providing access to electronic education networks;
  
• encourage the expansion of the social role of libraries by developing community information services which assist individuals and groups in daily problem solving.

Improvement of Access to and Availability of Information

One of the "raisons d'étre" of library institutions is to develop, exploit, and preserve library collections on which reference, bibliographic, document supply, and other services are based;and provide cultural and educative information for decision-making, for the benefit of present and future users. In translating these general aims into practice, the main functions of libraries, in this respect, - individually and cooperatively - are:

• to create and provide access to bibliographic records
  
• to provide the fullest possible range of information, and
  
• to ensure the availability of library materials, both local and foreign.

Access to information and the availability of documents, in practice, encounter several barriers and restrictions. Some works are confidential, some publications by their nature (old or fragile) have restricted availability. There are, however, numerous obstacles to availability other than those intrinsic to the publications themselves, such as:

• economic: shortage of acquisition funds, lack of hard currency, etc.
  
• social and educational: inadequate education, lack of motivation, social conditioning, etc.
  
• physical: rural areas, small towns, handicapped users, etc.
  
• legal: too restrictive copyright.

In its Long Term Policy IFLA will undertake and promote continuing actions aiming at the improvement of access to information and the availability of publications, and especially will:

• encourage its members to establish and maintain bibliographic leadership by supplying bibliographic records for library and information service communities;
• promote the development and application of international bibliographic standards, e.g., for machine-readable formats, encouraging international cooperation in this field through the establishment of international networks of bibliographic agencies;
• encourage libraries to play a leading role in public document supply, both at national and international levels, through conventional and electronic document delivery and interlending and broad cooperation with other partners in the information market;
• contribute to the reduction of existing barriers in access to information and availability of documents, while respecting the principles of copyright.

Enhancement of the Library Profession

The library profession is involved, with other professions, in activities which are dramatically changing the image of contemporary society and contributing to the development of an "information society".

The ongoing and forthcoming changes in the information environment and the new social and cultural role of libraries require that the library profession take on the challenge of promoting literacy, managing new information technologies, and functioning in an educational role. These changes have also opened new possibilities and opportunities for librarians and call for major modifications and broadening of professional skills and abilities. Librarians, first of all, should widen their professional horizons. They should accept the fact that librarians do not have a monopoly on the concern for information and that the future interest of our profession depends not on protecting our sphere of interest, but on the active role librarians will play on the information scene. For this purpose the library profession must expand career opportunities for librarians and modify accordingly the training and education facilities, while bearing in mind that the quality and reputation of library services depends to a large extent on the development of qualified staff.

An essential role in the improvement of the library profession is played by library associations, whose objectives are, among other things, the improvement of the knowledge, skills, status, and qualifications of librarians, as well as the promotion of adequate and appropriate library services in cooperation with the institutions involved. Library associations develop or assist with the provision of education and training, provide continuing professional development opportunities, and work toward the improvement of the status and conditions of service of librarians, and the promotion of equal opportunities policies.

IFLA embraces associations and institutions of different political, social and economic background and at different levels of development. The diversity of its membership presumes a wide range of interests that are not always compatible. IFLA's essential role is to provide leadership to the entire profession and to enhance the role of libraries in society. IFLA's Long Term Policy in the field of the development of the library profession will concentrate on:

• promotion and encouragement of professional training and education at national and international levels with particular attention to subject specialization, management and information technology skills;
  
• encouragement of the maintenance and development of skills to ensure that librarians themselves can undertake research work and become associated with the community of learned societies;
  
• encouragement of the development of library associations as contributors to the improvement of professional skills and conduct of librarians, and an understanding of the social responsibility of the profession;
  
• encouragement of individual library associations to adopt and promote codes of professional conduct and adherence to them;
  
• active cooperation with other partners in the information market to ensure the leading role of the library profession in public access to and availability of information;
  
• promotion of the improvement of the status of the library profession through better library services and products and through an active role of librarians in the social, cultural and educative process in society.

Development and Application of New Information Technology

Information technology and telecommunications have an essential impact on information products and library services and have the potential to change the entire nature of information services and greatly increase their range. The suppliers of electronic information services have changed the means of information transfer and extended its distribution beyond libraries. To them, traditional libraries may not compare, as a market, to the prospect of selling information directly to homes and offices. In addition to the traditional storage media, there has been increased development of computer storage technologies such as optical disc technology. Major improvements are also taking place in the speed and reliability of telecommunication facilities through electronic network development, satellite transmission, and the integration of voice and data systems.

Information technology has stimulated the development of electronic publishing and the creation of integrated systems embracing the printing, publishing and distribution chain, as well as multimedia companies from book publishing to online information and satellite broadcasting. Technology and the information industry are rapidly changing the international competitive information market. The implications of these changes for the library world are important.

Library institutions which have historically been responsible for providing access to printed information must adapt to new requirements and provide access to electronic media or they will be replaced by others as a primary source of information. New and expanded functions should include: access to electronic databases, online access to library resources, electronic referrals, access to resources in other libraries via networking, while continuing to provide access to electronic resources for those who cannot afford direct home or business access.

IFLA's Long Term Policy in this respect will focus on:

• continued monitoring and encouragement of the development of information technology, especially that having direct or potential impact on library services, products and management;
• promotion of the effective application of new information technology in the library profession to ensure the essential role of the library as information provider and supplier;
• ensuring the participation of library institutions in the elaboration of international technical standards, protocols, etc., relevant to library practice.