By Dr. Dianne Oberg
After extensive discussions and consultations, the Standing Committee of the School Libraries Section of IFLA has issued the 2021 IFLA School Library Manifesto. The 2021 document updates the first IFLA School Library Manifesto which was ratified by IFLA and UNESCO in 1999.
What is a manifesto, and why is it important? A manifesto is a document publicly declaring the position or program of its issuer; a manifesto advances a set of ideas, but it can also lay out a plan of action; a manifesto often marks the adoption of a new vision or program (Munro, 2019). It is important because we live in an interconnected world, and what happens in one place affects us all, as the pandemic has certainly reminded us. Despite our differences, we share professional standards and values. By sharing our knowledge and experience, we can all advance the work we do in school communities (Evans, 2007).
The genesis of the first IFLA School Library Manifesto can be seen beginning in the 1970s when the IFLA School Libraries Section was established, and publications on standards and guidelines began to appear internationally. Then in 1993, an IFLA Pre-conference on “School Libraries in the Developing World” was held in Caldes de Monbui, Spain, and the work on a manifesto began in earnest, with the leadership of three Canadians (Paulette Bernhard, Anne Galler, and Gwyneth Evans) and the National Library of Canada. The National Library distributed and analyzed an international survey on school library policies, and several drafts of the Manifesto were completed at the National Library and distributed to members of the Canadian Library Association, the IFLA Section on School Libraries, and IASL. In 1999, the Manifesto was approved by IFLA and by UNESCO. In the intervening years, the Manifesto has been translated into many languages and distributed worldwide.
The 2021 School Library Manifesto retains its emphasis on “teaching and learning for all” and its mission to support all members of the school community to become “critical thinkers and effective users of information.” Close reading of the 2021 document does reveal a few significant changes, however: a link to UNESCO Sustainable Goal 4 for “inclusive and equitable quality education,” “a safe learning environment,” “an ongoing monitoring, evaluation, and accountability process” with data discussed and shared with the school community, and school library professionals who are “good leaders” and involved in their library associations. These are changes worth consideration, as goals to aspire to and goals to be inspired by.
Connect to the IFLA School Library Manifesto (2021)
Sources
Evans, G. (2007). The School Library Manifesto: Its development, purpose, content and application. Presentation at IFLA Reading Section, March 26, San Jose, Costa Rica.
Munro, A. (2019). Manifesto. Britannica Online https://www.britannica.com/print/article/1256807
Saltman, J. et al. (2013). The School Library Manifesto. In The Canadian Adventure: 85 years of Canadian participation in IFLA, 1927-2012 (pp. 83-85). Ottawa: CLA.
Dianne Oberg, PhD, is Professor Emerita in teacher-librarianship in the Faculty of Education at the University of Alberta in Canada. Her research focuses on teacher-librarianship education and on the implementation and evaluation of school library programs. Dianne was the founding editor of the peer-reviewed international journal, School Libraries Worldwide, which she edited for 15 years. She co-edited the second edition of the IFLA School Library Guidelines (2015) and Global Action on School Library Guidelines (2015) with Barbara Schultz-Jones. Dr. Oberg was a member of the IFLA Section on School Libraries from 1997-2001, 2007-2011, and 2013-2017.