Inteviewed by Sirje Virkus in Copenhagen, 28.August 1997.
1. What is the role and mission of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)?
IFLA is the world's largest body representing the interests of library users, libraries and library associations. And the essence of IFLA's work is to represent the interests of its users and its members.
2. Would you like to say some words about the structure of IFLA and what is the role of the Secretary General in this structure?
IFLA is covered by a number of bodies. The highest body is IFLA Council that meets once every two years - this year in Copenhagen. The Council consists of our IFLA's members. Apart from the Council there is an Executive Board, that has the executive powers of the work of the Federation and a Professional Board that covers IFLA's professional activities. The Executive Board is responsible for the IFLA staff. IFLA staff works in IFLA Headquarters in The Hague, in the Netherlands. When the Executive Board points the Secretary General, they appoint the Director, the Executive Director of the IFLA staff in The Hague. My responsibility as the Secretary General is to act within the framework that the Executive Board gives me and within that framework I have full authority to run IFLA's day to day operations: finances, personnel, programs, regional offices and co-programs. In short the Secretary General is the highest appointed position, the President is the highest elected position.
3. How does IFLA promote the interests of libraries in the world and what kind of cooperation IFLA has with other professional organizations, for example FID, etc. Would you plan some further cooperation with organizations in other fields, for example in educational field, etc.?
In representing the interests of its members obviously IFLA can never work alone. It is one of the very powerful bodies within the international world of librarians and information specialists, but libraries in general tend to cover a very large area. And the interests of our members of libraries and associations are quite diverse. Traditionally IFLA works together with the small group of other international bodies, mainly in the field of archives, and in the field of documentation - International Council of Archives (ICA) and the International Federation for Information and Documentation (FID). The cooperation with ICA has just been given more attention by signing the pages of agenda and trying more to formalize the contact between the two organizations. In the near future it will be important for IFLA to find other links with other international organizations. We have found for instance that our relationship with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) that is responsible for copyright and intellectual property agreements in this world are very important. We require the IFLA to make new strategic alliances, we use to be able to present our case quite independently now, where the stakes are so high in a copyright world with big media conglomerates coming in, supported by big financing concerns of the music industry. IFLA has found that it should not and cannot operate alone if it wants to be effective. So, we make new coalitions, we will need to work with consumer organizations, we will need to work with educators and we will need to work with other organizations in our field to strengthen our position.
4. How do you see the role of libraries and librarians in the future?
To think about the library in the future I think we need to start about thinking about the library in the present. And what we see around us is our first image of what will be with us in the future I think. And it has been very prognosive description of the IFLA President in this week as two libraries in one. I think that image is very powerful in describing immediate and poly-medium to long-term future of libraries. Libraries will need to maintain the responsibility for the preservation and conservation of the literary heritage of its country, of its user community. But at the same time it will need to give access to the new electronic information resources. And in the future every library considering its holdings, considering users needs to find that specific balance between the old which is still very effective, printing tradition and the new, the electronic traditions. And you will definitely see libraries going along on totally electronic road and it should not surprise your leaders when we think of libraries as purely driven by economic records. I can imagine libraries that can be accessed from people's homes through telephone and telecommunication lines that only provide access through networks and that give access to documents all around the world connected through either World Wide Web or other links. But that again, that doesn't mean that there will not be the desire, especially in big cities and in the countryside to have the library as we know it around to support reading habits and to provide information as closely as possible to the users.
5. In your opinion, which are main problems libraries and librarians are facing at the moment?
If we talk about problems, I think first and foremost the issue that comes to my mind is connected with finances. This would be true for many countries, but obviously also for many different libraries in the same country. What we see, there is a growing need for libraries to finance the double several operations. As I said earlier about the changing character of the library, there is the need to finance what we have always done and what we need to continue to do. At the same time, investing in new services, new products and new infrastructure to present information to our user community. So, finances are our key issues. Following on the finances issue, of course, is the desire that many of my colleagues do, defining their position, to really think about where is their field their institution needs to go in the future, do they really need to concentrate totally on the electronic records. Can they when CD-ROM publication is available and they still have the printed one, can they do available the printed one or just buy the CD-ROM. That is the all set of issues that makes librarianship sometimes problematic, but it also makes it very interesting. I think it is a wonderful time at this moment to be in our profession and to witness with the developments that take place around us and to be able to influence those developments. So I would suggest to your readers, there is not so much the problem aspect that needs to get attention, but the challenge that is behind the problem to address the positive results from the changes there are taking place.
6. What kind of activities IFLA has initiated to solve these problems?
IFLA considering that finances are not available to recreate or institute solutions in developing countries to rebuild traditional libraries has very seriously invested in electronic information infrastructure. In 1994 the IFLA president in Cuba announced the introduction of IFLANET, proclaiming it as a solution towards a very important issue. Namely, we do not have the resources to replicate, to duplicate if you like the collections there are now in the big libraries around the world. And IFLA as organization should focus on access rather than on ownership. Now, if we talk about access in this world we also talk very clearly about electronic access. So, a very important drive for IFLA has been to point its members towards the possibilities and the resources that the electronic communications network like IFLANET can offer. And we see now that with libraries that are linked, that have an access to IFLANET there is a huge demand for both the specific literature in our field, but particularly for documents about IFLA, its policies and standards. And IFLA as a result has been able to stimulate and support many more libraries. On a different level, I think it is important to recognize that part of our membership has not yet developed the infrastructure to be able to develop, to be able to benefit from IFLANET. So, as a result, IFLA has also kept focusing on problems of traditional libraries. One of them, I think, very successful ventures of the past few years has been the introduction of IFLA Voucher Scheme making it possible for libraries to conduct interlibrary loan. Particularly the exchange of journal and newspaper articles on the bases of vouchers. And also support from the outside founding and bodies like the Soros Foundation, as example for Hungary and Bulgaria. This system has really worked very-very well. So, we are happy to say we try to find, we try to continue to look for solutions both in the area IFLA traditionally has been strong, but also in a new electronic area.
7. What is your opinion, how European Library and Information Science Schools respond to the challenges of an information society? Is the education and training in LIS schools sufficient to manage in the information society?
If I may make a choice, I prefer not to answer to this question, because I don't feel comfortable or knowledgeable enough to express on the issue. My experience of library education goes back to my own education obviously in 1977 and I have kept up-to-date for generally with the development of the curricula and the needs of libraries in these day of change. But I would not see myself as enough for an expert to give the comment on qualitative problems.
8. Tomorrow will be the last official day of the conference. Would you like to give some evaluation to the conference and to compare it a little bit with previous conferences?
Tomorrow indeed will be the last day of the 63rd IFLA General Conference and Council. And I think it will be remembered for many, for many things. First of all I think for the elections that have really given a flavor, a special flavor to this Conference. The elections of the new president, the elections of new members of the IFLA Executive Board and we may also say the election processes in general.
Secondly, this is a very special conference because of the support the Danish Development Agency DANIDA has given to a large number of library professionals around the world. DANIDA enabled to many professionals to come to this conference, to present the papers, to benefit the discussions, the events, to familiarize themselves with the developments in Danish libraries. And at the moment, as far as my knowledge goes Danida has made possible for about 150 professionals from all over the world to come to Copenhagen and we think it has given to this conference a very-very special character.
Thirdly, I think this conference will be remembered by a large number of very important professional issues that are on IFLA's agenda. First of all the whole issue on freedom of expression and the freedom of access to information, we have seen another guest lecturing in this area yesterday, by Editor-in-Chief, Index on Censorship, London, (Gateways to freedom: libraries and the next millenium) Ms Ursula Owen. And we now have a resolution from the IFLA Executive Board that will be discussed tomorrow suggesting that IFLA now formally forms a forum to discuss these issues and to create a Committee that will keep a continuing watch and continuing monitoring role on these issues. The same is truth for the copyright, which is really a dominated part, a large part of IFLA's professional agenda of the last two years. Again here the Executive Board recommends that IFLA establishes a Committee on copyright of legal matters and we will have a continuing basis giving an expert advice on all matters concerning copyright and other issues like license, like distributed claims of library collections, like cooperation, archives on issues, according access.
And the final comment on this conference would be that it is really the large one. We just learned that the figures are very close to 3000. This is the big compliment to the Danish organizing committee, who really have a great role in supporting this conference as a whole community. For many people it feels and rightly feels it is a Danish conference, far more than Copenhagen conference.
9. The theme of the conference is "Libraries and Information for Human Development". Why such kind of theme was chosen this year?
I think that the choice of this theme very clearly reflects the interests of the Danish Library Community. Also a number of years were IFLA themes for the more general nature: Library for the future, Library for economic development in China last year. There was a feeling within the Danish community, this was supported by the IFLA professional board that the theme could focus on some of the fundamental issues in our field would be most appropriate. And when we read the papers that were presented and this theme when you look at the contributions it is clear I think that the Dans have been successful in soliciting papers and contributions that arise on this issue. We really talked about copyright, we talked about access which is very fundamental value and freedom of expression of ideas which also make as think and concentrate of the roles of libraries in providing an access and also enabling the freedom of expression.
10. What is your background?
I was educated as a librarian from 1977 to 1980. This was a period in the Netherlands when library education was not yet an academic program. After finishing my library education as a professional wanting to work in scientific or academic libraries. I found out that without an academic degree it would be very difficult to find a rewarding position in a library. That's why I decided to study history and informatics at Leiden University I completed in 1988. After my degree I pursued a Career in Bookselling, antiquarian Bookselling, auctionering of old prints and then turned to Government in advisory position to Netherlands Council for Library and Information Services. After that I was asked to come to the National Library of the Netherlands where I was the first of the head of the Policy Developments Staff and then became the Secretary to the Board of Directors of the Library. Having worked in various international programs in a University, I have always been interested in international cooperation. Being already the Secretary of the Board of the National Library and after that when the former Secretary of General left, I wrote the letter to IFLA saying that in 1992. And looking the developments in that period, I said that it might not be a bad idea to have a younger professional taking on the responsibility for that job. In earlier years it has traditionally been somebody benefiting in wide network, but much more at the end of his/her career. And I argued that by hiring a younger professional IFLA might benefit from the fact that he/she would be closer to the new developments and might provide another style of management and leadership that they were looking for. And I have been very fortunate in working with Robert Wredgeworth, who now retired as IFLA President to build upon the work that my predecessors have done and also to make many new developments.
11. Is there something you would like to forward to Estonian readers?
I have visited many countries. I have come to appreciate that every culture, every country has something very special to offer. I have seen many libraries and I know about library activities in Estonia. I am pleased that this year the Estonia won the Hans Peter Geh Conference Grant* and earlier other people from Baltic States received this Grant. We hope that in the near future with the new IFLA President there will be an opportunity for the IFLA Leadership to visit Estonia and its neighboring Baltic countries. I am very pleased that the conference in Copenhagen has given a number of colleagues from the Baltic States an opportunity to come here. We would certainly want to continue the good relationships that we have and again, I look forward to coming to your country in a near future.
* Sirje Virkus from Tallinn University of Educational Sciences won the Hans Peter Geh Grant in 1997