UNESCO endorses the IFLA Manifesto for Digital Libraries.
13 December 2011UNESCO has endorsed the IFLA Manifesto for Digital Libraries at its General Conference 2011. The Manifesto provides principles to assist libraries in undertaking sustainable and interoperable digitisation activities to bridge the digital divide - a key factor in achieving the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations. Digital libraries are essential for access to information, and for preserving national heritage.
IFLA President Ingrid Parent welcomed the endorsement: "IFLA believes that access to information resources supports education and health as much as cultural and economic development. Information about the world's achievements allows all people to participate constructively in the development of their own social environment." She further pointed out that equal access to cultural and scientific heritage is every person's right. "It helps promote learning and understanding of the richness and diversity of the world and its peoples, not only for the present generation, but also for the next generations", Parent said.
Promoting the free flow of ideas is also one of UNESCO's priorities. Janis Kārkliņš, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information stressed the importance of digital libraries within UNESCO mandate: "Their ability to reach and serve broader communities, while offering access to a range of information that would otherwise have been difficult, is perhaps the key asset of digital libraries. Users can freely browse library collections irrespective of the time of day or their physical location". However, Kārkliņš†cautioned that "Marginalized groups and disadvantaged peoples could remain on the periphery of knowledge unless barriers to access, including digital illiteracy, were reduced". He therefore lauded the endorsement of the Manifesto as "part of the efforts of UNESCO and its partnership with IFLA to develop strategies for the sharing of information".
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