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Peter Lor’s contributions to library and information science and practice are myriad. This essay focusses on his contributions to the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA).

The essay recalls Lor’s achievements and draws on the author’s experience of working with him during challenging times for IFLA.

Lor’s work and achievements illustrate how the global interconnectedness of the field emerges from and enlivens its local practice and that the global is in turn informed by the local.

As an international Federation of library associations and libraries together with practitioners, IFLA reaches into the majority of the world’s nations. This essay demonstrates how leadership within one nation and at a global level can have far reaching results.

The author was in a unique position as IFLA President-elect and then President when Lor was appointed Secretary General of the Federation. The author viewpoint is that of an insider and a colleague.

Libraries and research have a symbiotic relationship. Researchers depend on libraries and the collections and information services we curate and libraries depend on researchers and writers, and their publishers, to deliver the stuff that we make available. The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between research and practice.

This paper reports the author’s perspective as a librarian with nearly four decades in practice who has undertaken a variety of research throughout his career.

Identifies the need for a more systematic relationship that will encourage better practice in research and lead practitioners to draw on the findings of more reliable research to inform their practice, test possibilities and stimulate imagination.

Tracing the intertwining of research and practice through one career, the paper presents a uniquely detailed perspective.

Examines the roles of libraries and their development. Their part in fostering and supporting intellectuals in contemporary societies is discussed with particular emphasis on free access to information and freedom of expression. From the nineteenth century, libraries became recognised as necessary to society. In recent years, libraries have increasingly been seen as an instrument for the development and maintenance of a democratic society which offers the individual access to a wide and varied range or knowledge, ideas and opinions. The ubiquity of the Internet and other media and their promise of universal access to information “regardless of frontiers” have reinforced the democracy paradigm. In fulfilling a function of sustaining the discourse of concerned intellectuals, libraries demonstrate their importance to humanity.

Libraries are frequently claimed to be essential to the functioning of a democratic society and to be symbols of intellectual freedom. The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between libraries, public libraries in particular, and democracy.

Data from the Democracy Index produced by the Economist Intelligence Unit and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions World Library Map are analysed to test the claimed symbiotic relationship between libraries and democracy.

The findings confirm that there is an identifiable symbiotic relationship between libraries and democracy as claimed, at least for public libraries, and considers some implications of that finding.

First analysis of worldwide data to test this hypothesis.

Online searchers in Australia were studied via a mailed questionnaire examining six sets of variables: backgrounds, experience, attitudes, behaviours, styles and satisfaction. They appeared to support preplanning, online interaction and relevance checks. In similar vein, they were mildly cost conscious and believed that their requesters were most satisfied with their performance. Those with greater experience tended to fit this description belter, as did those in special libraries.

Unprecedented desktop access to scholarly information has been made possible by the introduction of digital libraries. The powerful combination of digital publications, specialist and generalist databases, sophisticated search systems and portals enables scholars and students to rapidly examine a great variety of the literature in their own disciplines and those new to them. Access is available globally 24 hours a day without geographical limitation. But that access is not without limitations. It is limited by the availability of reliable and affordable information and communication technologies. It is limited to those scholars and students who are affiliated with organisations which have the money and skills to provide access. It is limited to those who are literate, information‐literate and have a command of the major languages of commerce and scholarship (English in particular). In addition, contractual and other bounds imposed by vendors exclude many potential users. In combination, these limitations inhibit many scholars and students from using digital scholarly information and can increase the marginalisation of the already marginalised including, especially, indigenous peoples. This contradiction between access for some and marginalisation for many poses many challenges for libraries.

Libraries are frequently described in such terms as the “cornerstones of liberty” and as a “democratic institution”. These descriptions offer lofty aspirations which have considerable support among both many librarians and many library users. They are expressed in a number of international and national statements including the IFLA UNESCO Public Library Manifesto. But their fulfilment poses challenges for management. Through modelling the democratic ideal, and defending it in difficult times, libraries and their managers can make a major contribution to the promotion and strengthening of democracy.

Aims to report on the 26th IATUL Annual Conference.

The conference focused on three major themes: infrastructure, people and global innovation initiatives, which are summarised.

This conference addressed many important and relevant issues to science and technological universities worldwide. Collaboration, partnership and further discussion not only within IATUL membership but with members of other organizations such as IFLA can further enhance the mission information dissemination of technological libraries. The conference highlighted several important issues that the information professionals worldwide need to continue to think, reflect and develop strategies to practically implement them for the benefit to not only to the information producing and disseminating organizations but the society as a whole.

This conference provided ample opportunities to network with information experts in a variety of specialty areas such as Open Access Initiative, Scholarly communication, Digital Libraries and Information Literacy, etc. The networking opportunities provided further opportunities to collaborate and in the process create future opportunities to enhance mission of technological libraries to fulfill information needs of their researchers and scientists in the most efficient ways. The value gained is enormous and recommend future dialogs and interaction by IATUL with other organizations such as IFLA.

This paper examines the role of libraries and information services, in promoting the ‘open society’ espoused by Karl Popper and George Soros. After a brief discussion of the nature of an ‘open society ’, the paper covers the role played by provision of knowledge and information, of new technology, particularly the Internet, and of critical thinking and digital literacy in the development of this form of society. Conclusions are drawn for the role of libraries and librarians, with seven general principles suggested.