Associations
The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) is the leading international association of library organisations. It is the global voice of the library and information profession, and its annual conference provides a venue for librarians to learn from one another.[77] National associations of the English-speaking world include the American Library Association, the Australian Library and Information Association, the Canadian Library Association and the Research Libraries UK (a consortium of 30 university and other research libraries in the United Kingdom). Library bodies such as CILIP (formerly the Library Association, founded 1877) may advocate the role that libraries and librarians can play in a modern Internet environment, and in the teaching of information literacy skills.[74][78] Library associations in Asia include the Indian Library Association[79] (ILA), Indian Association of Special Libraries and Information Centers (IASLIC),[80] Bengal Library Association (BLA),[81] Kolkata, Pakistan Library Association,[82] the Pakistan Librarians Welfare Organization,[83] the Bangladesh Association of Librarians, Information Scientists and Documentalists, the Library Association of Bangladesh and the Sri Lanka Library Association (founded 1960). Public library advocacy is support given to a public library for its financial and philosophical goals or needs. Most often this takes the form of monetary or material donations or campaigning to the instituti ns which oversee the library, sometimes by advocacy groups such as Friends of Libraries. Originally, library advocacy was centred on the library itself, but current trends show libraries positioning themselves to demonstrate they provide "economic value to the community." The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) is a leading international association of library organisations. It is a global voice of the library and information profession, and its annual conference provides a venue for librarians to learn from one another. The IFLA forum promotes international cooperation, research and development in all fields related to library activities. The current president of IFLA is Ingrid Parent. A very important and close partner of the IFLA is UNESCO. Several of the manifestos prepared by committees of the IFLA have been recognized as UNESCO manifestos.[1] IFLA is part of the International Committee of the Blue Shield (ICBS), which works to protect the world's cultural heritage threatened by wars and natural disaster. IFLA was founded in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1927 when library associations from 14 European countries and the United States signed a resolution at the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Library Association of the United Kingdom. Isak Collijn, head of the National Library of Sweden, was elected the first president. The first constitution was approved in Rome in 1929 during the World Congress of Librarianship and Bibliography.