International Federation of Library Associations Guidelines for Libraries Supporting Displaced Persons

The International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) has released Guidelines for Libraries Supporting Displaced Persons: Refugees | Migrants | Immigrants | Asylum seekers:

"The guidelines are aimed at library professionals at large: librarians, library administrators, educators, management, schools, governments responsible for libraries and library programmes. For the purpose of these guidelines, we consider library staff and management as one. The guidelines do not focus specifically on library management matters, but on how a library as a whole can support displaced communities."

"Since these are international guidelines, one size cannot fit all. There will never be one library system or model applicable to address all displaced communities across the world. The situation varies among countries and even among libraries in the same country. The guidelines touch upon a big spectrum of matters and recommendations, which each library should examine based on their library-specific needs, priorities, and feasibility."

"How can libraries serve the world in a world of displacement? In the face of the largest global refugee crisis since the second world war, library support to displaced persons is one of the most vital things that we as a library community could provide right now. Library professionals should not limit themselves to what they traditionally know as librarianship, but rather allow themselves to enter a new space of learning."

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"Apart from being a safe haven for all, libraries also contribute to the two-way integration process; not only do they help displaced individuals recover from their traumas and integrate into the host communities, but they also allow both displaced and host communities to learn from each other and understand their differences. This way libraries justify one of their fundamental values to serve the community as a whole, welcoming all cultures, all traditions, all languages. Through the appreciation of cultural diversity, they contribute to social cohesion in multicultural societies and the peaceful co-existence of people."

IFLA is an international, non-governmental organization that advances the interests of library and information associations, as well as those of librarians and the communities they serve throughout the world.

Formed in 1927, the Federation has its headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands.