World Library and Information Congress (WLIC) Papers and Presentations

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://repository.ifla.org/handle/20.500.14598/1941

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From Palm to Platform: Addressing the Digital Literacy Needs of Rural Date Farmers in Sistan and Baluchistan
(International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), 2025-09-08) Seifi, Leili; Yousefi, Nastaran
This paper explores how inclusive digital literacy, when rooted in cultural context and delivered through trusted rural institutions, can support indigenous knowledge preservation and empower marginalized farming communities. Focusing on date farmers in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchistan province, the study draws on qualitative interviews with 23 farmers to understand their traditional knowledge-sharing practices and their interactions with digital tools. The findings reveal that while farmers possess rich agricultural expertise, they face significant barriers to digital engagement, including limited training, mistrust of online content, and lack of culturally relevant resources. Rural libraries emerged as trusted and underutilized spaces for bridging this digital divide. The paper proposes practical, community-driven solutions such as library-led digital literacy programs, the creation of multilingual digital knowledge repositories, and gender-sensitive outreach strategies. By repositioning libraries as intermediaries between traditional and digital systems, this work contributes to a more inclusive vision of digital literacy, one that supports cultural continuity, community resilience, and sustainable rural development.
Virtual Service in Library as a Hub of Information Openness: A Digital Strategy to Combat Misinformation in the AI Era
(International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), 2025-08-18) Rahman Hidayat, Fandi; Adiba, Syifa; Febriyanto
In the contemporary digital era, characterized by the unprecedented proliferation. of information, the pervasive spread of misinformation has emerged as a critical challenge, particularly in contexts such as Indonesia where rapid digital adoption intersects with evolving media consumption behaviors. The National Library of Indonesia, through its virtual services, offers a strategic avenue to enhance news literacy and foster informational transparency. This study aims to examine the perceptions, experiences, and challenges encountered by users and librarians of the National Library of Indonesia’s virtual platform in the context of widespread misinformation. The research is underpinned by an integrative theoretical framework that amalgamates digital literacy, news literacy, and misinformation theories, emphasizing the imperative for users to cultivate robust critical appraisal skills for evaluating news validity. A qualitative research design will be employed to explore, in depth, the perceptions, experiences, and challenges encountered by users of the National Library of Indonesia’s virtual platform in the face of misinformation. Data collection will involve conducting in-depth interviews and performing systematic analysis of policy documents and promotional materials relevant to the library’s digital services. The data will be subjected to thematic analysis using a rigorous coding strategy to extract salient categories from the perspectives of both users and librarians, thereby establishing a robust foundation for formulating an integrated digital strategy. These findings are expected to enhance user engagement and bolster public trust in digital information, ultimately reaffirming the virtual library’s position as a pivotal locus of transparency and digital literacy education in the AI era.
Algorithmic Bias in AI-Driven News Production and Dissemination: The Dynamics of X Misinformation During Elections
(International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), 2025-09-03) Kuku, David; Charlotte Ojukwu, Njideka N.; Onyoko Omali, Theresa; Shestakova, Anna
Society uses information from different sources for different reasons, including decision-making and civic engagement. With the information explosion in the early 1950s, libraries and other information systems are grappling with what constitutes relevant information to help users’ effective information retrieval (IR). The situation grew worse with social media's advent in the early 2000s. With media now in the mix of the information chain, the user behavior and the role of librarians have been redefined. Political participation by citizens through information provided on social media, particularly X’s platform, has gained traction for election discussions and information sharing in recent times. However, the AI-driven X’s recommendation algorithms, particularly the SimClusters segment, perpetuate misinformation, create and reinforce polarizations, and consequently, threat to world democracies. The SimClusters detect communities through a bipartite graph with a set of nodes representing users and interests using content similarities. It generates communities based on the weight of the nodes' interests through interactions such as views, retweets, likes, comments, and follows. In the process of addressing questions like what tweets and users are similar to my interests, and what tweets my friend liked, confirmation bias results, and echo chambers that create polarization during election discourse. The study surveyed primary and secondary sources from JSTOR and ProQuest databases on X’s election information sharing, which revealed that X’s platform perpetuated misinformation, amplified subjective and divisive narratives during the elections in the US, EU, Germany, and Poland. Reimagining the recommendation algorithms to incorporate a fact-checking component would address misinformation, confirmation bias, and echo chambers, and unify information sharing. This would reshape our democratic engagement and build an enduring future through equitable access to information.
Swipe, Watch, Believe? Gen Z News Consumption Trends in Pakistan and the Strategic Role of Libraries in Promoting Digital Media Literacy
(International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), 2025-09-03) Bashir, Faiza; Khanum, Almas; Amin, Maria
With the age of algorithmic media, social sites like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube have emerged as top sources of news among Generation Z (Gen Z) in Pakistan—a country where 64% of the population is below the age of 30 and smartphone penetration is growing at a high rate. Young people are increasingly using visual, influencer-based content as a source of information. While these sites provide unparalleled exposure to widely divergent perspectives, they also spread misinformation, of which many young users are not equipped to critically assess. This research explores how Pakistani Gen Z engages with digital news on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, and how libraries can improve digital media literacy and fight misinformation. A qualitative exploratory design was used, consisting of semistructured interviews with 20 Gen Z users and 06 library professionals, plus informal observation of digital news interactions. Results confirm that TikTok and YouTube are the leading news consumption habits, with visual narrative, influencer believability, and trending hashtags being the determinants of engagement. Verification practices were minimal, and the libraries highlighted important gaps in their digital outreach efforts, although they indicated a willingness to respond. The research suggests library-based strategic interventions, such as social-media-driven literacy campaigns, educational collaborations, and reward-based programs, to enhance their role as champions of digital literacy. The results contribute to international debate on algorithmic news consumption and provide context-specific avenues for the development of well informed citizenship in developing countries.
Information War in the Age of AI: Media Narratives and Misinformation during ‘Operation Sindhoor’
(International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), 2025-09-03) Dr. Syamili C.; Anoop KR.
In the digital era, wars are no longer confined to Warfield’s; they are increasingly fought in the contested space of information. This paper critically examines the information war that unfolded during Operation Sindhoor, a recent military episode within the broader India– Pakistan conflict. It explores how information and misinformation were strategically deployed by state and non-state actors to shape public opinion, influence international narratives, and destabilize adversarial trust. The study explores how Indian digital media contributed to the construction of imaginative nationalism, often portraying Pakistan as the ultimate enemy, while factual reporting and responsible journalism remained scarce. It evaluates where the media failed in its democratic responsibility and shifted toward emotion-driven, militaristic narratives. The analysis is grounded in several theoretical frameworks. The article exposes a troubling trend in Indian media's tendency to sensationalize conflict, raising serious concerns spread of ims/disinformations in the context of Indo–Pak relations. By framing Operation Sindhoor as a case study in information warfare, the paper reflects on the ethical responsibilities of the global information community — especially librarians, educators, and archivists — in times of political and military tension. It calls for stronger frameworks for digital literacy, information verification, and crisis communication to mitigate the consequences of such conflicts on public understanding and democratic discourse.
A Multi-Agent Debate Approach Based on Large Language Models for Scientific Misinformation Detection
(International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), 2025-09-03) Li, Baiyang ; Li, Xiaosong ; Zhao, YaYue ; Zhuo, Anqi ; Zhao, Yingxiao ; Tang, Shanhong
The rapid advancement of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has accelerated the dissemination of misinformation, making it swifter and more covert, and posing significant risks such as public misperception, erosion of scientific authority, and trust crises. To address this challenge, this study investigates the representational characteristics of scientific misinformation and proposes MAD-MID (Multi-Agent Debate for Misinformation Detection in Science), a novel LLM-based detection framework. After a literature review and content analysis of 200 samples, we extract features across semantic structure, emotional tone, linguistic style, and technical specificity to build a domain-specific representation. MAD-MID employs three debating agents—proponent, opponent, and moderator—that interact dynamically to enhance contextual understanding, interpretability, and accuracy while reducing reliance on extensive pre-training. Experimental results show that MAD-MID achieves superior performance and robustness, contributing theoretical and methodological advances for a healthier information ecosystem in science and technology.
Libraries' efforts in saving community voices through local oral history: A case study from national, public, academic, and rural perspectives
(International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), 2025-08-27) Xiaofang Zhang; Zhuangbo Wu; Han Wei
Oral history is an effective tool and strategy for preserving multicultural histories. By carrying out oral history projects, libraries can not only deeply capture and preserve the rich tapestries of feelings, impressions, images, activities, memories, and personal histories that are part of the everyday life of a community, but also use them as innovative services to encourage and attract community participation in collaborative construction of local history collection. In recent years, Chinese libraries have launched oral history projects targeting diverse communities. Representative cases include the National Library of China's nationwide oral project of inheritors of intangible cultural heritage, the various projects launched by provincial public libraries and academic libraries, and a rural library named Wei Guang Shu Yuan recording oral history from the elders in the village. By utilizing these local oral resources that reflect different communities, the library can promote information acquisition, public advocacy, education and training, and even digital interaction in innovative ways, to encourage more patrons to recognize and understand the value of local cultural history. Through case studies, best practices of different types of libraries in existing practices in excavating multicultural oral history records are explored such as 1) standardizing to be diversified and inclusive, 2) cooperating to be financially and professionally stronger, and 3) utilizing to promote and impact. Oral history projects of libraries can better build of the future of libraries based on the uniting accumulation and utilization of the local voices and knowledge, to promote the expansion of special collections of local culture and history in libraries for the future and inclusive services for multicultural groups in their communities. Keywords: Oral history, National library, Public library, Academic library, Rural library
Unlocking Historical Treasure: Optimizing the Utilization of Manuscripts at National Library of Indonesia in the Digital Age
(International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), 2025-08-27) Sadariyah Ariningrum Wijiastuti; Aditia Gunawan
Indonesian manuscripts are spread across regions of Indonesia and abroad, with the number of recorded manuscripts totaling 143.259 manuscripts, consisting of 100.770 manuscripts in Indonesia and 42.489 manuscripts abroad. Indonesian Manuscripts reflect intellectual levels, important events in history, local wisdom, and spiritual values. Unfortunately, most of the manuscripts are in vulnerable conditions due to the influence of age, diverse writing media, and tropical climate conditions that can accelerate damage. This paper explores how National Library of Indonesia optimize Indonesian manuscript in the digital era. One of priority program in National Library of Indonesia is mainstreaming Indonesian manuscript. In general there are transforming Indonesian manuscript into engaging modern format, transliteration, translation, and adaptation of Indonesian manuscripts into modern formats such as picture books and serial comics, followed by research studies, providing digital access to Indonesian manuscripts heritage through an integrated platform, and promote the use of Indonesian manuscripts through a read-aloud challenge featuring picture books adapted from Indonesian manuscript, and competition reviewing book based on rewritten stories from Indonesian manuscripts. National Library of Indonesia is committed to mainstreaming Indonesian manuscripts from upstream to downstream — covering drafting grand design, making regulation, preservation, conservation, study, adaptation, and dissemination. Keywords: Indonesian manuscript; digital preservation; engagement program
Share All About It: Facilitating Partnership-centered Newspaper Digitization Projects
(International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), 2025-08-27) Jessie Knoles; William Schlaack
The Illinois Newspaper Project has existed in some form for nearly four decades and has evolved through project locations, staffing, and areas of focus. Collaborative efforts of the project have depended on the phase of work, staff levels, and institutional resources, and were strong in the project’s early years but slowed down between 2011-2023. Most recently, as an homage to the project’s early collaborative roots and supported by the institutional resources of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U. of I.), the INP has been well-equipped to serve as a state resource for newspaper preservation and digitization in alliance with the University’s land grant mission. The INP has built partnerships with cultural heritage institutions across the state to preserve and provide freely available access to Illinois historical newspapers through its digital newspaper platform, the Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections (IDNC). Keywords: partnership; digitization projects; historical newspapers; digital preservation; digital collections
Establishing a Long-Term Relationship with National Minorities through a Council. Balancing Heritage and Responsibility.
(International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), 2025-08-27) Elisabet Rundqvist
This paper presents the National Library of Sweden’s long-term initiative to establish an advisory Council in collaboration with the country’s five national minorities: Jews, Roma, Sámi, Swedish Finns, and Tornedalians. Guided by the principle of 'Balancing Heritage and Responsibility', the initiative aims to strengthen inclusion, access, and representation. The Council contributes expert advice, supports inclusive practices, and co-creates content. This paper outlines the historical context, preparatory work, and early outcomes of this approach, offering insights for memory institutions seeking to build meaningful partnerships with minority communities. Keywords: Heritage, inclusion, national minorities, collections
Emerging Role of Generative AI from a Genealogical Perspective in Exploring Information about Surnames
(International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), 2025-08-27) Takashi Nagatsuka
In recent years, generative AI (GenAI) tools such as ChatGPT, Copilot, and Gemini have gained widespread popularity. These technologies are still under active development, with their functionalities and performance evolving rapidly. GenAIs are not only used to generate textual responses based on user prompts, but also to produce images, videos, software code, and other forms of content. Their applications are expanding across various domains and increasingly influencing multiple aspects of social life. A notable advancement in the past six months is the integration of real-time search capabilities into GenAI platforms. This study conducted a comparative analysis in the field of genealogy, focusing on how GenAI tools such as ChatGPT, Copilot, and Gemini respond to queries regarding Sato, the most common surname in Japan. The investigation examined differences in output quality and content across platforms. Additionally, the study explored the limitations of current GenAI tools in terms of their search scope and proposed guidelines for their appropriate use in genealogical research. Recommendations were provided for future applications of GenAI in this domain, emphasizing the importance of tool selection and multilingual inquiry strategies. Keywords: Genealogy, Generative AI, ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini
Wikipedia Town: Initiatives to develop "regions" and "interactions between people"
(International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), 2025-08-27) Yukiyo Hasegawa
In recent years, libraries have played an important role as community hubs. They provide spaces for interaction, organize events, and support the development of information, culture, and local activities. Such efforts are expected to help build social networks and revitalize communities. One notable example is the Wikipedia Town initiative, a workshop-style event aimed at documenting local landmarks and historic sites on Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia. These events are often held in libraries or involve library participation.The benefits of Wikipedia Town activities include deepening understanding of regional history and culture and spreading this knowledge more widely. When libraries take the lead, participants can utilize library materials and receive support from librarians, enhancing the quality of information shared. Furthermore, these activities foster social interaction among diverse groups, which may help build personal networks and strengthen social capital within the community.Overall, Wikipedia Town demonstrates how libraries can actively contribute to community engagement, knowledge sharing, and cultural preservation, while promoting collaboration and connectivity among local residents. Keywords: Wikipedia Town, Public Library, Regional History, Social Capital
Incoming President Closing Ceremony Speech, IFLA WLIC 2025
(International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), 2025-08-25) Weir, Leslie
The Incoming President’s Closing Ceremony address at IFLA WLIC 2025 acknowledges the leadership of outgoing President Vicki McDonald and the collective achievements of the Federation over the past two years. It celebrates the success of the Congress in Astana and expresses gratitude to the National Committee, volunteers, staff, and global participants. Looking ahead, the speech outlines the priorities for the 2025–2027 term, including bold advocacy for libraries, implementation of the IFLA Strategy 2024–2029, financial sustainability, governance reform, and the new WLIC model. Emphasising the call to be Stronger, Bolder, Together, the address sets the stage for IFLA’s centenary in 2027 and reaffirms the role of libraries as essential, resilient, and innovative contributors to global and local communities.
President’s Opening Ceremony Speech, IFLA WLIC 2025
(International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), 2025-08-25) Vicki McDonald
The Opening Ceremony address of IFLA WLIC 2025 welcomes delegates to Astana, marking the first IFLA Congress in Central Asia. The speech emphasizes inclusivity, the record number of first-time participants, and the importance of global collaboration under the theme Stronger Together. It highlights the Congress theme, Uniting Knowledge, Building the Future, its links to the IFLA Strategy and the 2024 Trend Report, and the role of libraries in shaping sustainable futures. The address acknowledges the contributions of the Kazakhstan National Committee and IFLA officers, while encouraging participants to engage fully, build professional connections, and strengthen the global library community.
President's Closing Ceremony Speech, IFLA WLIC 2025
(International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), 2025-08-25) McDonald, Vicki
The closing address of the IFLA World Library and Information Congress 2025 reflects on the significance of hosting the Congress in Central Asia, celebrating new collaborations, cultural exchange, and the diversity of perspectives that strengthen the global library field. The speech highlights the role of storytelling in advocacy, acknowledges the dedication of volunteers, committees, sponsors, and the IFLA team, and reviews the progress made under the outgoing President’s leadership. It emphasizes IFLA’s vision of “sustainable futures for all through knowledge and information,” while welcoming the incoming leadership to continue building a resilient, inclusive, and forward-looking Federation.
Report of the President to the IFLA General Assembly 2025
(International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), 2025-08-25) Vicki McDonald
The General Assembly address at IFLA WLIC 2025 provides a report on the Federation’s progress over the past year and reflections on the President’s two-year term. It highlights IFLA’s strengthened global voice through partnerships with international organisations, regional engagement, and the successful launch of key initiatives such as the IFLA Strategy, the 2024 Trend Report, and governance reforms. The speech also underscores financial sustainability through a new agreement with SIGL, reviews achievements against six strategic priorities, and acknowledges the collective contributions of the Governing Board, staff, and members. Looking ahead, it affirms confidence in the incoming leadership to guide IFLA towards an even stronger and more resilient future.
Speaking Out in the Stacks: Oral History Project of LGBTQIA+ Librarians
(International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), 2025-08-24) Lucan L. Eugenio
LGBTQIA+ librarians have established inclusive and diverse library institutions, yet their contributions remain largely undocumented and underrepresented in traditional Library and Information Science (LIS) histories. Speaking Out in the Stacks is an oral history project that records their professional journeys, contributions, and achievements in the field, along with their advocacy work in promoting inclusivity. Focusing on the Philippine setting, this project aims to document the professional experiences of LGBTQIA+ librarians at the University of the Philippines Diliman by creating an oral history platform that fosters awareness of LGBTQIA+ representation in LIS and actively engages the community in developing the narratives. Using the Input-Process-Output (IPO) model, the project systematically collects, processes, and presents interviews, photographs, and supporting materials. These are transcribed, digitized, and organized into an accessible platform for research, education, and advocacy. The resulting oral history is available at speakingoutlis.org, where users can explore the narratives and engage with the platform. With the support of the Gender and Development Committee of the University Library, the project enhances visibility and engagement while ensuring ethical standards by allowing participants to review and approve their stories. Integrating oral history with digital technology, this initiative enriches LIS history and supports workplace diversity policies. It goes beyond documentation by collaborating with LGBTQIA+ librarians and advocacy groups to strengthen their presence in LIS. Thus, it addresses a critical gap in LIS literature through its response to the lack of studies on LGBTQIA+ representation. Amplifying LGBTQIA+ voices fills a gap in LIS literature by integrating their narratives into wider academic discussions while also modeling best practices in digital oral history through structured documentation and meaningful storytelling. Keywords: oral history; LGBTQIA+ librarians; IPO model; representation; LIS history
The Language of the Conquerors: Opening the Lost World of the Turkic Empires for Genealogical Research
(International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), 2025-08-24) Jonathan McCollum
The imperial records of the Turkic empires of the past several centuries, initially composed in such dead languages as Ottoman and Chagatai Turkish, remain opaque for the millions of people attempting to trace their ancestry into a past in which Turks ruled over much of Europe and Asia. While these empires have receded into the pages of history, their robust records remain in the hands of thousands of state archives, libraries, private repositories, and personal collections. Archivists and librarians struggle to properly catalog and index these orthographically complex Turkic collections. Likewise, researchers without proper training in these moribund and deceased languages overlook these rich resources. Aware of the potential of Turkic records for genealogical purposes, FamilySearch International has implemented an approach to make these records accessible to non-specialists. First, this paper documents the ongoing efforts to train teams of students to index Ottoman and Chagatai Turkish manuscripts. Given the sheer size and scope of these global collections, FamilySearch also leverages machine learning to develop handwritten text recognition to assist in the indexing of Turkic record collections. In sum, this paper proposes a strategy for making all historical Turkic records accessible and useable to local and global researchers and suggests a framework for approaching similar language problems that afflict libraries around the world. Keywords: Ottoman Turkish, Chagatai Turkish, Arabic Script, Hadwritten Text Recognition
Reimagining Open Access: A Diverse Approach from Australia
(International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), 2025-08-13) Jayshree Mamtora; Wayne Bradshaw; Tove Lemberget
The Open Access movement has come a long way since the Budapest Open Access Initiative principles were first released in the early 2000s. Examples of open practices began to appear worldwide and, against this background, the Australian government demonstrated a strong commitment to open research by providing support to academic institutions in a number of ways, including funding for institutional repositories empowering universities to store and share research outputs. More recently, Australia has seen a rapid adoption of transformative agreements, leading to 56 per cent of new journal articles being published as gold open access in 2023. However, while gold open access is rising, other open access pathways—such as green open access through institutional repositories—are in decline. This shift highlights a critical issue: transformative agreements alone cannot provide a viable path to making all Australian research freely available. At James Cook University (JCU), the ResearchOnline@JCU institutional repository houses metadata records of close to 60,000 research outputs going back to 2007. Some 44,000 of these records are journal articles with more than 28,000—or 63 per cent—of these outputs being locked behind a paywall. This presentation will highlight a suite of open access initiatives carried out at JCU, a research-intensive university in regional northern Australia, to bridge this gap; and share practical strategies that could be adopted by other institutions worldwide. In addition to the more conventional approaches such as negotiated publisher agreements, open access repositories, and diamond open access journals, we have successfully implemented several additional initiatives including the appointment of open access champions and green open access drives. We propose that many of these initiatives can be applied to a wide variety of institutions to advance the goal of championing a diverse open access publishing landscape Keywords: Open Access, Australia, James Cook University Library, Institutional Repository, Bibliodiversity
Developing a Responsive and Ethical AI Culture in Higher Education
(International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), 2025-08-05) Debbie Schachter
This paper will discuss the challenges that organizations are facing in the introduction to and adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to support library and higher education organizational practices. While many people, including students and library patrons, are using Generative AI (GenAI) tools, there is a growing gap in awareness and knowledge of the various tools and how they can be used to increase organizational efficiencies and improve service. Cultural change is needed to support the learning of and adoption of these tools, to ensure libraries and their larger organisations continue to progress and support our users in the appropriate and ethical use of AI tools. Critical steps to be taken to support the exploration and adoption of AI tools in an ethical and responsible manner are proposed for higher education libraries. Keywords: Artificial Intelligence (AI) agents; Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI); Academic libraries; Higher education; Organizational culture.

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