Connecting Libraries to Empower Communities - Insights from the Libraries Boosting Connectivity initiative

Abstract

Connecting every library to the internet is a powerful way to ensure all members of society, throughout life, have access to information and opportunity. The Libraries Boosting Connectivity (LBC) project is an IFLA initiative piloted between 2023 and 2025. It aimed to collect crucial data on how libraries are navigating and adapting to the digital landscape through a comprehensive survey.

Digital access is essential for libraries. Knowing where they stand in terms of connectivity, gives them power to strengthen their ability to serve communities. Many libraries and associations around the world have carried out their own assessments to better understand where they are in terms of connectivity, however, many of these efforts remain fragmented. While individual efforts are valuable, an ambition of this project is to achieve an open access digital space that can provide the global library network with a platform to compare and explore digital-related data between different countries and serve as a tool for partnership and collaboration with external stakeholders that might be interested in supporting or funding library-led digital initiatives.