In 2027, the global library community will celebrate the centenary of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA). For a century, IFLA has brought together libraries and library professionals from different countries, developed international professional standards, promoted international professional cooperation, and helped shape the direction of librarianship.

V. I. Vernadskyi National Library of Ukraine (VNLU) will mark this anniversary with a comprehensive project entitled “2027 – IFLA Year at VNLU”. The project aims to celebrate IFLA’s centenary and draw the attention of the Ukrainian library community to the organisation’s history, current activities, and professional potential. For VNLU, which actively participates in international library cooperation and represents Ukraine in the global professional community, it is also an opportunity to reflect on its own experience of international engagement and identify directions for future work.

IFLA’s history reflects many changes in librarianship and the library profession: from international bibliographic cooperation and the development of professional standards to digital transformation, open access to information, the preservation of cultural heritage, the development of new technologies, and responses to the challenges libraries face today. “2027 – IFLA Year at VNLU” is therefore conceived as a professional project that extends beyond a historical retrospective. Its purpose is to present IFLA as an active international forum for the profession, whose work is directly connected to the issues shaping the future of libraries.

International library cooperation is particularly important for Ukraine today. “2027 – IFLA Year at VNLU” will offer an opportunity to look back on IFLA’s hundred-year history, recognise the place of Ukrainian libraries within it, share the experience of Ukrainian libraries with the global professional community, and consider what international library cooperation may look like in the decades ahead.

Throughout 2027, the project will feature a series of research, information, and educational events devoted to IFLA, its history, main areas of work, and role in shaping today’s library landscape. Particular attention will be paid to the participation of Ukrainian libraries in IFLA’s work, opportunities for professional exchange, and ways to share Ukrainian experience internationally. “2027 – IFLA Year at VNLU” is open to the professional community in Ukraine and beyond. We invite specialists from libraries, information organisations, educational and research institutions, as well as everyone interested in IFLA and international library cooperation, to take part. You can join events as a speaker or attendee, suggest a topic for professional discussion, share your experience of working with IFLA, help publicise the project, or propose an initiative of your own.

Throughout the year, VNLU will host online and in-person events, professional meetings, and discussions. Research articles, informational, reference, and analytical materials will be published on the VNLU website. News of events and new publications will be regularly updated in the “2027 – IFLA Year at VNLU” section.

In 2027, all four issues of the scholarly journal Bibliotechnyi Visnyk (Library Bulletin) will feature a section entitled “IFLA: The International Library Landscape”. We invite authors from Ukraine and other countries to submit articles on IFLA’s work as a whole and that of its individual units; the Federation’s programmes, initiatives, documents, and recommendations; experiences of working with IFLA; and other current issues in international library cooperation. Please prepare submissions in accordance with the journal’s guidelines for authors and send them to bibvisnyk@nbuv.gov.ua.

For enquiries about participating in the project or organising joint events, please contact Department of International Information and Foreign Relations (VNLU):

Head of Department: Liudmyla Demianiuk

Email: internationalnbuv@ukr.net

Contact person: Liliia Prokopenko, Senior Research Fellow

Phone: +38(063)880-14-47

Email: prokopenko@nbuv.gov.ua

Dear colleagues,

As we prepare for the project, we invite you to complete a short survey about IFLA by 30 November 2026. Your responses will help us better understand how familiar Ukrainian library professionals are with this international organisation and which aspects of its work they find most interesting and relevant. This will allow us to take prospective participants’ professional interests, suggestions, and opportunities to contribute into account when developing the programme for “2027 – IFLA Year at VNLU”.

Take part in the survey:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSereBprZnSUCQ6ixdfowjBT2r01cVoataUfOO9jizxv70WWfg/viewform