Rebecca reminded me this morning that sometimes we get too close to our local issues and challenges; we become frustrated with the pace of progress and change. I believe we need to step back so we can see the forest and not just the trees.
In preparation for the upcoming virtual Computers in Libraries and Internet Librarian Connect 2020, September 21-25, we talked today with Christine MacKenzie current President of IFLA, the voice of global libraries. You can see her interview at the virtual event, it’s the first of a series with Erik Boekestestijn! Christine mentioned the Library Map of the World, an initiative started a few years ago by IFLA in an effort to find out how many lbraries there in the world.  See a picture below. You should spend some time with it, amazing info!

But that’s not all, the IFLA LIbrary Map of the World also shares how libraries are having an impact in their local areas. I do not believe that enough of our libraries and partners are sharing these fabulous stories which you can get on the left side of this website when you click on a part of the world.  See below.  There are currently 41 stories from 25 countries illustrating how libraries are positively contributing to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals for the world! So if you have a great story please share it, like the Toronto Public Libraries support of the refugee community a story they shared at the IFLA conference in 2016. We all need to share this resource to make sure that our legislators, politicians, corporate partners, local communities, and more, know the impact of libraries.  Writers often share their experiences with libraries, but so do many others.  The Library Map of the World is a faulous gathering place for our impact stories.  Share yours today! As the folks at IFLA say, “Stronger Together!”