The Library and Transparency

• Published in: Alexandria: The Journal of National and International Library and Information Issues
• Main Authors: Sturges, Paul, Crnogorac, Vesna
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: SAGE Publications 2012
• Subjects: Argentina; Sida; Iceland
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.7227/alx.23.1.6; https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.7227/ALX.23.1.6

In an attempt to assess the role of libraries as contributors to the freedom of (official) information published in Alexandria in 2001, Sturges examined both the definition of freedom of information and the actual role of libraries in providing better access to official documentation. He concluded that libraries are not so much agents of freedom of information as iconic representations of commitment to freedom of information. The present article examines progress towards reorienting libraries towards effective participation in the freedom of information process. In 1997 the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) set up its Freedom of Access to Information and Freedom of Expression (FAIFE) Committee to protect and promote information rights in the context of libraries. FAIFE began by monitoring threats to information rights connected with libraries and quickly added a proactive concern with developing policy and policy guidelines on issues such as internet access in libraries, and public access to health information. In the second half of the 2000s the FAIFE committee was able to use funds provided by Swedish SIDA (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to conduct workshops in various countries to increase awareness of and commitment to these and other access issues. A key policy development was the framing, and adoption in 2008, of an IFLA Manifesto on Transparency, Good Governance and Freedom from Corruption. Learning materials derived from the manifesto were piloted in India and Vietnam in 2009, and further workshops were held in Iceland and Argentina in 2011. By far the most thorough attempt to embed the Transparency Manifesto in the library practice of a country has been led by Crnogorac in Serbia. The importance and success of the whole programme that has culminated in the Serbian experience is assessed in the light of the 2001 analysis.