My first IFLA!...
Finally back home after a truly unforgettable trip to Malaysia and Singapore. It's going to take me a long time to process it all but for now here are my 5 highlights (in reverse order...just for added suspense!) that made my first IFLA World Library and Information Congress (WLIC) an amazing experience:
5) This photo...
IFLA WLIC banner in front of the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur
Having arrived early in Kuala Lumpur a few days in advance of the conference, I took the opportunity to explore the city and was confronted pretty much immediately with IFLA WLIC banners almost everywhere I looked, notifying locals of the incoming invasion by some 3,500 librarians from 112 different countries!
I took this shot which soon appeared all over the place, from newspaper articles and blogposts to IFLA's own social media posts (...sometimes it was even correctly attributed too! 😉):
It was encouraging as a first-timer to feel I was a part of the conference, event before it had begun!
4) The libraries
Jumping forwards now to the last day of IFLA WLIC which was an opportunity to go on visits to libraries in the host country. I chose the Pahang tour headed East from Kuala Lumpur, taking in the Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM) in Khuantan, Perpustakaan Awam Daerah Bentong (Bentong Public Library) and Pahang State Library...
The Pahang IFLA WLIC tour route
These were three very different libraries: Bentong Library has a keen focus on outreach with programmes which engage schoolchildren and the general public. IIUM Library describes itself as a "Garden of Knowledge and Virtue" and is a founded upon very traditional Islamic values (designated study areas for male and female are one example)...yet it has progressive elements too, not least opening its doors to the entire local community as the only medical library in the state, as well as an extensive online collection. Pahang State Library meanwhile is a hugely interactive and immersive facility, complete with recording studio, 3D cinema, digital media labs and even a 'Science Lab' for kids!
My other visits took me to the National Library of Malaysia and the hugely impressive Selangor Library (also home to this year's IFLA Camp). I was also lucky enough to go on to Singapore after Congress where there were are some simply spectacular examples of library design...
Tampines Library in Singapore - one of five libraries shortlisted for the global Public Library of the Year Award presented at IFLA WLIC 2018
3) A truly global Congress
Some delegates I spoke to from African countries had travelled in excess of three full days to get to Kuala Lumpur! At various points during the conference I found myself exchanging contact info with an interpreter from China, chatting with a Mexican researcher about our favourite libraries around the world and hearing from South African librarians about how their research and university librarians are helping to meet the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (#SDGs).
It was evident that there was a real effort to make sure the voices of library and information professionals from different regions and continents were being represented at as many of the sessions as possible:
This list of accepted submissions by nationality for the IFLA WLIC poster session demonstrates how wide-ranging contributions were too, detailing library and information topics and projects on 5 different continents.
2) The location
It was incredible to have the chance to see some of Malaysia and Singapore during this visit. As someone completely unused to the tropical climate, the positively balmy summer we had in the UK this year fortunately served as some sort of acclimatisation training for the humid conditions I experienced out in KL at least but it was all still very different from anywhere I had been before.
Malaysia is one of the most biologically diverse countries in the world and you don't have to venture far outside of the capital in order to experience this. Around 70 per cent of the country is forested and even visiting the famous Batu Caves, just 12 miles or so outside of KL, you get a real sense of this. It was a good chance to encounter the free-roaming monkeys and some of the other unique flora and fauna the country has to offer...
One of many free-roaming monkeys I met at the Batu Caves
A pelican at Kuala Lumpur's Botanical Gardens
The human population is diverse too, with Malay, Indian and Chinese populations living together. The national language is Malay but generally people spoke English too which meant there was plenty of opportunity to get to know the locals and to hear their stories. Which brings me to...
1) The people
Yes, it's a cliché but any conference is always ultimately all about the people who make it happen, the people who attend and the people who contribute. Prior to IFLA WLIC and particularly with this one being so far from home (with very few UK delegates attending) I had my doubts about whether I would be able to truly feel part of it. The local population and the amazing ILFA WLIC volunteers in particular made everyone feel extremely welcome. The hospitality wherever we went was awesome, we felt hugely well taken care of (we had a police escort, no less, during the Pahang tour mentioned above!) and library staff were always more than willing to show us around.
A special mention here to Viji at Selangor Library who was kind enough - when I turned up completely unannounced at her library - to give me the grand tour, including a look at their special collections, a buggy ride, a "Ravine Racer" 6D cinema experience and a private demo of their snazzy VR and virtual sketchbook equipment!
Meeting Viji from Selangor Library which can be seen in the background
Hearing from people from all around the world about their experiences in libraries was very interesting too. As an example, I met Haslina - a delegate at the Evidence for Global Health and Disasters (#E4GDH) session - who had worked very hard with colleagues in Malaysia to arrange fun activities for kids following extreme flooding in the Perak region last year:
Meeting Haslia from Perak Libraries at IFLA WLIC's #E4GDH session
Another stand-out highlight of my time at WLIC was meeting up with folks from the awesome Cycling for Libraries project. Hanging out with my International colleagues (from a host of different countries: France, Belgium, Finland, Sweden, Croatia...) was a lot of fun; it certainly served as a reminder of some of the great times we have had on Cyc4Lib tours in the past:
Cycling for Libraries (Cyc4Lib) colleagues and myself at the Malaysia Tourism Centre (MaTIC) in Kuala Lumpur
Thanks have to go to the John Campbell Trust and CILIP (the UK Library and Information Association) as well as my employers at RCN Libraries for enabling me to attend. A huge thank you as well to all of the people who made IFLA WLIC 2018 happen, especially the dedicated organisers and volunteers who did such fantastic work throughout the event.
Fireworks outside the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) to celebrate Merdeka - Malaysian Independence Day - the day after the conference ended
There's loads more I could add - I haven't mentioned the cultural evening, the opening ceremony, nor the incredible food as just three examples which spring immediately to mind...nor somehow getting up before dawn to take part in an IFLA "Wellness Programme" session (and even managing to stay vaguely vertical throughout! 😂). Everything combined to make a truly memorable experience!
Sunset in Malaysia - taken en route during the Pahang Libraries Tour