I popped in and out of the FAIFE sessions on human rights, freedom of expression, and free access to information. Lots of individual reports on what’s happening in various countries. There are commonalities, such as the belief among librarians that information, particularly government information, should be freely available to the citizenry, and a corresponding belief on the part of governments that some (in a few countries almost all) information should not be publicly accessible. Reasons for obscuring information vary. Sometimes it’s to counter the possibility of terrorism, but in other instances, it’s to hide corruption. A great worry is the destruction on information, either inadvertently or on purpose.

As an international organization, IFLA is uniquely positioned to expose policies in various countries, share experiences in freeing up information, and explaining that this is a global issue where a concentrated and coordinated effort can be successful in furthering the goals of the profession.