Inspire, inform, indicate : how the UNESCO-IFLA public library manifesto makes a difference

Abstract

Statements and manifestos produced by organisations such as UNESCO and indeed IFLA are not legally binding, but rather aim to work by providing guidance for decision-making. Their success is measured in the degree to which they are used, either to stimulate, or to justify, the desired change. At least in the library world, the IFLA-UNESCO Public Library Manifesto1 is therefore perhaps one of the most successful. This is all the more impressive in the light of the fact that public libraries are organised and governed in very different ways from one country to the next. Visits to the page on the Public Library Manifesto on the IFLA website have risen over the past few years, instead of falling or staying stable.