Hello, bookworms: Singapore to host International Library Congress in 2013

The international convention is expected to attract over 3,000 participants from over 100 countries.

According to a release, Singapore has won the bid to host the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) World Library and Information Congress to be held in August 2013. This announcement was made officially at the closing session of the IFLA World Library and Information Congress 2011 on 18 August 2011 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

This marks the first time that Singapore is hosting the Congress, which is the flagship professional and trade event for the international library and information sector. The Congress takes place in August each year in a city selected through a competitive three-stage bidding process that is overseen by the IFLA Governing Board.

The hosting of the Congress rotates among the IFLA regions of Asia and Oceania, Europe, Africa, North America and Latin America and Caribbean. Previous host cities included Gothenburg, Sweden in 2010 and Milan, Italy in 2009. The last Asian host city was Seoul, South Korea in 2006.

Singapore’s bid to host the 2013 edition of the Congress was jointly submitted by National Library Board (NLB) and the Library Association of Singapore and supported by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), Ministry of Information,
Communications and the Arts and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The international convention in August 2013 is expected to attract over 3,000 participants from over 100 countries who will converge in Singapore to discuss the developments and new trends in the library arena. The programme will run over eight days, including three days of business 2 meetings, a five-day conference programme, and three and half days of exhibition. 

“Our successful bid to host the IFLA World Library and Information Congress will place us firmly on the world map of the library and information sector as the Congress offers a unique platform to promote knowledge sharing and
exchange best practices within the international community. This will also pave the way for us to deepen relations and facilitate future collaborations with our global counterparts,” said Mrs Elaine Ng, Chief Executive Officer
(CEO), NLB.