Honduran libraries + IFLA Strategy: defining, updating and aligning national strategies

Aligning ABIDH’s Annual Operational Plan to the IFLA Strategy 2019-2024

Since 2019, ABIDH has been defining and adjusting its Annual Operational Plan to the IFLA Strategy 2019-2024.

In 2020, faced with a changed world due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ABIDH had to modify its Annual Operational Plan, thus complying with the need to work virtually while also making the most of alignment with the IFLA Strategy 2019-2024. Various webinars took place at the XV Conference on Library Science, in order to strengthen the knowledge of colleagues. National and international speakers were invited from different countries such as Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Argentina to talk about the Sustainable Development Goals, technology and reading promotion.

ABIDH first defined an Annual Operational Plan in 2019, in alignment with the IFLA Strategy 2019-2024. Under the leadership of Vicky Escoto, ABIDH’s President, the new Board of Directors drew on learning from the commitments made at the IFLA workshop “Strategies for Stronger Libraries” (May 2019).

The development of the 2019 Annual Operational Plan was followed by various workshops that took place at the XIV Library Science Conference. During those workshops, information was shared with the support of national speakers and international facilitators from Puerto Rico, Argentina, Guatemala, Panama, Nicaragua and El Salvador.

Themes of the workshops included the Sustainable Development Goals (especially SDGs 5, 8, 11, 17), the IFLA Library Map of the World and the IFLA – ABIDH Strategy, to which the participants contributed with the dynamic brainstorming, in order to develop ideas for the years 2020–2021.

Updating the Honduran libraries’ data on the Library Map of the World

Recently ABIDH successfully updated Honduran libraries’ data on the IFLA Library Map of the World (LMW). Explore the Honduran library scene here and here.

Continuing professional development of Honduran librarians and documentalists

Since 2003, the year when ABIDH was created, one of its missions has been the continuous professional development of librarians and documentalists, and building powerful links with key international institutions, in order to shape programmes which benefit libraries. In this way, it has worked to build its reputation as an essential regional and international partner.

To achieve this, the Association has run a series of training sessions – here is a short overview of the main courses ABIDH has run in the past years, in relation to the IFLA Strategy.

In 2018 ABIDH began with a training aimed at directors and heads of libraries at the national level, with the workshop “Library Advocacy: Challenges of Globalization”. This workshop was developed in accordance with analysis and the discussion around the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) and IFLA’s Global Vision Proposal.

In June 2019, ABIDH held the training workshop: “Libraries and their contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals”. Librarians were trained to facilitate access to information with a clear focus on specific themes, such as: people, planet, peace, partnerships, and prosperity. In that workshop participants achieved their expectations by seeing their objectives fulfilled and learnt how they could apply their knowledge into practice.

Towards the end of 2019 ABIDH made a visit to the “Home for the elderly Hilos de Plata”. This activity was carried out to address the role of libraries as socially responsible towards Honduran society, not only from the intellectual point of view, but also from the moral and human point of view.

Vicky Escoto, ABIDH’s President highlights the impact of IFLA Strategy 2019-2024 on the work of Honduran libraries:

ABIDH is a strengthened union thanks to the IFLA Strategy! The content of the IFLA Strategy 2019-2024 has facilitated ABIDH’s management on behalf of the 2019-2022 Board of Directors. Furthermore, it has made Honduran libraries visible, since Honduran libraries -just like all other countries- works for a common goal, through implementing new practices and sharing of experiences, thus creating worldwide impact. Likewise, communication channels with the leaders of different IFLA Members -Library Associations and schools- allow us to stay informed and request help to achieve our objectives.”