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The 28th General Conference of Directors of National Libraries in Asia and Oceania (CDNLAO) - 

The 28th international conference of Heads of National Libraries in Asia and Oceania officially opened in Jakarta today. The 28th General Conference of Directors of National Libraries in Asia and Oceania (CDNLAO) was held offline and online and was attended by representatives from more than 30 countries from Asia and Oceania.

It is a special privilege that this conference was attended by the President of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), Vicki McDonald. He delivered IFLA's vision and mission regarding the development of libraries and librarians in the future.

The National Library of the Republic of Indonesia (Perpusnas) is the organizer of an annual activity between Heads of Libraries in Asia and Oceania which aims to exchange information and promote cooperation for library development in Asia and Oceania. The 28th CDNLAO was officially opened by the Head of National Library, Muhammad Syarif Bando, and carried the theme Library Service Impacts on Community: Sustainability, Inclusion, and Innovation.

Presenting virtually from Brisbane, Australia, the President of IFLA appreciated the 28th CDNLAO Conference and thanked him for the invitation. He conveyed IFLA's vision is to achieve a strong and unified library field, by empowering a literate, informative, and participatory community. He emphasized that libraries and librarians have a role to support government work.

He recounted attending Professor Emeritus Peter Coaldrake's speech in Australia. In the oration, the professor said that "The government must bear the burden of society's biggest challenges". Vicki stated that representatives of national libraries around the world have largely the same job, which are responsible for documenting the history of each country's jurisdiction, providing reference and research services, facilitating and encouraging new research.

“So, reflecting on Professor Coaldrakes' statement, I see that you are also focused on the complex problems of today's society. As a librarian and library leader, I believe our challenge is to consider how we can work with governments to support their work in addressing and resolving community challenges,” said Vicki, Tuesday (25/10/2022).

Furthermore, Vicki said that this year IFLA entered the age of 95 years. This is a good time to reflect on the achievements achieved and consider how the library should be recognized for its existence. In addition, he invites to think about the contribution made to society.

Meanwhile, the Head of National Library explained that the current complex international situation is a challenge for libraries in putting forward ideas based on fair access to information. He conveyed that libraries should be fully involved in supporting Sustainable Development or SDG's to end poverty, improve welfare, and protect the planet, through the achievement of 17 goals.

"Libraries are required not only to provide services but also to take into account the impact of the services provided," he said.

According to a release received by Voice of Indonesia on Tuesday, in the domestic economic recovery, the library has an important role as an open space for the community in improving the quality of life. For this reason, the National Library of Indonesia has developed a library paradigm that is oriented towards the use of library resources, with the largest proportion being libraries for knowledge transfer.

"To strengthen libraries in Indonesia, the National Library of Indonesia has a social inclusion-based library transformation program that aims to improve community welfare through library empowerment," he continued.

This program, he continued, seeks to revitalize the function of public libraries based on social inclusion. The public library is revitalized as a center for community empowerment activities, which is committed to improving the quality of life and community welfare.

"With the tagline literacy for welfare means creating a prosperous society by empowering public libraries. This is very much in line with the manifesto of public libraries in supporting the achievement of sustainable development goals," he explained.

Testimonials from the beneficiaries of the social inclusion-based library transformation program are summarized in a book entitled Impact Stories of Library Transformation Based on Social Inclusion. After the presentation, the Head of the National Library handed over the book to the state representatives who attended offline.

IFLA Regional Manager for Asia-Oceania, Lin Li Soh, stated that libraries play a role in supporting the SDG's Sustainability Program. For this reason, the library must be able to provide access to information to the public, so that the community can develop sustainably, both socially and environmentally.

His party has created a Library Map of the World website, which contains library data in 135 countries, SDG's stories, and profiles of 28 countries. The SDG's story channel contains activities and programs related to libraries that bring about change to encourage the achievement of SDG's goals.

“I hope you can participate because earlier, Head of the National Library of Indonesia, has told several stories, how, and all of these are very important and need to be included on this website. Let's make a good impact on our society," he concluded.

The 28th CDNLAO will take place on 24-27 October 2022 in Jakarta. This is the third time Indonesia has hosted the event. Previously, Indonesia hosted CDNLAO meetings in 2007 and 2012.

The 28th CDNLAO carries three sub-themes namely sustainability, inclusion, and innovation with speakers from National Library, IFLA, Iran National Library, Vietnam National Library, Philippine National Library, Singapore National Library, Qatar National Library, and China National Library//VOI