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Peter Lor’s contributions to library and information science and practice are myriad. This essay focusses on his contributions to the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA).

The essay recalls Lor’s achievements and draws on the author’s experience of working with him during challenging times for IFLA.

Lor’s work and achievements illustrate how the global interconnectedness of the field emerges from and enlivens its local practice and that the global is in turn informed by the local.

As an international Federation of library associations and libraries together with practitioners, IFLA reaches into the majority of the world’s nations. This essay demonstrates how leadership within one nation and at a global level can have far reaching results.

The author was in a unique position as IFLA President-elect and then President when Lor was appointed Secretary General of the Federation. The author viewpoint is that of an insider and a colleague.

To determine whether repository libraries in developed countries have a role to play in the preservation of the digital resources of developing countries.

Literature‐based conceptual analysis of: categories of digital resources produced in developing countries; capacity of African institutions and stakeholders to preserve African digital resources; and issues and challenges to be faced by repository libraries in preserving these resources.

The volume of digital material being published in sub‐Saharan Africa is relatively small but it is growing and it is of significance as a part of Africa's heritage. African institutions currently do not have the capacity to collect and preserve this material. It is possible for repository libraries in the north to play a role in ensuring the long‐term preservation and accessibility of digital material from Africa, provided that they take into account certain technical, organisational, economic, political, legal and ethical aspects, especially the “soft” issues. Projects should as far as possible be undertaken in consultation and collaboration with digital resource creators and African heritage institutions.

Based on conditions in sub‐Saharan Africa, with emphasis on South Africa.

Issues that may otherwise be overlooked by institutions in developed countries are identified.

Provides caveats and guidelines for institutions in developed countries that may want to embark on projects to preserve African digital heritage.

To serve their clients in a time of post-truth discourse and fake news, librarians need to understand the post-truth phenomenon. The purpose of this paper is to examine it, what is being done in response to it, and specifically what libraries can do.

Recent literature on the post-truth phenomenon was examined. Traditional assumptions about the role of libraries in promoting democracy were questioned and an alternative view was put forward. Libraries’ responses to the post-truth phenomenon were examined and critically discussed.

Traditional assumptions about the role of libraries and information and democracy are outdated. The susceptibility of people to false beliefs and the persistence of these beliefs in spite of corrective information, is the product of many factors, including the evolving media ecosystem and psychosocial processes which are the subject of ongoing empirical research. It not primarily an information or knowledge deficit, hence there are no simple antidotes to fake news. Libraries need to rethink their responses.

The paper deals with very recent developments and relies heavily on informal online resources.

Relevant library activities are examined and suggestions are made for developing appropriate library responses.

At the time of writing this was the first attempt in the library management literature to engage in a systematic and thoughtful manner with the literature on the post-truth phenomenon.

This article is intended to stimulate theoretical reflection in international comparative studies in library and information science (comparative LIS).

The need for theory is emphasized and shortcomings in comparative LIS in respect of theory are identified. On the basis of literature from other comparative disciplines, a framework for examining issues of metatheory, methodology and methods is constructed. Against this background the role of theory and metatheory in the literature of comparative LIS is evaluated. General observations are illustrated using examples selected from comparative studies in LIS.

Much of the literature of comparative LIS is atheoretical and based on assumptions that reflect naive empiricism. Most comparativists in LIS fail to link their work to that of colleagues, so that no body of theory is built up. Insufficient use is made of theory from other social science disciplines. There is a little evidence of awareness of metatheoretical assumptions in the sociological, teleological, ontological, epistemological and ethical dimensions.

While general observations are presented about the literature of comparative LIS, this is not a bibliometric study. Issues of methodology and method are not dealt with.

Recommendations are made for improving teaching and research in comparative LIS. Concepts presented here are of value to the wider LIS community, particularly in internationally oriented research and practice.

Since the 1980s there has been very little conceptual and methodological reflection on comparative LIS. This article alerts the LIS profession to new thinking in other comparative disciplines.

A comprehensive survey of the Southern African Interlending Scheme was undertaken from January 1985 to February 1986. After a brief overview of the scheme and the survey, estimates of the total volume of requests, broken down by countries and types of library, are presented, together with findings relating to fill rates, turnaround times, and the distribution of the interlending volume among member libraries. It was found that interlending traffic was of the order of 300,000 requests in 1985, with a fill rate of 80% and a median turnaround time of 10 days for first requests. University libraries and those in the Pretoria—Witwatersrand—Vereeniging region dominate the traffic, and the concentration of demand on a small number of libraries is cause for concern.

The purpose of the paper is to describe the current status of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) and outline the challenges it faces in the current environment.

The paper is descriptive, based on published literature, internal sources and participant observation.

IFLA, an international non‐governmental organisation founded in 1927, has a history of steady growth, which repeatedly necessitated structural adjustments and innovations. The pace of change accelerated in the 1970s, when IFLA reached out to the developing countries to become a truly international organisation. As IFLA entered the new millennium the rapid changes taking place in the environment of libraries gave rise to much rethinking of its structures, procedures and practices, including its membership, aims and values, governance and structure, core programmes, annual conference and advocacy. A re‐conceptualisation of IFLA based on three pillars – society, profession, and members – is proving useful in rethinking IFLA's future.

An up‐to‐date account of IFLA, of potential value to IFLA members and institutions considering membership.

This paper aims to utilize Whitley's theory of the intellectual and social organization of the sciences and build on research carried on by Aarek et al., Vakkari, Rochester and Vakkari, and Åström, to analyze both intellectual and institutional characteristics of Arabic library and information science (LIS).

Data derived from a content analysis of sampled research articles published in seven core peer‐reviewed Arabic LIS journals and from an inventory of the currently identified Arabic LIS educational institutions, professional associations, and scholarly communication channels were analyzed in terms of Whitley's theory and relevant LIS research.

The social organization of Arabic LIS has highly influenced its intellectual organization. An analysis of types and diversity of institutional affiliations, determination of terminology, resources and fund accessibility, scholarly communication of intellectual productivity, and research collaboration point to high levels of “tasks uncertainty”, low levels of “mutual dependency” and uncontrolled “reputational autonomy”.

Because Arabic LIS institutions, associations, and research channels are poorly represented on the internet or in accessible literature, it was difficult to collect data comprehensively. While the findings are suggestive and are in agreement with views from the Arabic LIS literature, the results cannot be generalized to regions beyond the Arab world. This investigation is not primarily intended as a contribution to the philosophy of LIS, but to describe the development of LIS in the Arab States within a broad social and intellectual framework.

While there is a considerable body of theoretically‐oriented interpretations for bibliometric findings, no research has been conducted to analyze the social and intellectual dimensions of LIS in the Arab world. This paper also fills a gap for this type of the research in Arabic LIS and creates awareness of Arabic LIS for English‐speaking readers.

This paper aims to investigate how public libraries in Cameroon contribute to the achievement of goal 16 of the Sustainable Development Goals, which is “peace, justice and strong institutions”.

The methodology used is observation, talks with the librarians of public libraries from different regions of the country. Authorities in charge of this domain in Cameroon, that is the Ministry of Arts and Culture. Statistics from these different actors have been collected and used for the study, as well as those available through the National Institute of statistics.

The participation of public libraries in the implementation of goal 16 in Cameroon is remarkable, even if they lack substantial budgets for the achievement of their goals and rely partly on donations. The increasingly widespread use of information and communication technologies, as well as certain paying activities, partly compensates for this lack. Democracy, living together, access to employment and self-employment through the dissemination of information and animation are effective tools that public libraries implement. Users from different origins can gather and discuss freely on national issues. Public libraries are sometimes involved as mediators in the resolution of some social conflicts.

In a period were seeking peace, justice and strong institutions is one of the main national issues discussed in Cameroon, the study provides more visibility to both the authorities and the potential users on the important role played by public libraries in the resolution of national issues.

The study determines the different actors of a national policy in the framework of the creation, and the promotion of the public libraries and their respective roles for a more concerted and better-oriented action.