Building on the momentum of our Our Future Memory campaign, we’re thrilled to share two major developments:
🌍 IFLA Joins the Statement
This week, the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) formally endorsed the Four Rights for Memory Institutions statement, further uniting libraries, archives, and museums worldwide behind the call to:
- Collect digital materials
- Preserve digital collections
- Provide controlled digital access
- Cooperate across institutions
With IFLA’s global reach—representing over 1.5 million library professionals across more than 150 countries—this endorsement underscores the universal urgency of protecting cultural heritage in the digital age.
🎙️ “Future Knowledge” Podcast Episode
To dive deeper into what this global alignment means in practice, Internet Archive has released a special episode of the Future Knowledge podcast featuring voices from across our movement:
- Lila Bailey, Senior Policy Counsel, Internet Archive
- Brewster Kahle, Founder & Digital Librarian, Internet Archive
- Caroline De Cock, Head of Research, information labs
- Adam Sofronijević, Deputy Director, University Library Belgrade (LIBER Executive Board)
- Stephen Wyber, Director of External Affairs, IFLA
- Peter Scholing, Head of Digital Collections & Research, Biblioteca Nacional Aruba
- Raymond Hernandez, Director, National Archives of Aruba
Together, they reflect on the rapid growth of our campaign—from its launch in Aruba through widespread European and global sign-ons—and explore concrete next steps for policymakers, memory institutions, and library advocates worldwide.
💬 Voices from the Movement
📚 Libraries in the Digital Age: Keep the Rights, Evolve the Tools
Brewster Kahle issued a powerful reminder that the mission of libraries doesn’t change just because the medium does:
“We should not lose rights that we had in the physical world as we move digital. It should be a better future.”
“What libraries have always done—preserve, lend, interoperate—is now being challenged.”
He emphasized that in the face of licensing restrictions and eroding control, the very identity of libraries is at stake.
🧰 Let Libraries Be Libraries
Lila Bailey recounted the genesis of the four digital rights and how librarians globally came together in a moment of existential reflection:
“Everybody deserves access to high quality information that libraries and other memory institutions have been collecting for generations.”
She reminded listeners why the call to action is urgent:
“Winter is coming…Winter’s kind of here when we’re thinking about access to information.”
🇷🇸 From Belgrade to the World: A Simple Document, a Global Movement
Adam Sofronijević shared the emotional core of the campaign:
“Let this world not be our doom, but our hope. By preserving our rights… we will be able to expand all those beautiful things that digital tools are promising us.”
“When winter comes, the temperature falls down. What we can do is huddle together to give us more warmth.”
His message: the power of unity and simplicity in a world bracing for digital disruption.
🇪🇺 Digital Fairness for Libraries: A European Call to Action
Caroline De Cock called out the quiet crisis in how memory institutions are being hollowed out by licensing regimes:
“We are shifting to a model where [libraries] are basically seeing their collections disappear. Like Snapchat stories.”
At the LIBER Conference, she found a community ready to act:
“Memory institutions are facing a situation that has never been more critical in terms of being able to fulfill their mission in the future.”
And she pointed to Europe’s unique role in protecting digital rights:
“Europe has a tradition of trying to protect the little guy. We are into that—that’s our thing.”
📖 The Global Voice of Libraries
Stephen Wyber spoke to the power of collective voice and institutional alignment in the face of digital challenges and the nearly hundred year of IFLA advocacy on these matters:
“What we’ve really seen is a deregulation by stealth: quietly, little bit by bit, all of the protections, all of the balancing factors that were in place have been undermined.”
“The importance of talking about rights: (…) things that are as important as the preservation of our history, access to information for accountability for reproducibility, when we’re talking about access for research, for education, it’s crazy that we should call these exceptions. These should be the rule!”.
🌴 Preserving a Nation’s Memory—Digitally
Peter Scholing reflected on the foundational partnership that launched the campaign and why small nations play a big role in preserving digital heritage:
“There’s a shared purpose in getting the information you want to share out there, and there’s a lot of barriers to information (…) So it’s just our way of contributing to that conversation and sharing with worlds that we’re about sharing the information.”
Raymond Hernandez added:
“By putting this together in the collection, we can make it possible not only for us Arubians to get this information but also for all our diaspora living around the world. (…) the signing was a kind of expression that it is not only about cultural equity but also about making sure our communities are not left out of the digital future.”
🌍 What’s Next: From Signing to Sustaining a Movement
Closing thoughts from Adam and Caroline made it clear: this isn’t just a petition. It’s a catalyst.
“This campaign is a merger of the best America and Europe can provide to each other.”
– Adam Sofronijević
“This is not just signing a statement. I’m hoping this is kick-starting a movement.”
– Caroline De Cock
📢 Join the Movement
▶️ Listen now on your favorite podcast platform to hear firsthand how these leaders plan to translate collective commitment into legal protections and community action.
Stay tuned for more updates—and if your institution hasn’t signed yet, visit ourfuturememory.org to add your voice.
We’re stronger together, and the future of our shared memory depends on it.
