IFLA’s “Library Map of the World” Celebrates Fifth Anniversary
From the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions:
Today [August 21, 2022] we celebrate the 5th anniversary of the Library Map of the World, and would like to thank all those whose work, dedication and ongoing commitment is enabling this powerful advocacy tool.
The Library Map of the World website went live on 21 August 2017 with library data from 75 countries and a small number of stories illustrating how libraries contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In five years, the LMW has grown substantially providing data and as a resource for library-related SDG stories. During this time, we added full country profiles allowing LMW users to easily learn about the library landscape in each country.
Today, the LMW website offers three types of content:
- Data – a source of country-level library statistics covering all library types; data that can be downloaded and used in briefs, presentations, and advocacy.
- Country profiles – a source of information about the library environment, organisations and institutions, policy and legislation, education for profession, and national events in each country; all about libraries in one place that highlights priorities, issues, and achievements in the library field in each country.
- SDG stories – a collection of inspiring stories about impactful library programmes contributing to achievement of the SDGs; stories that can be used with stakeholders to demonstrate the impact of libraries on the lives of people in their communities to motivate, persuade, and inspire them to act.
We celebrate having 135 countries and territories with library data, 28 full country profiles, and 56 SDG stories on the Map today.
Learn More, Read the Complete IFLA Post
Direct to Library Map of the World
Filed under: Associations and Organizations, Data Files, Libraries, News, Patrons and Users, Profiles

About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com. Gary is also the co-founder of infoDJ an innovation research consultancy supporting corporate product and business model teams with just-in-time fact and insight finding.