Policy Plan 2024
This policy plan reflects the year 2024. In addition to this policy plan, the articles of organisation are available for public consultation.
Objective
The object of the foundation, which is exclusively charitable and educational, is to strengthen the library field and to empower public libraries to improve people’s lives and support the growth of sustainable societies. This objective will be pursued by, inter alia:
- Research and Innovation: funding projects and research on public access to information and the internet, trends that affect how libraries and the library field serve their communities, and ways to foster innovation;
- Training and leadership: supporting efforts to identify strong library leaders and equipping them to create high-impact libraries;
- Delivery: supporting efforts to create library programs and services that can be replicated on a broad scale and customised for different settings;
- Impact, Advocacy, and Policy: working to ensure adequate resources and public policy support for libraries and helping public libraries, library staff, and the library field measure the impact of public access in libraries and strengthen their advocacy skills and all other activities that are beneficial to achieving the object mentioned above or are related thereto.
Activities 2024
We have as an overall goal to see libraries delivering meaningful impact in support of the SDGs. We believe that to do this, we need to ensure the ongoing strength of the library field, and in particular to strengthen partnerships between libraries and other actors as defined in the Global Vision.
Our activities and project funding aim to build capacity at all levels. To do this, we need there to be relevant structures and skills to identify needs and solutions, and to get the support libraries need to deliver meaningful solutions.
In 2024 we will concentrate our activities and project funding on:
- Delivering stronger and more sustainable regional and national library fields:
Overall Impact/purpose: Library fields at all levels, and in particular the regional and national, can build partnerships and mobilise resources more effectively and therefore deliver systemically on the SDGs and wider public interest goals. - Building capacity for impact:
Overall Impact/purpose: At all levels, library and information workers have the knowledge and skills necessary to plan for, deliver, and demonstrate high-impact services that deliver for communities. - Building and delivering the advocacy case for libraries:
Overall Impact/purpose: Libraries are seen as a key stakeholder group in relevant advocacy spaces, with wide reach and capacity backed up by quality and relevant data (in particular that generated by the SIGL-IFLA partnership), enabling us to open doors for new partnerships and to deliver public interest goals. - Look to the future through bringing forward emerging leaders and highlighting trends:
Overall Impact/purpose: Promising emerging leaders, through engagement with IFLA, advance in their careers, creating a lasting legacy from the SIGL-IFLA partnership. The library field as a whole more systematically integrates Futures into their own planning and action.
Income
The SIGL will raise funds through donations. The assets of the SIGL will mainly consist of the donations it will receive from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a foundation based in the United States of America. Other organisations and/or individuals might also donate to SIGL as well. In principle, all received donations are directly used to promote and support the objectives of the SIGL. However, the SIGL can designate funds when the foundation decides to support long-term projects which need financial support over several years. Furthermore, the foundation could designate funds to ensure its long-term sustainability.
Financial Policy
The Stichting Board is under obligation to annually, within six months after the end of the financial year, record and draw up on paper the foundation’s balance sheet and statement of income and expenditure. Before adopting the balance sheet and the statement of income and expenditure, the Stichting Board shall designate a registered accountant or accountant-administrative consultant in the meaning of Section 393 of Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code to audit these documents. This expert shall report the findings of his audit to the Stichting Board and will present the outcome of his audit in a statement on the faithfulness of the documents referred to in the previous sentence.
Payment of the Board
The board of the Stichting SIGL does not receive any remuneration for their services as board member of the board. A reimbursement of expenses is possible.