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022 Journal of Library Science in China, Vol.11, 2019

From gatekeeper to gateway to gate-opener: A new

role for the global library field 〇a〇 ①

〇b *
Gerald LEITNER〇
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, The Hague, Netherlands

Thank you once again for the floor, and for the opportunity to share some thoughts with you. I want
to share a story of two parallel journeys, two parallel transformations. The transformation of the
role of information, and the transformation of the role of libraries. Transformations that also matter
crucially for IFLA, for the global library field, because they demand a transformation of us as well.
This is a story in three parts, as you might have guessed from the title. Because, as I will argue,
the change in the role of information in our lives, in our societies, has meant that the role of
libraries has evolved from gatekeeper to gateway, and from gateway to gate-opener. And to avoid
any disappointment at the end, I should underline that this is not a story that has concluded. But it
is a story where we have the chance to influence things, to do our best to ensure that the ending is
as happy as possible.
So to start, libraries as gatekeepers. This is a concept that dates back to a time where books and
the ideas they contained—were seen as requiring protection. Protecting books is of course not an
unreasonable idea.
It is indeed part of the responsibility of conservators at institutions such as the National Library here
to make sure that invaluable historical texts do not disappear because of everyday wear and tear. Too
much light, too much moisture, to much movement can cause serious damage. And of course there is
also a need for security. Perhaps not in the form of the chains used to prevent books being moved in
the medieval libraries of Europe. But we know that theft, that trafficking are serious problems.
We need to take action—to document our collections, to keep them safe. The situations that have
faced books and manuscripts in conflict zones around the world in the past years, the past decades,
have shown that the risk is all too real. And librarians, through following good practices, through
taking the right precautions, and in some cases, through personal bravery, have delivered on their
responsibility to keep works safe so that they are available for future generations.
But historically, the desire to protect the book as physical support was often matched by the
desire to limit access to the book as content. Of course in the days before digitisation, it was less
easy to separate content from support. When copying had to be done by hand, book were, by
necessity, extremely rare. We of course have had printing presses for centuries, thanks to China.

① This is the keynote speech delivered at the International Symposium on “Libraries · Keeping Pace with the Times” held on
September 9, 2019 to commemorate the 110th anniversary of the National Library of China.
* Correspondence should be addressed to Gerald LEITNER, Email: Gerald.Leitner@ifla.org