Theme: “The Transformative Power of Diamond Open Access: Building Knowledge as a Global Good”
Introduction
The IFLA Serials and Other Continuing Resources Section (SCORE), Library Publishing Section (LIBPUB), Academic and Research Libraries Section (ARL), and Open Science and Scholarship Advisory Committee (OSSAC) are seeking proposals for Ignite talks to be presented at an Open Session at the World Library and Information Congress (WLIC) in Busan, South Korea, 10-13 August, 2026.
The world is experiencing a complex transformation in scholarly communication, and Diamond Open Access (Diamond OA) is gaining significant momentum, with endorsement from multiple global organizations. Diamond OA, fee-free open access for both readers and authors, typically realized through a community-driven, academic-led, and academic-owned publishing model – embodies the vision of knowledge as a global public good. Although there are challenges to its implementation and adoption, it is a means for institutions, organizations, and libraries to eradicate and address closed, controlled, linguistic, and economic barriers so societies can enjoy the benefits of open access to information.
This joint collaboration by these three IFLA Sections, which have as a topic common open knowledge, will spotlight the transformative power of Diamond OA models that centre community, collaboration, and equity from the library approach.
Session Goals
The session aims to illustrate the diversity and transformative potential of Diamond Open Access (OA) as a practical, equitable pathway to universal access to knowledge. It will spotlight libraries, academic publishers, networks, and national initiatives that are pioneering Diamond OA models, showcasing how fee-free, community-driven publishing can scale sustainably. By exploring the infrastructures, policies, and collaborative frameworks that underpin these models, the session will foster international dialogue, shared learning, and cross-regional collaboration within the global open publishing community.
We will also explore Diamond OA as a transformative and globally scalable model for scholarly publishing—one that redefines sustainability, collaboration, and quality assurance across diverse regions. Through evidence-based case studies and current initiatives, the session will highlight actionable strategies and reproducible practices that libraries and publishing networks can adopt to strengthen Diamond OA activities and advance the principle of open access as a global public good.
From those discussions, participants will gain practical insights into community-led publishing, equitable partnership models, and approaches to sustaining high-quality OA outputs. The program will be of special interest to those working in academic and research libraries, library publishing programs, consortia, and regional or national OA networks seeking globally relevant, evidence-informed solutions to implement and sustain Diamond OA models.
Submission Guidelines
We seek proposals for lightning talks from librarians, library leaders, publishing professionals, and other IFLA participants engaged in scholarly communication and open access development worldwide. Presentations will be in person, so presenters must plan to travel to Busan. Presenters will be responsible for their own travel expenses. Presentations are expected to be in English.
Presentations should reflect the session theme of Diamond OA and its transformative impact in advancing equitable, sustainable scholarly communication, as well as the conference theme, “Libraries Powering Transformation”.
The format of the session will be 6 Ignite Talks of 7 minutes each, followed by time for open discussion. Presentation proposals should describe the key idea, its impact on the scholarly ecosystem, and lessons learned or transferable models for global adoption.
Authors will have the option to complete a paper for deposit in the IFLA repository. Those choosing to prepare papers must complete the IFLA Authors’ Permission Form.
Suggested topics include:
- Reimagining of the library’s role in scholarly communication from the Diamond OA model approach.
- Equity and Inclusion: Enabling global participation and representation through Diamond OA.
- Sustainability and quality of Diamond OA.
- Infrastructure and Collaboration: Know open-source tools, shared governance, metadata systems, and Artificial intelligence supporting Diamond OA.
- Global Perspectives: Share regional collaborations and networks in Asia, Africa, Latin America, Europe, and beyond about Diamond OA.
- Monitoring Diamond OA implementation on several knowledge fields, such as Humanities and Social Science, and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
Proposals should include:
- Title of proposed presentation
- Abstract of proposed presentation (no more than 300 words)
- Name of presenter plus position and/or title
- Employer / affiliated institution
- Contact information including email address, telephone number
- Short biographical statement of presenter
Send proposals via email to score.ifla@gmail.com, by Friday, 1 May 2026.
Use subject line: WLIC 2026-PresentationTitle-Name-Surname
Important dates & deadlines:
- 1 May 2026: Deadline for submission of proposals/abstracts
- 11 May 2026: Notification to authors about the status of a submission
- 30 July 2026: Submission of accompanying PowerPoint slides for presentation
- 15 September 2026: Submission of the optional full text of the paper (Optional for authors who wish to make this contribution)
Other Notes
- All presentations must use the WLIC presentations template, which will be provided when your presentation is accepted.
- All presentations presented at the WLIC 2025 will be made available online under a Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.
- Authors must disclose whether they submit this proposal to another WLIC 2026 session.
- Authors and presenters must adhere to the Presenter guidelines, provided when your paper is accepted.
Congress Participation Grants
A list of opportunities for support is available on the Grants and Awards page of the WLIC website.