Director Matt Huculak (University of Victoria) was invited to speak with Masud Khokhar (University of Leeds) at the inaugural session of the “IFLA Futures Club,” which is being launched as part of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions centenary (2026–2027). The series is intended to provide a sustained conversation around embedding futures thinking within global librarianship.
The discussion emphasized actively shaping resilient, adaptive, and equitable futures for libraries and knowledge systems around the world. Huculak and Khokhar highlight that futures thinking is not about prediction but rather preparedness and developing the capacity to anticipate multiple possible scenarios in an unstable and rapidly changing global information landscape marked by geopolitical volatility and technological disruption. Libraries are (and have always been) inherently future-oriented institutions, yet current pressures—especially digital transformation and artificial intelligence (AI) require more explicit, intentional engagement with many possible futures.
A central theme of the talk is the shift in libraries’ role within the knowledge ecosystem. Rather than serving primarily as endpoints for knowledge preservation, libraries are increasingly positioned as active participants in knowledge creation, governance, and dissemination. This includes addressing critical issues such as knowledge equity, data and knowledge sovereignty, digital ethics, and the integrity of information systems amid risks of manipulation and monopolization.
We stress the necessity of cultivating organizational cultures that support experimentation, risk-taking, and “failing better.” Practical strategies include embedding innovation in institutional strategy, providing seed funding, and normalizing discussion of unsuccessful initiatives as learning opportunities–that is, celebrating and learning from our failures as well as our successes.
We’re envisioning global collaboration as being necessary to meet the challenges of the future. “Radical collaboration” involves challenging existing structures, decentralizing control (e.g., distributed preservation models), and engaging diverse knowledge systems beyond Western frameworks. Our work in forming the Kula: Library Futures Academy and the Leeds Knowledge Institute are attempts to gather stakeholders and co-produce knowledge across the world.
“It is an incredible time for the library professions in which every librarian, archivist, curator, and staff member should be encouraged and supported to practice proactive, non-hierarchical approaches to innovation to meet the needs of our users” says Huculak, and “organizations like IFLA are critical, trusted conveners who support and sustain knowledge sharing, capacity-building, and collective responses to emerging and present global challenges. It is a true honour to speak as part of this series.”