1. Introduction
We are pleased to inform all CDNL members of the successful conclusion of the 2024 CDNL Annual Meeting, held on 03 October 2024 in Brisbane, Australia. The event convened National Library CEOs – and delegated deputies – with the primary goal of facilitating discussion and promoting understanding and cooperation on matters of common interest worldwide.
2. Key Objectives and Agenda
The event focused on the following key objectives:
- Electing a Vice Chair to the vacant position
- Building and sharing knowledge on matters of common interest; specifically, leadership during cyber security incidents
- Establishing and deepening professional networks across national libraries worldwide
The agenda included the following sessions:
- An election for CDNL Vice Chair
- Three keynotes addressing ‘Leading Libraries through Cyber Security Disasters’:
- Cyber Attack: Leadership Opportunity or Library Directors’ Nightmare? – Tomas Foltyn, Director of the Czech National Library
- Cyber-attack on the British Library: what happened and what we’ve learned – Liz Jolly, Deputy Director of the British Library
- The changing cybersecurity threat landscape in Australia and our region – Katherine Mansted, CyberCX.
- Small Group Discussions focussed on knowledge sharing.
3. Highlights of Key Discussions
3.1. Welcome to Country
The event began a Welcome to Country provided by Johnno from Tribal Experiences, who welcomed all CDNL attendees by outlining the geography of Meanjin (Brisbane) and sharing his language and didgeridoo music.
3.2. Chair Opening Remarks
Remarks from the Chair, Dr Marie-Louise Ayres, outlined the theme of the event – Leading Libraries through Cyber Security Disasters. With these remarks Dr Ayres set expectations for participation, emphasising that all attendees act as representatives of their libraries, rather than their nations.
3.3. Vice Chair Election
Dr Ayres outlined the process for the election of a Committee Member and noted the Chair, and one of two Vice Chair positions (currently held by Leslie Weir, Librarian and Archivist of Canada), will be vacated in 2025. She welcomed participation from candidates who may be interested in these roles and spoke to the importance of a broad and diverse candidate pool.
The voting period for the unfilled Vice Chair role commenced on 02 October 2024, at 10:00 Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST), initiated via an email sent to all CDNL members with a link to the online voting platform. Voting closed on 03 October 2024, at 10:00 AEST. Members attending in person in Brisbane were also provided the opportunity to cast their online ballot in person.
Four candidates were nominated for the position. Following the conclusion of the voting process, and a tallying of votes, the successful candidate was announced as Dr. Tomasz Makowski, Director-General of the National Library of Poland.
3.4 Panel Discussions and Keynotes
The three keynote speeches explored with the themes of leadership and cybersecurity, focussing specifically on leadership in times of crisis.
- Cyber Attack: Leadership Opportunity or Library Directors’ Nightmare? – Drawing on his experience as a newly appointed director at the time of the 2021 cyber-attacks against the Czech National Library, Mr Tomas Foltyn outlined seven considerations for leaders during a cyber incident, as well as rules which he termed the ‘Magnificent Seven’. Key lessons included the importance of continuous personal and organisational improvement, the benefits of robust and regular communication, and understanding when and how to engage with internal and external stakeholders. Additionally, he emphasised the critical role of sound disaster management policies and infrastructure. Mr. Foltyn conducted an in-depth analysis of how to apply each of these considerations and rules, supported by case studies. He concluded his address with the advice: “Stay watchful, stay cybersafe.”
- Cyber-attack on the British Library: what happened and what we’ve learned – In her keynote, Ms Liz Jolly shared insights and lessons learned from the 2023 cyber-attack on the British Library, aimed at building collective resilience and fostering knowledge-sharing among international library colleagues. She discussed in detail the challenges of balancing communication needs with the constraints of an ongoing criminal investigation, managing an extended phased recovery of a complex system of systems, and navigating through periods of uncertainty. Reflecting on her personal experience, Ms Jolly highlighted the importance of celebrating milestones and counting progress – regardless of scale – and embracing adaptability, flexibility and decisive action.
- The changing cybersecurity threat landscape in Australia and our region – Ms Katherine Mansted drew on her extensive experience in cybersecurity to provide attendees with practical examples of how libraries may find themselves at the forefront of cyber challenges, and what they may do to mitigate these risks. She highlighted that the core function of libraries—providing and facilitating access to information—creates a unique vulnerability for libraries. These vulnerabilities are compounded by a rapidly evolving and increasingly monetised cybercrime ecosystem, low deterrence rates in the cultural sector, and historical underinvestment in cybersecurity. She noted that, as a result, library leaders must develop robust strategies to address these risks. In her concluding remarks, Ms Mansted outlined several key mitigation strategies: leveraging the educational role of libraries to help build community cyber resilience; advocating for increased cyber hygiene, and championing increased government investment to strengthen institutions; pursuing regulatory reform to include libraries (in particular when referring to critical infrastructure) thereby enhancing response and deterrence capabilities; and maintaining libraries as spaces of democracy, openness and access in an increasingly polarised world.
3.5 Small Group Discussions
The final event of the day was a small group discussion. Rather than focus on cyber security, groups discussed general library leadership and questions:
- As a CEO, how do you deliver new and/or different value for your organisation?
- What do you consider to be unfinished business within your institution?
- What are the biggest issues you see on the horizon for your institution?
- As you reach the peak of your career, and possibly your most senior role at your institution, reflect on the young people coming through your organisation (are you seeing the right skills, experience, volume?) and what we could do as an industry to change things if required?
Each small group had a facilitator who provided brief remarks about the key themes and issues.
4. Next Steps
The Chair identified post-event actions:
- Action 1: Presenter PowerPoints, and any other relevant documentation, would be circulated to attendees where possible. A post-event communique would be released to all CDNL members.
- Action 2: Planning would begin for an online CDNL meeting, tentatively scheduled for the first half of 2025.
- Action 3: Planning would begin for the in-person 2025 CDNL Annual Meeting, scheduled for August 2025 (likely during the IFLA Congress in Astana, Kazakhstan).
The Chair, Vice-Chairs and nominated support staff will be responsible for coordinating these actions.
5. Closing Remarks
The event concluded with a call for ongoing cooperation and collective effort. Dr Ayres reaffirmed her commitment to CDNL and emphasised the ongoing need for the international library community to work collaboratively and proactively to address shared challenges, foster innovation, share knowledge, build collective capacity and strengthen libraries globally.
6. Acknowledgements
We extend our deepest appreciation to:
- All attendees and speakers for their invaluable contributions.
- Our event partner and host venue for their support.
Group Photo:
Keynote Presentations:
cdnl.info 