WOLFcon 2026 brought together members of the Open Library Foundation community, as well as other professionals involved in developing open-source technologies and infrastructures for libraries. The conference provided a platform for discussing the evolution of systems such as FOLIO and related applications, alongside broader issues concerning open infrastructures, artificial intelligence, metadata, collaborative collection management, and the long-term stewardship of scholarly resources.

Throughout the conference, the need for libraries to retain greater control over the technological infrastructures on which their activities increasingly depend was a recurring theme. In her opening address, Professor Ellen Euler situated this discussion within the broader concept of the knowledge commons. She identified three major threats to these commons:

Enclosure: resources or infrastructures that were previously shared become restricted.

Extraction: data and other resources generated by communities are appropriated by third parties.

Capture: the value produced collectively is ultimately controlled by a limited number of actors.

Artificial intelligence can exacerbate all of these phenomena. At the same time, however, measures intended to prevent large-scale extraction must not prevent legitimate users from accessing information. Therefore, the question of governance arises: libraries must establish mechanisms that protect common resources while ensuring they remain usable. Procurement policies were identified as a means by which libraries can demand greater transparency, interoperability, and control over vital infrastructure. However, the appropriate governance models for knowledge commons remain to be determined.

Several sessions examined the increasing use of artificial intelligence in library operations. The session “Beyond the Chatbot: Agentic AI and the Future of Library Workflows”, presented the SCOPE framework for evaluating potential AI applications. The framework’s five components — Suitable, Content, Oversight, Permissions, and Evaluation — provide a structured method for determining whether AI is appropriate for a particular workflow, and importantly, who remains responsible for the process and its supervision.

Technical presentations also explored the interaction between AI agents and library systems. The difference between APIs, which provide a defined entry point to information systems, and Model Context Protocol (MCP) layers, which enable AI agents to interact with APIs, was explained. Experiments conducted in the United States have tested the use of AI to transform MARC21 bibliographic data into BIBFRAME. This work contributes to the development of Blue Core, an open bibliographic data repository, the minimum viable product of which is expected in spring 2027. Other related initiatives include Index Data’s bibsync conversion tool and the Library of Congress’s Modern MARC project, which aims to bring MARC closer in line with RDA concepts. Nevertheless, these experiments demonstrate the considerable computational and token costs associated with large-scale, AI-assisted metadata transformation.

Another important conference theme was open bibliographic metadata. While the Swedish National Library has moved away from MARC for its catalogue and the LIBRIS national union catalogue, Stanford University currently operates in a hybrid MARC/BIBFRAME environment. Stanford is also participating in the Blue Core initiative. The discussions highlighted the uncertain copyright status of bibliographic metadata in the USA, primarily due to long-standing copy-cataloguing practices. In response, Stanford University has developed an Open Metadata Policy Toolkit and established a Center for Open Metadata. The conference presented a broader direction towards releasing bibliographic metadata under CC0 wherever possible. Following the presentation by Rochelle Lundy and Tom Cramer from Stanford University, the ISSN International Centre introduced its freemium model to the audience, explaining that it actively collaborates with DOAJ and Latindex by providing them with free access to its database, enabling them to reuse the metadata. Furthermore, the Directory of Open Access Scholarly Resources contains over 60,000 records which are also made available free of charge to the community.

Collaborative collections and rescue collecting

The ISSN International Centre took part in one of the main sessions at the conference, titled “Designing for Collective Agency: Shared Collections, Cyclops, and Consortial Action”, which was presented by Gaëlle Béquet (ISSN IC), Boaz Nadav Manes (Lehigh University), and Sebastian Hammer (IndexData). The session focused on the Collaborative Collections Lifecycle Project (CCLP) and its associated prototype, CYCLOPS.

The CCLP brings together around 80 representatives from libraries, consortia, publishers, aggregators, and service providers. The project aims to redefine collaboration throughout the library collections lifecycle, as well as developing the necessary governance, standards and software infrastructure to support coordinated decision-making. The ISSN International Centre contributed to the Cataloguing and Metadata Working Group of the project, which examined the descriptive, transactional, holdings and preservation metadata required for identifying and managing different categories of resources.

The Prague presentation used endangered Ukrainian scholarly journals as a concrete example of how authoritative metadata can support rescue collecting. Since 2014, and especially since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, Ukrainian universities and research institutions in occupied areas have either been displaced or reorganised. Some of the journals originally published by these institutions have subsequently been republished or re-registered by institutions operating under Russian occupation authorities. This may involve the reuse of titles and ISSNs, the replication of archives, the association of new identifiers with publications that claim continuity with Ukrainian predecessors, or changes to publisher and institutional information.

In these situations, ISSN metadata can provide valuable evidence. While an ISSN does not establish ownership or copyright, ISSN records document titles, publishers, places of publication, relationships between earlier and later titles, and related editions. They therefore provide a bibliographic chronology that can help to distinguish between competing claims concerning a journal’s identity and history. Ukrainian researchers have found this information useful for tracing displaced and appropriated publications.

The approach presented at WOLFcon combines local expertise with international bibliographic infrastructure. Ukrainian researchers and journal editors, along with the ISSN National Centre for Ukraine, use institutional records, registration information, journal websites, archived sites, PDFs, DOI metadata and ISSN records to identify potentially problematic publications. Any cases requiring clarification can then be reported to the ISSN International Centre, where relevant bibliographic records will be reviewed and, where necessary, corrected or supplemented with historical notes¬¬.

However, the central challenge is to move from identification to preservation. While the ISSN Network can establish what a journal is and document its bibliographic history, it is not an archive itself. CCLP provides a complementary framework through which libraries and consortia can collectively decide who should acquire, harvest, digitise or preserve endangered material. The proposed workflow runs from detection and bibliographic verification, through authoritative description and metadata sharing, to coordinated preservation by participating libraries.

CYCLOPS is intended to provide the middleware through which these collaborative intentions and decisions can be implemented. The broader CCLP approach emphasises optional and flexible cooperation, rather than requiring fully integrated consortial structures. Through CYCLOPS, institutions can share information about their collection intentions, coordinate acquisitions and preservation decisions, reduce unnecessary duplication, and optimise the use of distributed expertise and resources. The Ukrainian case study shows how such an infrastructure could respond quickly to scholarly and cultural heritage at risk due to geopolitical events.

WOLFcon 2026 therefore showcased an important convergence of developments currently impacting libraries, including the need to control critical digital infrastructures, the responsible integration of AI into professional workflows, the opening up of bibliographic metadata and the development of new collaborative stewardship mechanisms. CCLP and CYCLOPS are particularly relevant to the ISSN International Centre because they demonstrate how authoritative ISSN metadata can evolve from identification and discovery to providing an actionable signal that supports coordinated collection development and preservation.

The ISSN International Centre was present at the IFLA World Library and Information Congress, which took place in Busan, South Korea, from 10 to 13 August. Attending this event gave us the opportunity to present the Centre’s activities and services to an international audience. We were particularly glad to do so in Asia, where librarians and publishing professionals may be less familiar with our work.

Beyond presenting our activities, the Congress provided a unique opportunity to engage with librarians and information professionals from around the world. Participants brought their own experience and expertise to discussions, offering a wide range of professional and cultural perspectives. The event was also a chance to reconnect with colleagues, put faces to familiar names from email exchanges and strengthen relationships across the international library community.

We met with colleagues from the ISSN Centre at the National Library of Korea. We also spoke with representatives from other member countries of the ISSN Network, notably Brazil, Iran and Nigeria, who sit on the ISSN IC Governing Board. It was also a pleasure to meet Ms Jennefer Nicholson, former Secretary-General of IFLA (2008-2016), whose insights into cultural cooperation and contemporary geopolitical issues are invaluable.

These encounters are an essential part of the IFLA experience, fostering both professional collaboration and solidarity within the international community. Our colleague Hamideh Memari from Iran, who gave two presentations during the Congress, was able to exchange with experts from across the profession, including Pat Riva from Concordia University, whose extensive expertise contributes to several international review groups. Such exchanges highlight the importance of the professional networks built through IFLA, particularly in challenging circumstances.

Presenting the new ISSN Portal

During a dedicated session at the Tech Lab, attended by around fifty professionals, Gaelle Bequet, Director of the ISSN International Centre, presented the new ISSN Portal.
The presentation generated considerable interest among participants and provided an opportunity to discuss the evolution of ISSN services, including ISSN-H. The Congress also enabled the ISSN International Centre to establish initial contacts with potential new partners and share information about the process of opening new ISSN National Centres.

Exploring the challenges shaping the profession

Alongside these exchanges, the Congress offered a rich programme of presentations and discussions on some of the major transformations affecting libraries, publishing and access to information.

Among the recurring themes were the rapid development of artificial intelligence and the growing polarisation of public discourse. As AI becomes increasingly involved in the creation, discovery and management of content, information professionals are facing important questions about how to preserve the reliability, neutrality and integrity of information. At the same time, discussions underlined the continuing importance of reading in an increasingly digital and AI-driven environment, and the essential role of libraries in engaging with readers, schools, families and universities.

Our team attended some fascinating presentations, including “The Transformative Power of Diamond Open Access: Building Knowledge as a Global Good’, organised by the Serials and Other Continuing Resources (SCORE) section. Six female researchers and information professionals presented interesting initiatives, including the Open Journals Collective (openjournalscollective.org), which supports journals operating under the diamond open access model. These initiatives also include the Chinese academic repository Pub Scholar (pubscholar.cn), which offers AI-assisted search functionality within its catalogue; the Taiwan Open Access Journals platform (toaj.stpi.niar.org.tw), which lists humanities and social science publications and provides access to their content; and the Tuwhera platform (tuwhera.aut.ac.nz), which offers researchers free editorial services. This session perfectly illustrated the dynamics of open access within the global research ecosystem.

Another presentation that stood out to us was that of Mr Tomáš Foltýn, Director of the National Library of the Czech Republic (NKP), who discussed the NKP’s role in preserving Ukraine’s documentary heritage since 2022, including its work in training professionals in document restoration and digitisation, and in managing a mobile digitisation unit made available to Ukrainian libraries.

From developments in open access and artificial intelligence to the preservation of documentary heritage, the Congress highlighted both the challenges facing the library and information community and the initiatives being developed to address them. It also reaffirmed the value of bringing professionals together across borders to share expertise, strengthen cooperation and explore new approaches.

For the ISSN International Centre, these few days in Busan were above all an opportunity to engage with the wider professional community while strengthening connections within the ISSN Network. Meeting colleagues from National Centres, exchanging with international partners and introducing our services to new audiences all contributed to a particularly enriching edition of the IFLA Congress.

Overview

France has developed a national programme for the coordinated management and long-term preservation of print serials (journals, magazines, annuals and other continuing publications). The programme, known as the Plans de Gestion des Périodiques (PGP – Serials Management Plans), aims to ensure sustainable access to research collections while reducing duplication of preservation efforts across libraries.

The programme was launched in 2026 as part of a broader national policy for the preservation and description of serial publications. It follows the reorganisation of the former Sudoc PS network, which had coordinated serials information across French libraries for several decades.

The new national system is based on cooperation between the French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Space, the Ministry of Culture, the French Bibliographic Agency for Higher Education (Abes), the National Technical Centre for Higher Education Libraries (CTLes), and the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF).

The framework is organised around two complementary components:

PGP (Plans de Gestion des Périodiques): discipline-based programmes covering academic and research serials. They are funded by the Ministry of Higher Education and Research and coordinated by Abes and CTLes.

PCP (Plans de Conservation Partagée): regional shared preservation programmes for local, regional and heritage serial collections. They are coordinated by the Ministry of Culture.

Objectives

The programme seeks to:

• preserve complete and reliable collections of serial publications;
• distribute preservation responsibilities among participating institutions;
• improve the visibility and discoverability of holdings through shared cataloguing;
• optimise storage space and reduce preservation costs;
• create a national reference collection for serial literature.

How the PGP Works

Each disciplinary PGP is coordinated by a lead academic institution with recognised expertise in a particular subject area. Participating libraries agree to retain, preserve and document specific serial titles on behalf of the wider community. Rather than every institution attempting to maintain complete collections, responsibilities are shared across the network.

The programme covers not only preservation but also collection management, bibliographic description and, where appropriate, coordination with digitisation initiatives. This broader scope distinguishes the PGP from earlier preservation-only schemes.

Current Challenges

Discussions held during the first national study day on PGPs in June 2026 highlighted several challenges:

• convincing researchers of the benefits of transferring low-use collections to shared storage facilities;
• integrating highly specialised serials that do not easily fit within existing disciplinary plans;
• preserving important non-academic serials that nevertheless constitute primary research sources;
• determining responsibility for multidisciplinary or discontinued titles;
• improving coordination between preservation programmes, digitisation projects and national bibliographic systems.

Towards a National Reference Collection

A key ambition of the programme is the creation of a distributed national reference collection of serial publications. Through coordinated preservation, improved metadata quality and stronger cooperation among libraries, France seeks to guarantee long-term access to serial literature for future generations of researchers.

Video of the presentations from the first study day on PGPs (June 16, 2026): https://www.youtube.com/live/-OEVduDN5MY