The data from the research suggest that an effective workforce does not depend on any one factor in isolation. People are attracted to the public library service because the work is seen as having a public service ethos and providing opportunities to work with the public and communities. However the overall picture is that the negative image of the profession has some basis in reality. The research confirmed the view that there is a link between retention and training, and that success in retaining high quality staff derives from a combination of the qualities of the job itself, and a structured approach to training. The development of staff will not be achieved without the development of managers at every level. Issues of succession planning and career leadership development were seen as particularly important areas but relatively few authorities have begun to address these matters. The indications are that the public library service may not only have to identify and cultivate its future leaders but may also need to modify the organisational culture in which they operate. Individual librarians, individual library services, academic institutions and library authorities need to look beyond what is sufficient for their own organizations, and consider what is necessary for the profession and its users as a whole. In reviewing, and reflecting on the data, the research team makes a number of recommendations. This is not a simple list of skills and aptitudes. Rather their suggestions are concerned with what is required if the public library service is to recruit and retain people with the necessary potential, skills and abilities to lead the profession in the twenty-first century. Authors details

the content of this special issue celebrating IFLA’s 75 th anniversary, prompted me to read about the celebrations that took place 25 years ago to celebrate our 50 th anniversary. I found that Margreet Wijnstroom, then IFLA’s Secretary General, felt confident enough to state in her progress report, presented during the annual conference held in Brussels in 1977, on IFLA’s 50 th anniversary in the following terms: In spite of its age no signs of passivity and no acceptance of the status quo may be perceived. Quite the contrary! The international community as united in IFLA has never before been so engaged in intensifying existing cooperative programmes and in launching exciting new plans. 1 Among the many developments she recorded was the adoption of new Statutes (does that sound familiar?). The newly created Professional Board had ‘taken its duties seriously ’ and set up eight Divisions (which still exist today) and, within them, 28 Sections. Interestingly, the newly created Professional Committee, successor to the Professional Board under the new (2000) Statutes has just decided to create nine new Sections to add to the current 36. Membership numbers are always a preoccupation for organizations like IFLA, whose main financial support and intellectual input derives from its members. IFLA in 1977 was certainly no exception to this rule. Wijnstroom was also able to report a spectacular increase in membership of 25 percent over the previous year. The overall total was 806, from 102 countries, including 56 recruits to the new category of