Library statistics for the twenty-first century world

How can we measure the contribution which libraries make to society in the age of the internet? The existing international library statistics were developed nearly forty years ago and do not reflect library activity today. An international collaboration between IFLA, the UNESCO Institute of Statistics and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has developed standards for new library indicators for the twenty-first century. These conference papers present the first results using the new statistics, and look forward to the next steps. The conference also highlights a variety of other initiatives and developments in the fields of library statistics, benchmarking and indicators.