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Denmark and the Danish library community have the honor and pleasure of hosting this year's IFLA Council and General Conference taking place in Copenhagen from 31 August to 5 September 1997 and hereby invites you, all professionals and politicians dealing with library issues to participate in the conference.

Worlwide IFLA's annual conference and exhibition have for many years been considered the most important international event within the library and information sector, bringing together several thousand delegates and experts from all over the world, focusing on current trends and problems, and discussing solutions and strategies for action within the library field of competence.

The main theme of the 1997 Conference is "Libraries and Information for Human Development". Access to information, to knowledge and to culture are fundamental human rights which - together with education - are recognized throughout the world as key elements as regards sustained human development and economic and social progress. The 1997 IFLA Conference therefore will highlight important aspects of knowledge transfer and human development in the Information Society by way of sub-themes pointing towards two sets of visions for library activities: Centre of Information and Centre of Culture, not in the sense of a physical, concrete library, but as basic principles of library services.

The pre-conference seminar titled "Bridging Information gaps through technology" will be held on August 27-29, 1997 in Aalborg, Denmark. The seminar is hosted by the Aalborg Royal School of Library Science and organized by the Royal School, the ALP Program and Regional Activities Division of IFLA, the Information Technology Section of the Administration and Technology Division, with participation of the Basic Program-Universal Data Flows and Telecommunications (UDT).

Some 20 to 30 librarians and information specialists from developing countries will participate in the seminar. It is hoped that each participant will present a brief report about his/her country. The working languages of the seminar will be Spanish, French and English.

There will be 8 professionals from Latin America and the Caribbean representing Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Jamaica, Martinique and Venezuela. The president of the Regional Section of IFLA/LAC, librarian Maria Elena Zapata, will be the coordinator of one of the sessions.

IFLA thanks the sponsors of the pre-conference seminar for developing countries and expresses gratitude to the principal sponsors, DANIDA and UNESCO, as well as BIEF for their contributions.

IFLANET is pleased to announce that its first mirror website, hosted by the Institut de l'Information Scientifique et Technique (INIST) in Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy, France, is now up and running. You can visit it at: http://ifla.inist.fr.

This mirror site, an exact replica of IFLA's website at the National Library of Canada, is of great significance to all our library partners worlwide and promises to be a very popular information resource for all those active in the field of information.

Launched in 1993, IFLANET has, in its short history, grown into one of the leading information and communication tools for the library and information profession. Access to this net is crucial for many professionals worlwide and, with the growth of the Internet capacity problems, IFLANET has sought to manifest itself for users outside the North American continent. INIST, the leading French document supply company, through its Director, Claude Patou, offered its support to IFLA in establishing a mirror site for IFLANET in France, thereby creating additional channels of access to the information stored in IFLA's WWW-site.

Recently, IFLA's website in Canada was given a Gold Award by NetGuide (CMP Media Inc.) for being one of the best on the Web. NetGuide, (http://www.netguide.com) which screens over 100,000 URLs and gives the Gold Award to only 15,000 of the Web's best sites, described IFLA's home page as "an impressive collection of library-related electronic infomation, documents, journals, and utilities for the Internet and networks. Find such links as notable Electronic Documents, Sites of Interest to Librarians, and Information Policy Resources, with bibliographies". The IFLA Web Site is administered by Leigh Swain, Gary Cleveland, Terry Kuny and Louise Lantaigne of the National Library of Canada.

For some years IFLA has had an increasingly active Round Table on Management. The Round Table's activities now rival or exceed those of many Sections. This increase in activity is not surprising, given both the increased complexity of managing library operations in a world where the domain of library operations is becoming increasingly complex and where competitive pressures are forcing more attention on the cost-effectiveness of library operations, and where the hot topics in business management (for example: intellectual capital, knowledge warehousing, customer focusing, etc.) are fundamentally related to the management of information.

Further, in this new environment, marketing becomes ever more important. The principal reason is because in this increasingly competitve environment the marketing of libary services (which encompasses the identification of user needs and the understanding of those needs in the user's context), is becoming ever more vital. A second reason is because the role of the librarian/information officer is expanding as marketing becomes more important for the parent organization, since simultaneously marketing is becoming a more information dependent process, and thereby a process in which the librarian increasingly plays an important role.

As a consequence of the convergence of these trends, the Round Table on Management proposed that it become a section on Management and Marketing. The Professional Board approved this request at its meeting on 10 December 1996.

During the 61st IFLA Council and General Conference held in Istanbul, Turkey in August 1995, the Standing Committee of the Section of Parliamentary Libraries discussed a name change to the Section on Library and Research Services for Parliaments, and reached a very broad consensus on the need for and desirability of such a change. The most compelling reason was that parliamentary libraries and information services around the world are organized in many different ways. In many cases, research services are provided by the parliamentary library (This is the case, for example, in Australia, Canada, Hungary, Japan, the UK and the USA). However, important research and information services for parliaments may exist outside parliamentary libraries (This is the case for Germany, Lithuania, Mexico, Poland and Russia, among others).

However, it is in the direct interest of all parliamentary libraries to have issues of research and information services discussed in the context of parliamentary libraries. Too often, when related services are separated in a parliament, they are not coordinated or effectively articulated. The Section of Parliamentary Libraries is the best forum for such a discussion to take place.

Because the name of the Section had made reference only to parliamentary libraries, other parliamentary research and information services had a difficult time justifying to their parliamentary superiors their attendance at the Section's meetings. By adding the additional phrase to the title of the Section, two important objectives would be accomplished:

1. demonstrating the primacy of parliamentary libraries as a logical focal point for IFLA;
2. emphasizing that other organizations that provide research and information services to parliament are welcome to attend and participate in discussions concerning how such services for the parliament can be improved.

After consultation with other relevant IFLA Sections (e.g., Government Libraries) to ensure that scopes and activities did not overlap, on 10 December 1996 the Professional Board formally approved the request to rename the section the Section on Library and Research Services for Parliaments.

The Preservation and Conservation Program (PAC) of IFLA is including the production of a CD-ROM in its project for safeguarding 19th-century photographic collections. The CD-ROM will unite images of the "creation of Latin America and the Caribbean in the 19th century". The main goals of this CD-ROM is to raise consciousness about the state of conservation in which these collections are found and to provide better access to them.

Ten Latin American and Caribbean countries should collaborate in the project and the images used from these collections will form the document. UNESCO has allocated USD 46,000 for the project. The University of Colima, Mexico is in charge of the production of the CD-ROM. The National Center for Paper Conservation of the National Library of Venezuela (which is the Regional Center IFLA/PAC for Latin America and the Caribbean) will serve as the coordinating body.

The following Medium Term Programme for IFLA ALP was discussed with the ALP Advisory Committee at its meeting in Uppsala in October, 1996, and has been proposed to IFLA's Professional Board. Some changes are bound to occur before the final version is accepted, towards the end of 1997:

Proposed name change: Advancement of Librarianship Programme
Scope statement: The mission of ALP is to further the library profession, library institutions and library and information services in the developing countries of Africa, Asia and Oceania and Latin America and the Caribbean.

Within the special ALP areas the MTP goals are: to assist in continuing education and training; to promote the establishment and development of library and information services to the general public, including the promotion of literacy; and to introduce new technology into library services. ALP also has a function as catalyst within IFLA for the organization's activities in Third World countries.

The scope of ALP is very wide and covers all kinds of library activities. Therefore, cooperation with relevant IFLA professional bodies as well as with regional and international organizations is essential to carry out the programme. ALP achieves its mission through a carefully planned programme of activities in close cooperation between the ALP International Focal Point of ALP and IFLA's Regional Offices, IFLA's Regional Division and its three sections, as well as with other partners. This cooperation includes actions such as fundraising, scholarships and attachment programmes, conferences, seminars and workshops, pilot projects, publications and databases.

The final projects which ALP will support in Latin America from September 97 until year 1999 are the following:

1997

1. Feasibility study of the rescue of documents about/by ethnic groups in Central America. The ALP funds for this project come from Sida and NCLIS.
2. Seminar on bibliographic control in cooperation with IFLA s UBCIM Core Programme. Financed mainly by Sida.

1998

1. Seminar in Brazil on the UNESCO public library manifesto. This seminar will take place in cooperation with IFLA s Section for Public Libraries. Financed by Sida.
2. Seminar for library associations in Latin America and the Caribbean area. This seminar will take place in cooperation with IFLA s Round Table for the Management of Library A ssociations. Financed by Sida.

1999

1. "Tools for library development, for the Southern Cone countries". Financed by Sida.
2. Follow up of the "Tools for Library Development Seminar" in Martinique, March 1997, in the form of support to one of the projects which was developed at that seminar. Financed by Sida.

All the above projects take place in very close cooperation with the IFLA Regional Standing Committee members, with IFLA's Regional Office and with the local organizers, who also contribute very much to these activities.

For the entire period 1997 to 1999 ALP also gives financial support to the Regional Office in Brazil, and to some preliminary studies. This support also comes from Sida. We may look for support from other organizations also, for other projects proposed to the IFLA Regional Latin American Standing Committee.

For four days, representatives from 27 Caribbean countries met in Martinique to participate in a seminar sponsored by IFLA's Advancement of Librarianship Programme with significant assistance from local authorities and other Martinique institutions which contributed greatly to the success of the event. The seminar was held at the Regional Council and the local arrangements Committee Chair was Marie Francoise Bernabé.

The seminar's theme, " Tools for development", was directed at the identification of and proposals for solutions of the primary needs of the Caribbean region through the preparation and presentation of project proposals to funding agencies.

Presiding at the opening session were dignitaries from Martinique and IFLA, the president of the University of the Antillies and French Guiana, head of the Academy, president of the Regional Council, the representative of the Directive Council, the director of Municipal Cultural Affairs, the director of the Antillies and Guiana Library and representing the local arrangements committee, the director of ALP, the president of the Regional Section and the Manager of the Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean.

There were 29 representatives from other Caribbean islands, 16 from Martinique and one observer from Reunion University.

Assisting at the seminar were the UNESCO representative, Abdelaziz Abid, from ALP, Birgitta Bergdahl, IFLA's Coordenator of Professional Activities, Winston Roberts, the Manager of the Regional Office, Elizabet Maria Ramos de Carvalho, from the Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation (ACCT), Ridah Bouabid, the President of the Permanent Committee, Maria Elena Zapata and other members of that committee from Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Cuba, Martinique, Mexico and St. Maarten.

After the opening ceremony and the statement about the objectives of the seminar by Maria Elena Zapata, each participant gave a three-minute summary about the library scene in their respective countries. Previously they had all submitted more extensive reports on their country to the organizing committee. The round table was chaired by Estela Morales who synthesized the common points in the presentations, whether extolling the successes or deficiencies in country library programs.

The following arose from this synthesis:

• That university libraries are better supported and have greater opportunities to take advantage of information technologies;
• That there do exist in the region several examples of information policies and cooperative projects.

Among the limitations shared by the participating countries, these were noted: multiculturalism, the absence of reading policies, limitations in the education of qualified personnel, a lack of recognition of the professional and negative image, problems with legal deposits, problems with conservation and preservation of materials, the need to promote libraries and their services, insufficient budget allocations, lack of participation in networks and cooperative programmes, and deficiencies in the development of different types of libraries.

In the following sessions, Abdelaziz Abid spoke about UNESCO and its assistance programmes, Birgitta Bergdahl described how one should present projects to IFLA/ALP, Blanca Hodge also spoke about how to write project proposals, Ridah Bouabid spoke about the Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation, Serge Kauoil discussed the European Community and Winston Roberts about the upcoming IFLA conferences. Finally, the participants divided into groups to work on project proposals for submission to ALP.

The seminar also included interesting social and cultural events. The first gave the participants a glimpse into the natural beauty and history of the region in addition to artistic expressions of music, dance and painting. The visit to Diamand included stops at the Municipal Library of Lamentin, a good example of an attractive building designed to stimulate reading; St. Pierre, the first French settlement on the island tragically destroyed by an eruption of Mount Pelado. The receptions were marked with cordiality, especially the one offered by the mayor of Schoelcher. We thank and congratulate the local arrangements committee for their exellent work.

Concluding the seminar, the members of the SC reevaluated the Mid-term Plan and projects presented to ALP, selected the winning paper for Copenhagen, determined the activities that will occur in the Copenhagen meeting and considered directives for the 1998 conference to be held in Amsterdam.

Persons attending this meeting were the president of the Section, Maria Elena Zapata; the secretary, Miriam Martinez; the manager of the Regional Office, Elizabet Maria Ramos de Carvalho; and general members of the SC, Alice Miranda (Costa Rica), Blanca Hodge (St. Maarten), Estela Morales (Mexico), Ivone Tálamo (Brazil), Marie Françoise Bernabé‚ (Martinique), Stella Maris Fernández (Argentina), Birgitta Bergdahl (ALP) and Winston Roberts (IFLA/HQ).

Reports were given by the section's president, secretary and regional office manager. The IFLA Coordinator for Professional Activities spoke about IFLA activities and PMP. The ALP coordinator distributed the PMP of ALP in Spanish and English, reported on projects of that programme and the results of the evaluation of the ALP Programme by SIDA, noting the most important aspects of the evaluation.

The Committee evaluated several projects and approved some. The members of the Standing Committee evaluated the Martinique workshop and selected the work that would be indicated as the winner of the regional competition for the "Contributed Papers" session. They also selected the theme for the next competition: "The role of librarianship in the reduction of differences between those who have access to information and those who do not" was approved as the topic of the meeting that will take place in the Netherlands. The participation of professionals was confirmed in the Professional Session of the IFLA/LAC Section in Copenhagen, which will bear the theme "Library experiences in the restoration and promotion of traditional cultures". Virginia Bittencourt will speak about ABINIA in the Open Forum .

The elections for new members of the Section, for the Executive Bureau and for the presidency of IFLA were also discussed.

The principal work of the Committee during this meeting was the complete revision of the Mid-Term Plan for 1998-2001. Objectives, goals and a plan of action were established. The meeting meet its objective and for this, the participation of the IFLA Coordinator of Professional Activities and the ALP Programme Coordinator was very important.

Twenty-six delegates from Latin America and the Caribbean will be able to attend the IFLA Conference in Copenhagen thanks to support from DANIDA. IFLA/LAC will be counting on these delegates in its sessions and meetings.

The winner of the contest is librarian Maria da Conceição Calmon Arruda, from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She will present her work in the "Contributed Papers" session of the conference in Denmark. In addition, she will be awarded a round-trip ticket to Copenhagen and registration fees will be waived.

We hope that many librarians from the region will compete in next year's contest which is being announced in this bulletin.

Theme: The library as a means of access to information available on the Internet.
The work should have a global projection, be a new work and offer a panoramic view of what is happening in the region.

Requirements:

1. Must be original, unpublished work;
2. Must not exceed 20 pages-double-spaced, on white paper with no identifying marks;
3. Should be presented in Spanish or English with a resume of one page in the same languages;
4. Delivery of presentation should not exceed 20 minutes;
5. Must send one original and three copies;
6. The work must include an introduction, conclusions, footnotes and bibliography consulted;
7. The author must use a pseudonym and put together with a closed, unmarked envelopeyour complete data and a copy of your C.V. or resum;
8. The deadline for receipt is January 15, 1998;
9. The submissions should be sent to the member who represents your specific country on the Standingt Committee, who will, in turn, send it to the Regional Office, or if preferred, one can send the submission directly to the Regional Office.

Prize:
Only one prize will be given to one winner of the Latin American and Caribbean Section consisting of:

• The ability to present the work at the "Contributed Papers" Session in Amsterdam;
• Free registration for the 64th IFLA General Conference in Amsterdam, 1998 and free round-trip airfare.

Selection:
The jury is designated by the president of the IFLA/LAC Section, including the president, secretary and regional manager. They will select the best works and send them to IFLA Headquarters in the Hague where the final selection of the winner will be made.

The Section's Expert Meeting is scheduled to be held August 26-29, 1997 prior to the IFLA General Conference.The theme will be "Information Technology and Library Service f/t Visually Impaired". There will be numerous workshops, papers, and planned social activities. The conference venue is the Hotel Hvide Hus, Strandvejen 111, 4600 Koege, Denmark. The conference is estimated to cost USD 590.00 and will include the fee, accommodations for 3 nights, meals and a get-together reception on the evening prior to the start of the meetings.

Further information may be obtained from

The Swedish Library of Talking Books and Braille, one of the most progressive and modern multiservice producers and disseminators of alternate format materials commissioned Labyrinten Data AB, a sofware designer, to develop a sound recordng encoding software package to permit the structuring of materials recorded by readers. Once appropriately structured, audio books would then provide the user with random access to sections of the book by page nunber, chapter heading, key word, subject, or any other access point chosen at the production source.

DAISY (for Digital Audio-based Information System) is based on digital technology using personal computers as the hardware platform. Design goals were:

• To transfer the print book's logical structure to the audio user and to permit easy random access to the material;
• To provide alternate media users equal or better access to book materials as is available to readers of regular print;
• A system independent of distribution media to permit easy adaptations to different present or future distribution technologies.

IBM Germany is giving a grant to the Danish Library for the Blind, Copenhagen for the design of a comprehensive library digitization project. This involves the production of digital and digitised audiobooks, a master storage system on data tapes, automated circulation, distribution and statistics production as well as plans for the distribution of audio and braille materials by e-mail directly to the home PC's of clients.

This comprehensive plan may sound futuristic, but is realistic and doable even with today's technology. It should be born in mind that visually impaired readers in Scandinavian countries have been exposed to a number of technological firsts including national newspapers in digital format, delivered to home computers by radio transmission and many others. Patrons with this type of previous experience, will likely be very amenable to technology driven library services. IBM Germany is also recommending the recordable CD as the distribution medium for audiobooks.

The IFLA Conference will be proceeded by the Interlending and Document Supply 5th International Conference in Aarhus. The conference has now been approved by the Professional Board as an official satellite meeting to Copenhagen. The Aarhus meeting seems to become a big and well-sponsored event with a very attractive social programme. The final programme will be available in some weeks.

The Statistics Section's plenary session will focus on the topic "Statistics of Electronic Materials and Services". The detailed programme will be announced later.

In Copenhagen, the "browsing session" will be devoted to university and general research library statistics. Delegates are invited to bring and present statistical publications on their country's academic libraries. It would be desirable if members of the Statistics Section Standing Committee could draw this to the attention of their university library friends in their own and neighbouring countries.

The MURIEL (Multimedia Education System for Librarians Introducing Remote Interactive Processing of Electronic Documents) Project was re-launched in November 1996. Two new partners have joined the project and new software will be used to produce the electronic textbook for librarians, which will be available over Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN). The chapters will be about "Library Ethics" and "Libraries and the Internet". Leaflets and brochures about the project will soon be available and there will be a home page on the Internet. International field trials of the system were scheduled to commence in April, the results would be evaluated and the system modified accordingly. Information about the project will be disseminated by articles and by demonstrations at conferences.

The project is due to end in October 1997. After that it is envisaged that the software and courseware developed will be available for purchase by the library community.

These workshops will occur in Santa Fe, from October 22-24, 1997. They are sponsored by the Santa Fe Province Ministry of Education, the Regional Center for Research and Development and the National Atomic Energy Commission.

The conference will take place at the School of Philosophy and Literature of the University of Buenos Aires, Puán 480, on November 27-29.

The objectives of the meeting are to explore and discuss issues related to the teaching of library and information sciences at the university level in the MERCOSUL countries.

Last September 20, elections were held to renew the member of the Directive Commission of ABGRA. The representatives from the Green List, headed by Lic. Ana Maria Peruchena Zimmermann were elected. The staff of the "Newsletter" congratulates Lic. Peruchena and he other members of the commission and wishes them great success.

From April 14-18 the XXXI National Meeting of Librarians took place during the International Workshop of Book Professionals which was part of the 23rd International Exposition and Fair of Buenos Aires: "The Book from the Author to the Reader".

With the participation of Argentines and foreigners alike, conferences, roundtables, seminars and workshops ran simultaneously in four rooms. Themes discussed included regional cooperation, professional development, development of products and services, information policies, labor market, information technology, legislation and library associations in the MERCOSUL.

The Congress is sponsored by the Secretariat of Science and Technology of the University of Buenos Aires. It is targetted for researchers, teachers, graduates, students and the public in general and expects participation from national and international specialists.

The Argentine Society for Bibliographic Studies was created in 1996 with the purpose to disseminate and stimulate bibliographic research on Argentine topics. The director is José Luis Trenti Rocamora. The institution publishes two titles: a semi-annual bulletin (appearing in April and October) and a series titled "Studies".

The bulletin, which fourth number will be available soon, besides articles on bibliographic themes, include the following sections: bibliographic commentaries on recent publications and older ones; documents; bibliographic works; institutions dedicated to bibliography and institutions dedicated to bibliographic studies in American countries; and information about people that worked or are working in the field of bibliographic research.

The Bolivian Ethnological Library aims to collect all published information, whether in Bolivia or the exterior, about Bolivian ethnic groups past and present. This specialized institution was created 14 years ago and is used by national and international university students and scholars.It has received many kudos for the quality of services it offers.

The spacious reading room is open to the public Monday through Friday. Access to the collection is through a systematic catalogue by author and ethnic group. The library is a member of the Documentation Centers Network of Cochabamba (REDOC), whose principle objective is to democratize the access to information and promote social development. REDOC was created in 1991 and has 30 members - documentation centers and governement and private libraries from thoughout the city.

The President of IFLA, Mr. Robert Wedgeworth, visited Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo from April 10-15, 1997. Working together with the Brazilian Federation of Librarians' Associations, the 7th Regional Council on Librarianship, the Brazilian members of the SC of IFLA/LAC, advisors to the Office and the Official Press of the State of São Paulo, the Regional Office of IFLA coordinated events for an impressive body of professionals from the areas of library science, documentation, archive management, and information science.

In the events were involved representatives from the National Library, public, schools, universities and special libraries, information centers and services, research institutions, library schools, national and state archives, the U.S. Library of Congress, the Brazilian Chamber for the Book and publishers. Also involved were representatives from library associations, professional associations, library councils, unions, and the federal and São Paulo and Rio state governments. The goals of these encounters for the President of IFLA was to be introduced to Brazilian institutions, visit professional colleagues and stimulate more IFLA activities in the Region. Discussing some commonalities he had observed throughout his travels, he noted the globalization of information resources and the importance of government spending on libraries so that students, small business and government agencies could have access to the widest range of information possible.Underscoring the expansion of universal education, he called attention to the fact that as student bodies grow and demands for library services increase, libraries need to cope with fewer and fewer resources. The experience at the University of Illinois is that those libraries that work together (pool their resources) have greater success in expanding their resources than those that work in an isolated fashion. Finally, Mr. Wedgeworth observed that with the expansion of democracy, one can see how political changes can influence library activities.

Reflecting on IFLA, he noted that it is a much more global organization with its 144 members than it was in the past. Through IFLANET the opportunity to communicate with professionals has expanded and allowed librarians in all parts of the world to communicate and exchange ideas. Commenting that he would complete 6 years in office as IFLA's president, he was confident that the new president-to be elected during the conference in Copenhagen-would continue to strengthen ties with Latin America and open new avenues of cooperative action.In Rio de Janeiro, after the formal presentation of the President to the professional community, a reception was offered by the coordinators of the event and the U.S. Library of Congress Field Office in Rio. In São Paulo, Mr. Wedgeworth was received by the State Secretary of Culture, Dr. Marcos Mendonça and by the president of the Printing Office of the State (IMESP), Dr. Sérgio Kobayashi. A ceremony was held at the Printing Office to present Mr. Wedgeworth to the São Paulo library community. On this occasion, Mr. Kobayashi confirmed the Printing Office's assistance to IFLA for the continued printing of the "Noticias" for the next years. After the ceremony, a well-appreciated visit of the premises, which house the largest printing operation in Latin America, was conducted. IMESP then offered a dinner for the guests.

In the two cities, the president visited libraries and other institutions with the purpose of learning first-hand about library activities developing in Brazil. At most of these institutions he was received by their presidents and directors and had the opportunity to promote IFLA activities and collect publications from the places visited.

In Rio he visited: the National Archives, the Rio de Janeiro State Public Library, National Library, Getulio Vargas Foundation, the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, and the National Foundation of Art. In Rio de Janeiro, Mr. Wedgeworth also visited the new IFLA/LAC RO headquarters, located in the Palace of Culture, Regional Delegation of the Ministry of Culture. He personally thanked the Delegate of the Ministry of Culture for granting the space for the office

In São Paulo he visited: the Mario de Andrade Municipal Library, University of São Paulo, Itaú Cultural Institute, Printing Office of the State of São Paulo, the Cultural Center of São Paulo, Latin American Memorial, the Regional Library of Medicine and FEBAB. He also visited the office in São Paulo which is collocated with FEBAB, and took the opportunity to view the Clearinghouse and discuss administrative issues with the staff.

An island of tranquility, leisure and culture in the midst of the agitated modern world. Or perhaps better said: a (symbolic) island in the heart of a real island.

Such is the Popular Library of Ilha do Governador (Governor's Island)- officially designated as the Cultural Center "Euclides da Cunha"- which since last November has enjoyed new and expand facilities in the Danaide Plaza.

The wait was worth it. Now the reading public of Ilha do Governador has a much expanded, modernized and diversified cultural center. With over 2,200 square metres of space, distributed on two brightly lit floors, the center includes a playground, exposition hall, reception area, video room, library reading rooms for adults and children, facilities for offices and classrooms and even a comfortable auditorium with 117 seats and great acoustics. Still to come is automation and workstations with public access to the Internet.

The National Reading Program, Proler, is being expanded to all regions of Brazil. During celebrations commemorating the International Day of the Book and Author's Rights on April 23, the Ministry of Culture, in partnership with the Ministries of Education, Culture and Sport, launched the new project which will permeate the north, northeast and central-west regions of the country.

Created in 1992, Proler is one of the most important projects to motivate readers in Brazil. The National Library Foundation is responsible for the program and in only four years has established some 46 Proler committees in the southern and south-eastern states.

To stimulate the publication of Brazilian children's and young adult literature abroad, the National Library Foundation will now offer the Monteiro Lobato Award to an international publisher who publishes the best translation of Brazilian authors who specialize in children's or young adult works.

The National Department of the Book section of the National Library will sponsor the competitions. Recommendations must be made prior to October 31, 1997. Only children's or young adult works already published in Brazil with at least one overseas translated edition are elegible for consideration. Didactic books and religious themes will not be accepted for consideration.

Publishers interested in submitting entries should sent three copies of each work together with the entry form. The works must be sent to: Setor de Divulgação Internacional do Departamento Internacional do Livro - Av. Rio Branco, 219/30 - 1o. andar - Centro - Rio. The winner will be announced on December 19, 1997.

On September 12, the Nucleus of Library and Information Science, part of the University since 1994, together with the Literature Department became one after the approval of the University Council. On October 2, Dr. Elizabeth Marcia Martucci assumed the directorship of the department and Dr. Sérgio Luis da Silva became assistant director.

According to Mrs. Martucci, the challenges facing the Department will be in consolidating it into a center of excellence for information studies, the training of human resources at the graduate and post-graduate levels, stressing of Social and Business/Technological Information and its insertion into society to contribute to the democratization of access and use of knowledge. As such, the Department has as a short-term goal to expand and improve its teaching body and developing physical and technological resources.

Since 1838 the National Archives has worked towards the modernization of the State's administration, with emphasis on the organization of government documents and the socialization of culture, ensuring citizen's rights to the access and democratization of information. Tasked with gathering, preserving, organizing and promoting the documental patrimony of the country, the National Archives maintains a modern restoration laboratory to preserve materials. It is developing an information program and offering exhibitions in order to make more publicly accessible new portions of the collection under its guardianship. .

The National Archives is part of the National Council of Archives (CONARQ), that has, among other responsibilities, the role of defining general rules and establishing directives for the implementation of the National System of Archives (SINAR) which will serve to manage the preservation and access to archival documents of federal, state, and municipal entities of the executive, legislative and judicial sectors of government. The National Archives can be accessed via the Internet at: http://www.mj.gov.br/an

The National Institute for Space Research (INPE) and the Institute for Energy and Nuclear Research (IPEN) invite you to participate in the 6th Seminar on Automation in Libraries and Documentation Centers (SEAB). It takes place on September 9-11 in the town of Aguas de Lindoia at the Majestic Hotel.

Since 1984, the principal objective of SEAB has been to contribute to the continuing education of information professionals through the exchange of their experiences.

The theme of the seminar will be Globalization of Information: a revolution in Science and Technology units.

Developed by IBICT, TECER is a software designed for constructing thesauri. In the new version, TECER has adopted a file structure from Access for Windows software. The old version was developed in 1987 for the DOS environment. Although the DOS environment demands little in the realm of hardware, it is rather restricted in the ability to use user-friendly or more versatile applications. The new version was developed to assist institutions and specialists interested in exchange and cooperation and offers the user community the latest improvements in software development and a modern tool for practical training the construction of thesauri.

TECER is being used in experiments by thesaurus specialists and institutions that were using the older version.

In the Rio Centro facilities on August 14th the first Meeting for Libraries, Books and Information will take place as a special event of the VIII Biennial International Book Fair of Rio de Janeiro.

Well-known national and international speakers have been invited to give librarians the opportunity to hear about modern events in library science. One of the speakers, Michel Mellot of the National Patrimony Service of France will discuss the mega-libraries of several countries.

There will also be roundtables about cultural patrimony and opportunities to mingle with publishers, writers and librarians.

The Federal Council of Librarianship celebrated 30 years and welcomed a new directorate. The president is Zeneide de Souza Pantoja and vice-president is Ligia Paixão, both reelected.

The commemorative session for 30 years and new directorate was presided over by the nation's Vice-President, Marco Maciel, and attended by several officials and representatives from Brazilian librarianship, including the IFLA/LAC manager, Librarian Elizabet Maria Ramos de Carvalho. The "Newsletter" wishes much success to the new directorate.

On April 21, the São Paulo State Governor, Mario Covas, and the State Secretary of Culture, Marcos Mendonça, inaugurated the new headquarters of the São Paulo State Archives. The building was constructed according to the latest techniques especially for archives, as the many officials, archivists and librarians who attended could attest. The Regional Office was represented by Librarian Ivone Tálamo, SC member of IFLA/LAC.

On November 25-27, the Mercosul International Congress will be held in the Mapocho Station Cultural Center as part of the XVII International Book Fair of Santiago.

Established in 1956, the Inter-American School of Librarianship has one of the longest traditions in forming librarians in Latin America.

Located in Medellin, the school celebrated its fortieth anniversary in October 1996 with a series of conferences in the Medellin Palace of Expositions.

The Inter-American School of Librarianship, part of the Antioquia University in Medellin, is implementing a new educational model with the purpose of allowing students experience total immersion into the library scene and to learn how to solve library-related problems.

In the new study plan, the number of hours of theoretical instruction is reduced allowing for an increase in work-study and training in the technical areas. The student will receive enough theory and practice to slowly-from the simplest to more complex-acquire sufficient training to turn him/her into an efficient professional.

In this way, this modern educational system develops professionals from students in three stages:

1. Immersion stage: the student becomes familiar with the library environment;
2. Professionalization stage: through practical work the student develops professionally;
3. Consolidation stage: the student becomes an active participant in the information sections and systems.

Finally, each of these stages is composed of four methodologies that give rise to the new study plan: a) management; b) diagonal work of services; c)the integration of knowledge; and d) research.

During the research, development and implementation of the new educational model of the Interamerican School of Librarianship, the counsel of librarians, engineers, communications and academic project specialists was sought.

To commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the School of Librarianship, Documentation and Information of the National University of Costa Rica, the school is organizing an international congress on Electronic Information and Digital Libraries. It will take place from the 23-26 of September, 1997.

The Provincial Library "Ruben Martinez Villena" was established on December 30, 1963. It was one of the first cultural institutions created in Cuba after the revolution and is located in the center of the city in an architecturally significant neighborhood.

The collection is comprised of 30,000 titles; 4,000 of which are in special formats, magazines and newspapers. It is open to the public and conducts several reading incentive programs, including a reading "atelier" for very young readers, "Between Friends" for older readers, and conferences, exhibits and cultural competitions.

The library has a staff of 42, including 5 specialists, and coordinates cultural and bibliographical research for the province.

The "Instituto de Información Cientifica y Tecnológica - (IDICT)" has the pleasure to announce that from 13-17 October, 1997, the International Congress of Information INFO'97, will be held at the Havana International Conference Center with the theme INFORMATION- KNOWLEDGE - GLOBALIZATION. Parallel to the Congress, an International Fair-Exhibition EXPOINFO'97 will be organized.

The working languages are Spanish and English.

Registration fees:
Speaker US$220,00
Delegate US$270,00
Accompanying person US$150,00

Promotional registration fees by representative agencies of the International Conference Center:
Speakers US$170,00
Delegates US$220,00
Accompanying person US$100,00

These fees will be considered only for those persons who manage their registrations through the authorized travel agencies. The agencies provide services such as: visa granting, accommodations, air and ground transportation (from/to airport, and all Congress activities), optional tours. Applicants from countries with no travel agency representing the International Conference Center, should apply to the Organizing Committee directly.

The University of Colima is nationally and internationally recognized for its high level programs in Social Sciences (SPSS) and research.

Courses:

11th to 15th August. Statistics Program on Social Sciences.
Objective:to introduce the basic concepts for conducting a survey (objectives, models, measurements , organization of questionnaires), as well as the application of SPSS for data analysis and report writing.
Dr. Filiberto F. Martínez Arellano. Cost: $650.00
August 18-22. The Rare Spanish book
Objective:The course will cover themes reflected in the intense intellectual uneasiness, the cultural, political and economic prestige of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and that are considered important for the study of printing with special emphasis on pre-1801 Spanish imprints.
Doctoral Candidate Luis Villén Rueda, University of Granada. Cost $650.00
August 20 : Roundtable - Rare books in Mexican libraries: conservation, preservation and dissemination.
Coordinator: Rosa Maria Fernandez de Zamora. Free.
September 3-5. Making new users and new technologies
Objective: That staff who work in information units analyze the use of new technologies in information systems and the relationship they have with the making of new users. The goal is to find solutions to the problems of access to electronic information in a specific work environment.
Mtra. Patricia Hernandez Salazar. Cost: $400.00.
September 8-12. Strategies and policies for the application of LC auxilliary tables for Latin American materials.
Objective: Upon finishing the course, the participant will have the necessary knowledge to use the LC Classification System auxillary tables for the organization of Latin American materials in accordance with established policies.
Lic. Lina Escalona Rios. Cost: $500.00.
September 29- October 3 Internet resources for technical processing.
Objective: To identify useful Internet resources for technical processing (cataloging and classification)in libraries.
Dr. Filisberto F. Martinez Arellano. Cost: $500.00
October 13-17 Motivating Library Staff.
Objective: To offer ideas for motivating library staff.
Lic. Juan Jose Calva Gonzalez (Coordinator) With the participation of renown specialists. Cost $500.00.
Octover 20-31. XIV Course for creating computerized bibliographical instruments.
Objective: For the creation and operation of "document spaces" in networks, with the goal to create document collections devised to facilitate the transfer of documents via telecommunications.
Mtro. Ramiro La Fuente Lopez (Coordinator). With the participation of renown specialists. Cost: $1,700.
November 17-19 Techniques and methods to discover the information needs of users.
Objective: Offers tips on how to detect the information needs of university library users.
Lic. Juan José Calva Gonzalez. Cost: $400.00.
November 17 - 21 Seminar: Information, Communication and Education Technologies
Objective: An inter-and multi-disciplined forum for researchers in these related disciplines and interested in conducting research projects on this theme.
Q.F.B. Margarita Almada de Ascencio (Coordinator). With participation of renown specialists. Cost. $650.00.

In November, there will be a seminar focusing on the analysis in the global context, of Universal Bibliographic Control in the context of IFLA programs and specifically on bibliographic control in different types of libraries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Sponsored jointly by CUIB/UNAM, the UBICIM Program of IFLA and the Division of Bibliographic Control, the seminar will have open and closed sessions. It is expected that 11 Latin American and Caribbean countries will participate.

This library has an important role as a documentation and information center in the area of teaching. It is an important source for teaching plans for curriculum development. Since today's students participate more intensely in the educational system, it is fundamental to have new materials and methods that will ensure their maximum participation in the system. For this reason, the library stimulates students to use it and the books correctly. The organization and administration of the library, as well as it's participation in the UNAL has lead it to adopt identical policies as those of the network.

Elizabet Maria Ramos de Carvalho, General Manager of the IFLA/LAC Regional Office and Ivone Tálamo, member of the IFLA/LAC SC, visited the Phillipsburg Jubilee Library. They were welcomed by Blanca Hodge, director of the Library and member of the SC, who gave a tour of the library and offered brochures which are now on file in the IFLA/LAC Regional Office.

This conference for teacher-librarians, school library media and technolgy specialists, library educators and school district administrators is sponsored jointly by the International Association of School Librarianship (IASL) and the Association for Teacher-Librarianship in Canada (ATLC). Through workshops and the presentation of research and professional papers, it will explore the opportunities and challenges facing both schools and school libraries.

The Rio de Janeiro Field Office, like the Nairobi Office, opened its doors in fiscal year 1966-67 as a National Program for Acquisitions and Cataloging (NPAC) office serving the Library of Congress for Brazilian publications. Uruguay was added in fiscal year 1986 and a cooperative program for serials was initiated in 1990.

The variety of publications acquired include books, pamphlets, "cordel" literature, CDs, maps, journals, and posters. Many publications are purchased by the office, but slightly over one-half of the publications are acquired by the Rio office via an exchange basis from approximately 600 exchange partners. The office publisher's file is an invaluable resource, not only for the office staff, but also for librarians and others interested in the Brazilian publishing market.

From 1962 to 1992 the office published an accessions list of Brazilian and Uruguyan materials and distributed some 500 copies of each issue to libraries worlwide. This useful list served as a buying guide or bibliographical reference source by American and international librarians and bibliographers responsible for collection development at their respective institutions.

The office has also been succesful in adding to the Archive of World Literature on Tape, a project also pursued by other field offices, in which leading local writers who read selections from their works are recorded for posterity. Among the 66 eminent Brazilian writers recorded through the auspices of this office are Carlos Drummond de Andrade, Jorge Amado, Nélida Piñon, and Gilberto Freyre.

A special project undertaken by the Rio office is the collection and organization of ephemeral materials for "Brazil's Popular Groups: 1966-86" and annual supplements thereafter. This unique microfilm collection about marginalized people and issues ranges from socio-political, religious, labor and ethnic grass-roots organizations. Copies of the microfilm and the original source documents are given to the Biblioteca Nacional as part of our exchange program with that institution. Microfilm copies are available in the commercial market.

For thirty years now the Rio Field Office and staff have served Congress, and the world's scholarly community, efficiently and skilfully in the acquisition of Brazilian and Uruguyan materials. Through the efforts of the office staff, the LC holdings have been enriched by hundreds of thousands of documents. This year, the office will gain the additional responsibility for Suriname, Guyana and French Guiana. Ever striving towards greater efficiency and modernity, the office computers will be connected via a local area network and staffers will continue to use the Internet for transfering information to its constituents and to facilitate the exchange of scholarly information from the southern hemisphere to the northern.

A workshop is to take place in Chile towards the end of the year to examine ways of improving management of libraries and information services in Latin America. Library and information services are becoming more complex activities every year, requiring more advanced technology, employing more sophisticated personnel, consuming increasingly large budgets, and with their general efficiency and performance subject to closer scrutiny. Effective management of these organisations, small or large, is becoming more demanding, and traditional approaches to management practice and management education for information and library work are less and less relevant.

Feedback from the region suggests that there is a need to examine the extent to which management practice and management education have kept pace with developments needed locally, as well as with developments in other parts of the world. A proposal was accordingly made by IFLA to the Unesco Participation Programme for funding to hold a workshop to consider this issue. This was submitted with support from FID, and has been granted a budget of US$30,000.

The aim of this workshop to organise an expert meeting in Latin America, bringing together a small number of invited practitioners and educators from the region together with some international experts to consider recent developments in professional practice, and practical ways to develop the application of modern management techniques in library, information and documentation work, taking account of the specific economic needs of the region and the social, cultural, and technological contexts of library and information services.

To prepare for the workshop two surveys are to be carried out. One will be addressed to managers of library and information services in the region, and will try to discover their opinions on the adequacy of management skills and management training in the region. The other will be addressed to Schools of Librarianship and Information Studies in the Region to explore what they are currently teaching about management and how they are teaching it.

DANIDA was the name given to the government department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, charged with administering Danish aid to developing countries. The decisive principle behind Danish aid is its poverty orientation. Other goals are to promote respect for human rights, to improve the position of women, environmental protection and to promote democratic development process. Cultural cooperation is a part of the official assistance. Denmark has 20 programme countries. Cooperation with programme countries is directed towards long-term efforts. The multilateral development assistance is channelled through the organizations, mainly UN, development banks and the European Union.

DANIDA supports IFLA's ALP Programme and has set up a fund, which aim is to support participation of third world librarians in the IFLA general meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1997.

During the XIII Conference held in Beijing , September 1996, Lia Temporal Malcher, Brazilian librarian and archivist, was elected to the Executive Committee of the International Council on Archives to represent Latin American and Caribbean affairs. She will serve as an alternate to Patricia Galeana, director of the National Archives of Mexico (1996-2000).

The Program to Strengthen Cooperation between Networks and National Information Systems in Latin America (INFOLAC) is a discussion forum for national information institutions of the region. The 6th international meeting was held in Brasilia, Brazil, May 26-28, 1997, under the auspices of the UNESCO Division of Information and Informatics for Latin America and the Caribbean and the Brazilian Institute for Scientific and Technological Information.

Twenty countries were represented at the meeting, at which were presented projects, programs, systems and networks of interest to Latin America and the Caribbean. The financial assistance of IFLA's ALP to INFOBILA was noted throughout the presentations.

The IFLA/LAC office was represented by Dr. Sueli Angélica do Amaral, who had the opportunity to report on IFLA/LAC activities and the Clearinghouse, distribute pamphlets and the "Newsletter", thus reinforcing IFLA's interest in cooperating with the program. Anyone interested in the materials IFLA distributed at the meeting may obtain copies through the Clearinghouse.

The Latin American Information and Librarianship database (INFOBILA) began to disseminate information in 1986 with the help of the Central University Library of the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

Over the years, the project has received financial support from many institutions, including the National Council on Science and Technology (CONACyT), the Organization of American States, and IFLA sections for Development of Third World Libraries and LAC.

At the "Present and Future of INFOBILA" meeting of 1992, the bases were laid to convert the database into a cooperative network by the time of the second meeting in 1995. The objective was to make a product comprised of the published experiences, problems and solutions taken by Latin American colleagues dealing with issues related to library science, archive management, information science and similar themes and make them accessible to the cooperating countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

In its role as the coordinator of the Cooperative Base, Mexico signed bilateral agreements of cooperation with participating countries: Argentina, University of Buenos Aires, Department of Library Science and Documentation of the School of Philosophy and Literature; Chile, Metropolitan Technological University; Colombia, University of Antioquia, Inter-American School of Library Science; Costa Rica, University of Costa Rica; Cuba, José Marti National Library; Institute for Documentation and Scientific and Technological Information; Panamá University of Panamá; Peru, Central Library of the Catholic Pontific University; and Venezuela, the National Library.

The database uses Micro CDS/ISIS and MARC format. The bibliographic descriptions use AACR2. At present, the database consists of 10,050 records. The specialized information in INFOBILA deals with library science and reflects Latin American authors publishing in their own countries or abroad, international authors who publish materials about any Latin American country no matter where it's published, or any translated or compiled materials relating to the region and the topic. Each record includes an informative resume in Spanish or Portuguese, depending on the original language of the work. If there are already synopses in other languages, a translation is made into Spanish.

INFOBILA is meant to be a tool for general research and teaching in the field of Latin American library science and a repository for same. As such, there are no date restrictions and anything on the subject published anywhere is eligible for inclusion.

As the INFOBILA Cooperative Regional Network is integrated, it is hoped that the collective work and the exchange of experiences, knowledge and documentation resources will turn this network into a powerful instrument that will, in turn, lead to the international recognition and appreciation of the regional output of library science materials.

The database is accessible via many fields: author, title, country, descriptors, series, date, language and key-words from the synopses. Descriptors are derived from the Latin American Thesaurus for Library and Information Science, the purpose of which is to standardize the terminology used in the region and facilitate data entry and recuperation of the documents. The thesaurus is being constructed by a team of specialists in the development of controlled vocabularies who work in participating institutions: the University Center for Library Science Research of Mexico, the Metropolitan Technological University in Chile, the Catholic University of Colombia and the National Library of Venezuela.

INFOBILA information is available to all of the participating countries and the CUIB. Starting in June, the database can beconsulted online as part of the CUIB homepage. Presently, the database functions as a collective catalog displaying holdings information for libraries outside of Mexico. One can obtain copies of documents and bibliographies by author, subject or country either in diskette or via e-mail.

This volume contains an article relating to the importance of good library services, one on good customer care and the other describing the development of a methodology which will identify users needs more accurately, and which in turn will improve the design of information systems. Finally, there is a review of the papers presented at 1990 Pre-Conference seminar held in Stockholm on public library policy, with examples of what has been done since then to implement the recommendations of that meeting (Catherine Pinion).