Fundraising efforts have started in the U.S.A. and will be followed by a federation-wide campaign in early 1998. Contributors to the Fund will be listed on the IFLA Website, with their permission. Contributions in cash will also be solicited during the Amsterdam IFLA Conference (August 1998) to avoid bank charges for smaller amounts, the returns of sales for artefacts, etc. UNESCO coupons will also be accepted.

The Fund is meant to be endowed to such a level that the interest will enable the yearly grant(s). The Fund can also be used as a vehicle for other funders to support Conference Participation based on earmarked contributions for support in given years.

The fund will be managed from IFLA HQ. The Jury will be composed of two representatives from the IFLA Boards and two IFLA staff. The ALP Core Programme Director will act in an advisory role.

(Press Release, March, 1998)

Mr Koopman comes to IFLA from the PICA Library Automation Centre where he has been Head of Marketing since 1995. He originally joined PICA in 1991 as coordinator of the RAPDOC Electronic Delivery project, before his promotion to his present position. Undoubtedly, his extensive theoretical and empirical knowledge of the automation, marketing and managerial aspects of the IT sector will stand him in good stead to advise IFLA's Professional Board and Headquarters staff on new ways in which we can develop our professional programme to best meet the demands of our members.

Throughout the 1980s Mr Koopman held a number of increasingly demanding positions within the Royal Library of the Netherlands. His skills as a manager, communicator and above all mediator were carefully honed during this 11-year period. Starting as Reference Librarian in Political Science (1979-1982) he graduated to Management Assistant (1982-1988) and was eventually promoted to the position of Assistant to the Director ad interim (1988-1989). From 1988-1991 he was Secretary of the Governing Board of the Royal Library and, ultimately, Head of Policy Development at the Royal Library from 1990 until he left to join PICA in 1991.

Mr Koopman embarked upon his challenging and varied career within the Dutch library and information sector in 1980, having received a number of distinguished academic awards. Following a degree course in Business Economics at the Erasmus University of Rotterdam he went on to read Political Science at the University of Amsterdam. In 1979 he successfully completed a 3-year course in Library and Information Science (OWB-B) and obtained an MA in Political Science in 1981 from the University of Amsterdam. A frequent attendee of IFLA's annual international conferences and former member of the Standing Committee of the IFLA Section for Document Delivery and Interlending, Mr Koopman is already well-versed with the aims and activities of IFLA. He is also in the unique position of being able to view IFLA objectively from a member's point of view and we hope that he will now translate his "impressions" of IFLA into tangible recommendations so that we might further improve our services to our ever-growing worldwide membership.

Alongside his solid background in library automation, Mr Koopman also possesses excellent linguistic skills: an essential quality for the position of Coordinator of Professional Activities. He has published extensively in both Dutch and English, is proficient in French and German, and has also reached a high conversational level in Italian and Spanish. We therefore feel most fortunate to be able to count Mr Koopman as one of our newest staff members and are confident that he will make a valuable contribution to IFLA's international team. We certainly look forward to working more closely with him in the near future and it is our hope that he too will find his years with IFLA to be refreshing, informative and inspiring.

(HQ press release; February 20,1998)

During its meeting of 13 October 1997, the International Book Committee announced that Ms Maria José Moura, Vice Presidente, Conselho das Bibliotecas Portuguesas, Lisbon, Portugal, was the winner of the Award. In its proposal to IBC, the Professional Board stressed that Ms Moura has been the main force for changing the situation in Portugal for access to books, information and knowledge for an entire nation through launching a public library programme that has been a tremendous success.

A working group, chaired by Ms Moura, is evaluating the library programme, aiming at introducing new improvements, and has now decided to create a nationwide network consisting of central libraries and branches and/or mobile libraries. Intermunicipal networks are also recommended, involving all types of libraries within a municipality or region. Furthemore, Ms Moura has initiated a new programme for reading promotion, as well as developing school libraries and cooperation between public and school libraries.

Ms Moura has been working internacionally to bring new influences back to Portugal. She has worked actively in IFLA for many years, and initiated, in cooperation with former IFLA President Else Granheim, a network of librarians from Southern Europe (Mediterranean countries) and the Nordic countries exchanging professional experiences. Ms Moura is also well-known in European Union work and has contributed to involve Portuguese libraries, both public and academic, in EU projects. She has also encouraged contacts with libraries in South American countries.

The International Book Prize will be officially awarded to Maria José Moura at a special ceremony during the 64th IFLA General Conference, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 16-21 August 1998.

(IFLA Journal 24 (1998) No.1)

The IFLA Directory serves as an easy-reference manual, providing the names and addresses of all newly elected and current Board Members and Officers, and an overview of the broad range of programmes and groups that together realize the objectives of IFLA's professional programme. Following the outline of IFLA's organizational structure, the IFLA Directory also offers a complete list of all IFLA Members, Consultative Bodies and Sponsors, who represent IFLA's international network of information professionals.

The scope and activities of the various IFLA Core Programmes, Divisions, Sections and Round Tables, formulated for the period 1998 to 2001, are set out in the IFLA Medium Term Programme. The advancement of the many aspects of library and information services serves as the general thread of IFLA's professional programme; however, the way in which this goal is to be achieved varies from group to group.

An electronic and interactive version of the IFLA Directory 1998-1999 will be available on IFLA's World Wide Web site - IFLANET - at: http://www.ifla.org

The professional programmes, as described in the IFLA Medium Term Programme, will be directly linked to the appropriate Core Programme, Division, Section and Round Table pages on IFLANET.

As part of the IFLA Membership benefits, both the IFLA Directory 1998-1999 and the IFLA Medium Term Programme 1998- 2001 are sent to all IFLA Officers and Members free of charge. Additional copies of the IFLA Directory 1998-1999 are available at a special price of NLG 35 from the Publications Department at IFLA Headquarters. Non-Members may purchase the IFLA Directory 1998-1999 for NLG 95 and the IFLA Medium Term Programme 1998-2001 for NLG 40.

(Press release, March 12, 1998)

The meeting had three main purposes: promoting of the new version of the Manifesto in Latin America and the Caribbean; training of specialists on this subject in order to be able to raise awareness among the authorities; and defining of common strategies to guarantee achievement of the Manifesto goals. Representatives from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Martinique, Mexico, Peru, St. Maarten, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela attended the meeting.

The methodology used for this meeting was based in a previous distribution and later evaluation of two types of questionnaires: one for the public library and the other to be answered by the library system if it exists. Prof. Sueli Angélica do Amaral (Brazil) was responsible for this work. In a key paper entitled “Panorama of the libraries and systems participating in the meeting”, she reported the result of the analysis, that showed a global vision about the possibilities of the participant countries in the fulfillment of the Manifesto missions. This paper was the basis for the working groups discussions, such as: cooperation and network; support to community participation; use of new technologies in public libraries; project financial resources; public reading policies; public and school libraries interface.

Each session of the working groups was preceded by a lecture on the role and function of the international organizations participating at the meeting as well as information about Brazilian and Portuguese programmes. Among the first ones were: Abdel Aziz Abid - UNESCO World Memory Programme; Philip G. Gill - UNESCO Public Library Manifesto and IFLA Section of Public Library; Birgitta Bergdahl - IFLA ALP Programme; Elizabet Maria Ramos de Carvalho - IFLA Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean; José Adolfo Rodriguez Gallardo - IFLA Section for Latin America and the Caribbean. From Brazil May Brooking Negrão spoke about UNESCO Manifesto and the public libraries in Latin America and the Caribbean, Célia Zaher about the Brazilian Public Library National System and Maria Conceição da Gama Santos about the Bahia State Public Library System. Maria José Moura, from Portugal, referred to the Public Library Programme in her country and also to UNET project - UNESCO Model Libraries. Pamela Benson, from Trinidad and Tobago, presented Darlene Weigand’s paper (from USA, who couldn’t attend the meeting): “The marketing contribution to the implementation of UNESCO Public Library Manifesto in Latin America and the Caribbean”. Representatives from Argentina (Suzana Canibaño), Colombia (Gloria Palomino), Costa Rica (Marlene Vargas Hernandez), Martinique (Marie Francoise Bernabé), Mexico (Salvador Rodriguez Carrillo), Peru (Cesar Castro Allaga), St. Maarten (Blanca Hodge), Trinidad and Tobago (Pamela Benson) and Venezuela (Maritza Turupial), presented brief reports about UNESCO Manifesto activities in their countries.

A “poster session” was simultaneously organized showing products and services offered by libraries and systems of the participating countries.

Following actions were proposed for the period 1998-2002, as a result of the working groups and with the aim of promoting Manifesto missions throughout the Region:

• Integration of the community in the participation of pubic library fundamental activities;
• Promotion of training courses for professional and paraprofessional librarians in strategic planning techniques, marketing and formulation and negotiation of projects, in order to improve services and influence people at decision making levels;
• Design and implementation of tools to facilitate the access to local, regional and international information through the use of new technologies as well as through cooperative mechanisms and networks;
• Supporting, promotion and participation in the implementation of reading policies in the countries of the Region;
• Design and implementation of strategies for a wide promotion of the Manifesto in the Region. The promotion should be carried out not only among public libraries and other library services but also among governmental organizations at several levels, and among private sector and local non-governemntal organizations as well.

Finally the following recommendations were approved:

1. To recommend UNESCO Regional Office to work towards the publication in different formats and wide distribution of the Manifesto;
2. To recommend UNESCO to encourage Latin American and Caribbean State Members governments to apply the Manifesto principles;
3. To recommend countries of the Region to observe the development of the Public Library National Network of Portugal assumed by the Portuguese government as a national policy;
4. To reiterate the validity of the 1982 Caracas Statement that "acknowledge the public library as a development factor and a tool for social change in Latin America and the Caribbean” and to recommend its publication and wide distribution in the region;
5. To recommend the adoption of the methodology for strategic planning and information marketing as the way to create conditions for competitiveness;
6. To recognize the existence of a great diversity of experiences in Latin American and Caribbean public libraries as well as the creativity of their librarians, who fulfill the manifesto missions in adverse conditions, and to recommend the interchange and promotion of these experiences among the countries of the region;
7. To recommend cooperative work with universities and other related institutions as the way to improve service quality as well as cooperation among the libraries of the region;
8. To promote actions proposed for the period 1998 - 2002 in order to contribute to achieve the Manifesto missions.

Besides library visits, interesting cultural and social activities were organized to complement the professional meeting, such as the visit to Costa Pinto Museum and Jorge Amado House.

The meeting was held in a very nice environment, and the kindness and efficiency of the organizers as well as the services staff deserved the congratulations and deep appreciation of the participants.

The Seminar will deal with various aspects of collecting and safeguarding oral heritage, including the socio-cultural context; collection methodologies and selection criteria; care, handling, storage and preservation issues and technical questions.

Candidates will be selected from the developing world and funded to attend both the Pre-Session and the 1999 General Conference of IFLA. Preference will be given to individuals who would gain the most from the session and who would be in a position to pass on the benefits of attendance to colleagues in their home countries.

Orientation note, questionnaire and address list may be obtained from the IFLA ALP Secretariat.

IFLA ALP
Uppsala University Library
PO Box 510
S-751 20 Uppsala
Sweden
E-mail:ifla.alp@ub.uu.se
Fax: 46 18-4713994

(Gunnila Natvig - ALP)

The participants were: Birgitta Bergdahl, Coordinator of the IFLA Programme, José Adolfo Rodriguez Gallardo, President of the Section, Elizabet Maria Ramos de Carvalho, IFLA/LAC Regional Office Manager, and the following SC members: Stella Maris Fernández and Roberto Servidio (Argentina), Ivone Tálamo, Sueli Angélica do Amaral and May Brooking Negrão (Brazil), Glória Maria Rodriguez Santamaria (Colombia), Alice Miranda (Costa Rica), Clara Budnik (Chile), Marie Francoise Bernabé (Martinica), Estela Morales (Mexico), Blanca Hodge (St. Maarten), Pamela Benson (Trinidad & Tobago) and Maria Elena Zapata (Venezuela).

The objectives of the meeting were: to plan the actions for the 64th IFLA General Conference to be held next August 16-21 in Amsterdam; to follow up the activities of the medium Term Programme for the period 1998 - 1999 and to start planning the activities to be developed during the IFLA Conference in Thailand (1999). In the meeting the SC also approved the theme for the IFLA/LAC Contest for 1999: "The impact of the full text in the electronic world: are yet librarians necessary?".

For the joint forum with Division VIII the theme is: "Is local information global information?".

The theme for the IFLA/LAC Session in Thailand will be: "Latin America and the Caribbean library kaleidoscope".

(Stella Maris Fernández - SC IFLA/LAC)

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Welcome to the electronic forum ENLAC-E

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IFLA/LAC Contest Bangkok'99 - Call for papers for the "Contributed Papers" Session

The IFLA/LAC Section invites all the librarian professional community of Latin America and the Caribbean to take part in the contest whose aim is to stimulate the participation of new professional in the IFLA programmes. The winner will present his/her work in the Contributed Papers Session in the 65th IFLA General Conference that will be held in Bangkok, Thailand, 1999, where he/she will have the opportunity to meet colleagues from all over the world and share experiences.

Theme: The impact of the electronic full text: are librarians yet necessary?

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 envelope your complete data and a copy of your C.V. or resum;
8. The deadline for receipt is January 15, 1999;
9. The submissions should be sent to the member who represents your specific country on the Standing 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:

1. The ability to present the work at the "Contributed Papers" Session in Bangkok;
2. Free registration for the 64th IFLA General Conference in Bangkok, 1999 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.

IFLA/LAC Regional Office:
Elizabet Maria Ramos de Carvalho
c/o FEBAB
Rua Avanhadava, 40 - cj. 110
01306 - São Paulo - SP - Brasil
Telefax: +55 11 2579979
Fax: +55 11 2922993
Fax: 55 21 322-5733
e-mail: iflalac@nutecnet.com.br

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A Chilean was the winner of the IFLA/LAC Contest 1998

Christian Cabezas, from Chile, was the winner of the IFLA/LAC Contest for the Contributed Papers session of the 64th IFLA General Conference to be held in Amsterdam, with his paper “The library as a gateway for information access”. He will receive the registration fee for the conference as well as a round trip ticket to Amsterdam.

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IFLA / SECTION OF CLASSIFICATION AND INDEXING

International Conference on National Bibliographic Services

In 1977 in Paris, the International Congress on National Bibliographies was organised by UNESCO in collaboration with IFLA. This was a seminal event resulting in a series of recommendations which have contributed significantly to improved universal bibliographic control during the last two decades. However, a number of factors have encouraged IFLA's Division of Bibliographic Control and the Universal Bibliographic Control and International MARC Programme (UBCIM) to believe that the 1977 recommendations should be reviewed and if necessary updated. These factors include new and emerging means of record distribution, such as the WWW, the considerable political changes that took place at the begining of this decade and the increase in the growth of international publishing.

Twenty-one years after the Paris Congress, therefore, another conference is planned. This conference will take place in Copenhagen on 25 - 27 November 1998. It will compries presentations on such topics as coverage, partnerships with other sectors and distribution and exchange, and will be preceded by a keynote paper recalling the 1977 Congress. Discussion groups will consider the issues raised and report back to a plenary session at which new recommendations will emerge. The tone of the conference will be interactive; there will be no sessions devoted to national presentations. The languages of the conference will be English and French.

Participation at the conference will be by invitation only and there will be a registration fee of about Dkr.2000.

(Marie-France Plassard, UBCIM)

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NEWS IFLA AFFILIATES AND MEMBERS IN THE REGION

INDEX
ARGENTINA XXXII Librarians National Meeting Foundation of Library Research Society - Buenos Aires BRASIL Bireme and Fapesp partnership UFMG establishes an information network National Seminar on University Libraries IBICT launches a new edition of the Decimal Universal Classification in Portuguese language (continuation...)	I CIBERÉTICA - International Symposium on Intellectual Property, Information and Ethics CHILE Chile representative to IFLA/LAC Mme. Christine Deschamps, President of IFLA, visits Chile St. MAARTEN The Philipsburg Jubilee Library in St Maarten has been the recipient of the Len Stein Communication Award (Return to summary) (Return to cover page)

ARGENTINA

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XXXII Librarians National Meeting

It was held on April 14-17, 1998, during the Book Fair at Buenos Aires under the title “Where is the library in the global village?”. The opening session was chaired by Ana Maria Perruchena Zimmerman, president of the institution, Christine Deschamps, president of IFLA, Barbara Ford, president of ALA and Augustina Gloria Villanueva, president of Paraguay Librarians Association.

ABGRA’s president welcomed the participants and expressed the institution’s desire that Buenos Aires be the venue for the IFLA Conference in 2004.

Christine Deschamps explained quite clearly the concept of global village, its achievements and its problems for the libraries. Afterwards a round table on this subject was held coordinated by Jose Antonio Yanes and with the participation of Estela Morales (Mexico), Nicolas Cop (USA), Jeronimo Martínez (Spain) and Barbara Ford (USA). On Wednesday 14, IFLA’s president referred to what is IFLA, its objectives, its organization, its core programmes and the advantages of being member of it. Later, ALA’s president talked about ALA and the next conference to be held in Washington. ABGRA’s enriched the meeting with panels, conferences, seminars and the particpation of several types of libraries: school, agriculture, university and health.

(Stella Maris Fernández - CP IFLA/LAC)
(Continuation - Mme. Deschamps visits Chile)

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Foundation of Library Research Society - Buenos Aires

The Library Research Society was founded in 1998 as a non-profit private society. It was established as an institution interested in developing libary and information science research as well as in the updating of the professionals in these fields.

It objectives are:

• to promote research in these fields;
• to publish the research carried out;
• to publish a journal in order to raise the interest in research through the articles included in it as well as to contribute to the updating of all activities linked to the profession and to know about new publications;
• to organize lectures, courses, seminars;
• to establish and to strengthen relations with similar national and international institutions.

Since its establishement the society is affiliated to IFLA.
Address:
Stella Maris Fernández
Rivadavia, 6003, 4o. piso, 27
(1408) Buenos Aires, Argentina
Fax: 54 1 431-3868
(Stella Maris Fernández - SC IFLA/LAC)

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BRASIL

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Bireme and Fapesp partnership

The BIREME/FAPESP project celebrated last March one year of work on a common methodology for the organization, storage, dissemination and availability of the scientific production on electronic format.

The aim of the "Scientific Electronic Library Online (SCIELO)" is to implement a virtual library to allow wide access to collections and serial publications, besides full texts of magazines and newspapers articles.

IBICT will participate in future actions adopting the methodology generated by SCIELO in the creation of a national scientific production database and creation of bibliometric indicators as part of the system of science and technology indicators coordinated by the Ministry of Science and Technology.

(Informativo IBICT, Vol.18, No. 1/2, jan./abr., 1998)

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UFMG establishes an information network

In March the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) inaugurated the Bibliographic Information Network of the UFMG Library System - SB@net. The SB@net installation will allow online access to the University Bibliographic Information Database (which include more than 27 branch libraries), to the Library System managerial information, to automated interlending, to management and control of periodical holdings, through UFMG network or through Internet.

(Informativo IBICT, Vol.18, No. 1/2, jan./abr., 1998)

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National Seminar on University Libraries

The 10th National Seminar on University Libraries (SNBU) will be held on October 25 - 30 at the Fortaleza Convention Center, Ceara, Brazil, organized by the Ceara Federal University Library (UFC) and by the Fortaleza University Library (Unifor).

The meeting theme will be:”University Library Management: strategies for a new era”.

For more information:
Universidade Federal do Ceará
Biblioteca Universitária
Caixa Postal 6025
60451-970 Forataleza - CE
E-mail: biblos@ufc.br

(Informativo IBICT, Vol.18, No. 1/2, jan./abr., 1998)

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IBICT launches a new edition of the Decimal Universal Classification in Portuguese language

The “Decimal Universal Classification” has now a new edition. The last one was in 1987. The 1998 edition, prepared and commercialized by IBICT, makes available in the market a product that has been waited for a long time.

The presentation of this new edition took place in the Cultural Space of the House of Representatives as part of the celebrations of the 44th Anniversary of IBICT and of the Librarian Day - March 12.

Those interested to acquire a copy of this DCU may contact:
Núcleo de Comercialização do IBICT (NCP)
Tel./Fax. (061)321-4888 ou (061)217-6161
E-mail: nucom@ibict.br

(Informativo IBICT, Vol.18, No. 1/2, jan./abr., 1998)

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I CIBERÉTICA - International Symposium on Intellectual Property, Information and Ethics

The symposium will be held in Florianopolis, Santa Catarina, on November 19-21, 1998.

Objective: to disseminate the many forms of utilization of resources originated in what has been called “new technologies” to the production, access, dissemination, preservation and use of juridical information in electronic environment.

Target audience:
Professionals of the legal sector;
Professionals of the information and informatics sector;
Students of Librarianship, Law and Computer Sciences.

The theme will include such topics as: clients of legal information; computer crimes; rights and ethics in the information society; digital documentation; distance education; MERCOSUL legal information; and thesaurus, among many others.

For more information:
Office Marketing
Av. Osmar Cunha, 183 - sala 909 - Ed. Ceisa Center - Centro
88015 - 100 Florianópolis SC
Tel. 55 048 223-7864
Fax. 55 048 223-4761
E-mail: ciberetica@ccj.ufsc.br
http://ciberetica.ccj.ufsc.br

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CHILE

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Chile representative to IFLA/LAC

After her election as representative to IFLA/LAC, Clara Budnik sent a message to her colleagues in Chile to announce her election and to inform that she will be at disposal of those interested in participating of IFLA’s works. The answer has been excellent. Special interest has been raised on the specialized sections as an opportunity to interchange experiences and improve library services quality.

As good librarians do, a list of IFLA’s publications received from Winston Roberts, IFLA’s former Coordinator of Professional Activities, was circulated. These publications are available at: :
Subdirección de Bibliotecas Públicas
Alonso Ovalle 1637
Santiago, Chile

(Clara Budnik - SC IFLA/LAC)

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Mme. Christine Deschamps, President of IFLA, visits Chile

“I came to listen my Chilean’s colleagues and to explain to them what important is to have representatives in IFLA in order to be able to present better requests, since without requests there is nothing”, expressed Mme. Christine Deschamps to a Santiago’s newspaper during the visit to Chile, April 8-10, in her first trip to Latin America as IFLA’s President.

Mme. Deschamps was welcomed with great interest by the librarian community and also by Chile Government as well as by the media. She was invited to Chile to participate in a seminar on Information Management organized by IFLA and FID (International Federation for Information and Documentation). The programme in Santiago included an interview with the Minister of Education, Jose Pablo Arellando and with the DIBAM - Director, Direction of Libraries, Archives and Museums of Chile, Marta Cruz-Coke. A working meeting with Librarianship schools was also organized. Ms Deschamps gave a lecture on IFLA in a meeting coordinated by the Librarians College and the National Commission of Scientific and Technological Research (CONICYT). She also visited the National Library, university and public libraries, and the new project Bibliometro.

She talked with officers of the Public Libraries Vice-Direction where she appreciated the new project of its modernization. About the importance of public libraries she said: “Libraries have a psychological and social role. Psychological because reading develops creativity, criticism and innovation. Social because libraries contribute to fight against illiteracy, to learn about history and the administrative law of the country and to access the information needed for scientific development”. (Diario El Mercurio, 12/4/98).

She also participated in the Seminar IFLA-FID held in Valparaiso where, as she did before in Santiago, she addressed the librarians of the region.

(Clara Budnik - SC IFLA/LAC)

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ST. MAARTEN

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The Philipsburg Jubilee Library in St Maarten has been the recipient of the Len Stein Communication Award

The Philipsburg Jubilee Library in St Maarten has been the proud recipient of the Len Stein Communication Award (a crystal eagle with gold) for its services to the community of St Maarten over the past 75 years.

The library was established in 1923 and has grown significantly during the past 25 years.

The number of books has increased from 5.000 to over 50.000 today. It has moved from a very small space to the spacious library it is today. It continues to stimulate reading as being Fundamental. It has kept pace with technical developments, is computerized and linked to the internet.

Most importantly it is the communication link between the writer, our children, the public and the source of information and knowledge. Mrs Blanca Hodge, librarian for the past 30 years, was asked to accept the award.

(Blanca Hodge - SC IFLA/LAC)

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GENERAL NEWS OF INTEREST TO THE REGION

INDEX
World Information Report 1997-98 4th Meeting of Librarianship, Archive and Information Science Educators and Researchers from Iberoamerica and the Caribbean Page WEB on fund sources for interchange of librarians and information scientists	3rd International Meeting of Portuguese Speaking Librarians 6th National Congress of the Portugueses Association of Librarians, Archivists and Documentalists - BAD Workshop in Valparaíso, Chile (Return to summary) (Return to cover page)

GENERAL NEWS OF INTEREST TO THE REGION

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World Information Report 1997-98

This publication was designed to offer to the non-specialized reader and particularly to those responsible for decisions making as well to the general public, a wide vision of the information universe as it is nowadays with the technological, social and political world development. On the threshold of the 21st Century it offers a global vision of archives, libraries and information services and also some other interesting subjects as a contribution made by the best specialists of our planet.

The World Information Report 1997-98 is divided in three parts. The first one, subdivided in two sections, describes the information services in the whole world. Section A refers to libraries and information services through a geopolitical view in which the world is divided into eight regions from East to West and from North to South: Eastern Asia and Oceania; South Asia; Arab States; Africa (South Sahara); Eastern Europe and Independent States Community; Western Europe; Canada and the United States; and Latin America and the Caribbean. The chapter related to Latin America and the Caribbean in this section (Chapter 8) was written by Estela Morales Campos (IFLA/LAC SC member). A well documentated report on information services in that geographical zone is given in it. First, through a conceptual approach on public and school libraries functions and services; secondly, with reference to the national libraries and their work together with Spain and Portugal, joined in the Asociación de Bibliotecas Nacionales de Iberoamerica - ABINIA; to the university libraries, the ones with the best financial support, staff and technological infrastructure and to the special libraries, which incorporate themselves fastly to the changes and to the information commercial sector. This chapter ends with a general vision - achievements and difficulties - in the field of library services human resources, the advancement of research, the incorporation to technological systems - the cooperation among the countries of the region in a globalized world - and the role of the professional associations, whose development plays a relevant role in the defense, promotion and use of information at local and regional levels.

The second part (“Infrastructure for information work”) refers to the basic technical components of the information work, presented in an advanced report format. The third part (“Issues and trends”) analyses an important number of actual interesting subjects, some of them related to the increase of technology and others to political, social or legal views.

The World Information Report represents the intention to show this reality in move as the 20th Century is coming to an end. It is also a tool for the diagnosis and for decision that will make possible a better understanding of the information world as it is today and a better perspective of what it will be tomorrow and it is addressed to those responsible for decision making, to governamental officers, to information professionals and to the general public.

(Estela Morales Campos - IFLA/LAC SC)

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4th Meeting of Librarianship, Archive and Information Science Educators and Researchers from Iberoamerica and the Caribbean

This 4th meeting was held at Maracaibo (Venezuela) from april 20 to 24, 1998. The University of Zulia was in charge of its organization with the sponsorship of UNESCO and the Banco Mara Foundation, which was also the venue of the meeting. The meeting’s background was Puerto Rico meeting in 1993 named “Latin American Educators in the Fields of Library and Information Science”, the first Regional Workshop for the elaboration of a coordinated plan for the training of information professionals that was celebrated in 1994 at Belo Horizonte (Brazil), the 2nd meeting held in 1995 at Mexico and the third meeting in 1998 at Puerto Rico.

The participants were representatives of schools and research centres from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Spain, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Ian Johnson from the Robert Gordon University. The meeting objectives were: to facilitate the analysis and discussion of the new paradigm of the Information Sciences; to promote the analysis and reflection on the technological tendencies and the application of new training strategies, and to think about the research lines in schools. The following themes were considered:

• paradigms of professional education on Information Science;
• didactic paradigms;
• research and postgraduate courses.

Paper sessions, forums and workshops were organized to develop these themes.

During the meeting was approved the first Assembly of the Association for Education and Research on Librarianship, Archives, Information Science and Documentation of Iberoamerica and the Caribbean and it was created its Executive Committee integrated by representatives of the following countries: Presidence - Spain; Vice-Presidence - Brazil; Executive Secretariat - Mexico; Treasury - Venezuela; Vocal - Argentina; Minutes Secretariat - Costa Rica; Attorneyship - Costa Rica.

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Page WEB on fund sources for interchange of librarians and information scientists

To promote information about the opportunities for study visits and programmes for the interchange of librarians and information scientists is one of the objectives of the IRC/IRRT Joint Committee in charge of international interchange. As part of this objective the Committee has a WEB page of the institutions and funding agencies that are potential sponsors for the interchange of international activities.
The list may be consulted in: http://www.aa.org/work/international/intweb.html

The Committe has this list as an information resource, not for financing, coordinating or making paperwork for interchange or international trips. Comments are welcomed and may be sent to the Committee members listed in the page.

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3rd International Meeting of Portuguese Speaking Librarians

The meeting was promoted by the Portugueses Association of Librarians, Archivists and Documentalists - BAD - and was held at Aveiro, Portugal, on May 4-5, 1998. The theme was “Libraries and Information: strategies for cooperation”. The participants were professionals from Angola, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Guinea Bissau, Macao, Mozambique, Portugal, Sao Tome and Principe.

IFLA’s President was not able to participate in the whole meeting but had the opportunity to get a general vision of the librarianship in the Portuguese speaking countries. Birgitta Bergdahl, IFLA/ALP Programme Coordinator, and Elizabet Maria Ramos de Carvalho, IFLA/LAC Regional Office Manager, had participated and taken part in the session “Financial sources for cooperation”. The recommendations of this meeting are included in the “Letter of Aveiro”. Some of them will be discussed on the next Caucus of Portuguese Language to be celebrated at Amsterdam on August 15. The next meeting should be hosted by Cabo Verde.

Our congratulations to BAD for the success of the event

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6th National Congress of the Portugueses Association of Librarians, Archivists and Documentalists - BAD

It was held at Aveiro, Portugal, from May 6-8, 1998. The Congress theme was “Libraries and Archives in the Information Society” and was attended by a great number of professionals from Europe, United States, Brazil and the African countries which have the Portuguese as official language.

IFLA’s President, Ms. Christine Deschamps, took part in the Opening Session and her speech was very much appreciated. Elizabet Maria Ramos de Carvalho, IFLA/LAC Regional Office Manager, was also invited to the Congress by BAD and she presented the work “Preservation of the Intelectual Capital of the Institutions”.

The high level of the works presented, the exhibition that paraleled the meeting, the cordiality of the Portuguese colleagues, as well as the opportunity of interchange experiences, were the high lights of the BAD Congress.

The IFLA/LAC Regional Office Manager congratulates the Organizing Commission and wants to specially thank Dr. Antonio José de Pina Falcão, BAD and Organizing Committe’s President, Dr. Maria José Moura, Vice-President, Conselho Superior de Bibliotecas and Dr. Maria Inês Lopes, from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, for the attention and courtesy they had with her and the other Brazilian librarians.

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Workshop in Valparaíso, Chile

Some 30 library and information specialists from Latin America and the Caribbean and a small number of invited international experts met in the Library of Congress in Valparaiso, Chile, in early April 1998 to discuss practical ways to develop the application of modern management techniques to library, information and documentation work. The workshop was organised on behalf of IFLA and FID, and was supported by a grant from the UNESCO Participation Programme, with additional contributions from CONICYT (the Chilean National Council for Science and Technology), and the British Council. A preliminary visit to Chile for planning purposes was made possible by adding it to the itinerary for a series of visits to some prospective collaborators in the European Union's programme ALFA, which supports links between Universities in Europe and Latin America

The participants in the workshop then made a number of recommendations intended to secure an improvement in the understanding and application of modern management techniques in libraries and information services in the region.

1. Individual professionals in the region should:
   • promote a greater awareness of their existing managerial responsibilities and expertise;
   • take more responsibility for their own continuing professional development. To facilitate this, the (British) Library Association should be asked to agree to the translation into appropriate languages and wide publication of its working document, "The framework for Continuing Professional Development - your personal profile". An offer to undertake the translation into Spanish was made on behalf of the Centro Universitario de Investigaciones Bibliotecologicas, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico;
   • work to strengthen their national professional associations, particularly as providers of continuing education.

2. The chief officials of libraries in the region should:
• foster links between teaching and professional practice, particularly in respect of the application of modern management techniques;
• establish structured training and development plans, focused on their organisational goals and based on regular reviews of the abilities and aspirations of their staff.
3. Schools of Library and Information Science in the region should:
• make greater efforts to promote the career opportunities offered by library and information work in order to attract better students;
• engage in more meaningful dialogue with practitioners about management practice and management teaching;
• develop teachers' and students' knowledge of modern management techniques in relation to the needs of the job market;
• give more attention to developing students' leadership skills;
• engage more in research in this area and in providing relevant research training.
4. The national Library Associations in the region should:
• work with the Schools of Library and Information Science to promote the range of career opportunities now available in the field;
• encourage the application of modern management techniques in libraries and information services, and relevant teaching in the Schools of Library and Information Science;
• ensure that management topics are included in the programmes for their annual meetings and other continuing professional education activities. An offer to make the management of library and information services the theme of INFO 99 in Cuba in October 1999 was noted;
• establish regional groups to encourage the development of modern professional practice and to support continuing professional education, especially in relation to the application of management techniques;
• encourage and support the participation by library and information professionals in leadership development programmes.
5. The international Non-Governmental Organisations (IFLA/FID/ICA) should:
• seek funding to develop a training package which could be used by management developers in libraries and Schools of Library and Information Science throughout the world to improve the teaching of general management techniques. As a first step, IFLA should publish, translated into Spanish and the other official IFLA languages, the report on the IFLA-sponsored project by Michael Koenig, "Information driven management: concepts and themes - a toolkit for librarians";
• seek funding to develop a training package in knowledge management for use by teachers in Schools of Library and Information Science;
• prepare guidance for Schools of Library and Information Science to strengthen their teaching in research methods (particularly those methodologies relevant to research in management topics), and their programme of research activities, and to encourage the development of more research centres in the region (IFLA Section on Library Theory and Research);
• organise meetings from time to time focused on the latest developments in education and continuing professional education for management and the use of human resources, such as knowledge management, and including the development of teachers' knowledge and skills in these areas.

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CLEARINGHOUSE - PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED

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THE CLEARINGHOUSE MAINTAINS SETS OF CONFERENCE PAPERS AND OTHER IFLA PUBLICATIONS. ALL PAPERS LISTED BELOW ARE AVAIALABLE FOR COPIES AT THE REGIONAL OFFICE CLEARINGHOUSE. PLEASE NOTE THE NEWS BELOW EACH REFERENCE, THEY MIGHT INTERSET YOU

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. ABGRA. Directorio de bibliotecas argentinas. Edición preliminar,1997.

. ABGRA. Referencias. vol.3 No.1, abril, 1998.

. Amaral, Sueli Angélica do. Marketing: abordagem em unidades de informação / Brasília: Thesaurus, 1998.
”The book’s subject is the potential of marketing as a management tool for the improvement of the information unities performance. Some questions need to be answered: how is possible to better know the market? how can consumers be better understood? which products and information services must be planned? The answers are found when the book shows how to disseminate and implementing marketing in information unities”.

. APBDSE. Informativo da Associação Profissional dos Bibliotecários e Documentalistas de Sergipe. Ano 1, No.1, Aracaju/SE, Nov. 1997

. Barquet Téllez, Concepción, Naumis Peña, Catalina y Romero Tejeda, Emma Norma. Manual para la descripción bibliográfica de la base de datos INFOBILA - México : UNAM, CUIB, 1997
“The manual may be used as a normalizer instrument, with guidelines and orientations which aim is to solve the technical problems of the documental analysis for the input of different documents in the data base”.

. AMBAC. Noticiero de la AMBAC (Asociación Mexicana de Bibliotecarios, A.C.). Num.114,Octubre/Diciembre, 1997

. CAB International. Database news. No. 34, March 1998.

. Conselho Federal de Biblioteconomia. CFB Informa. Brasília, ano 03, No. 01, janeiro 1998.

. Conselho Federal de Biblioteconomia. CFB Informa. Brasília, ano 03, No. 02, abril 1998.

. CRB-7. Boletim. Órgão informativo do Conselho Regional de Biblioteconomia - 7a. Região , Rio de Janeiro, jul./set. 1997.

. CRB-8. Boletim Informativo. São Paulo , no. 3, nov. 1997.

. CRB-8. Boletim Informativo. São Paulo , no. 4, dez. 1997.

. CRB-8. Boletim Informativo. São Paulo , no. 5, jan. 1998.

. CRB-14. Informativo. Florianópolis , v. 7, n. 4, out./dez. 1997.

. Evans, Gwynneth. Scholl Library Manifesto (for discussion). August 1997.
The purpose of this manifesto is to define and promote the role of school libraries and resource centers in enabling students to acquire the “learning tools and learning content” that will allow them to survive; to develop their full capacities; to continue to learn throughout their lives; and to make informed decisions.

. IBICT. Informativo. Vol.17, No.5, set./out., 1997.

. IBICT. Informativo. Vol.18, No.12, jan./abr., 1998.

. IFLA. ALP. Project Report no. 11. A trainig package for rural public libraries.Department of Non-Formal Education, Ministry of Education. Bangkok, Thailand, 1997.
This trainig package for rural public libraries was developed by the Non-Formal Education Department of the Ministry of Education, Thailand, but it can be used everywhere. The modules were designed for a 12-day training period.

. IFLA. ALP. Reunión Regional de Bibliotecas Publicas. Biblioteca Nacional del Perú; Municipalidad Provincial de Piura; Universidad de Piura. Preparado por: César Castro Allaga.

. IFLA. 63rd IFLA General Conference. Aug. 31 - Sep. 5, 1997. Copenhagen, Denmark. (Fund Programme, Participant List, Exhibitor Catalogue, set of booklets n. 0 - 8 and IFLA express 1 - 8)

. IFLA Journal. Vol. 23, No. 5/6,1977.

. IFLA Journal. Vol. 23, No.2, 1997.

. IFLA Journal. Vol. 23, No.4, 1997.

. IFLA Medium Term Programme 1998 - 2001. The Hague,1998.

. IFLA Round Table of Editors of Library Journals. Newsletter. No. 2 (12), Vol. 13, November 1997

. IFLA Round Table of National Centres for Library Services. Newsletter. No.1, July 1997.

. IFLA Round Table of National Centres for Library Services. Newsletter. No.2, December 1997.

. IFLA Round Table on Library History. Newsletter. No. 9, Fall, 1997.

. IFLA Round Table on Mobile Libraries. Newsletter. Vol. 1, No. 7, August/September, 1997.

. IFLA Round Table on the Management of Library Associations. Newsletter. Vol. 21, Jul./Aug. 1997.

. IFLA Round Table on Newspapers. Newsletter. No. 5, Summer, 1997.

. IFLA Round Table on User Education. Newsletter. July, 1997.

. IFLA Section for Africa. Newsletter. No. 13 July, 1997.

. IFLA Section for Africa. Newsletter. No. 14 January, 1998.

. IFLA Section of Art Libraries. Special Libraries Division. Newsletter. No. 41, 1997.

. IFLA Section of Biological and Medical Sciences Libraries. Newsletter. Vol. 18, no. 12, April, 1997.

. IFLA Section of Children’s Libraries. Newsletter. No. 51, December, 1997.

. IFLA Section of Libraries for the Blind. Newsletter. Autumn, 1997.

. IFLA Section of Public Libraries. Newsletter. No. 18. December, 1997.

. IFLA Section on Bibliography. Newsletter. July 1997.

. IFLA Section on Acquisition and Collection Development. Newsletter. No. 14, Summer, Winter 1997/98.

. IFLA Section on Acquisition and Collection Development. Newsletter. No. 15, Summer, 1997.

. IFLA Section on Acquisition and Collection Development. Newsletter. No. 16, Winter, 1997/98.

. IFLA Section on Document Delivery and Interlending. Newsletter. January, 1998.

. IFLA Section on Library and Research Services for Parliaments. Newsletter.Vol. 17, No. 1, November, 1997.

. IFLA Section on Reading. Newsletter. No. 4, August, 1997.

. IFLA Section on Reading. Newsletter. No. 5, November, 1997.

. IFLA UAP. Newsletter. No. 24, October 1997.

. IFLA UAP. Newsletter. No. 25, April 1998.

. INTAMEL. Metro. No. 13, December, 1997.

. Library Association Publishing. 1998 Catalogue: new books and backlist. London, 1998.

. Library of Congress. Information Bulletin. Vol.56, No. 15, October, 1998.

. Library of Congress. Information Bulletin. Vol.57, No.3, March, 1998.

. Morales Campos, Estela. 63a. conferencia IFLA Copenhage 1997: participantes de América Latina y el Caribe. México, 1997.

. Pérez Paz, Nahúm. La modalidad de educación abierta a distancia de la Escuela Nacional de Biblioteconomia y Archivología. México, noviembre, 1997.

. Prefeitura da Cidade do Rio de Janeiro.Folha da leitura. Secretaria Municipal de Cultura. Agosto/setembro. No.7, 1997.

. Russo, Mariza. Bibliotecas Universitárias Brasileiras: diretrizes para o próximo milênio. CBBU/FEBAB, dez. 1997

. UFRJ. Sibi. Informal. Boletín do Sistema de Bibliotecas e Informação da UFRJ. Ano 9, no. 1, jan/jun 1998.

. UNESCO. Memory of the World: A survey of current library preservation activities/ prepared for UNESCO on behalf of IFLA by Jan Lyall. - Paris : UNESCO, 1996. v, 59 p.; 30cm. -(CII-96/WS-7)(text also in French)

. UNESCO. Memory of the World: Lost memory - Libraries and archives destroyed in the twentieth century / prepared for UNESCO on behalf of IFLA by Hans van der Hoeven and on behalf of ICA by Joan van Albada. - Paris : UNESCO, 1996. - ii, 70 p.; 30cm. - (CII-96/WS/1)(text also in French)

. UNESCO. Mémoire du Monde: Principes directeurs pour la sauvegarde du patrimoine documentaire / document élaboré pour l’UNESCO au nom de l’IFLA par Stephen Foster, Jan Lyall, Duncan Marshall et Roslyn Russel. - Paris : UNESCO, 1995. - viii, 77 p.; 30cm. - (CII-95/WS-11)

. UNESCO. Mémoire du Monde: Rapport final. - Paris : UNESCO, octobre, 1997. - (CII-97/CONF.502/CLD.1)(original anglais)

. UNESCO. UNISIST Newsletter. Vol.25, No. 2, 1997.

. UNESCO. UNAL Info. No. 17 - septembre 1997.

. UNESCO. UNAL Info. No. 18 - décembre 1997.

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INTERNATIONAL CALENDAR

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1998

August

14 - 23 International Book Fair, La Paz, Bolivia

16 - 21 - 64th IFLA General Conference, Amsterdam, Netherlands

September

2 - 20 International Book Fair, Montevideo, Uruguay

29 - 4/out. LIBER, Barcelona, Spain

October

7 - 12 International Book Fair, Frankfurt, Germany

11-17 49th FID Conference and Congress, New Dehli, India

November

25 - 27 International Conference on Bibliographic Services, Copenhaguen, Denmark

1999

- 65th IFLA General Conference, Bangcoq, Thailand
Theme: On the Treshold of a New Century: libraries as gateways to an Enlighted World

2000

- 66th IFLA General Conference, Jerusalem, Israel

2001

- 67th IFLA General Conference, Boston, United States

2002

- 68th IFLA General Conference, Glasgow, Scotland

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WHAT IS IFLA?

THE REGIONAL OFFICE

THE ALP PROGRAMME

USEFUL SITES

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