NEWSLETTER

The IFLA Conference is the most important professional international event within lhe library and information community. It brings together delegates, experts and suppliers from all over the world, to meet, exchange ideas, share experiences, introduce new technologies and to influence the development of libraries and information centres, both nationally and globally.

The Israeli National Organising Committee has chosen the theme “Information for Cooperation: Creating the Global Library of the Future” for the 66th IFLA Conference in Jerusalem. The key word of the theme is co-operation, towards which we shall all be aiming. It is to these goals - international, multilingual and multicultural co-operatíon throughout lhe library and information community - that the 66th IFLA Conference in Jerusalern commits itself and invites all of its colleagues throughout the world to participate, contribute and celebrate in Jerusalem in lhe year 2000.

Jerusalem the venue of the conference, is best characterised by its name in Hebrew, which means “city of peace’ The city has a history of over 4000 years and is holy to the three monotheistic religions Judaísm, Christianity and Islam. It is famous for its beauty and unique atmosphere - a blend of ancient and modern. Jerusalem is lhe most suitable setting for the 66th IFLA Conference, especially in the year 2000, the start of a new milleniurn and a new beginning. The Israelí library community is waiting to welcome you all warmly in Jerusalem.

Theme- “Information for cooperation: creating the global library of the future”.

The enormous potential for international co-operation in the exchange and utilisatíon of information which todays technology offers, and tomorrow’s technology promises, presents a unique opportunity to library and information professionals. The growing demand for bibliographic exchange, multicultural Internet resources, research unhampered by geographic or linguistic limitations, and cross-cultural networking, both in the sense of online technolgy and offline partnerships, is a challenge to libraries which should be welcomed and which must be addressed.

The Global information infrastructure which is developing and which will surely be in place early in the 2lst century, will require information professionals with a sense of obligation, both to their national needs and to the larger goals of the international community, to digitise, navigate, distribute and preserve all the world’s knowledge for all the worlds people.

Subtopics

• Exchange of electronic bibliographic data
• Cross-cultural networking partnerships
• The multicultural Internet
• Management of information: “librarianship for the 2lst century
• The on-site hbrary in the era of the virtual library
• Educating the professional for the Global Information Infrastructure
• Research in a global environment
• The study of reading in the digital society
• Preservatíon of the past for the future

Organizing Committee
President:
· Professor Sara Japhef, Director, the Jewish National and University Library
Vice president:
· Professor Bluma Peritz, Director, School of Library, Archives and Information Studies, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Secretary:
· CeciIe Panzer, Chairperson. Israel Society of Special Libraries and Information Centres
Liaison officers:
General Research Libraries: Karen Sitton
Special Libraries: Sanda Berkowitz
Libraries Serving the General Public: Ora Nebenzahl
Biblioqraphic Control: Snunith Shoham
Collections and Services: Naomi Barzely
Managernent and Technology: Elhanan Adler
Education and Research: Bluma Perttz
Regional Activities: Cecile Panzer

REGISTRATION FEES
	Participant	Accornpanying Person
Before 15 May 2000	US$ 375	US$ 425
After 15 May 2000	US$ 200	US$ 250

Participant Registratíon Fees ínclude: Admission te sessions, conference material, conference kit and badge admission to thc exhibition, library visits, social events as listed in the programme and a walking tour of the Old City of Jerusalem
Accompanying Person Registration Fees include:Admission to exhibition, Iibrary visits, social events listed in the programme, one walking tour and the Accompanying Persons Tour.
More information:
IFLA 2000 CONFERENCE SECRETARIAT
Peltours-Te’um Congress Organisers
POB 52047, Jerusalem 93420, ISRAEL
Street Address 9 HaUman St., Suite 207, Jerusalem 93420. ISRAEL
Fel 972 2 648 1245
Fax 972 2 648 1305
E-mailteumcon@netmedia.net.il
Website www.teumcong.co.il

A contribution of $ 12,500 has been approved for IFLA! The funds will be allocated to three projects that were identified and submitted as proposals to NCLIS, earlier this year:

• Support for a Seminar on Universal Bibliographic control and UNIMARC in Georgia.
• Production of a Practical Guide on Providing Library and Information Services to Disadvantaged Persons.
• Revision of the ISBD Standard for Serial Publications.

IFLA is very grateful to the US Government and to NCLIS for this generous support.

(Press release: June 1, 1999 )

Else Granheim had been active in IFLA since 1962, heginning first as a corresponding member of the then Committee on Library Buildings. When IFLA held its 41st Council and General Confercnce in Oslo in 1975, Ms. Granheim was Chair of the Norwegian Organizing Committee. She continued her IFLA involvement as a Standing Committee member of the Section of Public Libraries and also served on IFLA’S Executive Board from 1977 until 1979, before she was elected President at the Council meeting held in Copenhagen.

Parallel with her IFLA work Ms Granheim was Director of the Norwegian Directorate for Public and School Libraries, a position she held until her retirement in 1991. She was also a member of the Norwegian UNESCO Commission, and a member of the UNESCO PGI Intergovernmental Council before her IFLA Presidency, and then represented IIFLA at these meetings as its President.

During Ms Granheim’s tenure as President. she was particularly involved in developing relations with IFLA’s sister organizations, FID (International Federation for Information and Documentation) and ICA (International Council on Archives) and convened a high-level policy meeting of these organizations with IFLA in Bellagio, Italy, in 1980. In that same Year IFLA held its first ever General Conference in a developing country, in Manila. Although Ms. Granheim may best be remembered for the establishment of the ALP Core Programme, she was a true internationalist. As she said in her Presidential Address in 1981: “We live in a world in which blessings are unevenly and unjustly distributed, and this applies not only to food and the necessities of life. This holds true just as much for the spiritual stimulus one gets through books and other printed matter, as well as for the information necessary for education and craft and for assuming our roles as conscientious citizens.”

She will he missed by all who knew her, and appreciated her professionalism, her beliefs, her humor and her warmth.

(IFLA headquarters staff -Carol Henry, Reference 2, Thu. 11 Mar 1999)

In October 1998 the grant was announced with February 1 as the closing date. More than 400 applications were received from all over the world. The IFLA Regional Sections made a ranking and in March the DTG Selection Committe met in Uppsala to make the final selection. At the selection the geographical spread, type of library and the expected ”trickle down” effects were especially considered. There were many good applicants who deserved to get a grant, but only 40 candidates could be selected. They came from 35 different countries. From the Latin American and Caribbean Region the following countries were represented: Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Trinidad and Uruguay. Most of the candidates had e-mail connections which facilitated communications between us. Only one candidate could not be reached with the good news and instead we made another person happy. As many as 38 persons managed to make it.

In Bangkok the Thailand Grant Committee, headed by Dr. Pensri, handled the ticketing, accomodations and the programme, and did so admirably.

For many grantees it was the first time they were outside their country, and they were very keen on learning and making new contacts. We had asked the grantees to write a short narrative evaluation of the conference, and in those received so far the grantees found the conference very informative and beneficial for their profession. Meeting with colleagues from all over the world and creating networks, making new friends, sharing experiences, participating in the different sessions, and visiting the exhibition to see all the latest in the library world, were noted by many attendees as very interesting and important. All stressed ”the good organisation of travel arrangements, both before, during and after the conference, beautiful accomodations at spacious hotels with both good and caring management and staff”, and also the warm Thai hospitality. It was a worthwhile venture for the grantees.

Now it is time to announce the grant for the 66th IFLA General Conference, which takes place in Jerusalem, 13-18 August 2000. A new group of grantees will have the chance to attend ”the most important event in Librarianship”.

(Birgitta Sandell - ALP).

Priority will be given to younger professionals with a minimum of 5 years of experience in the field of libraries. In appointing the grants, the Grants Committee will look for a balance between all sectors of library & information work. Applications, including professional curriculum vitae and information on present occupation should be submitted as soon as possible.

Criteria for allocation of the Danida Travel Grant:

• Candidates are from developing countries (according to Worldbank standards).
• Priority to younger professionals.
• Priority to applicants who are not regular IFLA conference attendees.
• Wide geographic distribution.
• General quality of application.
• Professional background and experience: level of education, positions held and professional experience in general. Type of library experience is also considered in order to get balance between all sectors of library and information work.
• Committed letter of application and well presented CV.

Deadline of application: 1 February 2000.
Application forms can also be requested from the ALP office
IFLA ALP
c/o Uppsala University Library
Box 510
SE-751 20 UPPSALA, Sweden
Fax: +46 18 471 3994
E-mail:ifla.alp@ub.uu.se

I Professional Events.
1994: 60th IFLA General Conference, held in Havana, Cuba. For the first time a general conference took place in a Latin American and Caribbean country. Of the 940 foreign delegates that took part in the conference, 150 were local professionals, a number that ,added to more than 400 Cuban librarians, represents a great Latin- American and Caribbean presence in a IFLA meeting. 70 conferences and 30 posters were presented by different local delegates.

1995 (March): Seminar about the identification and evaluation of the Central America librarian needs and projects design, held in Manágua, Nicaragua.

1996 (April): Seminar on librarian services in rural and semi-urban areas, held in Piura, Peru.

1997 (March): Seminar on development tools: identification and evaluation of the Caribbean librarian needs and projects design, held in Martinique.

1998 (March): Seminar on the Public Library UNESCO Manifest, held in Salvador- Bahia , Brazil.

1999 (March): Latin-American Seminar of Librarians and Related Professionals Associations: “The Future Associations”, held in Mexico, D.F.., Mexico.

II. Standing Committee Meetings.
Right after each seminar previously mentioned, there is a Committee meeting, what was revealed to be very profitable, because it allows the use of the country’s financial support and organizational elements. It is important to mention the financial support that IFLA HQ provided to the Section so that the members of the Committee had the opportunity to attend the meetings.

The meeting held in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, 1994, is a milestone in the Section process, since there was financial support not only by IFLA, but also by other international institutions, like UNESCO, and local and national institutions, which had contributed to the event development. Likewise, Standing Committee members efforts were important, since through them and the institutions they belong a great amount of financial, human, material, technical resources, were raised to support the IFLA actions; what highlighted its presence in the region. It was precisely in this meeting in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, that there was a suggestion of linking the Standing Committees meeting with a professional event, an idea that has been applied ever since.

On the other hand, in the general Conferences, the Standing Committee meets in two occasions aiming to discuss and to move forward in the actions attributed to the Section. Also, the Standing Committee Staff, President, Secretary and Manager of the Regional Office, have been participating in the Coordination Committee meetings that are organized in each general conference, as well as in the ones that are accomplished every two years in Uppsala, Sweden. It should be mentioned that Birgitta Bergdahl (IFLA/ALP) and Winston Roberts(IFLA/HQ) participated actively of the Standing Committee meetings.

III. Medium Term Program .
The Medium Term Program designed for the period 1997 - 2001 counted on the active participation of all Section members. In its design there was the introduction of strategic planning techniques.

IV. Projects.
During this period 14 projects sponsored by the ALP Program were carried out:

• 7 Creation of an Association of Librarianship Schools of the South Cone. Coordinated by Escuela de Bibliotecologia de la Universidad de Montevideo, Uruguay.
• 27/316 INFOBILA. Database on Latin-American information and librarianship. Coordinated by Centro Universitario de Investigaciones Bibliotecológicas (CUIB) of UNAM.
• 36 Attention to indigenous communities through public library services. Coordinated by the National Library of Venezuela.
• 48 Research on national informational sources and services of the OECS members and revision of its development plans.
• 306 Librarianship course for Aruba and Netherlands Antilles personnel. Coordinated by Asociacion Antillana de Bibliotecas Públicas.
• 315 Seminar for the identification and evaluation of Central America librarian needs and projects design. Coordinated by the National Library of Nicaragua.
• 323 Seminar on development Tools. Coordinated by the University Library of Martinique.
• 326 International seminar on universal bibliographical control. Coordinated by Centro Universitario de Investigaciones Bibliotecológicas (CUIB) of UNAM.
• 328 International seminar on reading production and encouragement regarding indigenous languages. Coordinated by the National Library of Venezuela.
• 333 Regional seminar on UNESCO Manifest on Public Library. Coordinated by the Directorate of Public Libraries of the State of Bahia, Brazil.
• 334 Latin-American seminar of Librarian Associations and Related Professionals: “The Future Associations” Coordinated by Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico.

Moreover, the Section was represented in the Intra-Regional Project 400 on standards for the evaluation of the information to supply rural communities in the developing countries. In the Seminar held in Bostwana in 1994, the participants reached the following conclusion: the need to stimulate a culture of critical analysis, investigation and continuous evaluation of the information services of the African rural communities. Recognizing that evaluation standards for the supply of rural information are needed not only in Africa, but in all the developing countries, it was adopted a broader range of execution and it was established a workgroup of six people, all of them committed with the study and operation of rural information services in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The group was coordinated by Diana Rosenberg (UK) and it had as participants two representatives from Senegal, one from Namibia, one from Sri Lanka and one from Colombia. The project’s title is: “ Suministro de información rural en paises en desarrollo: medición del desempeño e impacto ", and it was translated into Spanish by Gloria Rodríguez from Colombia, and it is available at IFLA-ALP and in the clearinghouse of the IFLA/LAC RO.

In the Standing Committee meeting, held in Mexico City in March of 1999, there was the approval of 4 projects that will be presented to ALP seeking finance support:

• 335 Paraprofessional training, a sub-regional program for The Caribbean (Puerto Rico).
• 340 Study plan guide of Librarianship, Archives and Museum of Iberian America (Argentina).
• 341 New Readers (Brazil).
• 343 Latin-American meeting on librarian care to indigenous communities (Venezuela).

Other two projects were previously approved but their reformulation was required:

• 339 First Latin-American Meeting on local information services as a tool for community participation.(Colombia)
• 342 Seminar on librarianship developing tools targeted to South Cone countries.(Chile)

V. General Conferences.
In the considered period, it was possible to systematize the presentation of three to four lectures in the Section Professional Session in the General Conferences. There was also regional presence in the open forums of the Regional Activities Division (VIII Division), as well as in some workshops developed in those conferences, in some cases coordinated with other professional Sections. There was an annual regional contest for selecting the best academic work to be presented in the session of Contributed Papers. Unfortunately, in 1999, this option for allowing the General Conferences attendance was cancelled . It should be mentioned that this contest was an important way of getting new participants for IFLA activities, as well as presenting the participants with the region professional situation in the field through the analysis of different aspects of its know-how. Therefore its elimination is a great loss. The participation of Latin-American and the Caribbean delegates in the General Conferences, in the period was enriched by the significant contribution that represented DANIDA Grant since 1997.

VI. Promotion.
The Section’s presidency and the regional office have been accomplishing a systematic work in promoting the activity of IFLA in general, and specially of the Section, in the events organized by the later. There is also a great contribution by the invited professionals of different countries. There is a frequent distribution of pamphlets identified with the IFLA logotype and with the name of the Regional Office or of the Section. In the meetings organized by the Section there are exhibitions of IFLA works and publications and the ones that are produced by the Section itself. Through posters presented by the Regional Office the delegates to the general conferences became aware of the Section know-how.

VII. Newsletter
Starting from 1995, the informative bulletin (Newsletter), published by the Section, acquired the current format and its content has been enriched in each edition. It should be highlighted the high level of the bulletin that offers extremely updated news on the region’s professional know-how. Moreover, it reaches a great number of readers since there is a distribution of 500 copies. The text is presented in English and Spanish. This publication receives an important sponsorship by the Official Press of the State of São Paulo, Brazil.

VIII.Other actions.
In the period considered three meetings were carried out in Uppsala, Sweden, summoned and coordinated by ALP programme, in which the most important aspects of the Programme were analyzed, mainly concerning the relationship with the three areas, expressed by the projects that are approved every year. There were also sessions with the Nordic Group, the main sponsor of the projects approved and financed by ALP. In the period 1994-1996, the Section’s president took over the VIII Division presidency, and therefore, he participated in the Professional Bureau meetings. The document “Guidelines for Librarian Associations Administration”, designed by Rusell Bowden was translated into Portuguese and Spanish. Among other supports, there was the shipping of publications in Portuguese to the Portuguese-speaking African countries. The Executive Bureau of IFLA visited the area in several occasions. Robert Wedgeworth, President, visited Brazil; Christine Deschamps, current President, visited Argentina and Chile; Winston Roberts, Coordinator of Professional Activities, visited Peru, Venezuela, Martinique and Mexico. There was a strengthen of the Section internal organization through the elaboration of a document in Spanish and English, which presents the basic functions of the presidency, the secretary and of the Section members, an aspect that was also useful for the other regional Sections. There were also the formulation of standards for work presentations to the Contributed Papers Contest, as well as the procedures for the evaluation of projects to be presented for receiving financial support. The region members number in the period 1997-98, it is as follows:

• National Associations: 13
• Institutions: 59
• Personal: 50
• Total: 122

Concerning the number of other professional sections, it is as follows:

• Sections Members and Meetings: 23
• Corresponding members: 17

From 20th through 28th of August,1999, it was held in the city of Bangkok, Thailand, the IFLA 65th General Conference and Council Meeting, at the city’s Conventions and Exhibitions Center, BITEC, the country’s first complex of this type, oppened in 1997. This extremely different environment from the Western culture was enhanced by the presence of its royal highness MAHA CHACKI SIRINDHORN, who addressed her message to the delegates and presided the opening meeting according to the country’s tradition.

In her message she manifested that IFLA Conference is the world’s most suitable forum for all the librarians and information professionals. His words were the following : «Even on the edge of the 21st century, it is not too late to overcome the existent obstacles for information access taking advantage of the latest technologies. This way we can build a network of shared resources which allows us to overcome the existent unbalance between the ones eager for books and the ones who have more than plenty. Once again, «Books for everybody, everybody for the books». With these words she referred to the project promoted by IFLA in partnership with UNESCO, called «Books for everybody», a project which tries to promote access to reading for children and teenagers in the development countries.

Before the Conference, from August 16th through 19th, it was held in Khon Kaen, northwest of Thailand, a satelite meeting of the IFLA Professional Board, the Preservation and Conservation Section and the Basic Programmes, PAC and ALP, financed by UNESCO and DANIDA. The theme was: “Collecting and Safeguarding Oral Traditions”. There was the participation of 68 representatives coming from 32 countries which especially emphasized the need for a continuous support to collect and safeguard worldwide people and cultures oral traditions.

The conference general theme was “ The library as a gateway to an enlighted world “. In parallel to the conference, there was an exhibition.

Still during the meeting there was the election of the new members of the Executive Bureau (check a news report in this issue). Moreover, the Commitees were also renewed. In the Standing Committee Meeting of IFLA/LAC, José Adolfo Rodriguez Gallardo, from Mexico, was reelected as president and Alice Miranda, from Costa Rica was chosen as secretary. José Adolfo Rodriguez Gallardo was chosen as chairman of the VIII Division (Regional Activities).

The Section for Latin America and the Caribbean presented three interesting conferences in its meeting: Stella Maris Fernández, “Hispano América: su registro cultural a través de la imprenta.”.; Estela Morales, “El derecho a la información y las políticas de información en la América Latina”; Maria Elena Zapata y Loly Hernández D’Elia, “El Banco del Libro: un banco al servício de la promoción del libro y de la lectura”.

IFLA/EXPRESS, a newspaper which provides a daily news on the congress in French and English, was published for the first time in Spanish.

One of the most important themes, analyzed and submitted to the Council’s approval in an open session, was the revision of IFLA Statutes, which considered the breakup of the Regional Activities Division ( VIII Division). The proposal was suspended due to disagreements it generated among the participants.

As in the previous years, DANIDA provided financial support to developing countries librarians; thus 40 participants attended the meeting. 1980 delegates from 117 countries took part in the meeting, which added by the companions, represented a participation of 2237 people. The ten countries which were represented with a greater number of participants were: The USA, Thailand, China, Russian Federation, France, United Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden, Australia and Malaysia.

In the closing ceremony there was the announcement of the conference venues for the years 2000 (Jerusalem) and 2001 (Boston). It was also announced that in 2004 Buenos Aires will be hold the conference, what was supported by Latin America representatives, and that in 2006 the conference venue will be in South Korea.

Fernández, Stella Maris y Giunti, Graciela María - Buenos Aires: Sociedad de Investigaciones Bibliotecológicas, Federación Internacional de Asociaciones e Instituciones de Bibliotecarios, Programa Avance para el Desarrollo de la Bibliotecología, 1999.193 p.-

The work is a product of an investigation conducted by Stella Maris Fernández and approved as a project by ALP, although it has not been financed by such program. Its development was accomplished by Sociedad de Investigaciones Bibliotecológicas, (SIB), but its publication was financed as project 340 of ALP. The work is divided in two parts: one dedicated to Argentine Republic schools, accomplished by Stella Maris Fernádez, and the other dedicated to Iberian-American schools, accomplished by Graciela Maria Giunti. The latter also includes Brazilian schools, because it was taken into account, in spite of the language difference, the new territorial model represented by Mercosul, as well as the important number of schools in Brazil. This inclusion also considered the Portuguese schools. The book considers 112 school study plans.

(Stella Maris Fernández SC IFLA / LAC - AR)

The UBA (University of Buenos Aires) Philosophy School’s Instituto de Investigaciones Bibliotecológicas – INIBI (Librarianship Research Institute) inform the release of its new journal “Información, Cultura y Sociedad”. It is a Librarianship/Information Sciences specialized journal. It not only publish research works but also case studies and experiments of the professionals. Moreover, it stimulates the young students reserving a special section to publish their best school works. As usual, the contributions are submitted to experts judgement.

Table of contents no. 1:
The automatization of Argentinean university libraries: projects and implementation profiles / Elsa E. Barber, Nicolás M. Tripaldi, Silvia Pisano and Valeria Werner. The bibliographical formats applied in the Argentinean libraries and their implications for the online catalogs description of content. / Ana María Martínez and Susana Ramón. The development of the academic networks in Latin America: the cases of Argentina and Mexico. / Víctor Herrero Solana and Alvaro Quijano Solís. Librarianship and social responsibility/ Alejandro E. Parada. The Club Español (Spanish Club) library through its institutional documents: 1873-1920 / Carla Kollenberger. Course work: The Online Public Access Catalogs (OPACs): the state-of-the-art / C. Nicolas Rucks. Reports: Managing information for the competitive edge / edited by Ethel Auster and Chun Wei Choo; by Roberto V. Cagnoli. Supports in today libraries: development of information capabilities / Dora Gazpio and Marcela Alvarez; by María Cristina Cajaraville

More information:
Instituto de Investigaciones Bibliotecológicas
Facultad de Filosofía y Letras – UBA
Puán 480, 4to. Piso, oficina 8
1406-Buenos Aires.
ARGENTINA
Tel: (54) 11 4432-0606, int. 133,
Fax: (54) 11 4432-0121
E-mail:inibi@filo.uba.ar

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BRASIL

The book plays a greater role

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Deaf contribution to the UFRJ libraries