IFLA '97 Election Results / Grant and Award Winners

PRESS RELEASE: for immediate release
October 9, 1997

by IFLA Headquarters

IFLA '97 Election Results

IFLA is delighted to welcome its new President, Mme Christine Deschamps of the Bibliothèque de l'Université, Paris V - Rene Descartes in Paris, France. Mme Deschamps has been active within IFLA for a number of years, both as a Member of IFLA's Executive Board and as Chair of IFLA's Publications Committee. Upon her election, Mme Deschamps stated that "…the diversity of [her] professional experience should bring something new to the international community of librarians, in order to lead IFLA into the year 2000 in a good library environment, to develop cultural exchange and professional training in every country, to standardize all professional activities, and to increase the recognition of the culturally different identities within IFLA, while developing multilinguism, acknowledging the original national cultures and traditions, and promoting technical innovation". Mme Deschamps promised to further strengthen IFLA's role as a truly international organization and will strive to make IFLA more accessible to IFLA members who do not have English as their first language.

On the occasion of her election, the French government pledged its firm support for Mme Deschamps' Presidency: As of January 1998, she will be free to work exclusively on this activity, having been released of all other responsibilities in France. Furthermore, the Ministry of Higher Education and Research is creating a special job position for her, dedicated to this task.

Newly elected members of IFLA's 9-member strong Executive Board include: Ekaterina Genieva (Russian Federation), Nancy John (USA), Derek Law (UK), Klaus Dieter Lehmann (Germany), Kay Raseroka (Botswana) and Sun Beixin (China). With the exception of Ms Genieva and Ms Sun who were re-elected for a final term of two years, all will serve for four years. Sissel Nilsen (Norway) was elected Chair of the Professional Board and will also serve as ex officio member of the Executive Board.

During the conference, Chairs of Coordinating Boards were also elected. They will become members of the Professional Board. Elected were Winston Tabb (USA), Division of General Research Libraries; Ed Valauskas (USA), Division of Special Libraries; Ilona Glashoff (Germany), Division of Libraries Serving the General Public; Ingrid Parent (Canada), Division of Bibliographic Control; Marjorie Bloss (USA), Division of Collections and Services; Ralph Manning (Canada), Division of Management and Technology; Lis Byberg (Norway), Division of Education and Training. The election for Chair of the Division of Regional Activities has not yet been confirmed.

The outgoing IFLA President, Mr Robert Wedgeworth (1991-1997), was unanimously elected as an IFLA Honorary President. Tribute was paid to his many past achievements within IFLA in a highly original "Ceremony of Hats" during the Closing Session. Addressing Mr Wedgeworth, Mr Leo Voogt said that the type of ceremony was "…in keeping with an outstanding quality that you have demonstrated in your years as IFLA President, namely the ability to wear many hats. You have presented yourself as American internationalist, as librarian, as academic librarian, as library educator, as association manager, as member of a library association, in short as a colleague". Hats hailing from each country where an IFLA Conference was held during Mr Wedgeworth's tenure as IFLA President - India, Cuba, Spain, Turkey, China, and Denmark - were presented to him, accompanied by music particular to that country and a message in the indigenous language.

IFLA Grants and Prizes awarded in 1997

IFLA administers a wide variety of Grants and Scholarships to enable aspiring library and information professionals from all over the world to enhance their training and to provide funding for new and exciting projects in the field of literacy.

The Gustav Hofmann Study Grant for a New Professional in Library and Information Science in Developing Countries

This year's Gustav Hofmann Study Grant for a New Professional in Library and Information Science in Developing Countries completes a history of 20 years. Sponsored since 1977 by the Martinus Nijhoff Subscription Agency, since 1991 this Grant has received the dedicated support of K.G. Saur, IFLA's publisher. The official term of this grant expires in 1997 and its future is currently under discussion by the IFLA Boards. In 1997, 51 applications for the grant were received and during the IFLA Conference it was formally announced that this year's Study Grant would be given to Ms Wala Hasan Musnad of the National Centre for Research of Sudan. Ms Musnad is a young graduate in library science from the University of Khartoum. She wishes to learn to use CDS/ISIS for future implementation in the NDC, particularly in her own section which deals with energy and sustainable development.

The Dr Shawky Salem Grant for Arab Specialists in Library and Information Sciences

The 1996/1997 Dr Shawky Salem Grant for Arab Specialists in Library and Information Sciences, administered jointly by IFLA and FID, was awarded to Mr Mohammed Elyas of the Islamic Development Bank, Saudi Arabia. The purpose of this annual grant is to enable an expert in library science, who is a national of an Arab country, to be trained in an aspect of modern technologyy in one or more Western countries for between one and three weeks. This year's grantee chose to attend the IFLA '97 Conference and later followed an extensive week-long study programme drawn up by Professor Irene Wormell of the Royal School of Librarianship in Copenhagen.

The Hans-Peter Geh Grant for IFLA Conference Participation

The Hans-Peter Geh Grant for IFLA Conference Participation was established in 1991 to sponsor one librarian every year from the former Soviet Union, including the Baltic States, to attend an IFLA Seminar or Conference. This year the Grant was awarded to Ms Sirje Virkus of Tallin Pedagogical University, Estonia. Ms Virkus presented papers at the IFLA Pre-Conference ('3rd World Conference') on Continuing Professional Education, and the main conference session of the Section on Education and Training. She will circulate a report to IFLA and to the Estonian Library Association.

The Guust van Wesemael Literacy Prize

The details of the Guust van Wesemael Literacy Prize has been revised: According to the new procedure, it will be awarded every two years, starting in 1997, until the funds are exhausted. There were three applications this year (from Malawi, Ethiopia and Peru). The Professional Board's selection panel selected the application submitted by Ms Carmen Checa de Silva (Peru), on behalf of the Public Library Service of the city and region of Piura. The prize recognises a consistent record of major achievements in the promotion of adult literacy in Piura. The prize money will be used for a project to "organise and execute a literacy and post-literacy programme to promote the formation of microenterprises using local goods" in the small town of Tangarara, in the Piura region.

New IFLA Grant launched during IFLA '97!

On the occasion of the retirement of Robert Wedgeworth, President of IFLA (1991-1997), the US National Associations in IFLA Membership have proposed the establishment of a special Fund for IFLA Conference Participation from the Developing World. The IFLA Executive Board accepted this proposal with great enthusiasm during the IFLA '97 Conference and will be working with the American library community and other interested colleagues to establish the particulars. More news of this will be posted on IFLA-L, in IFLA Journal and also on IFLA's Web Site: http://archive.ifla.org/index.htm

Additional Grants and Scholarships

Since 1994, IFLA's Core Programme for the Advancement of Librarianship in the Third World (IFLA-ALP) has supported scholarships and attachments programmes in Asia and the Pacific with funding from Sida, FINNIDA, Swedish and Finnish Library Associations.

In Africa the "Bart Nwafor Staff Development Programme" began this year with funding from NORAD. The IFLA Regional Office for Africa is responsible for the programme. This programme was established to commemorate Bart Nwafor (1939-1991), one of Africa's most energetic and pioneering representatives in the international library community and an inspiring and key player within IFLA.

Funded by NCLIS and supervised by Elsa Ramirez Leyva at CUIB, UNAM, Mexico, a programme has also been launched in Latin America and the Caribbean along similar lines entitled "Attachments in information, bibliographic control and information technology".

The list of the winners for 1997 is as follows:

Asia and Oceania

Scholarships have been awarded for the three-months training course in information technology at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Bangkok, to Muhammed Ali, Indonesia and Ms E.S. Gapas, Philippines. Scholarships in information technology to INSDOC in New Delhi, India to D.M. Sthapit, Nepal and H.K. Ahmad, Pakistan. Attachments for middle or senior staff in Asia and the Pacific: Four persons have been selected for attachments in 1997: Ms M. Palemia, Fidji, R. Che Pee, Malaysia, G.D. Amarasiri, Sri Lanka and Nguyen Hoang, Vietnam.

Africa

Massamba Cisse, Senegal, hosted by the Library, University of Zimbabwe Ibrahim Abdul Kadiri, Ghana, to the Library of University of South Africa (UNISA), Malamine Diouf, Senegal, to the Centre de Documentation Nationale de Tunis.