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Newsletter of the Section for Latin America and the CaribbeanN. 35, December 1999The "Newsletter" is published twice a year in June and December by IFLA's Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean. It is a major communication tool for IFLA members in the region. Please share your ideas and experiences by sending your contribution and suggestions to the Regional Office.
SummaryEditorialIn this issue we decided to publish a panorama of the LAC section activities from 1994 to 1999 so that you have an idea of its performance in the period. It is important to highlight the seriousness and dedication of the present and past LAC Staff and Standing Committee professionals, as well as their professional quality and the important functions they have in their countries what gives them the professional respect of their colleagues. Thay are all qualified to speak about Latin American and Caribbean questions and to very well represent IFLA in the region.Dr. Jose Adolfo Rodriguez Gallardo, from Mexico, was reelected IFLA/LAC Section president and Librarian Alice Miranda Argueda was elected its secretary. Dr Adolfo Rodriguez was also elected chairman of Division VIII (Regional Activities) and Ms. Amelia Mackenzie (Asia/Oceania) secretary. They are all competent and renowned professionals and we are sure that Africa, Asia and Oceania and LAC Sections are very well represented Our best thanks to Miriam Martinez, who left the IFLA/LAC Section secretariat, for her excelent work, always contributing to the development of associations of Latin American and Caribbean librarians. We want to also record the end of the mandate of Blanca Hodge and Maria Elena Zapata as IFLA/LAC Standing Committee members. Blanca was one of the more acting members of the Section and one of the stronger links between the Section/Regional Office and the Caribbean colleagues. Maria Elena performed an important role as President of the Section and as Chair of Division VIII. She represented very well the region in all the international events and she was a very good spokeswoman of IFLA, showing to the Latin American and Caribbean professionals the importance of joining the Federation. Both were unanimously choosed as Section Advisors during the Standing Committee meeting in Bangkok. The 65th IFLA General Conference held in Bangkok was attended by a great number of delegates. It was a great success and the kindness and attention of the Thai colleagues remarkable. We hope that at the next conference, to be held in Jerusalem, we will have the same attendance. When we approach the last year of the millenium, in a world where all the advancements of technology were not enough to end poverty and where we can see lots of people who do not have even access to books, we would like to honor the thousands of librarians of Latin America and the Caribbean who, earning very low wages, struggle to bring a bit of light to the poor people assisted by them. We are talking here of the kind of light represented by the magic of reading books. They live and work in areas that do not have access to latest word in technology, they may be in the Pampas of Argentina, in the Mountains of Mexico, in the Andes, in the islands of the Caribbean, or in the hinterlands of Brazil. It doesn't matter where they are, what really matters is the giant and silent work they are doing, the work that deserves our more moved and respectful words. We dedicate this number of the Newsletter to these dear and, many times, forgotten colleagues. As the year comes to an end, we wish to all our colleagues a very happy New Year and we thank all the collaborators of the Newsletter, particularly the Official Press of the São Paulo State, Brazil, the Directorate of Public Libraries of the State of Bahia, Brazil, and the translators and editors, specially Stella Maris Fernández and Hagar Espanha Gomes for their excellent work. We also thank the FEBAB - Brazilian Federation of Librarian Associations which hosted the Regional Office Clearinghouse from 1991 to 1999 and DANIDA for its support of Latin American and Caribbean professionals, and ALP its support of LAC projects and the Regional Office. Publications Received ("Clearinghouse")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 interest you
International Calendar
IFLA and its SectionsIFLA HQIFLA Goes to Buenos Aires in 2004During the closing session of the IFLA conference in Bangkok last September, it was announced that IFLA would hold its 2004 conference in Buenos Aires. It was also announced that the 2006 conference would be held in Seoul. “It was a very difficult decision” said Nancy John, Chair of IFLA’s Conference Planning Committee. “Both the finalists had made excellent bids. In the end the chance of holding our conference for the first time in Latin America was the unique selling point that won it for Buenos Aires.”The other finalist was Seoul. The commitment of the Korean government to the success of the conference was an especially attractive feature of this bid. The bid was so good, that the Executive Board decided to offer the 2006 conference to Seoul. Following usual IFLA practice, expressions of interest to hold the conference in 2005 are now open. (Ross Shimmon- Secretary General - Press Release, September 13, 1999) Newly Elected IFLA’s Executive Board MembersIngrid Parent - Director General, Acquisitions and Bibliographic Services, National Library of Canada since 1994. Her affiliation with IFLA includes — Member, Professional Board (1997), Chair, Division IV Bibliographic Control (1997), Chair, Section on Cataloguing Standing Committee (1995-1999) and Member and Chair, Working Group on ISBD(S) Revision (1998).Borge Sorensen (Re-elected) - City Librarian, Copenhagen Public Libraries since 1986. He has been a member of IFLA’s Executive Board since 1995. Claudia Lux - Director General, Zentral - und Landesbibliothek Berlin - Berliner Stadtbibliothek (East Berlin) and Amerika Gedenkbibliothek (West Berlin) since 1997. Her affiliation with IFLA includes — Board Member, German Libraries Association (1995), Board Member, Association of Librarians and Assistants (1995) and Member, IFLA National Committee (1996). Jeronimo Martínez González - Director of the Biblioteca de Andalucía since 1995. His library-related experience includes — Member, Consejo Asesor del Centro Andaluz de las Letras since 1998 and Member, Consejo Asesor of the Cuadernos de Biblioteconomía y Documentacion, edited by the University of Extremadura since 1998. (IFLA/HQ Press Release, August 25, 1999) Newly Elected IFLA’s Professional Board MembersChair - Ralph W. Manning, CanadaDivision I - Winston Tabb, USA Division II - Hans-Christoph Hobohm, Germany Division III - Ms Glenys Willars, United Kingdom Division IV - Ms Ia McIlwaine, United Kingdom Division V - Christopher Wright, USA Division VI - Ms Wanda Dole, USA Division VII - Ms Lis Byberg, Norway Division VIII - Adolfo Rodríguez Gallardo, Mexico (IFLA/HQ Press Release, August 27, 1999) OCLC to Sponsor New IFLA Early Career Development FellowshipAt the IFLA General Conference in Bangkok, Thailand, the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) and OCLC announced the IFLA/OCLC Early Career Development Fellowship, which will support library and information science professionals who are in the early stages of their career development and from countries with developing economies.Up to four fellowship recipients a year will travel to OCLC Headquarters in Dublin, Ohio, USA, for four weeks to participate in an intensive program of lectures, seminars and mentoring. “This new kind of cooperation between IFLA and OCLC is really a great achievement, which will allow librarians from developing countries to come to the United States, have good technical training, and visit a few North American libraries,” said Christine Deschamps, president of IFLA and OCLC Board of Trustees member. “I can only hope that other bodies will join us and give additional funding to help more librarians to come each year.” “As the leading global library cooperative, OCLC is in a position to promote the evolution of libraries worldwide,” said Jay Jordan, OCLC president and CEO. “This career development program, created in collaboration with IFLA, has the potential to positively affect individuals, their institutions, their countries and the global knowledge management practices of the future. The OCLC membership will also benefit from the diverse viewpoints and experiences the Early Career Development fellows will bring to the program.” “The program will be designed to provide as much background as possible on emerging technologies and their role in global cooperative librarianship,” said Martin Dillon, executive director of the OCLC Institute. “It will provide advanced, continuing education and exposure to a broad range of issues in information technologies and library operations.” Early Career Development fellows will participate in OCLC Institute seminars, observe portions of an OCLC Users Council meeting, and visit selected North American libraries.
More information is available from the OCLC Institute on the Web at : (Press Release, August 24, 1999, Nita Dean, Manager of Public Relations OCLC) Unesco Awards IFLA US$ 10,000 For New Legal Deposit GuidelinesUNESCO has granted an amount of US$ 10,000 to IFLA, with the aim of updating the “Guidelines for Legal Deposit”, prepared by Jean Lunn and published by UNESCO in 1981. This revision will incorporate new forms of publishing, including audiovisual material and networked electronic publications.The project is a direct follow-up to one of the recommendations adopted at the successful IFLA International Conference on National Bibliographic Services, held in Copenhagen, November 1998. The programme will be coordinated and carried out on behalf of IFLA by the National Library of Canada in close consultation with the Conference of Directors of National Libraries (CDNL). It is expected to be completed before the end of 1999. IFLA’s Secretary General, Ross Shimmon, commenting today on the grant, said: “IFLA is delighted to receive this award from UNESCO. It is proof positive that IFLA conferences lead to direct action. Legal Deposit is an essential tool to ensure the survival of the record of human intellectual endeavour for posterity. These new guidelines will enable that tool to be sharpened up for the digital age”.
Further information from: The people of the book invite the keepers of the bookOn behalf of the Israel National Organising Committee and the Israeli library community, we warmly invite all IFLA members to Jerusalem for the 66th IFLA General Conference in the year 2000.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
Organizing Committee
President:
Vice president:
Secretary:
Liaison officers:
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: Substantial NCLIS Grant for IFLALike in the previous years the U.S. Department of State has made contributions to the programme for International Contributions for Scientific, Educational and Cultural Activities (ICSECA). A portion of the funds of the fiscal year 1999 has been allocated to the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) to support international information, library and archive material.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:
IFLA is very grateful to the US Government and to NCLIS for this generous support. (Press release: June 1, 1999 ) Obituary - Else GranheimIt is our sad duty to inform you that Else Granheim President of IFLA from 1979 until 1985 passed away after a long illness on 7 March 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) IFLA/UNESCO Pre-Conference Seminar on Public Libraries as the Gateway to the Information SocietyThe Proccedings of the seminar were compiled and edited by IFLA Headquarters under the auspices of the IFLA Section of Public Libraries. The seminar brought together 25 experts from 20 countries. The primary objectives of the seminar were to obtain advice and guidance on the shape and contents of a revised set of guidelines and standards for public libraries and to place the revision in the context of public library development in different parts of the world set against the background of the rapidly changing information society. During the seminar the participants spent time in smaller groups discussing the maior issues to be resolved. Papers were presented from various country/regional viewpoints by Kay Raseroka (Africa), Peter Klinic (Central and Eastern Europe), Ku Joo Bee (Malaysia), Didier Alvarez and Gloria Maria Rodriguez (Latin America); Kerstin Hassner (Nordic countries); Barhara Clubb (Canada): Rob Bruijnzeels(Netherlands). The conclusions and list of participants are also included.The title is available from IFLA Headquarters, POB 93312, 2509 CH The Hague. Netherlands as Professional Report No. 58, for NLG 45.00 plus postage. ISBN: 90-7091 6-69-X Publications Posted to IFLANETThe IFlA Section of Art Libraries has posted the 2nd revised and enlarged edition, 1996, of the Multilingual Glossary for Art Libraries in English with indexes in Dutch, French. German.Italian, Spanish and Swedish to IFLANET. It is available at http://archive.ifla.org/VII/s30/pub/mg1.htm
The PAC Core Programme has posted the IFLA Principles for the Care and Handling of Library Material, compiled and edited by Edward P. Adcock with the assistance of Marie-Thérèse Varlamoff and Virginie Kremp to IFLANET. They are available at
Unimarc guideline No.5 - The UBCIM Core Programme has posted UNIMARC Guideline No. 5: Multilevel Description Encoding Options for UNIMARC to IFLANET. This Guideline ilustrates how an agency may encode multilevel description using the UNIMARC format. It is available (like the first four guidelines) free of charge from the UBCIM Office and is also posted at IFLA / ALPDanida Travel Grant for developing countriesIn 1998 the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Danida, allocated a generous grant for the purpose of setting up a Conference Travel Fund. The intention was for librarians from developing countries, to attend the IFLA General Conferences. The grant runs for a three-year period to start with, and the IFLA Bangkok Conference 1999 was the first conference to which the Danida Travel Grant (DGT) could be applied. The sponsorship covers registration, travel, accomodation and per diem. Danida gave IFLA ALP the responsibility for administering the grant and a DTG Selection Committe was appointed.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 worth while 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”. Danida Travel Grant - 2000IFLA ALP is pleased to announce the availability of the Danida Travel Grant, to support a number of delegates from developing countries to attend the IFLA General Conference, to be held in Jerusalem, 13-18 August 2000.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:
Deadline of application: 1 February 2000. IFLA/LACLatin America and the Caribbean Section ReportThe Standing Committee of Latin America and the Caribbean, considered important to present a summary of the main activities developed since 1994, starting from the 60th IFLA General Conference, held in Cuba, until now, as a consequence of its efforts for contributing to the development of librarianship and of the professional excellence of librarians. Another important point was to make IFLA more known in the area. We should point out that, in the reached results, the Regional Office and ALP program support played an important role along with the institutional and governmental help in those countries that held different professional events promoted by the Section.
I Professional Events. 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. 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.
IV. Projects.
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:
Other two projects were previously approved but their reformulation was required:
V. General Conferences.
VI. Promotion.
VII. Newsletter
VIII.Other actions.
Concerning the number of other professional sections, it is as follows:
65th IFLA General Conference and Council MeetingFrom 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. News from IFLA Affiliates and Members in the RegionARGENTINAStudy plans for the Iberian-American Schools of Librarianship, Archives and MuseologyFernández, 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) Information, Culture and Society – a new journalThe 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:
More information: BRASILThe book plays a greater roleUnder orientation and supervision of the Federal Council of Librarianship, the Culture Ministry implements public libraries in 2.500 needy municipal districts.The Book and Reading Secretariat, from the Ministry of Culture, has been installing public libraries in the needy municipal districts for four years. There are already more than two hundred libraries installed and the aim is to get to the end of 2002 with 2.500 functioning libraries. With the orientation and supervision of the Federal Council of Librarianship the program “A Library in Each Municipal District “ is still unknown, since the media doesn’t acknowledge its importance. The municipal district should not have a public library, but it should have a property and employees, and to commit itself in instituting municipal legislation supporting the library, which should also be connected to the state and national systems of libraries. The Federal Council of Librarianship is celebrating an agreement with the Book and Reading Secretary for the popularization, technical support and supervision of the Program “A Library in Each Municipal District”. Besides maintaining an observer in the responsible commission for the program, the Federal Council of Librarianship will work in identifying the real and potential readers profile; in the selection and acquisition of each municipal library basic collection ; in the employees’ training for helping the user; and in the supervision of the budget destined to each municipal district. Deaf contribution to the UFRJ librariesThe Libraries and Information System of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro — SiBI/UFRJ —developed, in 1998, a social cultural project which deals with deaf work in the libraries. This pilot project began in August of 1998, under the name of “On-line Access to the Catalog of the National Museum Library- MN/UFRJ”. It was adapted from Project “On-line Access to the UFRJ Libraries Catalogs”, designed by the librarians Mariza Russo, Maria José Veloso da Costa Santos and Dolores Rodriguez Perez. The estimated duration period for the project implementation is nine months.Among the aims are the following: providing greater speed in finding bibliographical items; making available the recorded knowledge at the MN Library in a national and international level and bringing the university to the society demands. To make the proposed objectives possible, SiBI established partnerships with the “Instituto Nacional de Educação de Surdos — INES” (National Institute of Education of Deaf), the “Núcleo de Computação Eletrônica NCE/UFRJ” (Nucleus of Electronic Computation) and the “Centro de Tecnologia — CT/UFRJ” (Center of Technology - CT/UFRJ). The Project relies on the librarians’ and assistant personnel participation from MN Library staff, 12 (twelve) deaf scholarship holders and a librarian as coordinator. For the qualification and leveling of these scholarship holders a training programme was developed. This programme was designed under the same guidelines of the course previously planned and offered by SiBI, entitled “Training for University Library Assistant”. The students had the following profile: deaf, age group from 20 through 43 years old; level of education ranging from incomplete elementary school to high school graduates, four of which were female and eight were male. The course was lectured by Dolores Rodriguez Perez - the Project Coordinator - in 1998, with a total of 40 hours, enriched by didactic material and complemented by technical visits to several UFRJ libraries. Since August/98, the Project team is including bibliographical records in the computing system of UFRJ - MINERVA Data Base. Through monthly reports presented to SiBI, by the project coordinator, it could be verified that the students showed great interest and fairly easiness in assimilating the course content. It was also observed that their productivity regarding the data inclusion task in the MINERVA Data Base is being developed as planned. From August/98 through February/99 there was the inclusion of about 15.000 bibliographical records in the MINERVA Data Base, referring to the Project in hand. The project conclusion is scheduled for April, 1999 and SiBI is already being supported by the University Rectorate for applying the same methodology to the development of a computer system for the UFRJ retrospective collection. This Project, besides to make easier the task of development of computer systems for the UFRJ libraries collections, providing the community with conditions of getting information with greater accuracy and speed, was also important to showing that the handicapped are productive human beings. Therefore, there is a new labor field for the handicapped and a possibility for reinforcing the Brazilian libraries labor personnel. XIX Brazilian Congress of Librarianship and Documentation (XIX CBBD)The Brazilian Federation of Librarians Associations (FEBAB), together with the Associação Rio-Grandense de Bibliotecários (ARB) have the great pleasure to invite all the professionals and students interested in the theme “Information for the Citizenship” to participate in the XIX Brazilian Congress of Librarianship and Documentation (XIX CBBD). The event will happen from 24 through September 30, 2000, at the Centro de Eventos of the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUC-RS), in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. With a tradition of more than forty years, this Congress can be considered as the main space for problems, aspirations and challenges debates of the Brazilian librarian class. Thus, in its last edition of the century XX, the Congress ambitions to provide tools to the professionals so that they contribute in the elimination of the access barriers to the information; because it will be these barriers the responsible for increase the social differences in the next millennium.The event will be accomplished through conferences, seminars, courses and meeting by domains. There will be two keynote conferences, one in the opening and one in the closing ceremony of the Congress, respectively on “Information for the Citizenship” and “The Information Professional of the New Millennium”. The other conferences will approach the following themes:
There will be thematic seminars related to the mentioned conferences and free theme for the presentation of selected works from Professionals of Librarianship, Documentation, Science of Information and Juridical Documentation in Brazil and other countries of Latin America and The Caribbean. The Congress will publish its annals in CD-ROM. The ones interested in publishing their works in the event should send its contribution until May 31, 2000 for XIX CBBD’S Secretariat, respecting the technical specifications. Information on these technical specifications for works presentation can be obtained at home page http://www.pucrs.br/cbbd2000/ or at the Congress Secretariat.
The registrations should be made in the Congress Secretariat, through sending the filled Registration Form by regular mail or by fax, together with the bank deposit order and the orders required for the A and C categories. For more information, please visit the site. Attention for the bank account in which the deposit for the XIX Brazilian Congress of Librarianship should be made:
A CATEGORY
B CATEGORY
C CATEGORY
D CATEGORY
SECRETARIA DO XIX CBBD FEBAB DirectorateThe FEBAB Management for the administration period from January, 1999 through January, 2002 is constituted by the following professionals in its respective states:
President- Maria de Lourdes Côrtes Romanelli, State of Minas Gerais Latin America and the Caribbean meeting of the Ministers of Culture - Music, Cinema and BookThe meeting was held in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, November 18-20, 1999.The sections on the theme “book” were coordinated by Dr. Ottaviano De Fiore, Secretary .of Book and Reading of Ministry of Culture, Brazil. The meeting was a great success and gather people from almost all the Latin American and the Caribbean countries. The Manager of the Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean presented the Ministers, and it was approved, a proposal for wide divulgation of the UNESCO Manifest on the Public Library in all the Latin American and the Caribbean countries. In the next number of the Newsletter we will publish the recommendations of the meeting. 2nd Seminar of Juridical Information of Rio de JaneiroIt was held at Rio de Janeiro, November 8 - 12, 1999, and the theme was: “The Juridical Information in the Threshold of the 21st Century”. The seminar was organized by the Juridical Information and Documentation Professionals Group of Rio de Janeiro and by the Regional and Federal School of Magistracy.
Sub-themes: The Manager of IFLA/LAC Regional Office coordinated the panel on qualification, where she also had the opportunity to divulge IFLA and its programs, its Divisions and Sections. In the seminar, judges, lawyers, librarians and professionals of the juridical area, coming from all parts of Brazil, had the opportunity to present and discuss issues on juridical information. Third Seminar on Management of Librarians and Information Scientists Associations and UnionsIt was held at the city of Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, October 25 - 26, 1999, promoted by the Brazilian Federation of Librarians Associations - FEBAB - and organized by the professional associations of Pernambuco, Minas Gerais and Santa Catarina.
Besides the President of FEBAB, Maria de Lourdes Cortes Romanelli, the seminar counted on the participation of presidents of the following states associations :
There was also the presence of the:
The seminar’s aims were: COLOMBIADatabase on Services for the communityThe Public Library Comfenalco Antioquia, Colombia, has made available to the international community, since October of 1998, a database specialized in services for the community and for the citizens’ participation, with local information, which can be accessed through the Internet at:http://www.comfenalcoantioquia.com The database is a product of the Information Service to the Community - SIC - the library’s unit of specialized information, introduced in 1990 having as its guideline the service developed by the Instituto Autônomo Biblioteca Nacional da Venezuela and UNESCO. Ever since, SIC began to create its own guidelines, to implement new programs and to improve this kind of service. SIC database was designed as a response to the increasing information demand for the citizenship, due to the world social changes and to the country’s social-political context modified by the constitution of 1991, which seeks a new profile of democratic development. SIC database provides information on the city to a greater number of users, comprehending fields such as:
Moreover, the database allows the access to the library general catalog, such as the other six Comfenalco libraries. Technically, the database was designed in SQL - Server and it operates in NT Server as search motor. Write us: sicadmin@comfenalcoantioquia.com Books on Reading EncouragementThe Coordination on Reading Encouragement of COMFENALCO Antioquia Culture and Libraries Department introduced the reading encouragement collection. The books and their themes are the following:
1- Title: La promoción de la lectura: conceptos, materiales y autores. (Reading Encouragement: concepts, materials and authors)
2- Title: Selección de libros infantiles y juveniles: criterios y fuentes (Selection of Children and Teenagers Books: criterion and sources)
3- Title: Animación y promoción de la lectura: consideraciones y propuestas (Reading Animation and Encouragement: considerations and proposals)
4- Title: Elaboración de proyectos institucionales de promoción de la lectura (Making Institutional Projects of Reading Encouragement) General News of Interest to the RegionINTERNET/PROSSIGA: supporting the researchersFor those who want to research on the Internet it is important to know the service developed by Prossiga, aiming to help the researchers, which address is:http://www.prossiga.br/comoachar/. It can be used both by the neophytes and by the Internet experts. Tools and services, selected among the several ones available on the Internet, are explained in a way to help the researcher to find the person’s or institution homepage, specific subjects, useful software, electronic debates, etc. Besides, it provides a step-to-step on how to use the available resources, as well as experts articles with additional information on each one. Promoting Global Knowledge at IFLA 99New information and communication technologies such as the Internet and e-mail are having a huge impact on all aspects of the way we live, work and play. The Knowledge Economy is now the fastest growing part of the world economy. The knowledge and information revolution brings great opportunities but also great risks. There is a real threat that in the information stakes the Developing World will be left behind. The Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP) was set up against this background to ensure that all countries and communities participate fully in the Information Age.to ensuring there is global accces to information and knowledge using the new information and communication technologies. It is not a funding organisation. The Partnership does not run its own programmes but is an umbrella organisation that seeks to co-ordinate the various activities of its members. The Global Knowledge Secretariat is currently funded by and located within the World Bank in Washington. In March 2000, the Global Knowledge Partnership and the Government of Malaysia will host a major conference in Kuala Lumpur. This is the Partnership's second Global Knowledge Conference (GKII). It will build upon the lessons and partnerships that emerged from the first Global Knowledge conference held in Toronto in June 1997. GKII will focus on critical challenges developing countries and the world's poor face as they seek to build knowledge societies in the 21st century. The theme of the conference will be "Building Knowledge Societies: Access, Empowerment and Governance. The British Council, a founding member of the Global Knowledge Partnership, has been closely involved with the Global Knowledge agenda and has supported a wide range of different projects all over the world. In November 1999, the British Council and the Government of India will co-host a conference “Towards a South Asia Knowledge Network” (TASKNET) to raise awareness of the Global Knowledge Agenda in South Asia.
For further information:
INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF LIBRARY ASSOCIATIONS AND INSTITUTIONS (IFLA)
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