61st IFLA General Conference - Conference Proceedings - August 20-25, 1995

Round Table on Newspapers

Annual Report 1994

Robert Harriman

Library of Congress
Washington DC 20540
USA
Fax: (1-202) 7076333

is Chair of the Round Table on Newspapers.

Geoffrey Hamilton

Newspaper Library
British Library
Colindale Avenue
London NW9 5HE
UK
Fax: (44-171) 3237386

is Secretary.

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee of the Round Table has 13 members from nine countries. It held a mid-conference meeting in March 1994 in London at the British Library. The Executive Committee agreed that fur ther recruitment should be concentrated on areas such as Latin America Asia, Africa and Russia which are not at present represented. Corresponding members could be accepted in appropriate circumstanc es.

Projects

Microfilming Guidelines

Else Delaunay (France) has prepared a revised draft. The recently approved American National Standard ANSI/AIIM MS 111, "Micrographics - Recommended Practice for Microfilming Printed newspapers on 35 mm Roll Microfilm" was also discussed. Generally the Guidelines should provide explanations which would assist librarians without previous experience of a microfilming programme to understand the "w hy" as well as the "how" of the recommended procedures. Such explanations were thought to be particularly desirable for technical targets. Members who are involved in microfilming programmes agreed t o send Else Delaunay examples of the targets they use. A check list of points to consider when choosing a film agent was suggested for addition. Other information on checking items before and after m icrofilming should be provided, based on checklists used at the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Preservation requirements should be stated stressing proper storage of microfilm and the need for careful wrapping of original newspapers. A second revised draft will be circulated in October 1994. A final text will be circulated in March 1995 before the next meeting of the Executive Committe e.

Survey of Newspaper Collection Policies and Procedures

Geoffrey Hamilton has not been able to make much progress with the survey questionnaire. However, a draft questionnaire would be circulated to Executive Committee members after the Havana Conference.

Policy Statement on Retention of Newspapers after Microfilming

Geoffrey Hamilton would prepare a draft statement incorporating points made during the Barcelona Conference. The statement will note the pos and cons of retention after microfilming and be designed a s a practical document to which libraries facing the retention/disposal problem can turn for guidance.

Publications

Beti Jones (UK) edited Newsletters 1 and 2, issued in time for the Havana Conference. No. 3, which will contain a conference report, will be issued at the beginning of 1995. Future contents will incl ude summary statements of what is being achieved through various countries' national programmes for newspaper presentation. Information about facilities offered, via Internet, on an electronic bullet in board, and now being used by the US Newspaper Program could be another useful item.

Brochure

Elena Garcia-Puente (Spain) has offered to print the Spanish translation of the Round Table brochure. Hartmut Walravens (Germany) will prepare a German translation, and Else Delaunay (France) a Frenc h translation. Majken Bremer-Laamanen (Finland) would seek assistance from a colleague in translating the brochure into Russian. This activity had been given project status by the Professional Board.

Future Conferences

Istanbul 1995

The Round Table agreed to participate in the joint programme session with other units from the Division of Collections and Services on the theme of "The Impact of New Technologies". The programme is being organized by Hartmut Walravens.

Beijing 1996

The Round Table is planning a workshop on "Improving Access to Newspapers for Research". Its scope would cover issues relating to public access to newspaper back files, directories and union catalogu es, indexing projects, and useful software packages. The open meeting might address problems associated with acquiring material from the Asian continent, in cooperation with the Section on Acquisitio ns and Exchange and the Regional Section for Asia and Oceania.

Havana Meeting

The Round Table held a joint meeting with the Section on Serial Publications. The following papers were given:

Periódicos Cubanos: adquisición, conservación y acceso
by TERESITA MORALES MARTINEZ and KENIA FRANCO HEVIA

Abstract
In order to preserve the identity of a people or a nation, it is essential to conserve its cultural heritage. For this reason the Cuban Government has been considering for more than a decade the poss ibility and necessity of introducing advanced technologies to provide back-up and enhancement for the conservation work done in the country's libraries. The Biblioteca Nacional "José Mart&iacu te;" (BNJM), as the deposit library for the nation's heritage of printed matter, is the institution with responsibility for acquisition, conservation and access. The paper presents a general picture of the current state of newspaper collections, and of the work being done to preserve and/or conserve them, both at the BNJM and at other libraries in Cuba, and of the various policies with regard to acquisition and user services.

Colleción, conservación y difusion de periódicos de la Biblioteca Nacional de Chile
by URSULA SCHADLICH

Abstract
This paper aims to provide information on the collection of newspapers at the National Library of Chile; its organization and management; the measures taken for preservation and access designed to pr event or reduce the deterioration and destruction of originals arising from environmental factors, storage conditions or excessive use by readers; and finally the regional links and extended coverage that can be established with other national libraries in the "Southern Cone" in order to coordinate efforts aimed at saving for posterity the regional memory preserved in the local and regional pres s.

Newspaper Cataloguing in Germany
by HARTMUT WALRAVENS

Abstract
This paper describes the treatment of newspaper by centralized and regional cataloguing services in Germany, programmes for newspaper conservation and recent developments at the Berlin State Library where a separate newspaper department has been established. Several important remaining tasks are identified, including further cataloguing of major library collections, compilation of a directory of newspaper collections held by non-library institutions and formulating a national newspaper programme for Germany.

It also held a joint meeting with the Regional Section on Latin America and the Caribbean at which the following paper was delivered:

A Cooperative Venture to Establish a World Bank Public Information Center in the Library in the West Indies
by LEIGHTON H. CUMMING