Packing Them In: 67th Annual IFLA Sets New Records
IFLA Goes to Boston
Boston, MA, was the site of the International Federation
of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) record-breaking, 67th IFLA Council and General Conference The attendance figures for the conference, held August 16-25, 2001, broke all previous IFLA records. More than 5,300 people were involved in the conference, nearly 2000 more than in any previous IFLA event. Boston also had the biggest exhibition ever with 171 exhibitors, including SLA. The United States had the best representation, with more than 1,300 American delegates participating in the sessions and workshops. Other well-represented countries included China (with 166 delegates), the Russian Federation (with 145 delegates), United Kingdom (with 132 delegates), France (with 115 delegates), and Canada (with 108 delegates).
IFLA President Christine Deschamps opened the conference and then gave way to the event's 261 meetings, 68 poster sessions, and 27 workshops. More than 160 papers were available in print or on the CD IFLANET Unplugged. Many of these papers were translated into one or more of the other four IFLA working languages (English, French, Spanish, and Russian).
Resolution Adopted at IFLA Council II
A resolution that addressed the obstacles involving Cuba and access to information had 553 supporters, 54 opponents, and 12 abstentions. SLA abstained from the vote so it could have time to gather input from its board of directors and members. For full details on the resolution, go to: http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla67/iflaexp8.pdf.
IFLA/FAIFE Introduces World Report on Libraries and Intellectual Freedom
The first IFLA/FAIFE World Report on libraries and intellectual freedom was launched at the IFLA conference.
"Libraries have a crucial role to play," said Christine Deschamps, the president of IFLA. "They are an essential tool for the achievement of democracy and social development. Libraries provide access to information, ideas, and work of imagination. They serve as gateways to knowledge. Libraries must reflect the plurality and diversity of society, opposing all forms of censorship without being influenced by any political, moral, or religious opinions.
"This first IFLA/FAIFE World Report is a major project, a first attempt to provide a picture on the status of libraries
and intellectual freedom throughout the world. More than 140 countries have been contacted and 46 have submitted their reports. The result is very encouraging since this kind of information had never previously been put together nor published on a global basis.
"The IFLA/FAIFE World Report is a living document and more countries will join the project in the future. The world report is a living proof of the global aspects of IFLA/FAIFE and of IFLA's support to democracy and development."
Evaluation of the conference and professional program
Ralph Manning, outgoing chair of the professional board, presented a conference overview at the final council meeting. The full text of his presentation is available on IFLANET (www.iflanet.org) and in IFLA Journal. Manning spoke about the work that goes into bringing people from all around the world to participate in IFLA's activities. Eleven satellite meetings, which covered everything from library consortia to the challenges and opportunities for the delivery of multicultural services in libraries, were held before the conference occurred. This was the most satellite meetings to ever take place in conjunction with an IFLA conference
The next conference will be held August 2002 in Glasgow, Scotland. Information about Glasgow and other upcoming IFLA meetings can be found at www.ifla.org
Information Outlook invited SLA's section representatives to provide their own reports. These reports follow and are available on the Web at: http://informationoutlook.sla.org
IFLA REPORTS FROM SLA MEMBERS
IFLA Section on Classification and Indexing
by Marcia Zeng
The IFLA Section on Classification and Indexing and Section on Information Technology co-organized a pre-IFLA satellite conference, Subject Retrieval in a Networked World, from August 14 to 16 at OCLC Campus at Dublin, Ohio. The conference explored different approaches to subject retrieval of information and provided an opportunity to exchange views and to hear researchers at the forefront of subject retrieval in the Internet age. Nearly 100 participants from 15 countries attended the conference.
The section has two major projects going on. One is developing a new guideline for the construction of multi-lingual thesauri, which would replace the 25-year old current standard. The working group is chaired by Gerhard Riesthuis (University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands). Another working group, chaired by Marcia Lei Zeng (Kent State University, USA) is conducting a project entitled Subject Access Approaches Used by Digital Collections and Information Directories. Both groups had discussions during the IFLA Boston Conference. The section also hosted an open session called Education and Knowledge Organization. The standing committee of the Section on Classification and Indexing has 19 members from 13 countries.
IFLA's Government Information and Publications Section
by Jerry W. Mansfield
After eight years as a member of IFLA's Government Information and Publications Section (GIOPS) (including the last two as secretary/treasurer), I decided to become a member of the IFLA Government Libraries Section. The makeup of GIOPS includes information professionals in academic, special, and government libraries interested in government information and government documents. The Government Libraries Section is comprised of librarians employed in national libraries, parliamentary libraries, state libraries, and government special libraries. Our objectives are to:
· Promote government libraries and government information services
· Assist government libraries in working with each other
· Provide advice to librarians working in government libraries to better assist their patrons in utilizing government information
· Provide a means for librarians in government libraries to exchange information and communicate with each other.
The Government Libraries Section participated in an open paper theme, titled Delivering Information Services Via the Internet: A Way of Reshaping the Government Libraries at IFLA 2001. Speakers from the United Kingdom, Finland, and the United States presented papers. Government libraries also organized a joint open session, titled Knowledge Management in Not-For-Profit Organizations, with the Marketing and Management Section and Social Science Section. The speakers were from the United States, Finland, Japan, and Denmark. The section also held an off-site workshop, Strategies for RecognitionHow to Promote Government Libraries and Services, at the Middlesex Law Library. This featured representatives from the United Kingdom, Kenya, Finland, Sweden, and the host institution.
Officers were also elected this year. They are: chair, Lena Olsson, Stockholm Institute of Education, Sweden; secretary/treasurer, Robert Klaverstijn, ministry of health, Welfare and Sport, The Hague, Netherlands; and information coordinator, Christine Wellems, parliamentary Information Services, Parliament of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Germany.
Much of our time at this year's business meeting was spent planning for the Glasgow 2002. Along with the British Government Libraries Group Government Libraries will sponsor a two-day pre-conference seminar in London on August 14-15. The program title is Informing Government: Government Library and Information Services in the Information Age. For further information or to register, visit the website. For our open paper session, Nancy Bolt (Colorado Department of Education, USA) and I will be organizing a session that will examine national information policies and the influences librarians have in their formulation.
IFLA Section on Cataloguing
by Dorothy McGarry
The IFLA Section on Cataloguing's program focused on positioning cataloguing for the future. Four papers were presented there including The Impact of the FRBR Model on the Future Revisions of the ISBDs: A Challenge for the IFLA Section on Cataloguing, by Patrick Le Boeuf (Bibliothèque Nationale de France); Progress on the Multilingual Dictionary of Cataloguing Terms and Concepts, by Monika Muennich (Universitäts Bibliothek, Heidelberg, Germany); Functional Requirements and Numbering Authority Records (FRANAR), by Françoise Bourdon (Bibliothèque Nationale de France); and A Virtual International Authority File, by Barbara Tillett (Library of Congress). The papers are available on the IFLAnet in several languages.
The section's standing committee met during the conference to hear reports on the activities of its working groups, to plan for the 2002 Glasgow conference, and to discuss its strategic and work plans for the next two years. A number of the standing committee's working groups also met.
The ISBD (International Standard Bibliographic Description) Review Group discussed revisions to the ISBD for monographic publications. A draft was sent out for worldwide review and it is now being revised. It will be published in early 2002. The group is also working on a recommended policy for application of the ISBDs when the material being catalogued involves the use of more than one ISBD. The review group is responsible for overseeing the revisions of the ISBDs and ensuring that the descriptions don't contradict each other.
The ISBD's working group for cartographic materials has reviewed several drafts of revision proposals. Since some of the reviews of the ISBD for electronic resources may affect this ISBD, work has been temporarily delayed pending finalization of revision and/or review of three other ISBDs.
The ISBD's working group for serials has been completing the new International Standard Bibliographic Description for Serials and Other Continuing Resources, which will be known as the IBDD(CR). This should be published in early 2002. A workshop on the ISBD(CR) may be held at the 2002 IFLA Conference in Glasgow.
The multilingual dictionary for cataloguing terms is being developed by a group of cataloguers. The multilingual dictionary for cataloguing terms is being developed by a working group. To begin with, English terms will be extracted "
Another working group has been looking at various metadata schemes to identify the presence of data elements considered mandatory for bibliographic description in the Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records. This work is continuing.
The Camel Mobile: An Innovative Approach to Rural Library Service in Kenya
by Christine M. Koontz
Library marketing professionals from around the world gathered in Quebec City, prior to IFLA in Boston, to discuss the state of library marketing education and successful marketing research techniques that improve library service in a sessions sponsored by the Management and Marketing Session of IFLA.
Daniel N. Ruheni, of Daystar University, Nairobi, Kenya, presented the most unique marketing solution to help overcome barriers to rural library service. Ruheni's approach is (pardon all puns) from the "eye of a camel."
The Camel Mobile Library service, started in 1996, spans a radius of 10 kilometers from a static library location.
Camels caravan to marginal regions of the countryside where they are not only valued for transport, but for meat, skin, and medicinal purposes.
Three camels are tied together carrying tents, chairs, tables, an umbrella, and, of course, books. The service is managed by the Kenya National Library Service (KNLS), a government entity that manages all Kenyan public library systems. According to the KNLS, 85 percent of the rural population is illiterate, compared to the national average of 31 percent. Book donations are accepted from corporate bodies, both local and overseas. Library development committees include village elders and community readers.
The camels take books to school children and villagers, overcoming obstacles of rough terrain and traveling roads with little infrastructure. They move from region to region on Monday through Thursday. On Friday and Saturday, they are allowed to search for food and water and recuperate.
"In spite of hardships, the camel library offers good marketing practices, moving library resources in the most rural areas of northeastern Kenya," Ruheni said.
Report of the Social Science Libraries Section
by Jean M. Porter
The Social Science Libraries Section (SOC) joined the Government Libraries and the Management and Marketing Sections to sponsor Knowledge Management for Not-for-Profit Organizations. Speakers from the United States, Finland, Japan, and Denmark contributed perspectives on knowledge management.
The SOC also facilitated a Knowledge Management Discussion Group meeting immediately following the open session. The meeting began with Jean-Philippe Accart, a member of the SOC, reporting on a survey of knowledge management activities in France. A lively exchange of information ensued. Karen Muller, a librarian and knowledge management Specialist at ALA headquarters, will be the convener of the discussion group at the Glasgow conference.
The Genealogy and Local History Discussion Group, also under the SOC umbrella, offered an open session with three speakers. Later in the week, the discussion group organized tours of two major genealogical organizations in Boston. The Genealogy and Local History Discussion Group plans to pursue status as a full section of IFLA.
SOC also organized a workshop held in Wong Auditorium on the MIT campus near the Dewey Management and Social Science Library. The workshop was titled New Technologies for the 21st Century: Impacts on Social Science Libraries. Speakers discussed virtual reference services, the Virtual Data Center of the MIT-Harvard Data Center, and the archiving of full text journals at JSTOR. Nearly 100 people attended this session. Prior to the meeting, some of the attendees met for lunch in Cambridge and made an impromptu visit to the Dewey Library.
The section's theme for the Glasglow conference will focus on history as a mirror to the future, looking at historical topics and areas related to future studies.
A Report From the LTR Committee
by Wilda B. Newman
The meeting in Boston was one to remember, especially for me, because it was in the United States. In most other countries, funding is in large part provided by the government of the host country, but sponsors fund United States events. Our success was due to all of the task forces that were set up to handle fund raising and vendor support, as well as all of the details that a major, international conference entails. It was a wonderful conference and a wonderful venue. Thanks to those that participated from all over the world and to all those Americans that gave so much of themselves.
Through Jim Neal's fund-raising efforts, the United States also provided money to sponsor 100 competitive fellowships for young professionals from developing countries to attend IFLA. I was a member of the task force that reviewed candidates for the $3000 individual scholarships and I coordinated the mentoring program for those candidates that made it to the conference. Many volunteers from the United States agreed to be mentors to one or more of the fellows and it appeared that the fellows gained a great deal from this experience, as did the mentors. Since the meeting, I have heard that the mentoring program is apt to be continued into future IFLA meetings. This program represents, I think, the American way support and care for the world and for information professionals everywhere.
As a member of the Library Theory and Research (LTR) Standing Committee, I can say that the Boston IFLA conference was very successful. The LTR programs included two sessions. The Monday program, titled Collaboration Between the Library and Information Science Researcher and the Practitioner: Leadership Programs in the U.S. was introduced by Beverly P. Lynch (Professor, Graduate School of Education & Information Studies, UCLA and Interim President, Center for Research Libraries, USA). Organizations and presenters at the workshop included: Association of Research Libraries, Management Programs, Duane Webster (executive director, Association of Research Libraries, USA); UCLA Senior Fellows Program, Jeffrey Horrell (associate librarian of Harvard College and 1999 senior fellow, USA); Frye Leadership Institute, Deanna Marcum (president, Council on Library and Information Resources, USA); Association of College and Research Libraries/Harvard Program, Althea Jenkins (director, Florida State University Libraries and former executive director, Association of College and Research Libraries, USA); Urban Libraries Council Executive Leadership Institute, Joey Rodger (president, Urban Libraries Council, USA); Stanford, California State Library, Institute on 21st Century Librarianship, Anne Marie Gold (executive director of the Institute, USA); and Mortenson Center for International Library Programs, Visitors Program, Marianna Tax Choldin (director and distinguished professor, USA).
The second program was titled International Cooperation in Library and Information Science (LIS) Research: Making a Difference in the Knowledge Age. Program speakers and their papers included an example of European cooperation on research in librarianship, Francoise Bourdon and Elisabeth Freyre (Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris, France); Research and International Technical Cooperation, programmes, Ian M. Johnson (head, School of Information and Media, The Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK); and Collaborative Efforts In Cross-Country Studies On Information Resource Sharing Infrastructure Between China And The US: Introducing An International Cooperative Research Method, Yan Quan Liu (assistant professor, Information and Library Science, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, CT, USA).
The LTR Standing Committee held two business meetings that were primarily focused on conference planning. Details for the Boston meeting were finalized and work on the strategic plan and action items were completed. Discussion also included LTR programs for upcoming conferences in Glasgow, Scotland, 2002, and Berlin, Germany, 2003. This year saw a significant change in the leadership of LTR as Lis Byberg, Norway, completed her second term as chairperson of LTR. She did an outstanding job for the committee and IFLA and now moves onto another section of IFLA. The LTR Standing Committee is in good hands with Kerry Smith, Australia, assuming the position of chair (previously secretary/treasurer for LTR). Marian Koren, Netherlands, becomes the new secretary/treasurer. Wilda Newman, United States, continues as information coordinator for the LTR Standing Committee.
The Library and Research Services Report
by Donna Scheeder
The Section on Library and Research Services for Parliaments had a busy schedule of meetings at the IFLA conference in Boston. A pre-conference in Ottawa, hosted by the Parliamentary Library of Canada, had more than 100 delegates representing 46 different countries. The event, called Parliamentary and Legislative Libraries: On the Cutting Edge of Information, featured presentations from members of parliamentary libraries in Cuba, Costa Rica, and Brazil, as well as a panel of Canadian librarians led by Mary Dickerson.
The Boston program included two standing committee meetings, two open meetings (one of which was followed by a Town Hall), and two workshops. Speakers included Daniel Mulhollan, director of the United States Congressional Research Service, Richard Toornsta, director of the Parliamentary Documentation Center of the European Union, and Karl Min Ku, head of Library and Information Service, Legislative Yuna, Taiwan. The highlight of the research day workshop was the presentations of Rosemary Crowley, a member of the Australian Senate, and Kosi Kadem, a member of the parliament of Ghana who discussed the legislator as client.
The all day management workshop was held off-site at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Section members had their choice of attending group meetings on a variety of topics where they raised issues and shared best practices. The section also agreed upon a work plan for the coming year.
Academic and User Education Report
by Jesús Lau
As an SLA representative to the IFLA Section of University and Other General Research Libraries, I compiled this report on the activities of this section, as well as on the work of the Round Table on User Education (RTUE), an IFLA group that I chair. The aim of the report is to encourage other SLA members to participate in the exciting international work of IFLA.
The Section on University Libraries had several activities including open sessions, discussion groups, and workshops.
· A satellite meeting, Service Management, and Leadership: Essential Tools of Library Services to the Academic Community, at Harvard University. This was an excellent meeting organized by ACRL but having as guest members of the IFLA Section on University Libraries.
· Performance Measurement in Academic Libraries, a group discussion.
· Marketing of Library Services to the Academic Community, a discussion lead by the Information and Documentation Group that was created to fill the gap created by the demise of FID.
· An open session on academic and research library partnerships.
· A workshop on managing academic and research library partnerships.
· A workshop called Information Literacy: the Contribution of Websites. A joint activity with the User Education Round Table.
The university section's has four main activities planned for IFLA Glasgow 2002. The themes include:
· Change and its Impact on Staff, an open session.
· Evaluation and Quality Assurance: Focus on New Measures of Institutional Outcomes and Evidence of Impact, a group discussion.
· Shaping the Future of Scholarly Communication and Publishing: The Librarians' Role, a workshop.
· The Role of the University Library in Promoting Democracy and Diversity, a workshop.
Members of this section also presented the final document of the IFLA licensing principles, which is available on the IFLA website. This is a useful set of guidelines for any academic library. A decision was made to accept scholarly communication as a high priority for the section work. A draft will also be prepared to discuss Evaluation and Quality Assurance in Academic and Research Libraries at the 2002 Glasgow meeting.
The Round Table on User Education had an open session devoted to discuss International Guidelines for User Education Across Continents. The five papers presented were:
· Loanne Snavely, "ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education" (USA)
· Toby Bainton: "Information Literacy and Academic Libraries: The SCONUL Approach" (UK)
· Christina Tovote: "The Pedagogical Challenge and the Student as Customer" (Sweden)
· Benno, Homman: "Difficulties and New Approaches in User Education in Germany" (Germany)
· Hans Chopra, "Performance Appraisal of Library User Instructors in Developing Countries"(India)
As reported, this round table organized a joint workshop with the Section on University Libraries on Information Literacy: The Contribution of Websites. 
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