Invitation

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"Libraries and Librarians:
Making a Difference in
the Knowledge Age"

August 16-25, 2001

Invitation

What is IFLA?

Theme & Subthemes

Programs

How to Get Involved

About Boston

Exhibits

Organizers

Registration Information

Fellowship Information

In this document:
Theme Subthemes Boston - America's Walking City	Conference Venue Transportation Climate	Excursions Speakers

The United States National Organizing Committee and the US library community take great pleasure in inviting you to the 67th IFLA Council and General Conference which will take place in historic Boston, Massachusetts, from August 16-25, 2001.

Theme

Libraries and Librarians: Making a Difference
in the Knowledge Age

The library exists as an idea and a symbol as well as a physical reality. Throughout history the mission of the library -- to facilitate the free flow of information -- remains unchanged although change is constantly occurring in the ways in which librarians fulfill the library's mission. Librarians, as knowledge workers, collect, transmit and preserve recorded messages. They organize and manage the storage, retrieval and use of information. They provide personal assistance in tailoring information services for people and institutions. Librarians analyze, evaluate and synthesize the information they collect to create new forms of knowledge. The technology changes, but the mission endures.

The power of technology supports sophisticated systems for connecting people to new forms of knowledge and creates linkages between the expanding physical and intellectual universes. By harnessing rapidly developing technology with a reaffirmation of the historical values and contributions of librarianship, the chaos and experimentation of the Information Age transforms into a new era of human development -- the Knowledge Age.

Subthemes

Advancing the Leadership Role of the Librarian in the Knowledge Age
Delivering Lifelong Learning Across Space and Time
Managing Information and Technology in the Knowledge Age
Developing Information Policies for the Knowledge Age
Forging Collaborative Partnerships
Making a Difference --
- to Government and Industry in Economic Development
- to Society in Social and Cultural Development
- to Researchers and Scientists Exploring the Frontiers of Knowledge
- to Children and Young Adults in Learning Opportunities
- in the Quality of Life to the Public

Boston - America's Walking City

Surrounded by the beautiful Charles River and the Atlantic Ocean, Boston is known as America's Walking City. From its downtown core to the outlying areas, Boston is a city of intriguing diversity. There's history and high technology, academic excellence and neighborhood charm. There are over 150 public, school, and academic and special libraries in the Boston metropolitan area, many of them world renowned! Boston enjoys a mix of colonial charm and an urban sophistication with a thriving cultural scene.

Just across the river Cambridge offers an exciting multicultural setting where visitors from around the world mingle in the shadow of two of the world's premier universities: Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Boston also serves as the gateway to picturesque New England. No wonder over one million international visitors come to Boston every year.

Conference Venue

The John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center is the premier meeting space in New England. Located in the heart of Boston's beautiful and historic Back Bay, this high-tech, state-of-the-art facility is just steps away from dozens of the city's most popular hotels and attractions. The Hynes is fully handicap accessible.

Transportation

Boston's Logan International Airport, located on Boston Harbor, is situated only minutes from downtown. Fourteen international carriers fly directly into Boston, and there are convenient flights from New York every hour. Boston has an extensive and affordable bus, subway, and tram system.

Climate

Being on the ocean means that Boston's climate is temperate in the summer. Temperatures in Boston in August range from 20 to 25 Centigrade (71-79 Fahrenheit).
The skies in August are usually sunny and clear, but occasional rainy days are possible.

Excursions

Boston and its environs offer an exciting venue for IFLA 2001 participants and their companions. There will be opportunities to shop, attend musical events, visit museums, and explore historic and cultural sites. You can walk the Freedom Trail, wander about Harvard Square, run along the Charles River Esplanade, or Cruise Boston's harbor and waterways.

Excursions are being arranged to the splendid mansions of Newport, Rhode Island, the villages and beaches of Cape Cod, the pastoral Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts, and the quaint rockbound seacoast towns north of Boston. You'll even be able to experience the excitement of a whale watch off the New England coast or contemplate nature at Thoreau's house on Walden Pond. Other possibilities include the Mystic Seaport in CT., the Stockbridge Village and Lexington and Concord, MA. , the White Mountains of New Hempshire or the Green Mountains of Vermont, the Isles of Shoals, and Strawbery Banke in Portsmouth, NH.

Itineraries will be offered for those wishing to extend their travels to New York City and Washington, D.C.

And, more options are still in the planning!

Speakers

Individuals invited to speak at IFLA Conferences do not receive payment for speaking. Speakers must attend at their own expense.

(Approved by IFLA Professional Board, October 1998)