IN THIS DOCUMENT:

Membership

Executive Board

Professional Board

IFLA Headquarters Staff

63rd IFLA Council and General Conference, Copenhagen, Denmark, 31 August-5 September 1997

Future Conferences

Projects

Publications

Grants and Prizes

Relations with other Organizations

Acknowledgments

IFLA Annual Report 1997

This report reflects only the major items of IFLA's activities in 1997. Fuller reports on the activities of IFLA's professional groups can be found in the reports of the Core Programmes in this issue of IFLA Journal, or in IFLA's biennial Council Reports, the first being issued in July 1997 as IFLA Council Report 1995-1997. Annual reports of the Sections and Round Tables can be found on IFLANET (www.ifla.org), in their Newsletters, or throughout the year in IFLA Journal.

1. Membership

2. Executive Board

Before the elections held in Copenhagen, the Executive Board was composed as follows:

• Robert Wedgeworth (USA), President
  
• Marta Terry (Cuba), First Vice-President
  
• Ekaterina Genieva (Russian Federation), Second Vice-President
  
• Warren Horton (Australia), Treasurer
  
• Christine Deschamps (France)
  
• Børge Sørensen (Denmark)
  
• Robert D. Stueart (USA)
  
• Sun Beixin (China)
  
• Sally McCallum (USA) ex officio, Chair of the Professional Board.

After the Copenhagen elections, the Executive Board had the following composition:

• Christine Deschamps (France), President
  
• Ekaterina Genieva (Russian Federation), First Vice-President
  
• Nancy John (USA), Second Vice-President
  
• Derek Law (UK), Treasurer
  
• Klaus-Dieter Lehmann (Germany)
  
• Kay Raseroka (Botswana)
  
• Børge Sørensen (Denmark)
  
• Sun Beixin (China)
  
• Sissel Nilsen (Norway), ex officio, Chair of the Professional Board.

The Executive Board met three times during the report period, and following the tradition begun in April 1993, also held a joint meeting with the Professional Board in April 1997. As the policy making body of IFLA, the Executive Board took action on the following:

Appointed members to EB committees

to help strengthen the involvement and cooperation of EB members between meetings and to sharpen the focus on various topics. The committees are the Conference Planning Committee, chaired by Nancy John, with Sissel Nilsen and Børge Sørensen as members; the Membership Development and Services Committee with Kay Raseroka as chair and Klaus-Dieter Lehmann and Sun Beixin as members; and the Executive Committee with Christine Deschamps, Ekaterina Genieva and Derek Law. Members of the committees continue to communicate by e-mail between meetings on a regular basis to carry out work more efficiently.

Assigned portfolios to EB members:

Ekaterina Genieva, Official Liaison to ICA; Derek Law and Sissel Nilsen, Working Group on the Revision of the Statutes and Rules of Procedure; Klaus-Dieter Lehmann, Chair of the Publications Committee and Official Liaison to FID; Børge Sørensen, Official Liaison to the FAIFE Committee; Nancy John, Official Liaison to the CLM Committee.

Accepted as new Association Members:

Association des Amis de la Lecture (ASSOCLE) (Benin); Association des Bibliothécaires, Archivistes, Documentalistes et Museographes du Cameroun (Cameroon); Fédération Française de Coopération entre Bibliothèques Publiques (France); Library and Information Association of South Africa (LIASA) (South Africa); and Stichting Cultureel Centrum Suriname (Suriname).

Met with representatives of Core Programme hosts and the Core Programme Directors

during the Copenhagen Conference to discuss closer cooperation among Core Programmes and the development of joint projects with Sections and Round Tables. As major funder of the Core Programmes, CDNL's Chair, Peter Lor, also met with the Executive Board.

Invited bids from potential hosts for the IFLA Council and General Conference 2003.

The EB decided to take a more proactive role in selecting sites for IFLA Conferences, and to invite, through IFLA's association members, competitive bids from potential hosts for IFLA Conferences. During the Copenhagen Conference questionnaires were distributed to all association members and those interested in hosting the 2003 conference sent in their responses, which were reviewed at the December meeting. Based on the recommendation of the Conference Planning Committee the EB invited two countries to submit detailed bid books, to be followed up by site visits. The EB will take a decision for the 2003 host during the 1998 Amsterdam Conference, at which time the cycle will repeat itself and bids will be requested for the 2004 conference.

Accepted the CAIFE Report for presentation to Council 1997.

The report, prepared by the ad hoc Committee on Access to Information and Freedom of Expression, was accepted by the EB. Council 1997 approved a resolution for follow-up action.

FAIFE.

The establishment of the EB Committee on Freedom of Access to Information and Freedom of Expression resulted from the follow-up of the CAIFE Report. The Report clearly demonstrated the need for IFLA to establish a broad-based committee to advise IFLA on policy and other matters related to these topics. Nominations for the new committee were sought from IFLA's association members. The Danish Library Community supported FAIFE by funding an office and staff in Copenhagen for two years. Alex Bryne (Australia) was appointed by the EB to chair the Committee. The EB also appointed members to the Committee.

CLM.

Council 1997 also approved a resolution for the establishment of the Committee on Copyright and other Legal Matters, as a follow-up to the work of the Copyright Committee (1991-1993), the Copyright Advisor (1994-1997), and as a result of IFLA's experience at the WIPO Conference in December 1996. Association members were invited to nominate members for the committee, which would assist in developing the policy of the EB. The UAP Core Programme Office in Boston Spa would function as Secretariat. Marianne Scott (Canada) was appointed by the EB to serve as Chair. The EB also appointed members to the Committee.

As a follow-up to the resolution on adding Chinese as an IFLA language,

the EB reviewed detailed documentation on costs and benefits of meeting this request in the wider contexts of services to members and services to potential members.

Reviewed the state-of-the-art of the budget for 1997

and congratulated the Secretary General for the preliminary results and for controlling expenses so carefully in 1997. This was the 5th year in succession that there had been a positive outcome. The record outcome was in part due to the great success of the Copenhagen Conference, which contributed more than twice the amount of any other conference host to IFLA's income.

Differentiated dues.

The EB considered at great length several different models for differentiating the dues of institutional members but agreed that a move toward various systems could present additional problems when determining the voting structure for IFLA institutional members. It agreed that the present dues structure was most closely linked to the cost of servicing an IFLA member and the most democratic in essence.

Approved the logo

for the 2001 IFLA Council and General Conference to be held in Boston, USA during the 3rd or 4th week of August.

Approved Glasgow

as the site for the 2002 IFLA General Conference.

Continued its guest lecture series.

During the 1997 IFLA Council and General Conference in Copenhagen, three Guest Lectures were given. Sir Roger Elliott, Chair of the International Council of Scientific Unions Press, spoke on "The Impact of Electronic Publishing on the Scientific Information Chain". Ursula Owen, Editor and Chief Executive of Index on Censorship delivered a lecture on "Gateways to Freedom: Libraries and the Next Millennium". Esther Sibanyoni, South African Woman of the Year '97 and Librarian at the State Library in Pretoria spoke on "A Library for Community Development in Soshanguve" for which her award had been given.

PAC Regional Centre in Moscow.

Following site visits by Marie-Thérèse Varlamoff, and Beatrix Kastaly, Chair of the Section on Preservation and Conservation, and based on their recommendation, the EB accepted the offer of the M.I. Rudomino All State Library for Foreign Literature in Moscow to host the PAC Regional Centre.

Reviewed and approved IFLANET's Policy and Procedures Document,

developed by the UDT staff. The document contains instructions for mirroring of the IFLANET site on other continents, centralization of IFLA electronic resources; multilingual documents, IFLANET document formats, mailing list policies and procedures, and instructions to authors for submitting publications electronically.

Met with Presidents and CEOs of library associations

during the Copenhagen Conference. The meeting was attended by 30+ representatives from 24 countries and offered a forum for an exchange of views on a variety of matters, but in particular on the radical change to IFLA's publications programme and the newly established procedure for national association members to submit applications to host IFLA's Conferences.

3. Professional Board

Before the elections held in Copenhagen, the composition of the Professional Board, made up of the Chairs of each of the Divisions (or a designated representative), plus a Chair elected from the outgoing PB members was:

• Sally McCallum (USA), Chair
  
• John Willemse (South Africa), General Research Libraries
  
• Edward Valauskas (USA), Special Libraries
  
• Sissel Nilsen (Norway), Libraries Serving the General Public
  
• Ross Bourne (UK), Bibliographic Control
  
• Marjorie Bloss (USA), Collections and Services
  
• Ralph Manning (Canada), Management and Technology
  
• Steffen Rückl (Germany), Education and Research
  
• A.P. Gakhar (India), Regional Activities.

After the elections, the PB was composed as follows:

• Sissel Nilsen (Norway), Chair
  
• Winston Tabb (USA), General Research Libraries
  
• Ed Valauskas (USA), Special Libraries
  
• Ilona Glashoff (Germany), Libraries Serving the General Public
  
• Ingrid Parent (Canada), Bibliographic Control
  
• Marjorie Bloss (USA), Collections and Services
  
• Ralph Manning (Canada), Management and Technology
  
• Lis Byberg (Norway), Education and Training
  
• Stan Made (Zimbabwe), Regional Activities.

During the report period the Professional Board:

Assigned portfolios to PB members as follows:

Ralph Manning, Vice-Chair and Financial Officer, and Chair of the 1999 Pre-Session Seminar Planning Committee; Marjorie Bloss, Publications Committee and PB representative to the Working Group on Statutes and Rules of Procedure; Ed Valauskas, Liaison to the CLM Committee, and responsible for conference planning; Stan Made, member of the 1999 Pre-Session Seminar Planning Committee; Lis Byberg, Liaison to the FAIFE Committee; Ingrid Parent, Member of the Committee for Follow-up on Beijing Agenda with ICA; Ilona Glashoff, Liaison to the Working Group on Literacy; Winston Tabb, member of the Selection Committee for Contributed Papers; Sissel Nilsen, Member of the Working Group on the Revision of Statutes and Rules of Procedure; Member of the 1999 Pre-Session Planning Committee; Member of the Selection Committee for Contributed Papers

Approved the name change of ALP

from the Advancement of Librarianship Programme for the Third World to the Advancement of Librarianship Programme.

Continued to hold a yearly meeting with Core Programme Directors

following the three very successful "Trends/Agenda Setting" meetings held in 1993, 1994, and 1996. These meetings are always held in The Hague in December of each year. During the 1997 meeting, greater cooperation among the Core Programmes was discussed in detail, and the PB noted that many joint projects and seminars were being planned for 1998.

Approved the themes

for the 2000 IFLA General Conference to be held in Jerusalem, Israel: "Information for Cooperation: Creating the Global Library of the Future"; and for the 2001 IFLA Council and General Conference to be held in Boston, Massachusetts, USA: "Libraries and Librarians: Making a Difference in the Knowledge Age";

Approved the theme

for the 1999 Pre-Session Seminar: "Collecting and Safeguarding the Oral Heritage"

Continued the development of JICPA

(Joint IFLA/ICA Committee on Preservation in Africa). Through the ALP Core Programme funding was obtained to set up national commissions in African countries that will increase local awareness of preservation issues and develop training programmes.

Developed the professional programme for the Copenhagen Conference.

Reviewed 54 full-text papers and selected 8 papers for presentation at the contributed papers session for the conference; approved workshops, satellite meetings and the professional content of the conference.

Undertook a detailed evaluation of the Copenhagen Conference,

both professionally and logistically, in cooperation with the Royal School of Librarianship in Copenhagen. The results of the evaluation will help IFLA HQ and future conference organizers make more detailed arrangements for areas where participants felt improvement was needed.

Prioritized and allocated project funds

to IFLA's professional units; reviewed projects undertaken by the professional units for the past three years, and if progress had not been made, agreed to abandon them and request the return of monies advanced.

Continued discussion on a revision to IFLA's Statutes and Rules of Procedure,

following the 1996 evaluation of the work and performance of the Sections and Round Tables.

Finalized the Medium-Term Programme 1998-2001,

which was edited by Sally H. McCallum and published in January 1998. All IFLA language versions will be completed within the first quarter of 1998 and will be put up on IFLANET. Each professional group developed Scope statements describing the nature and purpose of their activities, and the goals which will effect improvements to the relevant aspects of library service specified in their Scope. Two-year action plans were also presented. In two years the professional groups will have the opportunity to shape the supporting actions for the remainder of the work plan, 2000-2001

Reviewed progress made on UNESCO contracts

and made proposals for contracts for the next biennium.

Noted with satisfaction the acceptance of the UNESCO Resolution on Permanent Paper,

at the UNESCO General Conference in 1997, and developed plans to continue working with UNESCO for the upcoming "Questionnaire on Statistics of Book Production" for questions dealing with permanent paper.

Continued to develop mechanisms for cooperation

with other international bodies working in related fields.

Approved as new Sections

the Section on Management and Marketing and the Section on Reading.

Approved the name change

for the Section of Children's Libraries to the Section of Libraries for Children and Young Adults to reflect its broader scope of activities and interest groups.

Approved the establishment of six Discussion Groups,

to taking effect in September 1997. Discussion Groups are officially sponsored and affiliated with a Section, have a convenor, and are established for two-year renewable terms. They may then be dissolved or will become Sections. Those approved are: Performance Measurement in Academic Libraries; Reference Work; Social Responsibilities; Friends and Advocates of Libraries; Corporate and For Profit Libraries and the Internet Discussion Group.

Approved the plenary speaker for Amsterdam 1997,

Mr J. Pronk, Minister for Development Cooperation.

Issued the first edition of the IFLA Officers Handbook,

a 101-page publication, which gives detailed instructions to assist officers with all types of activities, both administrative and programmatic, ranging from responsibilities of Standing Committee members, to planning meetings and workshops at IFLA Conferences to budgeting for professional activities. The Handbook was distributed to all officers during the Copenhagen Conference, and has also been put up on IFLANET. It will be revised biennially.

4. IFLA Headquarters Staff

IFLA Headquarters staff during the report period were

• Leo Voogt, Secretary General;
  
• Winston Roberts, Professional Coordinator;
  
• Carol Henry, Executive Officer;
  
• Jos de Block, Secretary to the Professional Coordinator;
  
• Hanny Duijvestijn, Administrative Assistant;
  
• Sophie Felföldi, Office Manager;
  
• Theresa Stanton, Publications Assistant;
  
• Dini Verschoor, Financial Assistant;
  
• Daphne Vlot, Membership Officer; and
  
• Marieke van Buytene, the first IFLA Paul Nauta Residential Fellow under a one-year contract.

5. 63rd IFLA Council and General Conference, Copenhagen, Denmark, 31 August-5 September 1997

The theme, "Libraries and Information for Human Development" reflected the wider impact which today's information revolution is set to have on society as a whole, and not just on librarians and information professionals. The conference attracted an attendance of 2976 delegates from 141 countries. One hundred and seventy papers (not including the 112 translations) on a wide range of themes were delivered in 72 open sessions and 22 workshops. The full text of all IFLA '97 Conference papers can be accessed on IFLA's Website at <www.ifla.org>. Ms Lone Dybkaer, Member of the European Union Parliament, the Plenary Speaker, explored the possibilities offered by new information technologies to create an open democracy, and cited proposals made by the Danish government. In his Presidential Address, "Reaffirming Professional Values", Robert Wedgeworth spoke of today's "legal barriers and political pressures which are very real threats to the concept of service that libraries and librarians espouse." IFLA's response was to pass two major Council resolutions: the first formally establishing IFLA's Committee on Freedom of Access to Information and Freedom of Expression (FAIFE); and the second formally establishing IFLA's Committee on Copyright and other Legal Matters (CLM). Council also made Robert Wedgeworth an Honorary President of IFLA.

The Pre-Session Seminar on the theme, "Bridging the Gap - Implementation of Information Technology in Developing Countries" was held at the Royal School of Librarianship in Aalborg, Denmark, 25-29 August 1997. It brought together 34 participants from Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean who communicated in French, Spanish and English with the help of interpreters. The seminar resulted in the development of personal and regional action plans, the latter to be considered by the Regional Standing Committees for implementation during the MTP 1998-2001.

6. Future Conferences

During the Copenhagen Conference, Mr Wedgeworth and Mr Voogt met with delegations from Amsterdam, 1998; Bangkok, 1999; and Jerusalem, 2000; and from other countries which were interested in hosting IFLA in the year 2003 and onward. Ms Deschamps and Mr Voogt travelled to Edinburgh and Glasgow in preparation for the 2002 IFLA Conference. Invitations to host IFLA Conferences have been accepted for Boston 2001, and Glasgow 2002.

7. Projects

Reports of the 60+ projects undertaken by the Sections and Round Tables and funded by the Professional Board can be found in their Newsletters and are posted on IFLANET or reported in IFLA Journal throughout the year. Other funded activities include seminars and meetings, and UNESCO projects and are recorded elsewhere in this report or in those of the Core Programmes. NCLIS (National Commission for Library and Information Science) supported a feasibility study for a survey of documents on ethnic groups in Central America and a UAP (Universal Availability of Publications) seminar in Latin America.

8. Publications

8.1 Publications Committee

The members of the Publications Committee were Christine Deschamps, Chair and Executive Board representative; and Steffen Rückl, Professional Board representative. Leo Voogt was an ex officio member. Other members will be coopted when necessary. The Committee meetings are scheduled to coincide with Board meetings held at Headquarters. After the elections in Copenhagen, the Publications Committee was composed of Klaus-Dieter Lehmann, Executive Board representative and Chair of the Committee; and Marjorie Bloss, Professional Board representative.

8.2 Editorial Committee

Before the Copenhagen Conference members of the Editorial Committee were Catherine Pinion (London), Chair; Christine Deschamps (Paris), Mercedes Dexeus (Madrid); Heinz Fuchs (Göttingen), Alma Jefferson (Kingston), Ludmila Kozlova (Moscow), Martine Poulain (Paris), and Barbro Thomas (Stockholm). Because the term of some members expired in 1997, those newly appointed by the EB during its meeting in Copenhagen are: Barbro Thomas (Stockholm (Chair); Ramón Abad Hiraldo (New York), Heinz Fuchs (Göttingen), Isabelle Giannattasio (Paris), Nancy John (Chicago), Ludmila Kozlova (Moscow), Klaus-Dieter Lehmann (Frankfurt am Main), and Estela Morales Campos (Mexico).

8.3 Periodical Publications

• IFLA Journal, Vol. 23, was issued for the first time in 1997 as a biennial journal, with issues appearing in January, March, May, July, and a double issue in October/November. Issue No. 3 is traditionally a special theme issue. In 1997 the theme was "Copyright" with Graham Cornish, Director of the UAP Core Programme serving as Guest Editor.

• IFLA Council Report 1995-1997 was published in June 1997. This was a synthesis of information that previously appeared in IFLA Annual. IFLA's activities were grouped under the major headings of:
  • Access to information
    
  • The electronic environment
    
  • Preservation and conservation
    
  • Services and standards
    
  • Professional development.
    

8.4 Monographs in the series, IFLA Publications

• Survey and Analysis of the Major Ethical and Legal Issues Facing Library and Information Services, by Thomas J. Froehlich, under contract with UNESCO, No. 78

• Ressources pour les bibliothèques et centres documentaires scolaires/Resourcebook for School Libraries and Resource Centers, compiled and edited by Paulette Bernhard under the auspices of the Section on School Libraries and Resource Centres, No. 79

• Human Development: Competencies for the 21st Century: Papers from the IFLA CPERT Third International Conference on Continuing Professional Education for the Library and Information Professions, edited by Patricia Layzell Ward and Darlene E. Weingand, No. 80/81

• International Directory of Art Libraries, 2nd edition, compiled and edited by Thomas E. Hill, No. 82

• Parliamentary Libraries and Information Services of Asia and the South Pacific: Papers Prepared for the 62nd IFLA Conference, Beijing, China, August 25-31 1996, edited by Rob Brian, No. 83.

8.5 The series, IFLA Professional Reports

• Bartholomew Udemmadu Nwafor 1939-1991: An Appreciation and an Annotated Bibliography of his Writings, edited by Michael Wise, No. 50

• Guide pratique à l'usage des bibliothèques législatives. Par Dermot Englefield. Rédigés par Ernst Kohl. Traduit par Guy Archambault, No. 51

• Proceedings of the IFLA Pre-Session Seminar on School Libraries, Caldes de Montbui (Barcelona), Spain, 16-20 August 1993, compiled and edited under the auspices of the Section of School Libraries, No. 52

• Lineaminetos para bibliotecas legislativas, traducción a cargo de Dulce María Liahut Baldomar, No. 53

• Guidelines for Easy-to-Read Publications, compiled and edited by Bror I. Tronbacke, No. 54.

9. Grants and Prizes

The juries appointed by the Executive Board selected the recipients of the Hans-Peter Geh Grant for Conference Participation, the Gustav Hofmann Study Grant, and the Dr Shawky Salem Training Grant. The Hans-Peter Geh Grant for Conference Participation, sponsored by Mr Geh, was awarded to Sirje Virkus of Tallinn Pedogogical University, Estonia, to attend the Copenhagen Conference. Ms Virkus presented papers at the 3rd World Conference on Continuing Professional Education, and at the open session of the Section on Education and Training. The Gustav Hofmann Study Grant, sponsored by K.G. Saur Verlag, was awarded to Ms Wala Hasan Musnad, a librarian at the National Centre for Research in Sudan. Ms Musnad studied the use of CDS/ISIS for future implementation in Sudan. The Dr Shawky Salem Training Grant, established by Shawky Salem, is also under the auspices of FID. The Grant was awarded to Mohammed Saleh Alyss, Information Officer at the Islamic Development Bank in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Mr Alyss attended the IFLA Conference in Copenhagen, followed by a week-long study visit at the Royal School of Librarianship in Copenhagen. The Guust van Wesemael Literacy Prize, which is awarded biennially, was awarded to the Public Library Service of Piura, Peru. The prize money was used for a project to organize and execute a literacy and post-literacy programme to promote the formation of microenterprises using local goods.

10. Relations with other Organizations

10.1 UNESCO

401.505.7.

Under the terms of the contact, IFLA organized an Internet Awareness Seminar in Pretoria, South Africa on 10-13 July 1997 designed to promote the potential for use of telematics by libraries in Africa, particularly in the southern African sub-region. The seminar included a survey of issues for libraries in the Information Age, demonstrations of Internet use by libraries, and discussions for future action at the national, regional and international levels, including elements for a library component of Africa's Information Society initiative and the Harnessing Information Technology for Development priority of the UN Systemwide Special Initiative on Africa.

402.714.7.

Within the framework of the "Memory of the World" Programme and in cooperation with the University of Colime, Mexico, IFLA prepared a CD-ROM containing 3000-5000 photographs from the 19th century illustrating in great detail the history of 10 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. From these photographs, UNESCO selected 500 to mount on its Web site.

402.713.7.

Under the terms of this contract, UNESCO supported the attendance of several experts at the 1997 Pre-Session Seminar, held in Aalborg, Denmark from 25-29 August 1997. The theme of the Seminar was: "Bridging the Gap: Implementation of Information Technology in Developing Countries"

402.712.6.

The contract for the preparation of guidelines for new services in libraries and increasing the efficiency and quality of traditional services through the use of the Internet was carried out in two parts. The National Szechenyi Library in Budapest developed a model of an online service on the Web to help the user in finding Patriotica material (e.g., Hungarica) in libraries outside the country (Hungary). Linked to the home page of the National Library the Patriotica WWW as a virtual resource centre provides direct access to library catalogues of libraries holding Patriotica material of the given culture and/or information about the Patriotica material of the selected libraries for researchers interested in the given culture (e.g., Hungarian culture). The second part of the contract was carried out by NORDINFO, which, through its various centres, has produced guidelines for designing Web pages for libraries; has presented a proposal for a search engine for the identification of relevant Web pages in a region; has prepared guidelines for putting electronic journals on the Web; and has produced guidelines for the establishment of digitization services.

10.2 FID, ICA, IPA

10.3 Representation at Meetings of other Organizations

January 27-30

Budapest, Hungary. 5th BOBCATSSS International Symposium under the auspices of the Council of Europe and EUCLID. Ekaterina Genieva, Leo Voogt and Marieke van Buytene

February 25-26

Paris, France. Unesco/NGO Meeting, Françoise Danset, Standing Committee member, Section of Public Libraries

28 February-1 March

Paris, France. Annual meeting of the International Round Table on Audiovisual Archives, Isabelle Giannattasio and Winston Roberts

March 10-12

Monaco. "INFO-ETHICS" International Congress on Ethical, Legal and Societal Aspects of Digital Information organized by UNESCO and the French National Commission for UNESCO, Ekaterina Genieva

March 20-22

The Hague, Netherlands. European Meeting on Paper Preservation, Marie-Therese Varlamoff

April 1-4

Graz, Austria. International Colloquium: "Storage Libraries - Digital Libraries", Christine Deschamps

April 9

Stuttgart, Germany. Retirement of Hans-Peter Geh, Honorary President of IFLA, Wim Koops, Honorary Fellow

May 14

Frankfurt, Germany. Opening of the new building of Die Deutsche Bibliothek, Robert Wedgeworth and Leo Voogt

May 15-17

Tunis, Tunesia. Information Society/Information Sciences: New Challenges, New Requirements. Abderrazak Alli, member of the Regional Standing Committee for Africa

May 16

London, UK. 27th Plenary Meeting of ISO TC/46, Christine Deschamps, Sally McCallum and Marie-France Plassard

May 31-June 2

Stockholm, Sweden. Official opening of the refurbished and expanded Royal Library, National Library of Sweden, Børge Sørensen

June 7-15

Sudak, Ukraine. Fourth International Conference "Libraries and Associations in the Transient World; New Technologies and New Forms of Cooperation" (Crimea '97), Ekaterina Genieva

June 26-27

Paris, France. 24th Meeting of the Intergovernmental Council of the Bureau of PGI, Christine Deschamps and Winston Roberts

June 27-29

Manchester, UK. Library Association's UmbrelLA Conference, Robert Wedgeworth

July 6-11

Vancouver, Canada. IASL Annual Conference, Paulette Bernhard, Chair of the Section of School Libraries and Resource Centres

July 8-10

Pretoria, South Africa. "Unity and New Beginnings": Constituent Conference for a new South African Library Association, Robert Wedgeworth and Leo Voogt

July 14-18

Hamburg, Germany. Fifth International Conference on Adult Education. Brit-Marie Haggestrom, member of the Standing Committee of Public Libraries

August 2-9

Harare, Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe International Book Fair, Stan Made, Chair of Africa Section.

Sept. 21-26

Perth, Australia. INTAMEL Conference, B*rge S*rensen

Sept. 24-27

Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. 32nd International Conference of the Round Table on Archives, Bruce Royan, Chair of the Section on Information Technology

Sept.29-Oct.1

Tashkent. Third Meeting of the International Advisory Committee for the "Memory of the World" Programme, Marie-Thérèse Varlamoff

October 31

Moscow, Russian Federation. 75th anniversary of the All-Russia State Library for Foreign Literature, Leo Voogt

November 10-12

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Regional Conference on Public Libraries: Planning for Future Needs, Sissel Nilsen, Birgitta Bergdahl, and Philip Gill, Chair of the Section of Public Libraries

November 13-14

Luxembourg. Third International Conference on Grey Literature. Theme: "Perspectives on the Design and Transfer of Scientific and Technical Information", Graham Cornish

November 13-14

London, UK. COPEARMS (Coordinating Project for Electronic Authors' Rights Management Systems) Conference. Theme: "ECMS: The Way Forward", organized by the UAP Office

November 21

Paris, France. UNESCO General Conference and Extraordinary Conference of Non-governmental Organizations at Unesco HQ, Christine Deschamps and Winston Roberts

November 24-25

Cairo, Egypt. First meeting of International Panel of International Reading for All Programme. Sponsored by UNESCO, John Cole, Chair, IFLA Section on Reading

November 25-26

Paris, France. UNESCO/NGO consultation meeting, Françoise Danset, member of the Standing Committee of the Section of Public Libraries

December 5

Paris, France. Meeting of the International Committee of the Blue Shield, Marie-Thérèse Varlamoff

11. Acknowledgments

The support of many of the funding bodies - UNESCO, the US Government through NCLIS, the French Government through the Ministry of Culture, DSE (Deutsche Stiftung für Internationale Entwicklung), the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sciences, SIDA (Swedish International Development Authority), BIEF (Banque internationale d'information sur les Etats francophones), - has been noted throughout this report, or those of the Core Programmes. Not to be forgotten is the support given by the National Libraries (of Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, and Wales) for the development of the Core Programmes. IFLA's appreciation to the Koninklijke Bibliotheek (National Library of the Netherlands), the British Library, the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Die Deutsche Bibliothek, the National Library of Canada and Uppsala University, Sweden for hosting IFLA Headquarters and the Core Programmes is gratefully recorded. A vote of thanks is also extended to the support of the Biblioteca Nacional (Caracas), the Library of Congress (USA), the National Diet Library (Tokyo), and the National Library of Australia (Canberra) for hosting the Regional Centres for the Core Programme for PAC, and to INIST (France) for hosting the IFLANET mirror site. IFLA's thanks is also recorded to the Bibliothèque de l'Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar, Senegal; the Thai Library Association, Bangkok; and FEBAB, Sao Paulo, Brazil for hosting the Regional Offices for Africa, Asia and Oceania, and Latin America and the Caribbean.

IFLA's Patron Sponsors: Dansk Data Elektronic A/S (Denmark); Lange & Springer Scientific Booksellers (Germany), K.G. Saur Verlag (Germany); Plextor Co., Ltd. (Japan); Swets & Zeitlinger BV (Netherlands); GEAC Computers Benelux BV (Netherlands); SilverPlatter Information Ltd. (UK); MCB University Press Ltd. (UK); B.H. Blackwell's Ltd. (UK), Apple Computer, Inc. (USA); H.W. Wilson Foundation (USA); OCLC (USA); 3M Safety and Security Systems Division (USA); Sun Microsystems Computer Company (USA) must also be acknowledged for the funds or support in kind provided, which were used for automation, publications, and professional activities. Thanks are also accorded to IFLA's Sustaining and Basic Sponsors.

During the report period the Dutch National Association of Public Libraries, the Dutch Library for Visually Handicapped Students and Professionals, the Library of the Peace Palace in The Hague, the Stichting Vrienden Blinden in Rotterdam, the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress, the All-Russia State Library for Foreign Literature, the Renaissance Foundation in Geneva, the Renaissance Foundation in Kiev, and the Basel Mission in Switzerland sponsored members in the Netherlands Antilles, Aruba, Indonesia, Sierra Leone, Surinam, Cuba, Israel, Romania, Ukraine, and Zaire. The Margreet Wijnstroom Fund for Regional Library Development was used for the dues for members from Bolivia and Malawi.

Also to be recorded is the support given to the Copenhagen Organizers by many international commercial firms (Swets Subscription Service, OCLC, Geac, K.G. Saur, Bibliotekstjanst AB), and Danish companies for the IFLA 1997 Council and General Conference and the surrounding satellite events.

Finally, IFLA's gratitude is extended to all IFLA officers, IFLA's volunteer team of interpreters and translators, and their parent institutions without whose voluntary services much of IFLA's activities could not have been realized.