   
Section on Bibliography
Annual Report 1994-1995
Ross M. Bourne (National Bibliographic Services, British Library, Boston Spa, Wetherby, West Yorkshire LS23 7BQ, UK (fax: +(44-1937) 546586; e mail: ross.bourne@bl.nl)) was re-elected Chair of the Section on Bibliography. Ms Isabel Boudet (Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Agence Bibliographique Nationale, 2 Rue Vivienne, 75084 Paris Cedex 02, France (fax: +(33-1) 47038586; e-mail: isabelle.boudet@bnf.fr)) was re-elected Secretary.
Standing Committee and Section Membership
The Standing Committee has 12 members from nine counties, three corresponding members, one observer and one special advisor. The Section has 89 registered IFLA members.
Projects
Changing Trends in National Bibliographies
The Section approved this topic as a future project. The survey covers access to the Internet, availability and limitations on use and the current or proposed use of CD-ROM as a means of distribution, and is intended to pay special attention to developing countries. The survey, conducted by Robert Holley (USA), is one of a series of activities leading to the International Conference on National Bibliographic Services being planned for November 1997 in Copenhagen.
Technological Gap between Developed and Developing Countries
Three years ago the Section commissioned a study on how the technological gap between developed and developing countries in producing national bibliographies might be spanned. The study was undertaken by Ross Bourne and his preliminary thoughts were published last year as "Bridging the Gap" in International Cataloguing and Bibliographic Control 23(1):13-14(1994). The study undertaken subsequently has now been completed and the final report was published in ICBC 24(2)26-29(1995). The study was based on observations made during a visit to Lithuania and on work undertaken by Barbara Bell (USA) in Namibia. The recommendations of the study are repeated here since they lie at the heart of the Section's current goals:
- IFLA should establish a systematic programme for seminars, workshops and placements with the aim of improving the flow of information on bibliographic matters from the developed to the developing world;
- the importance of effective national bibliographic control should be emphasized to UNESCO, which has actively supported this in the past but adopted other priorities in more recent years;
- national bibliographic agencies in more technically advanced countries should recognize that technological developments will inevitably increase the technological gap; and
- on the other hand, agencies in developing countries should aim to adopt solutions that are relevant to their circumstances, rather than necessarily accept those which have been developed elsewhere.
Publications
The Chair of the Section issued two issues of the Section Newsletter, in February and July 1995.
Istanbul Conference
The Section's programme meeting in Istanbul was attended by 39 persons. The following papers were presented:
Bibliographic Control of Minority Languages
by EWA LIPNIACKA
Abstract:
Based on experience as chief cataloguer at LASER (the London and South Eastern Library Region) and CILLA (the Co-operative of Indic Language Library Authorities) founder and coordinator, and as a voluntary advisor on cataloguing and automation at the Polish Library at the Polish Social and Cultural Centre in Hammersmith, the author presents a brief overview through the problems of bibliographic control of minority languages as found in the UK. The author sees a need for an international Noah's Ark programme for languages under threat and proposes new uses for the bibliographic record, with extra annotation and qualitative assessment of books to enable community librarians without language skills to select books in minority languages. The author also suggests that a new bibliographic service for expatriates, of "selected top reads" annotated as above, could well be a commercially successful venture for libraries in countries with large ex-patriot communities.
Agence bibliographique Française: tradition en innovation
by ISABELLE BOUDET
Abstract:
In France the acquisition and handling of legal deposit have been subject to change as part of the project for the new site of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France and the reform of legislation. How do we join together tradition, the institution of legal deposit being the oldest in the world, and innovation, which show themselves in the creation of a National Bibliographic Agency within the Directorate of Scientific Development and of networks, and the recognition by the law of new formats for information, i.e., electronic documents?
The Making of the Namibia National Bibliography
by BARBARA L. BELL
Abstract:
From January to November 1994 the author was an American Library Association Library Fellow working with the National Library of Namibia staff to develop guidelines and procedures for a current national bibliography beginning with Namibia's independence in 1990. A section on what a national bibliography is, and the process of beginning this new national bibliography, is preceded by a brief description of Namibia. The Namibia National Bibliography will reflect the country's culture and record its history through its publishing output and follows the International Congress on National Bibliographies (Paris, 1977) recommendations. Visits by the author to publishers, other libraries and Ministries helped to foster communication, secure titles not received by the National Library of Namibia through its legal deposit laws, and to inform key personnel about the new national bibliography. Problems such as aging computers, staff mobility, shortage of qualified librarians, and budgetary constraints are consistent with other developing countries. The forthcoming publication of the Namibia National Bibliography will reflect the culture, history and pride of Namibia.
Cataloger du turc en caractères arabes: en quelle(s) graphie(s)?
by SARA YONTAN MUSNIK
Abstract:
An inventory of the Turkish collection at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France shows about 400 titles of books printed in Arabic characters. Today, in the process of recataloguing these items, possibly targeted at various products, we are faced once again with the choice of script between the original Arabic, a Latin transliteration (or transcription) scheme and/or the reformed, current Turkish alphabet.
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