Bibliography Section
Strategic Plan
2006-2007
(Updated: August 2006, to show status of action items)
Mission
The Bibliography Section furthers universal bibliographic control (UBC) by promoting
standards and best practices in the production, content, arrangement, dissemination, and
preservation of bibliographic information.
In the context of UBC, the Section is particularly concerned with the work of national
bibliographic agencies. It is also concerned with the promotion of the importance of the
discipline of bibliography to library professionals in all types of libraries; to publishers, distributors, and retailers; and to end-users. While taking full account of technological capabilities, the Section will ensure that its solutions are not necessarily dependent on particular technologies.
The Section is closely associated with the other sections within the Division of Bibliographic Control and, where appropriate, it cooperates with other divisions and sections.
Goals
1. Extend the provision of universal bibliographic control by advocating and
promoting the production of national bibliographies.
(Pillars: profession; members; Professional priorities: a) supporting the role of libraries in society; d) providing unrestricted access to information; f) promoting resource sharing; g) preserving our intellectual heritage; h) developing library professionals; i) promoting standards, guidelines, and best practices)
Actions
1.1 Maintain contact and exchange information with national bibliographic agencies
(NBAs) worldwide concerning national bibliographic information and services
-- Contact was maintained via the Section's Newsletter. Further, the British Library requested information from the Section secretary related to the data collected as part of the Section's survey of European NBAs. The BL reported finding the information very useful for its planning process.
1.2 Gather and update information on the status of the national bibliographies in Asia by undertaking a survey and presenting the results at the World Library and Information Congress (WLIC) in Seoul (2006)
-- A survey was conducted. Fourteen NBAs responded. Responses indicted that many NBAs are revising or have plans to revise legislation to include more materials, especially e-resources; that there is still a focus on print formats for the national bibliographies (NBs); that the NBAs generally adopt internationally approved standards.
1.3 Plan and present a programme at the WLIC in Seoul on national bibliographies in Asia stressing local/regional experiences (2006)
-- A successful programme was presented-"National Bibliographies-the Asian Experience," with three speakers. The keynote presentation, by Yeon Kyoung Chung, covered Korea; the second, by Ben Gu, covered China; and the third, by Alexander A. Dzhigo and Alexandra V. Teplitskaya, covered the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States of Central Asia. A fourth paper, by Yukio Yokoyama, covered Japan, but was submitted too late for the programme; it will be included in an upcoming Newsletter.
1.4 Gather and update information on the status of the national bibliographies in Africa by undertaking a survey and presenting the results at the WLIC in Durban (2007)
-- The Section has developed plans to conduct the survey prior to the Durban WLIC.
1.5 Publicize and present at the WLIC in Durban basic guidelines for agencies seeking guidance in national bibliographic work (2007)
-- Plans are underway to publicize the guidelines-perhaps, as part of a larger IFLA session on new IFLA publications and guidelines; and to present the guidelines-as part of the Section's programme. The Section expects to collaborate with the Section on Classification & Indexing for a combined programme to present the guidelines.
1.6 Plan and present a programme at the WLIC in Durban on national bibliographies in Africa stressing local/regional experiences (2007)
-- Plans are underway to present a programme on national bibliographies in Africa. The Section has received a paper that can serve as the basis of the programme, "African National Bibliographies," by Amadou Bekaye Sidibe. The Section will solicit an additional paper on the state of national bibliography in South Africa to be included in the programme.
2. Improve the quality and consistency of bibliographic control by advocating implementation of the recommendations of the International Conference on National
Bibliographic Standards (ICNBS) and by developing specific guidelines to facilitate such implementation
(Pillars: profession; members; Professional priorities: a) supporting the role of libraries in society; d) providing unrestricted access to information; f) promoting resource sharing; g) preserving our intellectual heritage h) developing library professionals; i) promoting standards,
guidelines, and best practices)
Actions
2.1 Arrange for translation of ICNBS recommendations into as many languages as possible and mount them on the Section website
-- No new translations of ICNBS were made in 2006.
2.2 Publicize the results of the 2005 survey on inclusion of electronic resources in national bibliographies on the Section website
-- The results have been mounted on the Section's website.
2.3 Publicize guidelines for the inclusion of electronic resources in national bibliographies (2007)
-- The Section expects to publicize the guidelines as part of a larger IFLA sponsored session during the WLIC in Durban. After the Durban WLIC, the Section plans to share the guidelines for worldwide review and comment.
2.4 Publicize and present at the WLIC in Durban guidelines for national bibliographies in electronic format (2007)
-- The Section expects to publicize the guidelines as part of a larger IFLA sponsored session during the WLIC in Durban. After the Durban WLIC, the Section plans to share the guidelines for worldwide review and comment. The Section is planning to present the guidelines as part of its programme in Durban.
3. Publicize the work of the Section
(Pillars: profession; members; Professional priorities: a) supporting the role of libraries in society; d) providing unrestricted access to information; f) promoting resource sharing; g) preserving our intellectual heritage; h) developing library professionals; i) promoting standards, guidelines, and best practices)
Actions
3.1 Publish in a timely manner minutes, plans, reports, documents, etc. on the homepage of the Section. Where appropriate, documents will also appear in printed form
-- The Section has published the following on the website during the past year: Activities of the Section during the 2005 WLIC in Oslo; the Section's 2005 Annual Report; the Section's Oslo meeting minutes; minutes of the Section's Working Group on E-National Bibliographies meeting held in Vilnius; the results of the survey of Asian NBAs; the results of the survey of European NBAs; and a Newsletter.
3.2 Publish two issues of the Section Newsletter each year, focussing on the ongoing activities of the Section and reports/news from national bibliographic agencies worldwide
-- One issue of the Newsletter was published in April. Another issue is scheduled for publication in October.
3.3 Assure that the Section's website is attractive, updated and informative
-- The Section monitors its website as it adds more information during the year.
4. Promote membership in the Section and extend the geographic scope of representation on the Standing Committee
(Pillars: profession; members; Professional priorities: a) supporting the role of libraries in society; d) providing unrestricted access to information; f) promoting resource sharing; g) preserving our intellectual heritage; h) developing library professionals; i) promoting standards, guidelines, and best practices)
Actions
4.1 Contact national bibliographic agencies currently not members of the Section (2007)
-- The Section will canvass IFLA members who are not Section members to invite them to join the Section.
4.2 Focus on recruiting new members during the WLIC in Seoul and Durban
-- The Section will use the data collected from the outreach described in #4.1 to follow up on membership solicitation.
