Recent Publications on Parliamentary Librarianship

Section on Library and Research Services for Parliaments

62nd IFLA Conference - Beijing, China
August 24-30, 1996

Parliamentary libraries and research services: patterns of cooperation/coordination and new directions for the future

By: Dr Dobrin Kanev,
Head, Research Department,
National Assembly of Bulgaria

and

Ms Margarita Anguelova,
Director, Parliamentary Library,
National Assembly of Bulgaria

I. Introduction

At the end of XX-th century, the old Chinese dictum "Knowledge is power", has undergone a renaissance in Eastern Europe, resulting from the abandonment of previously accepted dogma and policy, and stimulated by the growing significance and complexity of contemporary society.

Examined from the point of view of the parliament this notion leads to conclusions which may differ in detail, but are identical in their essence: if the parliament wants to play an active and significant political role, it needs more knowledge and information. However, most of this knowledge and information needs to be specifically tailored to the requirements of the legislature and is most effectively "produced" within the parliaments. Only a person who closely and continuously observes and knows in detail parliamentary work, and the current everyday activities in the legislature, is in a position to bring together the dispersed knowledge and information, to process and shape them into an appropriate form to meet the requirements of the parliament.

The requirements of the legislative process form the bases of the conclusion that a parliament needs its own informational resources - and has done so over many decades. The first information-brokers were librarians: in fact about 20% of the currently existing parliamentary libraries were established during the 19th century ( 29 countries out of the 145 that are reviewed in the 5th edition of the World Directory of National Parliamentary Libraries, 1993) ² . Libraries carrying out these specific activities (gathering and processing data in a useable form for the Members) have promoted the development of the Parliament as a key political institution. Of course with time, there have been substantial changes in the information needs: from sets of facts and publications to specific analyses and research requested by the legislative body.

Today many of the parliaments in the world have not only libraries but also their own research units varying in size and sophistication. The questionnaire of the World Directory of National Parliamentary Libraries cited above, for the first time included a question about the analytical and research activity of the different parliaments. In 70 cases (about 50%) there was a positive answer. In 32 cases it was indicated that this activity was carried out within the library, and in 24 in parliaments as a separate unit.³ In the three years since then the situation should have changed significantly towards establishment of even more research units.

2. Libraries and Research Services at the Parliaments in the New Democracies in Central and Eastern Europe: the Problem of Improving Information capabilities

What holds true for parliaments in general, is especially valid for the parliaments in the new democracies, due to the particular importance of the legislatures during the transition to democracy and democratic consolidation.

Most of the "patterns of transition" and forms of government adopted in the Central and East European countries rely (naturally to a different extent) on the key role of the parliament in the democratisation process

The outcome of the new institutional arrangements in the Central and East European countries was that, de facto, the parliament became both the main "arena" where this dramatic birth of democracy has taken place, and the key agency in the elaboration, adoption and application of the rules of the democratic game. The parliament had to carry the main burden, in the process of laying down the foundations of the new democratic regime and of also securing its democratic legitimacy.

After the first free elections the parliament became the "center" of the democratic transition and of the establishment of democratic institutions. It became a focal point, a forum, a place for fights and compromises, where political alternatives emerged and were legitimised; where politicians first entered the political scene and later eventually won or lost public support. In fact all efforts to establish the standards and rules of the new democratic order began in the parliament: it was the mother institution, giving birth to all other democratic authorities.

When the consolidation stage of the transition to democracy is entered, it inevitably presupposes a new role for the parliament. This new role is the natural outcome of the taming of the hazardous and fluctuating behaviour of the main political actors, and of the clearer articulation of interests, serving as a basis for identification of the different political positions. That in turn results in regulation of conflict through well known and accepted democratic rules and techniques. Hence after a considerable consolidation of the newly established democratic regime, the parliamentary process is able to channel and regulate ongoing social pressures and the danger of political instability.

In that respect the parliament is not one of the possible paths towards democratic consolidation. It has a more substantial role to play. Because its potential as a power authority is bigger than that of any other institution (the directly elected president, a dominant political party, or a cabinet supported by a stable parliamentary majority) the parliament can create the normative basis of a new political order thus ensuring the co-existence of different political, economic and social interest groups and the peaceful resolution of conflicts between them.

But at the same time we should denote an intrinsic paradox; the parliament emerges not only as the most important but also, as one of the most unpopular institutions. From time to time the level of trust in it can dramatically and dangerously decrease. In Bulgaria for example we still remember the last months of the 36th National Assembly (functioning from November 1991 to November 1994) when public opinion surveys registered the annoying fact that only 7- 8% of the population still trusted the then acting parliament. This holds true also for other parliaments in the new democracies.

Of course this does not mean that the general support for the parliamentary institution has irrevocably decreased; the registered peak in the public distrust was a sign of disapproval for the activities and composition of a specific legislature. But inevitably the accumulation of such attitudes influences the entire evaluation of the democratic legislature, and hence the democratic order itself. Here it is important to keep in mind that according to its constitution Bulgaria is a parliamentary republic. The existence of such a contradiction could be explained in different ways.⁴

On the one hand the parliament is the most publicly visible institutional arena, and the shortcomings in its activity are broadly exposed to mass scrutiny. In this respect the intrinsic cultural and political deficits of our society (characteristic of all other institutions), are displayed most clearly and markedly in the parliamentary activities.

The other possible explanation, refers to the behaviour of the deputies, which often radically differs from the general attitudes and moods of the people. Obviously in mass expectations, the parliament is not supposed to be an arena for verbal fights and emotional speeches, but a working body, with effective legislative activity, dealing with a heavy burden of problems and pressing needs.

The third explanation is related to the second one, and consists in the contradiction between the central role of the parliament and its weak potential to meet the requirements of this role and effectively perform it. Here the term potential denotes all the research, information and expert activities, as well as the technical equipment needed to assist the legislators in their work. The MPs would not be able to participate efficiently in the decision-making process unless they are competent and have enough reliable information. It is well known that the deputies are not all geniuses, able to handle competently all issues and to draft good laws in all spheres of social life; hence they need a competent and effective information and research assistance, i.e. well established libraries and research services.

It is not a surprise then, that over the last few years there have been significant changes in the administration of parliaments in the East European countries, which to a great extent, have affected precisely that sphere of their activity. The initial level has varied substantially, as it was the outcome both of parliamentary traditions and the available resources (both internal and external). In some cases it was necessary to start from nothing (Albania and Moldova etc.), but in most of the cases the parliaments have had libraries without having research units and the relevant experience.

After five or six years of intensive parliamentary life the situation is rather different. Even in the beginning years of democratic changes in the East European countries the parliamentarians became well aware of the need for free access to independent information of various kinds. Different countries have chosen different approaches to enlarge their information potential. The establishment of research units has begun and it is symptomatic that almost everywhere they are separate, independent departments. A research service with a small reference library was established in the Polish Senate, because the main library service is performed by the Sejm library. In some of the cases there is a parallel process of development of separate research and library service (Russia and Slovakia).

In others the national library or other academic libraries perform these services (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine); in some of these countries there are separate research units (Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine).⁵

In a recent comparative study on parliamentary libraries and research services, William Robinson and Janice Hyde have examined 15 out of 27 countries from Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. The outcomes of the survey show that all of the national parliaments have libraries. In 9 parliaments research and analysis services are provided and the remaining 5 have definite plans to establish research and analysis capabilities in the future.

In 7 countries (47% of the respondents) the Parliamentary Library functions as a separate unit within the parliament, 2 national libraries are functioning as the Parliamentary Library, and in 6 cases, the library forms a part of a larger "information" unit or, as in the case of Ukraine, a Computerised Information Center.

In almost all instances (8 out of 9), research for the parliament is provided by a separate department, and only in one case (Moldova) the research service is integrated with the library and other documentation services into a larger unit.⁶

The East European parliaments have received substantial assistance for the enlargement of their information services, mostly for the development of research services, from the American Congress, through the Special Program for Development of Parliamentary Institutions in Eastern Europe; a program implemented mainly by CRS. In addition to the hardware and software assistance for instalment of parliamentary information systems and the enriching of the library collections, the program includes also valuable consultations and expert advice. Specialists from CRS have examined the current information resources and the information needs, in order to prepare relevant projects for establishment of parliamentary research services in these countries.

This program has also contributed to the increase in the authority of these structural units within the parliamentary administration which deal with the production and provision of information services.

3. A Case Study: Research Department and Library at the Bulgarian National Assembly

Bulgaria - in a certain way - is a very good example for assessment of these changes. The weak potential for effective and qualified information and research was typical for the recent organisational structure of the Bulgarian National Assembly. The accumulated expert knowledge (to the extent that it existed at all) was dispersed or was not viewed by all MPs as reliable and impartial.

Some years ago a group of experts from the U. S. Congressional Research Service, under the direction of William Robinson, made big efforts to document the status of the research and information services in the Bulgarian National Assembly, and to design a project for the establishment of a research department in it. The expert assessment was as follows:

"The basic problems of the current system arise from the fact that all available analytical resources of the parliament are dispersed, and neither of the existent units is big enough to specialise or to be concurred as an authority on the relevant issues. Hence every separate party fraction produces its own analysis and refuses to trust the analyses of the others. This process of fragmentation results not only in the lack of common understanding on the issues of common concern, but also hampers the achievement of consensus on plain facts.

Besides, the current system is ineffective due to its limited scale. The separate units are too small and temporary and are not able to work effectively. They need a broader specialisation. Also there is a need for permanently appointed staff, to accumulate knowledge and experience and use them again as needed in the legislation process".⁷

Hence through the improvement of the Parliamentary Library's activities and the establishment of the Research Department, a long felt need was satisfied and an attempt to overcome the weakness (realistically described above) was made.

3.1. The Library

The need for information services has been recognised in the Bulgarian National Assembly from the very beginning. One hundred and sixteen years ago (on April 24, l880), just one year after the incorporation of the National Assembly, the Deputy Chairman, Dr. Bradel, said to the plenary " I would like the Assembly to have its own library, containing the necessary works on the matters which arise here". This marked the beginning of the National Assembly's library. Its aim is to preserve the archive of the National Assembly and to gather the literature necessary for its legislative activities. The fact that at the beginning of this century, an entire chapter in the Regulations of the National Assembly were dedicated to the library, shows an awareness even then of the need for information.

Those who were elected then and who were working within the new state legislative institution, no doubt experienced lots of problems with access to a wealth of information. However, even then they were aware of the need to use foreign experience in their work. This can be seen by the fact that at the end of the last century the majority of the library's works were foreign periodicals and books.

The Library began to complete the documents of the National Assembly, books and periodicals; its first printed catalogue was published in the end of the century. The Library was an independent structural unit, subordinated to the National Assembly Chairman most of the time. It was part of the Departments of "Chancellery" and "Information" too. Since 1993 the Library is a separate department within the parliamentary administration, subordinated to the Secretary General.

The collections of the Library are wide-range thematic, but not universal. The stock of the Library is about 100,000 volumes. The annual acquisitions are about 1,000 volumes. The current periodicals (journals and newspapers) are about 240. The main sources are in the fields of law, legislation, public administration, economics, politics, international affairs, history. There are Bulgarian and foreign publications. The Library comprises: books, periodicals, documents of the National Assembly (published and non- published), Bulgarian official publications, documents of Bulgarian political parties and organisations; publications of foreign Parliaments and international organisations; papers from conferences, seminars etc. The information sources are on different formats - paper, microfilms, audio/video cassettes, diskettes, CD ROM. The new acquisitions come from purchases, subscriptions, exchange, donations.

The Library provides various information services: bibliographic, reference and full-text information about: MP's; legislative activities and parliamentary control; Bulgarian and foreign laws, and the legislation of international organisations; the activities of foreign parliaments; social -political events in the country and abroad; biographical information; statistical information; infopacks on definite subjects. The Library carries out indexing of periodicals and other sources. This information is entered into computer databases.

The library specialists supply information in a variety of ways: - on request, SDI, by library publications, or by computer network.

The Library has its own publications: - Signal Information Bulletin; List of recently received periodicals; monthly updating of the Handbook for Members of Parliament (published at the beginning of the 37th National Assembly by the Library and the Law Department); editions with legal and other materials, different references.

The automation process started in 1988. The Library uses different data bases to provide service: those created in the Library; in other departments of the Parliament; and data bases from other institutions. Some of them are fulltext systems. The Library data bases are accessed by means of Micro CDS/ISLS. Those already in operation include: Books; Information materials; Publications covering the activities of the National Assembly; Members of National Assembly; Bills; Acts of the National Assembly; Foreign Legislation; Documents of the European Union; Elections 1991, 1994 etc.

There are about 60 000 documents in 17 data bases included in the "Computer Library", and everybody from the Parliament's computer network has free access to them. The Library is starting to build up an Integrated library system by means of TINLIB. The Cataloguing module is already operational. The Library of the National Assembly is one of the first in Bulgaria to use CD ROM technology.

The staff of the Library is 8, of whom 7 have university education in different fields, and qualifications in library and scientific information and 1 with college librarian education.

3.2. The Research Department

The decision to institute a research department in the Bulgarian National Assembly is not new. It was discussed for a long time. During the opening stage of the democratisation process it was articulated at the Round Table Talks (January - May l990). But for different reasons the accomplishment of that task was delayed. First, because of the overcrowded agenda of the Grand National Assembly (a Constituent Assembly acting from July l990 to September 1991), preoccupied not only with the framing of the new democratic constitution, but also with the passing of new bills in many vital spheres of social life. The quick restructuring of the governing parliamentary fractions within the 36th National Assembly (199l-1994), and the unstable and weak majority that was established after December 1992, additionally contributed to that delay. The anticipation, and later preparations for the pre- term elections held in December 1994, further delayed accomplishment of the project. Finally, in the beginning of 1995, after the 37th National Assembly passed its Standing Rules and began to function, the Research Department of the Bulgarian National Assembly was instituted.

Being founded in February 1995 - when the general concept for its functions and organisational structure was approved, and the director of the department was appointed - the research department began to function productively in the late spring of 1995. Hence the department is in its initial stage, and its main objective is to establish and develop its own structure, to begin performing its obligations, to work out appropriate criteria for evaluation of its production, and of course to increase its popularity among the deputies and within the National Assembly as a whole.

Being part of the National Assembly administration, the department is directed and supervised by the Chairman of the Assembly and its Secretary General.

The conceptual design of the Research Department was worked out on the basis of the regulations and practices of the research units in the legislatures of the established democracies, but at the same time considering the specificity of the Bulgarian situation. In general, all parliamentary research departments have common characteristics due to their common tasks, but at the same time they are shaped under the influence of specific political traditions and culture, institutional arrangements and value systems; they are also influenced by the characteristic features of the time and the place of their origin.

In Bulgaria, in addition to the above-mentioned specific circumstances, the provisions of the constitution have had basic significance. According to the new Bulgarian constitution, the parliament is in a very strong position vis-a-vis the executive. The Bulgarian constitution attributes a central role to the parliament with all the consequences that follow: on the one hand the lack of sufficient experience on how a parliament should act in democratic circumstances, the lack of understanding of democratic political culture (and especially of political elites) by the public, and on the other hand the very limited acceptance of the legitimacy of the parliament.

In this respect it could be maintained that along with performing its "standard" functions, the Research Department is also aiming at strengthening the legitimacy of the parliament, and is optimising the available potential and resources of the Bulgarian National Assembly.

There are two basic models of parliamentary research service: either the department is part of a larger information service structure (which includes all research, library, and reference services) or it is a separate, independent unit. The Bulgarian National Assembly has chosen the second one - a separate, independent research unit - similar to the pattern followed in the parliaments of Poland, Sweden, and the USA. That choice is viewed as more appropriate for the moment, because it ensures the opportunity to form an autonomous unit with specific functions, which would act independently of the routine, everyday administrative tasks of the existent information units within the Bulgarian National Assembly. The department is supposed to work on major problems, related to the current and especially to the future activity of the parliament.

The department uses information and research materials from international organisations, foreign parliaments, Bulgarian and foreign universities and research institutions, national and foreign data bases, and databases compiled within the Bulgarian National Assembly itself. The department processes all the information and works out appropriate products, for use by the legislature.

The products of the department are designed predominantly for the deputies, the standing committees and their experts, for the different parliamentary fractions, for some administrative sub-divisions and in some cases for external consumers.

The department prepares its materials on the request of the presidium of the National Assembly, the Chairman of the different standing committees, or on its own initiative.

It offers the following groups of written products, organised in the respective series:

1)	Information Packages (Contains several analytical papers, information about established practices, documents on a particular topic)
2)	Analytical Reports (Provide analysis of a particular problem of long-term significance)
3)	World Practices (Comparative analysis of the legislation and the political practices in a given country - or group of countries - on a particular problem)
4)	Analytical Information (Summarised review information on current issues, regularly updated)
5)	Documents (The entire document or excerpts)
6)	Expert's opinions
7)	Discussion Forum (materials from the symposia, conferences, workshops and public lectures, organised by the Department)
8)	Reviews and References (Review and reference materials on the publications on particular topic)

Within a relatively short period of time (April l995 - April 1996) a large number of surveys were prepared by the department. It has supplied

meeting the deadlines for committee discussion and plenary debates

6 information packages and 35 reports and other products.

In order to fulfil the above tasks, first of all a research department must have a sufficient number of staff and especially a sufficient number of researchers. The number of researchers in the most developed parliamentary research units is as follows: ⁸

USA - 440 (780 total staff)	Poland - over 80	Australia - 55
Brazil - l80	Canada - over 60	European Parliament - 35-40
Argentina - 100	Germany - 58 (total 400)	United Kingdom 35

Considering not only the number of researchers but also the total number of staff, the usual number of personnel in the well developed parliamentary research services varies from 100 up to 200 persons (United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, India, Korea, Japan). This is the only way for effective performance of a wide variety of research and reference activities. For example, according to the initial project, the Research Bureau of the Polish Sejm was supposed to have about 20 employees, but even during the initial stage of its establishment the staff number reached 80.

Of course even a small research unit can perform the activities described above, but in this case it needs more effective organisation, updated technical equipment and cooperation with other research units.

According to the reliable opinion of the Research Service at the USA Congress, the minimum number of researchers needed by any parliamentary service is about 50, and this holds true only if they are specialists with the appropriate qualifications - flexible enough, with sufficient interdisciplinary knowledge and ability to work as a team⁹

When choosing the size of its research department, the Bulgarian National Assembly opted for gradual development, not for a "massive start" as it was the Polish case. Initially there was a very limited number of staff members and with the establishment of the department itself it gradually increased, covering more and more spheres of parliamentary activities. One year after its formation the department staff numbers 5 persons.

The nature of the tasks of the research department (especially when it has a limited number of staff) presupposes much higher qualifications for its personnel - lack of quantity has to be compensated for by an improved quality.

Thus the most important problem that has to be solved by the Parliamentary Research Department with regard to its effective functioning is the qualification of its personnel, as well as the balanced recruitment of experts in different subject fields. The following are essential requirements:-

indisputable reputation as experts in their own scientific field of expertise that will allow them to recruit temporary working groups and coordinate their research activities on specific issues;
a wide-range and interdisciplinary qualification, which will allow them to work in more than one research area and will guarantee the appropriate balance between narrow specialisation and the multi-dimensional approach;
an expanding circle of contacts aiming at acquiring the needed information from well informed experts in ministries, universities and other academic units.
fluent control of more than one foreign language, as the largest part of the information comes from abroad.

Certainly the relatively successful initial activities of the Parliamentary Research Department are to a large extend due to the recruitment of its staff, precisely according to the above-mentioned criteria. Currently the department employs well known scholars with scientific degrees, who are fluent in several foreign languages (English, German, French and Russian).

One of the most important initial decisions concerned the choice of internal organisational structure of the department. Generally two options are available for the structuring of research services (or a combination of the two); either with regard to different research subjects or according to performed organisational functions. From the very beginning the organisational structure of the Bulgarian parliamentary Research Department tended to follow a "fixed pattern", combining both approaches. With regard to the performed tasks and the specific qualifications of its staff, the department has a simple internal structure with a minimal number of hierarchical levels, that gives good chances for its future development: a governing body, four subject analyses groups (political system; law; economics; European studies), and a documentation service.

The separate "subject analyses" groups are formed by specialists in different fields; they either work out the final product or direct and coordinate projects (needed by the deputies) on the request of the Head of the Department. The current structure is going to serve as a core pattern for the expansion of the department.

Technical equipment plays a decisive role under the circumstances of limited staff and the department's ability to use information. Usually the well developed research departments (in the USA, Germany, Poland) rely heavily on this. For example, the research division within the European parliament has access to 2000 data bases, regularly uses 50 of them and considers 20 of them indispensable.

Currently the Research department has a sufficient number of computers (PCs), and they are link>

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mputers are also connected in the National Assembly network, and thus have an access to the other available data bases, including CD-ROM. The recently installed Internet connection of the National Assembly, has substantially increased the opportunities for access to foreign data bases on legislation. politic al development etc.

Since November l995 the department has maintained its own database. It includes written products, available to all consumers in the Assembly. In the near future the department plans to create a data base on the main political events and institutional developments in Bulgaria.

3.3. Library and Research Service: Problems of Cooperation and Coordination

Within the current administrative structure of the Bulgarian National Assembly there are several departments that fulfil particular functions as part of the common task to supply the deputies, the standing committees and the parliamentary fractions with information and knowledge, necessary both for the legislation and the parliamentary control over the executive. Both the Library and the research department occupy a crucial place in that process.

Under conditions of excessive information demand, the units supplying the necessary information for the legislative process have key positions, regardless of the administrative structure. If the information suppliers (librarians and researchers) are to be of real use by providing timely, non-partisan, objective and relevant information, there has to be an optimum organisation and relationships between them. Good coordination and close cooperation guarantee successful work.

The Library and the Research Department perform tasks that are part of one and the same process. They have one and the same basic aim - to provide information. The difference between them is in the type of information provided, and in their respective tasks and functions.

With regard to the substantial distinction between research on the one side and preparing information and references on the other, the Research Department works on projects that have a central role in parliamentary legislation and executive control; as a rule these are more or less medium-term projects. The emphasis is put on the accumulation of systematic and in-depth knowledge (including detailed case studies) needed by the deputies.

The Library provides information requested by the deputies not only in their legislative activities, but also for parliamentary supervision and in the deputies' constituency work. Besides, parliamentary research very often starts in the library. Though its main task is to assist the activities of the parliamentary committees, factions and the individual deputies, the library has another important function - to provide information to the executive and the judiciary, to academic researchers and experts from various institutions, working on problems related to the National Assembly. While the activities of the research department address the current or future parliamentary work, the library has also its specific historical function: in so far as the history of each country is written partially in its parliament. One of the specific tasks of the library is to assure that in a century, the relevant information on current parliamentary activities will be available in the same way as today we have access to information about the parliamentary activities from the time of the founding session of the National Assembly.

The acquisition and organisation of information is essential to the provision of high level library services. The Library's policy both for maintaining its collection (the existing information sources) and acquiring new ones is crucial. Because the parliament deals with a wide variety of issues it is necessary to collect literature from different spheres of knowledge. Of course, while the parliamentary library is unable to collect universally its information is quite indispensable for the everyday work of Members, who need to have access to well organised reference materials -. Collections of parliamentary documents are particularly important. After the recently experienced democratic changes, there has been a big and increasing demand for information about the old Bulgarian legislation. The legislators have also sought better acquaintance with foreign experiences - hence the need for well organised information about legislation in other countries. This refers also to information and analytical publication about international organisations, their activities and legal norms. Today libraries are no longer depositories only of traditional books and journals. While these still constitute the main part of the collection, the new magnetic or optical discs have growing application. They have the advantage of being easy to store and arrange (space is the greatest problem for every library) and providing quick access to the information needed. In addition when a computer network is installed, every user can have access to Library information from his/her own working place.

Library collections are very important, but both the librarians and the users need additional information about the collection itself, in order to use it rationally. It is essential for users to understand the services available to them in the library. Demand varies both in subject and in the type of information needed.

The Bulgarian National Assembly has adopted a Program of Legislative Activity, where the tasks of the library and the research department are clearly defined. Both units assist the legislation during one and the same stage of the process - they provide information in the initial phase. When a deputy wants to submit a draft bill he/she starts by reviewing the old Bulgarian legislation, relevant foreign legislation, and any available commentaries on them. If the bill is submitted by the Council of Ministers the relevant parliamentary committees need additional in formation. The library usually provides "primary" information - texts and documents. The difference with other libraries is that in them at the initial stage the demand is only for relevant reference materials, while in the parliament from the very beginning complete texts and facts have to be provided. In both cases you need to find the necessary reference materials, but in the parliamentary library this is part of the preparatory work that the librarian has to do in order to find the requested documents.

A preliminary legislative program is needed in order to provide useful and timely information, as it enables the preparatory search of relevant information. The Bulgarian National Assembly does not have the practice of adopting a long-term legislative program. But an information-research program is worked out for every legislative session on the basis of the Legislative Initiative Program of the Council of ministers. For example, in accordance with this program during the first session in 1996 the library has prepared packages including Bulgarian and foreign laws relevant to 12 of the drafted bills.

Basically the information needs are related to the legislative decision-making. But in addition the library has to provide information required for parliamentary oversight. In many cases prior to interpellations and interrogations, the Deputies need relevant information. For example, they request information about recent publications in the press on the issue. When a given issue is of extreme importance for the country and it is anticipated to become a subject of parliamentary supervision and even of specific parliamentary acts, the Library prepares a package of documents before an actual request is made. (A specific example occurred in the beginning of 1996, when the shortage in wheat supply was broadly covered by the media. The librarians started to collect every publication on the problem. When the deputies requested relevant information, it was ready for use.)

To guarantee productive cooperation, the functional interrelations, coordinating links and the distribution of the particular obligations of each department have to be clearly defined.

According to current practices several forms of cooperation between the library and the research service can be defined:

collecting "primary" information for its projects:-. The Research Department uses the accumulated and currently received information and data-base provided by the Library, especially information about foreign legislation;
joint information products (for example information packages on Local Self Government and Civil Service Legislation);
advertising and dissemination of new information products - all new products of the Research Department are mentioned in the Bulletin, issued by the Parliamentary Library;
cooperation in international activities - the Research Department in cooperation with the Library is involved in organising symposia and workshops on topics related to different aspects of the functioning of the National Assembly. A comprehensive review of the international activities of the research department and the library also include the vital, everyday cooperation with the European Center for Parliamentary Research and Documentation. Through these contacts both units maintain their relationships not only with the different European institutions, but also with the research departments in all CE member-countries. This is also true in regard to the Congressional Research Service, whose representatives have a continuous interest in the library and research department activities, and the Research and Reference Service of the German Bundestag, which donated electronic equipment for the Bulgarian research department. The beginning of a similar cooperation with some East European research services is in place, especially with those in the Polish Sejm and Senate.

3.3.1 An Example: Cooperation and Coordination for Adjustment of Bulgarian 1egislation to the European Standards
The obligation to approximate Bulgarian law to the law of the European Communities is imposed by the Europe Agreement. However, the necessity of comparable legal standards arises from the general idea of the association as the basis for liberalised commercial, economic, industrial, political. social and cultural cooperation. In general, the approximation of law should be carried out paralleled on two levels:

2) changing the existing law in order to adapt it to the European standards.

The first of the above mentioned points implies preliminary verification of drafts prepared by whichever organ is authorised to propose new legislation, as well as control of final wording of a particular statute after the close of the legislative procedure. The second point requires three consecutive steps; in depth studies on the European law in force, strict definition of the areas of discord between the Bulgarian and the European law, and preparation of legislative proposals assuring the consistency of these two legal systems.

Obviously, the whole process of approximation of law needs an effective information and analytical support. Questions related to different aspects of the European integration and the approximation of law can be addressed to both the Library of the National Assembly and to the Research Department. The Library and the Research Department have to find out their appropriate role in the performance of parliamentary tasks for the adjustment of Bulgarian legal system to the European one.

Keeping in mind that the process of legislative adjustment goes beyond merely legal and technical changes, the Research Department, in addition to these areas of research, is considering to direct and focus its efforts on the following general topics:

political and legislative challenges in the working out and application of the EC legislation in the different social spheres;
analysis of the experience of the other associated countries or of those which have recently joint the EC with regard to the problems of and approaches to legislative adjustment.

Summarising, the Library provides basic information on the content of all relevant European acts. The basic source is provided by the data-base CELEX on CD ROM, used since 1992. It is already networked. During the first three months of its operation more than 230 acts have been printed.

The Research Department, concurrently with the supply of expertise, is also aiming at familiarising Bulgarian MPs with European policies by preparing analytical papers on the development of the integration process. In fact almost every product of the Research Department includes comments on the European legal and political experience; and in addition the processes of European integration are directly analysed and researched, including developments in associated countries. The results of these activities have been published recently in more than 10 analytical reports.

NOTE:

This paper includes a flow-chart titled "The role of the Library and the Research Department for the information and analytical support of the process of approximation of Bulgarian Legislation with EU Legislation".
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4. Conclusions and Directions for the Future

Until recently the Bulgarian National Assembly was among those legislatures with an old and well developed library, that functioned without a research department. In fact this is the most typical case of evolution and restructuring of the parliamentary information and research capacities. The establishment of such a department indisputably has given significant advantages:- an autonomous research and information resource of the parliament, that can be relied upon for timely and appropriate assistance in the performance of the parliamentary tasks. By instituting this change, the legislature has widened its opportunities both for access to information and for exchange of analysis and information with foreign legislatures and international organisations. Only the long-term outcomes of the adopted information and research service model will show whether it is appropriate and efficient, or whether a different model - centralisation of all activities in a single administrative unit, including several information and research departments -should be introduced.

Naturally the mere establishment of a research department has not solved the problem of an adequate research and analysis service to the parliament. The department is still unpopular among the deputies and it has to intensify this aspect of its activities in order to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of its work. The other challenge is the optimisation of the coordination and cooperation between the Library and the Research department. In this regard the possible directions for the future might be generally outlined as follows:

early coordination at the stage of planning
the currently accidental joint projects should become a regular practice
the establishment of common operational databases and indexes.

Latest Revision: August 11, 1997