Library Services to Multicultural Populations Section

Minutes
Midwinter Meeting, 18-19 February 2002, Oslo, Norway

Chair: Jane Dreisig (Denmark)

Attendees: Benedikte Kragh-Schwarz (Denmark), Asbjørn Langeland (Norway), Kirsten Leth Nielsen (Norway), Ekaterina Nikonorova (Russian Federation), Susy Tastesen (Denmark), Barbara von Wahlde (USA)

Apologies: Clara M. Chu (USA), Lourina K. de Voogd (Netherlands), Barbro Ejendal (Sweden), Christine McDonald (USA), Robert Pestell (Australia), Jane Pyper (Canada), Ryoko Takashima (Japan), Adriana Tandler (USA), Maria Tapaninen (Sweden), Kristina Virtanen (Finland)

No response: Margaret Evans (UK), Ana Asensio Rodriquez (Spain), Inese Smith (UK)

Reporter: Kirsten Leth Nielsen (Norway)

AGENDA

1. Introductions and Apologies
2. Standing Committee Minutes, Boston, August 24, 2001
3. Chair/Secretary’s Report
4. Treasurer’s Report
5. Strategic Plan
6. Glasgow 2002 Workshop
7. Berlin 2003
8. Information and Communication Matters

Introductions and Apologies

Jane Dreisig (Denmark) opened the meeting and the distributed agenda was approved. Asbjorn Langeland (Norway) and Kirsten Leth Nielsen (Norway) distributed the program for sightseeing etc.

Standing Committee Minutes, Boston

The minutes from the August 18, 2001 meeting held in Boston will be completed by Jane Dreisig as quickly as possible.

The minutes of the August 24, 2001 meeting held in Boston were distributed and the following corrections noted: Souad Hubert (France) chaired and opened the meeting. Kirsten Leth Nielsen (Norway) presented her paper at the Boston workshop. It was initially prepared for the Buffalo pre-conference but not delivered due to illness. Kirsten also attended the IFLA booth.

The discussion document on the definition of <multicultural> which is being written by Jane Pyper (Canada) with the assistance of Ana Asensio Rodriguez (Spain), Barbro Ejendal (Sweden), and Ekatarina Nikonorova (Russian Federation) was not ready for distribution at the Norway midwinter meeting. Ekatarina Nikonorova will contact Jane Pyper for a status report; Ekatarina Nikonorova will continue to be the contact person in this matter. The discussion document will be ready for the Glasgow meeting.

Barbara von Wahlde (USA) will make the corrections to the August 24^th, 2001 minutes.

Important deadlines for the distribution of minutes in the future were decided:

Minutes will be distributed via the listserv.

Draft minutes distributed from the secretary within 4 weeks

Response from attendees within 10 days

Minutes on homepage within 8 weeks

Minutes to be included in the next scheduled issue of the Newsletter

Also, it was decided that the minutes will be «decision-minutes» with important conclusions listed. All tasks will have a deadline and an officer in charge.

Chair/Secretary's Report

The Section was granted 500NLG by the IFLA Coordinating Board for publishing the anniversary pamphlet, "Celebrating Twenty Years: A Concise History of the IFLA Section on Library Services to Multicultural Populations" written by Marie Zielinska. Jane Dreisig (Denmark) will inform Marie Zielinska.

All attendees to committee meetings are encouraged to make a brief report (about 5-6 lines) of important events, etc. from their country for publishing in the newsletter.

Treasurer's report

Since it is difficult for Kirsten Leth Nielsen to open an account in Norway, it was decided to ask Susy Tastesen (Denmark) to be treasurer. Susan accepted and the name on the account will be changed. Currently, the Section has very limited funds. [The budget is based on the Section’s membership.} The 2001/02 roster indicates there are 78 members in the Section. An increase in membership would result in greater financial support from IFLA, for example, 80 members =720 NLG, 80-150 members = 1350 NLG. Jane Dreisig (Denmark) will find out the cost of joining the Section and notify the members via the listserv. All committee members are encouraged to recruit a new member to the Section.

Strategic plan

The deadline for the strategic plan is October 1st of each year. Mission statements and priorities cannot be changed before 2003. Action plans can be revised every year before the 1^st of October.

Decision: Next time the mission statement and priorities are revised, the topics and target groups need to be more specific. The strategic plan will be on the agenda in Glasgow and committee members are asked to prepare proposals for the mission statement and the priorities. A call for proposals will be included in the next issue of the Newsletter as well.

Glasgow 2002 Workshop

Since the Section of Public Libraries has not responded, we will not have a joint workshop in Glasgow. Also, it is too late to arrange a study-tour. The Section will provide a half-day workshop about «The 7th Heaven»; however, the date and time slot have not been determined. A panel discussion will follow the lecture given by the 7th Heaven speaker and therefore four or five attendees (including one from the 7th Heaven) are needed. Barbara von Wahlde (USA) will ask Adriana A. Tandler (USA) and Clara Chu (USA); Kirsten Leth Nielsen will ask Lourina K. de Voogd (Netherlands); Benedikte Kragh-Schwarz (Denmark) will ask Barbro Endejal (Sweden) and an English publisher; Ekaterina Nikonorova (Russian Federation) will contact the Children’s Library in Moscow. Deadline for replies to Jane Dreisig is the 10th of March. If we still are in need of people, Asbjørn Langeland (Norway) will ask Eva. Jane Dreisig will publish the letter from the 7th Heaven on the listserv. Barbara will contact the «Diversity Council of UK» and ask if they will join us at the workshop (information about their activities). Since we do not know the exact day, we will have to ask if it is possible to attend Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.

Berlin 2003 Satellite meeting

Kirsten Leth Nielsen (Norway) will notify Lourina K. de Voogd (Netherlands) as soon as possible that it is OK that the meeting will be a post-conference and that the planned theme is OK. The committee agreed that guided tours be scheduled on Wednesday and suggested that the tour include a visit to multicultural libraries in the surrounding area (combination of a professional and sightseeing tour). Kirsten Leth Nielsen will ask Lourina K. de Voogd for a draft of the budget for the meeting and an indication of the funding. (Barbara von Wahlde (USA) and Asbjørn Langeland (Norway) indicated a cost of approximately $20,000 USD). Barbara Von Wahlde will send Lourina K. de Voogd the checklist for planning a satellite meeting. The committee recommends an average group accommodation for practical and social reasons. Kirsten Leth Nielsen asked where the conference will be held. Kirsten also will ask Lourina K. de Voogd to create a leaflet for the meeting for distribution in Glasgow and to post a call for papers (for the listserv, the homepage, the Newsletter, IFLANet, and the IFLA booth. Deadline for Lourina is April.

Benedikte Kragh-Schwarz (Denmark) and Susy Tastenen (Denmark) will present a paper on the Danish acquisition programme. Barbara von Wahlde will ask Adriana Tandler (USA) for a paper. Jane Dreisig (Denmark) will complete and send the forms for the meeting before the 15th of March, 2002

Berlin Workshop (committee officer in charge: Benedikte Kragh-Schwarz (Denmark) and Susy Tastenen (Denmark)

The committee will arrange a half-day study-tour to multicultural libraries or institutions and a half-day workshop. The title of the workshop is: «Multicultural library services in German speaking countries: Status and prospects». Jane Dreisig (Denmark) will ask Susanne Schneehorst for a contact person in Berlin. We also will ask about possible speakers at the Coordinating Board meeting in March 2002. Ekaterina Nikonorova (Russian Federation) will contact the Director of he Public Library of Berlin.

Information and Communication Matters

The publication «Checklist and tips for planning a satellite meeting» from Barbara von Wahlde (USA) was distributed. Please forward comments to Barbara by April 1, 2002.

Barbara von Wahlde (USA) will ask whether the University of Pittsburgh Library is still willing to store the Section’s Archives and files.

Ekaterina Nikonorova (Russian Federation) has volunteered to translate the <Guidelines> into Russian. Deadline: Glasgow conference in August 2002.

We were granted 500 NLG from the IFLA Coordinating Board to publish the anniversary pamphlet, <Celebrating Twenty Years, A Brief History of the IFLA Section on Library Services to Multicultural Populations> Donna Serafin (USA) has completed the layout and design. She and Barbara have done a fantastic job. THANK YOU!!! Barbara von Wahlde (USA) will send eight copies to IFLA Headquarters and mail the pamphlet to the Section’s membership. Notice of the pamphlet publication will be included in the Spring Newsletter.

THANKS TO BARBARA AND DONNA!! for the fall issue of the Newsletter -- we are very proud to be able to publish such a professional issue! We cannot publish more than two issues a year in paper version due to the costs but we will make one electronic issue before the Glasgow conference. This issue will be announced in the spring paper issue. In addition, we might publish some articles on the web.

The membership leaflet needs to be revised. Barbara von Wahlde and Donna Serafin will create a new design and layout for the web - easy to print out on demand.

Again, thanks to Barbara and Donna!! You have done a fantastic job! If anybody has electronic versions of conference papers, newsletters etc., send them to Barbara von Wahlde for publication on the web. Kirsten Leth Nielsen will ask Erling Bergan about his paper delivered at the Jerusalem conference.

Jane Dreisig will make corrections and send the revised list to committee members via the listserv.
Deadline for corrections: 15th of March 15, 2002

AOB

Maria Tapaninen (Sweden) confirmed that the Stockholm National Cultural Board (Statens kulturråd), Bibliotekföreningen og Internationella biblioteket) will arrange the satellite meeting in 2005.

Accommodations in Glasgow were suggested.

Respectfully submitted,
Kirsten Leth Nielsen, Secretary