IN THIS DOCUMENT:

Part 1. Scope

Part 2. Goals

Part 3. Action Plan, 1999-2000

Round Table on Newspapers

Medium Term Programme, 1999-2001

Part 1. Scope

The Round Table is concerned with all issues relating to newspapers in libraries and archives, including acquisition and collection development; intellectual and physical access; storage and handling; preservation of newspapers and their contents; interlibrary lending; and the impact of digital technologies on all of these.

Part 2. Goals

1. Gather and disseminate information on international newspaper collections, procedures and practices, and develop mechanisms for communication and interchange of knowledge between the major newspaper collections of the world
2. Encourage the development and adoption of international standards in newspaper preservation, microfilming, and digitisation programmes
3. Monitor technological developments arising from and affecting newspaper production, distribution, archiving and access, and assess their implications for library practices
4. Explore opportunities for cooperative approaches to the provision of newspapers in libraries and archives
5. Evaluate existing guidelines for bibliographic control of newspapers and explore complementary and / or alternative means of intellectual access
6. Explore opportunities for communication and exchange of information with organisations engaged in the production and preservation of newspapers.

Part 3. Action Plan, 1999-2000

Goal 1.

Gather and disseminate information on international newspaper collections, procedures and practices, and develop mechanisms for communication and interchange of knowledge between major newspaper collections of the world.

Action 1:

A world-wide survey of institutions reporting national newspaper collections will be mounted on IFLAnet, together with a form enabling institutions to report changes or additions.

Action 2:

Develop methodology for identification and listing of newspaper collections in individual countries. This will now be undertaken using German newspaper collections to compile a survey methodology and a directory.

Action 3:

Hold Open Meeting at the 2000 IFLA Jerusalem Conference on newspapers of the region. A half day workshop will be held on the theme of digitisation.

Goal 2.

Encourage the development and adoption of international standards in newspaper preservation, microfilming, and digitisation programmes.

Action 1:

Prepare and arrange for publication of French translation of the Round Table's "Guidelines for the preservation microfilming of newspapers" (published by IFLA in 1996).

Action 2:

Prepare a supplement to the above Guidelines on the best practice for microfilming of newspapers in preparation for possible future digitisation. The ISO standards for film density which affect digitisation will be reviewed.

Goal 3.

. Monitor technological developments arising from and affecting newspaper production, distribution, archiving and access, and assess their implications for library practices.

Action:

Developments in electronic access to newspapers will be monitored.

Goal 4.

Explore opportunities for co-operative approaches to the provision of newspapers in libraries and archives.

Action:

Develop closer working relationship with ICON (International Coalition on Newspapers) on the co-operative acquisition and preservation of, and access to, global newspapers.

Goal 5.

Evaluate existing guidelines for bibliographic control of newspapers and explore complementary and / or alternative means of intellectual access.

Action:

Plan revision of IFLA Guidelines for Newspaper Cataloguing.

Goal 6.

Explore opportunities for communication and exchange of information with organisations engaged in the production and preservation of newspapers.

Action:

A report on the Jerusalem Post digitisation project to be obtained.