   
Section of Government Libraries
Annual Report 1997-1998
Scope statement
The Section is aimed at the community of libraries which are part of and
work for a body with a governing task and which have, in any way, a
political responsibility or connection. The Section encourages the growth
and development of government libraries and assists in their cooperation.
Membership
Standing Committee membership totals 10 members from 9 countries. Section
membership stands at 82. This is an increase of 7 from 1997.
Membership of the Standing Committee 1998-1999
Librarian
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
P.O. Box 8114 Dep.
N-0032 Oslo, Norway
Ms. Judith R. Bernstein
Director, Parish Business and Economics Library
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131-1496
USA
Serge Bouffange
Librarian
Bibliotheque du Conseil D'etat
Palace du Palais-Royal
France
Suzanne Burge
16 Alexandra Road
LONDON W4 1AX
United Kingdom
W. Fink
Bibliotheksleiter, Politisch-historisch
Fachbibliothek der Hanns Seidel Stiftung
Lazarettstrasse 33
D-80636 Munich
Germany
Ms. Sarah Kagoda-Batuwa
Librarian
Secretariat of the Commission for East African Cooperation
P.O. Box
Arusha, Tanzania
Irja Peltonen
Information Specialist
Ministry of Finance Library
Box 286
Fin-0017 Helsinki
Finland
Fax: 358-0-1604759
Ms. Lena Olsson
Director of Library and Information Services
Swedish Government Library
Government Central Services Office
S-103 33 Stockholm
Sweden
Mrs. Zoya P. Sorokina
Manager
Library of President's Administration of the President of the Russian
Federation
Staraya pl., 8/5
103 132 Moscow
Russia
Edward J. Valauskas
Internet Mechanics
5050 South Lake Shore Drive, Suite 3214
Chicago, IL 60615
USA
Meetings
The Standing Committee held two meetings at the Annual Conference in
Amsterdam at which 8 members attended.
Projects
- A new brochure will be written for the section by Judith Bernstein,
published by January of 1999 and distributed to IFLA headquarters and to
Standing Committee members. We will then move forward with translations
into the official languages of the conference.
- The Section will set up a listserv for standing committee members to
facilitate communication. It will also set up a monitored listserv for
government libraries worldwide which will be a forum for discussion of
common interests, questions, new projects, etc.
- The prototype of an online database for government libraries will be
completed by Edward Valauskas and online in 1999 making it possible for
librarians in government libraries to register their institutions via the
Internet. A cover letter and form will be sent using addresses from the
old Sauer directory. Monies from the Professional Board will be
requested for the mailings.
- Future Programs. Plans for programs at the IFLA Conference in Bangkok
in 1999 were finalized. There will be three papers on the theme of
financing Government Libraries. Jerusalem, Israel 2000, and Boston, Mass., USA 2001.
It was suggested that we concentrate on special services of government
libraries with a program both in Jerusalem and in Boston on aspects of
this topic. Refugee services was suggested for Jerusalem.
Publications
The Section of Government Libraries Newsletter. Edited by Judith R.
Bernstein. June/July 1998.
Conference Program
Some 45 persons attended the open Session in Amsterdam held on Wednesday
19 August from 15:00 - 17:30. Three speakers had been noted in the
program and a fourth speaker guest speaker, Cindy Hill, from Sun
Microsystems Co., was available to speak on the theme of Privatization and
Government Libraries. The following papers were presented.
- Edward Valauskas. Internet Mechanics, Chicago, IL, USA,
Introduced the programme with "A review of Privatisation".
Abstract: "Privatisation and outsourcing provide both opportunities and
threats to libraries, especially libraries in governments around the world. Creative and intelligent understanding of the role of libraries within organizations, with plenty of quantitative evidence to
support the key roles of the staff and collections, will prove the best tonic for survival."
- Suzanne Burge, UK Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for
Administration, London,
"Much pain, little gain: privatisation and UK government libraries."
Abstract: The paper begins with an account of the introduction of the
concepts of privatisation and market testing in UK government libraries.
It looks at a number of case studies, of the Department of Health, the
Ordnance Survey, the Export Market Intelligence Centre of the Department
of Trade and Industry and the Department of Transport, each of which
illustrates different aspects of the process. It then goes on to examine
government librarians' attitudes to privatisation, based on a research
study carried out in 1993, and updated by a smaller study in 1996-97. It
ends by considering the present situation and the effect of a change of government in the UK on
the Civil Service generally and government libraries in particular.
- Nancy John, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
"Providing Outsourced Internet Services to a Government Agency."
Abstract: This paper looks at library outsourcing from a different
perspective - the role of librarians as the suppliers of outsourced
services. As a case study of the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC)
University Library, it discusses UIC's efforts at providing outsourced
services to a variety of clients in the corporate and governmental
sectors. Through examination of the evolving relationship between the UIC
librarians and their clients, we are able to discern the
kinds of contributions that the library profession is uniquely positioned
to offer because of its understanding of the fundamental nature of
information and the basic habits of information-seekers.
- Cindy Hill, Sun Microsystems, USA ,
"Insourcing the Outsourced Library: The Sun Story".
This presentation looked at the six years that a library
group was outsourced at Sun Microsystems for what were thought of as
peripheral areas. Eventually it was realized that library services were a
core competency for Sun and that in terms of cost savings, and value
added, services were more effective when they were done in-house. The
outsource group became regular employees of Sun Microsystems." Copies of
the full text of this paper can be found in "Library Journal", v. 123,
March 1, 1998, pp. 46-48.
The full text of the papers (save for that of Cindy Hill) can be seen on
IFLANET at:
http://ifla.org/IV/ifla64/64cp.htm
Submitted by:
Judith R. Bernstein,
Secretary-Treasurer/Information Coordinator,
April 1999.
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