The IFLA/FAIFE Committee held two business meetings in Bangkok, on Sunday the 22^th and on Thursday the 26^th of August. 17 committee members were present at the first meeting and 12 at the second, including the new members Sherry Jespersen, UK, Cendrella Abdallah, Lebanon and the new associate member Shawky Salem, Egypt. 10-12 other IFLA delegates attended the meetings as observers. Alex Byrne chaired the meetings of which the major issues were: Office report, Action plan, Draft world report, Committee membership, Special cases, FAIFE at IFLA conferences, and the Jerusalem conference.

The IFLA/FAIFE Office Report (Annex distributed at meeting) presented the contacts created to human rights organisations, journalist and press organisations and other international forums e.g. Unesco and Council of Europe. The IFLA initiative has been well received everywhere, but the work has also illuminated the necessity of raising the general awareness of the fundamental relation between libraries and the concept of intellectual freedom (IF). Most of these organisations deal with freedom of expression as an issue of producing and publicising, while IFLA/FAIFE includes the issue of access.

The Office report also stressed the importance of the new IFLA Statement on Libraries and Intellectual Freedom, which was prepared by IFLA/FAIFE and adopted by the IFLA executive Board (EB) March 1999. The statement is the first step in providing IFLA with instruments for a policy in the field of IF. The Office has launched a IFLA/FAIFE website, linked to IFLANET, which has expanded quite rapidly and has more than 15.000 hits a month. The Office has also produced an introductory leaflet on IFLA/FAIFE in 20.000 copies of which 11.000 will be disseminated in the magazine Index on Censorship this autumn. A new IFLA/FAIFE bookmark was also introduced in Bangkok.

The Committee also revised the IFLA/FAIFE Action plan for 1999-2000. A proposal from the Office was adopted with minor changes. It was decided that the Office should look into the possibilities of setting up both an internal Committee mailing list and an open one to stimulate general debate on IF issues within IFLA membership.

A 1^st draft of a IFLA/FAIFE World Report was presented at the 1^st business meeting exclusively for Committee members (the draft report will be sent to those members not present at the Bangkok conference). The draft included preliminary reports from 35 countries. Both the format and the nature of the content were discussed. The debate concentrated on some essential themes:

• The sensitivity of the information and the protection and anonymity of the informants: There was deep concern for the safety of the IFLA/FAIFE informants. In some countries it involves an element of risk to reveal this kind of information, and there might not be any support or protection from the national professional community. As neither IFLA/FAIFE nor IFLA has the possibility to eliminate this risk, it is vital that all contributions are treated with the utmost discretion and confidentiality. Contributors will remain anonymous - their identities only known to the IFLA/FAIFE Chair and Office. Various techniques used by other Human Rights Organisations to protect sources of information will adopted by IFLA/FAIFE. The importance of sources outside the library world was underlined, both to provide information and to secure thorough evaluation and certification.
• The definition of a Country Report format: It was stated that a more similar structuring of the country reports would add to the value of the IFLA/FAIFE World Report. It was suggested that these elements were included:
  • Contextual information: Key figures on the country, e.g. media and libraries
  • General information on IF and libraries, including legislation, LA positions
  • Incidents, cases and examples
  • Evaluation

It was agreed that the existing country reports should be publicised on the FAIFE website. Contributors wanting to revise their reports are asked to do so as soon as possible. The final report, will be publicised both on the FAIFE Website and in a printed version in connection with the Jerusalem Conference in 2000.

Concerning Committee membership it was announced that Mr. Søren Møller, former vicepresident of the Danish Library Association, wished to withdraw from his seat. The Committee decided to propose to the EB that he should be replaced by Ms. Winnie Vitzansky, secretary general of the Danish Library Association. Furthermore two new members were suggested: Ms. Clara Budnik, Biblioteca Nacional de Chile, and Ana Cecilia Torres, Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica. As the Committee has insufficient representation in Latin America, it was recommended that both be included as members.

A special case was mentioned at the business meetings: Cuban citizens have formed 18 independent libraries throughout Cuba to "grant access to books, magazines, documents and other publications to which there is no access in state institutions" and thus challenge Cuban government in regard to intellectual freedom. A series of incidents indicates a pattern of State harassment of these libraries, including threats, intimidation, eviction, short-term arrests, and the confiscation of their incoming book donations or existing book collections. The IFLA/FAIFE Office is at present investigating the incident and will shortly produce a report.

The Committee evaluated the IFLA/FAIFE programme at the IFLA conference in Bangkok. There was overall satisfaction with the IFLA/FAIFE performances. It is important to have both general introductions - meeting the needs of the many newcomers - and more subject-related sessions, which go deeper into the substance. The tradition of a Guest Lecture on IF issues must be maintained. There was a suggestion that IFLA/FAIFE at future conferences will have a special IFLA/FAIFE room, which offers delegates the opportunity to meet Committee members and Office staff, to have small meetings and a cup of coffee.

Alex Byrne briefed the Committee on the situation concerning the Jerusalem conference 2000. The issue has been debated in the EB on the basis of a paper produced by the IFLA/FAIFE Chair and Office. As a result a delegation of 2 EB members and the Secretary General visited Jerusalem and met with the Organising Committee. In consequence of the choice of venue the Arab library associations have decided not to participate and the League of Arab States has initiated a campaign to boycott of the conference.

It was informed that AFLA, the Arab Federation of Library Associations, is having its annual conference in Beirut August 2000 - the week before the IFLA conference. IFLA/FAIFE was invited to have a programme or a workshop at this conference.

The need of arranging a mid-term Committee meeting was debated. It was decided that the Office should investigate the financial and practical possibilities and the professional benefits.