ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries September 1 9 9 7 / 5 6 5 Conference Circuit N e w t e c h n o lo g ie s a n d n e w fo rm s o f c o o p e ra tio n B y L ester J. P o u rcia u A report on the Crimea ’9 7 Conference T h e title above is actually the subtitle o the Fourth International Conference o Libraries an d A ssociations in th e T ra World, the Crimea ’97 Conference held in Sudak in th e A u to n o m o u s R e p u b lic o f C rim ea, Ukraine, from Ju n e 7-15, 1997. More than 200 presentations w ere m ade over a five-day pe­ riod within the organizational context o f sub ject sections and 12 topical workshops. The opening session, somewhat more elabo rate and formal than anything experienced or observed in the U.S., w as follow ed by a ple­ nary session at w hich eight presenters set the tone for much o f w hat was to follow during the w eek. Among these, Victor Montviloff of the UNESCO G eneral Infor­ m ation Programm e in Paris Current economic conditions in Ukraine often force unpopular decisions about libraries, including th reduction of their hours of operation. s p o k e o f UNESCO library programs today. He outlined the various efforts m ade by UNESCO to prom ote librar­ ies and librarianship through­ out Eastern Europe, em pha­ sizing that interlibrary cooperation w as a prime focus and that, w ith the increasing use o f com ­ puters and the Internet, “the ethical use o f such technology is a major factor in UNESCO’s li­ brary program s.’’ Because of the large num ber o f presenta­ tions m ade throughout the w eek, no individual person could attend all, an d thus one h ad to pick an d choose am ong those o f interest. Sev­ eral o f interest to this w riter occurred within the section on “W orld Wide Information Infra­ structure: G eneral Problems o f Library Coop­ eration.” Among these w as a paper, “O n the Prospects o f D ocum ent Supply Service Devel­ f n ns ­ ­ o p m e n t in G eorgia,” p rese n ted by Nina T. Chkhenkeli, of the American Center o f Infor­ mation Resources (USIS Tbilisi), Tbilisi, G eor­ gia. Chkhenkeli discussed a current aw areness docum ent supply service created by the Library A utomation Association in Georgia and the Na­ tional Library o f Georgia. This service is a docu­ iemnte nt supply system for docum ents published in Georgia and includes not only the traditional functions of inquiry, searching, locating, order­ ing, copying/scanning, and delivery, but also w hat is a popular service in Georgia, Books by Mail, which provides books published in Geor­ gia to users. At the time o f her writing and pre­ sentation, there was no provision for foreign docum ent supply services, with the exception o f traditional interlibrary loan and international book exchange programs. Chkhenkeli discussed at som e length the problem s associated with the relatively small geographic size of Georgia, e the economic conditions in Georgia, and the num ber of users ready to pay for information services. She judged the num ber o f users to be insufficient to make feasible the creation o f an independent enterprise for the delivery of books published anywhere other than in Georgia, and speculated that the “introduction o f a fee-based service for delivering articles from foreign p e­ riodicals could in time becom e a solution and a natural developm ent o f symbiosis betw een the National Library o f Georgia an d the Library Association in G eorgia.” Among the various discussions o f library co o p e ra tio n w as a p re se n ta tio n by Emilija Lester J. P ourciau is director o f libraries a t the University o f Memphis; e-mail: pourciau@ cc.m em phis.edu mailto:pourciau@cc.memphis.edu 5 6 6 / C&RL News Banionyte, director of the Vilnius Pedagogical University Library. Banionyte spoke o f and described the various cooperative efforts initi­ ated by Lithuanian libraries after the declara­ tion of that country’s independence in 1990. She described a variety of cooperative endeav­ ors between Lithuanian libraries and other li­ braries, especially those in Nordic countries. She identified the Lithuanian Librarians Asso­ ciation as being the m ost active gro u p in Lithuania in creating and maintaining interna­ tional contacts as well as carrying out general library development projects. Speaking to a problem that is com m on throughout the former Soviet Union, Elena K. Aleksandrova of the National Parliamentary Li­ brary of Ukraine in Kiev spoke on “Ukrainian L ib ra rie s in th e Legal E n v ir o n m e n t.” Aleksandrova discussed the progress and de­ velopment in Ukraine of a legal infrastructure appropriate for a relatively new independent state and indicated that some 900 separate leg­ islative acts have been approved. Libraries in Ukraine are under the direct or indirect juris­ diction of some 20 different, recently enacted laws. In general, these laws ensure the rights of citizens to access information via libraries. Nevertheless, there are a num ber of laws that seemingly allow for variant interpretation, and some aspects of library activities and services are not reflected in the approved legislation. Further, some executive aspects o f the laws are in dispute. Aleksandrova also pointed out that current economic conditions in Ukraine often force unpopular decisions about librar­ ies, including the reduction of their hours of operation, the transfer of library staff to part- time employment, and, in some cases, the clos­ ing of libraries. The foregoing are but a few examples of th e w ide variety o f p resen tatio n s m ade at Crimea ’97 about libraries and their conditions in Eastern Europe. It is clear to those w ho have attended previous Crimea conferences that great progress has been and continues to be made. Nevertheless, there is a large measure of work to be done throughout the Former Soviet Union to standardize procedures, to enhance interli­ brary cooperation, and to extend services to all citizens. Crimea ’97 was a rewarding expe­ rience, both professionally and personally. It is indeed a fascinating experience to meet and to interact with people from a variety of coun­ tries and cultural orientations. ■ (Faculty use co n t.fro m page 553) made much progress in pooling Web exper­ tise on campus, coordinating support, and pro­ viding a forum for sharing ideas about instruc­ tional use of the Web. Attendance at workshops and brown bags is good, faculty are adding pages to the college’s Web server, and more classes are using the Web as a regular part of their work. While it is too early to make any final as­ sessment of the team ’s effectiveness in provid­ ing support to faculty, for the library; the team has already achieved its secondary goal of keep­ ing librarians involved in campus Web activi­ ties. By serving as a central location for the teams’s activities—w orkshops and brown bags are held in the library—the library is able to demonstrate its interest and involvement with the Web. By collaborating with other team members, librarians broaden their own Web skills. And, most important, by being under the aegis of the team, librarians’ efforts to sup­ port the Web are now more visible and reach more people. ■