Conference of Directors of National Libraries

2008 CDNL meeting

The 2008 meeting of CDNL will be held in Québec, Canada during IFLA's 2008 World Library and Information Congress. Any questions about the CDNL meeting can be directed to the Secretariat.

2007 CDNL meeting

Review the minutes of the Durban meeting, and other CDNL papers from 2007.

About CDNL

CDNL is an independent association of chief executives of national libraries, established to facilitate discussion and promote understanding and cooperation on matters of common interest to national libraries worldwide.

CDNL meets annually, usually on the Wednesday of the IFLA conference at the National Library of the IFLA host country.

Membership is open to the chief executive of the national library of every country. Members may be represented at the meeting by their deputies.

The CDNL Executive

• Chair: Ms Penny Carnaby, Chief Executive, National Library of New Zealand;
• First Vice Chair: Mr Erland Kolding Nielsen, Director, the Royal Library, Denmark;
• Second Vice Chair: Mr John Tsebe, National Librarian and CEO, National Library of South Africa .
  

Contact details for the CDNL Secretariat

The secretariat is located at the National Library of New Zealand.

National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa
Cnr Molesworth and Aitken Streets
PO Box 1467
Wellington 6140
New Zealand

Contact: Winston Roberts
Fax: +64 4 474 3007
Email: secretariat@cdnl.info

The CDNL List

The CDNL List is used to distribute information and communicate with members of the Conference of Directors of National Libraries. The list is hosted by IFLANET. All messages sent to the list are moderated by the CDNL Secretariat at the National Library of New Zealand. Members are encouraged to post matters of interest to the CDNL list at: cdnl-l@infoserv.inist.fr

Representatives of national libraries may join the list via the 'subscribe' function at http://infoserv.inist.fr/wwsympa.fcgi/info/cdnl-l. CDNL is a closed list and all subscription requests are forwarded to the CDNL Secretariat for approval.

Regional Associations

• CDNLAO The Conference of Directors of National Libraries / Asia and Oceania
• ABINIA Asociacion de Bibliotecas Nacionales de Ibero-America (an organization for national libraries of Ibero-America)
• SCANUL-ECS Standing Conference of African National and University Librarians in Eastern, Central and Southern Africa
• CENL The Conference of European National Librarians

History of CDNL

CDNL was set up in 1974 to discuss policies and carry out activities that could be performed most effectively by national libraries, on the understanding that its work would be coordinated with the IFLA section of National Libraries. It grew from a rather loose organization in the late 1970's to a much more structured body in the 1990's. During the Chair of Marianne Scott, the National Librarian of Canada, CDNL established its present statutes and rules of procedure, which gave the organization a much clearer and stronger foundation for its activities.

Previous chairs and meeting venues:

Mr Guy Sylvestre, National Librarian, National Library of Canada (1974-78) Washington, 1974; Oslo, 1975; Lausanne, 1976; Brussels, 1977

Sir Harry Hookway, The Chief Executive, British Library (1978-84)
Strbské Pleso, 1978; Copenhagen, 1979; Manila, 1980; Leipzig, 1981; Montreal, 1982; Munich. 1983; Nairobi, 1984

Mr William Welsh, Deputy Librarian of Congress, Library of Congress(1984-88)
Washington, 1985; Tokyo,1986; London, 1987; Canberra, 1988

Ms Marianne Scott, National Library of Canada (1988-92)
Paris, 1989; Stockholm, 1990; Moscow, 1991; New Delhi, 1992

Mr Bendik Rugaas, National Library of Norway (1992-1996)
Barcelona 1993; Havana, 1994; Istanbul 1995; Beijing, 1996

Mr Peter Lor, National Library of South Africa (1996-2000)
Copenhagen, 1997; Amsterdam, 1998; Bangkok, 1999, Jerusalem, 2000

Ms Jan Fullerton, National Library of Australia (2000-2004)
Boston, 2001; Edinburgh, 2002; Berlin, 2003; Buenos Aires, 2004

Dr Celia Zaher, National Library of Brazil (2005-2006)
Oslo, 2005; Seoul, 2006

Ms Penny Carnaby, National Library of New Zealand (2007- )
Seoul, 2006, Durban, 2007; Québec City, 2008

References

• Scott, M., Conference of Directors of National Libraries: forum for discussion and action, Alexandria; 7 (1) 1995, p.37-46
• Rugaas, B., Past, present and future relations between the IFLA Section of National Libraries and the Conference of Directors of National Libraries, IFLA Journal; 20 (2) 1994, p.141-44

Useful links

National Libraries section of IFLA

The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, maintains a listing of national library websites and national library catalogues. This list is not compiled or maintained by CDNL and any enquiries about it should be addressed to the University of Queensland.