Conference of Directors of National Libraries

CDNL 2002

Minutes of the Twenty-ninth Meeting of CDNL, held on Wednesday 21August 2002, at 10.30 am, at the National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

1. Welcome to the Meeting

The Chair, Jan Fullerton, Director General, National Library of Australia, welcomed members to the twenty-ninth meeting of CDNL and introduced the co-hosts of the meeting, Ian McGowan, Librarian, National Library of Scotland and Lynne Brindley, Chief Executive Officer, The British Library.

The Chair then called on Alan Marchbank, Director, Public Services, National Library of Scotland, to outline the housekeeping arrangements for the day.

2. Welcome to the National Library of Scotland

The Chair invited Ian McGowan to speak to the meeting. He welcomed members to the National Library of Scotland and spoke briefly about its three hundred year history, including the introduction of legal deposit in 1711.

The Chair then invited Lynne Brindley to speak. Lynne acknowledged the diversity of libraries represented at the meeting and the value of cooperation between members in addressing the issues facing national libraries in the digital age. She reminded members that The British Library, which has its roots in the British Museum Library, was established by an Act of Parliament in 1973. It has close involvement with the research infrastructure and public library system in the United Kingdom.

3. Attendance and apologies

Members were asked to sign the Attendance Register and note any corrections to the details in the Register. The Chair noted that Chris Chia, Chief Executive of the National Library Board of Singapore and Second Vice Chair, was absent from CDNL due to illness. Other apologies have been noted in the Register. A list of attendees is attached at Appendix 1.

The Chair reported that the following guests would join the meeting for lunch:

Lord Eatwell, Chairman, The British Library; Professor Michael Anderson, Chairman, Board of Trustees, National Library of Scotland; Christine Deschamps, President of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA); Ross Shimmon, Secretary General, IFLA; Derek Law, Treasurer, IFLA, Ingrid Parent, Member, IFLA Executive Committee and Ellen Tise, Member, IFLA Executive Committee. The IFLA guests would also join the meeting immediately after lunch for Item 13, the report of the IFLA Core Activities Review Committee.

The Chair noted that Martyn Wade, the Librarian designate of the National Library of Scotland, was also present as an observer.

4. Membership

The Chair invited all members and observers to introduce themselves.

5. Adoption of the Agenda

Members were asked to note Item 23, Election of the Second Vice Chair. The Chair reported that the present incumbent, Chris Chia, has indicated that he is willing to be nominated for a second term. Any member wishing to nominate a candidate for the position of Second Vice Chair should seek a nomination form from the CDNL secretaries, Jasmine Cameron and Gerard van Trier, and return the nomination form to either of them by the close of the lunch break.

The agenda was adopted without amendment.

6. Minutes of the Twenty eighth CDNL meeting

The minutes of the twenty eighth meeting of CDNL, held on Wednesday 22 August 2001 at the Boston Public Library, Boston, were approved without amendment.

7. Business arising from the Minutes of the twenty eighth CDNL Meeting

The Chair advised members that the UNESCO Resolution on Digital Preservation, which had been brought to the attention of members at the last meeting, had been endorsed by the UNESCO General Conference held in Paris in October, 2001.

There were no other matters arising from the minutes.

8. CDNL Committee on Digital Issues

Wim van Drimmelen, First Vice Chair and Chair of the CDNL Committee on Digital Issues, reminded members that the Committee had been formed at the Boston meeting through the merger of two CDNL committees, the CDNL Committee on Digital Preservation and the CDNL Working Group on Persistent Identifiers.

Work on the UNESCO Resolution on Digital Preservation had been completed and a work program devised. Titia van der Werf has been replaced as Secretary of the Committee by Johan Steenbakkers, Director ICT and Facility Management, Koninklijke Bibliotheek.

Wim van Drimmelen advised that the Committee had met on Monday 19 August to agree on a new work program. He called on Johan Steenbakkers to report on the outcomes of the meeting.

Three areas were agreed as priorities for the next two years. Work groups have been formed for each priority. Digital Preservation is to be led by Johan Steenbakkers and will include a gap analysis to identify issues that need to be addressed and that are suitable for collaboration. Bibliographic Standards for Access is to be led by Sally McCallum, Chief, Network Development and MARC Standards Office, Library of Congress and will cover issues relating to persistent identification and national bibliography. Pamela Gatenby, Assistant Director General, Collections Management, National Library of Australia, will lead the group on Deposit Agreements which will cover relations with publishers and best practice. The work groups will report to the Committee who in turn will report to CDNL. Members can follow the activities of the Committee on the PADI website www.nla.gov.au/padi/

Wim van Drimmelen asked CDNL members if they supported an approach from CDNL to the DOI Foundation seeking a gratis membership of the Foundation to enable CDNL to monitor DOI progress. Winston Tabb, Associate Librarian for Library Services, Library of Congress, proposed that Wim be asked to do this on behalf of CDNL. Members supported this proposal.

9.UNESCO Draft Charter on the Preservation of Digital Heritage

Abdelaziz Abid, Senior Programme Specialist, Information Society Division, UNESCO, referred to the adoption of the Draft UNESCO Resolution on Digital Preservation, the discussion paper prepared for UNESCO by the European Commission on Preservation and Access; the Draft Charter on Digital Preservation that is being prepared for the UNESCO General Conference in 2003 and the best practice guidelines entitled Digital Heritage: Guidelines for Preservation and Access that are currently being prepared on behalf of UNESCO by the National Library of Australia.

Extensive consultation on the Draft Charter on Digital Preservation and the best practice guidelines will be held for African nations in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (9-11 December 2002), South American nations in Managua, Nicaragua, 18-20 November and Asian and Pacific nations in Canberra, Australia (4-6 November 2002). It is also planned to hold a meeting for Arab nations at the Library of Alexandria, Egypt (date to be decided).

10. The IFLA Internet Manifesto to be issued by FAIFE (IFLA Committee on Free access to Information and Freedom of Expression

Alex Byrne, University Librarian, University of Technology, Sydney and Chair of FAIFE, outlined the aims of the Internet Manifesto. He said that the Manifesto encouraged libraries to provide free access to the Internet and that national libraries had a role to play in promoting this ideal. The Manifesto was proclaimed on 1 May this year and was now being promoted by IFLA FAIFE through a world wide program aimed at implementing the ideals expressed in the Manifesto.

Several issues were raised by members in the discussion that followed the presentation including the existence on the Internet of criminal or offensive information; the need for an official version of the Manifesto in Arabic and the need for some national and other libraries to cover costs for the provision of access to the Internet. It was acknowledged that the principles of the Manifesto were sound and that all national libraries should be encouraged to support them in whatever ways they can.

11. PRESENTATIONS

The Chair noted that there would not be a presentation on Item 11.4 Recent Developments at the National Library of Tunisia and referred members to the paper. The Chair informed members that Carol Smale, Acting Director General, Research and Information Services, National Library of Canada, would not be present to speak to Item 16, Document Supply : Future Trends and Challenges for National Libraries. However, she would welcome email enquiries about the topic from members (carol.smale@nlc-bng.ca).

The Chair also advised members that there would be a presentation after the lunch break by Diane Kresh, Director, Public Service Collections, Library of Congress on the collaborative digital reference service, QuestionPoint.

11.1 National Libraries Providing Public Library Services

R. Ramachandran, Deputy Chief Executive, National Library Board of Singapore, spoke about the One Library System in Singapore. He emphasised that in Singapore's case, the dual functions of the National Library has led to greater support for the Library. This has resulted in a balanced development of both the public and national library services in Singapore. He referred to the Report of the Library 2000 Review Committee that sets out the mission and vision for the One Library System. As a result of increased public support for libraries reflected in increasing loans and visits, the National Library Board of Singapore has received significant funding for infrastructure and services. A new state-of-the-art national library building will be opened in 2004.

11.2 Digitisation at the National Library of China

Zhang Xiaoxing, Deputy Director, National Library of China, spoke about China's Digital Library Project which commenced in 1998. The Project aims to create digital information resources in Chinese that can be accessed by the public. Local government organisations and cultural institutions such as libraries, archives and museums are all contributing to the Project. DOI is being used for rights management. The National Library of China would like to cooperate internationally with other libraries working in this area.

11.3 UNESCO and the National Library of Latvia

Abdelaziz Abid reported on behalf of UNESCO on the progress towards the building of a new national library in Latvia. An International Commission of Experts set up by UNESCO has provided advice on technical, design and funding issues. In June 2002 the Latvian Parliament approved funding for the project.

11.5 Treasures from the World's Great Libraries

The Chair spoke briefly to members about the National Library of Australia's Treasures From the World’s Great Libraries exhibition. She thanked those national libraries who had lent their important collection items to the National Library of Australia. The exhibition was an outstanding success and raised the profile of libraries in Australia.

12. International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)

The Chair welcomed members of the IFLA Executive Committee and invited Christine Deschamps to speak to members.

Christine Deschamps thanked CDNL members for inviting the IFLA Executive to lunch and for the opportunity to speak to them. She introduced her colleagues: Ross Shimmon, Derek Law, Ingrid Parent and Ellen Tise, and asked Ross Shimmon to speak.

Ross Shimmon spoke about the changes that are taking place in the IFLA Core Activities Program. The National Library of Canada was thanked for its long-term support for IFLANET which is now being hosted by the Institut de l'Information Scientifique et Technique (INIST). It was noted that the IFLA Governing Board and The British Library were reviewing the Universal Availability of Publications (UAP) program and a new host is being sought for the international inter-lending voucher scheme. Die Deutsche Bibliothek will continue to host the Universal Bibliographic Control and International MARC core activity (UBCIM) but will transfer responsibility for the UNIMARC program to the National Library of Portugal in 2003.

Funding for the Advancement of Librarianship (ALP) and IFLA Committee on Free Access to Information and Freedom of Expression (FAIFE) programs is also being sought. These programs have been funded by the Danish Government through the Danish Agency for Development Assistance (DANIDA). The Danish Government has indicated that they are unable to continue to support these programs.

Derek Law reminded CDNL members that there was no funding for Core Activities and that the appeal launched a year ago had not been successful.

13. IFLA Core Activities Review Committee

The Chair invited Lena Kua, Assistant Director, National Library Board of Singapore and Secretary of the CDNL IFLA Core Activities Review Committee, to speak about the review.

Lena Kua asked CDNL members to note that the report is a preliminary one that contains the coordinated responses received from Committee members and others. The recommendations are in the form of general suggestions for further discussion. She outlined these under five headings: Governance, Outcomes, Structure, New Activities and Proposed Strategies for New Sources of Funding.

Wim van Drimmelen asked members to express their views on the proposals in the report so that the Review Committee could reconvene to consider what should be done to devise a final set of recommendations. Members agreed that a new model for supporting core activities was needed, and that involvement in supporting these activities by all CDNL members would be beneficial. The Preservation and Conservation (PAC) model with its regional offices was considered successful. A survey conducted by Die Deutsche Bibliothek had strongly endorsed the UBCIM program.

Christine Deschamps expressed disappointment that the Review Committee had not identified new sources of financial support. Members agreed that the Review Committee in consultation with IFLA's Governing Board would reconsider the options for supporting the Core Activities and would work towards finalising the report as soon as possible. Wim van Drimmelen and Gerard van Trier undertook to act as intermediaries between IFLA and the members of the Review Committee.

14. IFLA SECTION ON NATIONAL LIBRARIES

This item was brought forward from the afternoon session.

Fernanda Campos, Deputy Director, National Library of Portugal and Chair of the IFLA Section on National Libraries, reported on the workshops being held by the Section on National Libraries during the IFLA Conference. She also asked members to note that a workshop on benchmarking and performance evaluation would be held during the IFLA Conference 2003 in Berlin. Data for this workshop would be sought via a survey to be conducted by the national libraries of Malaysia and Slovenia. A survey would also be conducted for a possible workshop in Berlin on web services by Die Deutsche Bibliothek. CDNL members were invited to suggest topics for discussion in Buenos Aires in 2004.

Fernanda Campos thanked Winston Tabb for his work as immediate past Chair of the IFLA Section on National Libraries and Alix Chevallier, Director for International Relations, Bibliotheque nationale de France, for her work as Secretary.

15. PRESENTATION – QUESTIONPOINT: A COLLABORATIVE DIGITAL REFERENCE SERVICE

Diane Kresh spoke to her report. She reminded members that QuestionPoint is the new name for the Collaborative Digital Reference Service. Members of the service come from the national, academic, public and special library sectors. The service currently has 260 participating libraries from the United States, Canada, Australia, Germany, Slovenia, China, the Netherlands, Norway and Scotland. QuestionPoint provides a twenty four hour a day, seven day a week reference service. Participating libraries can opt to provide access to the service directly to their patrons or via a librarian. Further information about the service can be found at www.QuestionPoint.org.

Other Business – Farewells

This item was brought forward from the afternoon session and replaces the original agenda item 16 on Document Supply which is minuted under Item 11.

The Chair informed members that Livia Borghetti, Dirigente Superiore, Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, Italy was moving to a new position as Director of The National Sound Archive in Italy, with the special task of creating a National Institute for Audiovisual and Multimedia. She thanked Livia for her contribution to CDNL and wished her well in taking up a new challenge.

Lynne Brindley farewelled Ian McGowan who retires from the National Library of Scotland in September 2002. She noted his distinguished career and in particular his commitment to the redevelopment and refurbishment of the National Library of Scotland and to the creation of a single computerised catalogue system shared with the University of Edinburgh.

Wim van Drimmelen paid tribute to Winston Tabb who is leaving the Library of Congress to take up a position on 1 September 2002 as Dean of the University Libraries and Sheridan Director of the Eisenhower Libraries at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. As a long serving member of CDNL Winston will be missed for his contribution to the success of CDNL.

17. REPORTS FROM REGIONAL CONFERENCES

This item was brought forward from the afternoon session.

17.1 The Association of Ibero-American States for the Development of the National Libraries of the Countries of Ibero-America (ABINIA)

The Chair noted that Celia Zaher, Director, National Library of Brazil and President, ABINIA, was not able to attend CDNL. Her report on ABINIA's activities is included in the papers.

17.2 Conference of European National Librarians (CENL)

This item was brought forward from the afternoon session.

Wim van Drimmelen, in his role of Chair of the Conference of European National Librarians (CENL) highlighted three items in the CENL report:

Website Gabriel: this has been modernised and members are encouraged to visit the new website www.kb.nl/gabriel

The European Library (TEL): funding for this project has been provided by the European Commission. It is anticipated that Gabriel will function as a portal for TEL;

Joint CENL/FEP (Federation of European Publishers) Committee: the Committee has commenced discussion aimed at updating the statement on the development of the code of practice for the voluntary deposit of electronic publications.

17.3 Congress of Southeast Asian Librarians (CONSAL)

This item was brought forward from the afternoon session.

R. Ramachandran in his role as Secretary General, CONSAL, referred to several items in the CONSAL report:

CONSAL Outstanding Librarian Award: The inaugural award was presented to Mr Antonio M Santos, Chief University Librarian, University of the Philippines College of Law Library, at the Gala Dinner of the World Library Summit in Singapore, April 2002. The award will be given annually to a librarian who has made a significant contribution to the library profession, or to improving relations among CONSAL members.

Copyright Guide: one of the CONSAL cooperative projects, a guidebook entitled Guide to Regional Intellectual Property Laws, was launched at the World Library Summit in April 2002.

CONSAL Council of Chief Academic Librarians (CAL) Meeting: the inaugural CONSAL Academic Librarians Meeting was held in Singapore in April 2002.

The next CONSAL Meeting will be hosted by Brunei Darussalam from 4-8 May 2003.

17.4 Conference of Directors of National Libraries of Asia and Oceania (CDNLAO)

This item was brought forward from the afternoon session.

R. Ramachandran in his role as Chair of CDNLAO referred members to the report. He noted that the next CDNLAO meeting would be hosted by Brunei Darussalam in conjunction with CONSAL, followed by China in 2004 and the Philippines in 2005.

17.5 SCANUL-ECS Conference (Standing Conference of African National and University Librarians in Eastern, Central and Southern Africa)

This item was brought forward from the afternoon session.

Peter Lor, National Librarian, National Library of South Africa, spoke about the difficulty being experienced by many national librarians in Africa in obtaining funding to attend IFLA and CDNL. It was suggested that the Chair of CDNL could attend the SCANUL-ECS Conference to be held in Uganda in 2004 to help raise the profile of national libraries in Africa.

18. ISBN and IFLA Round Table on Newspapers (Item 21)

These two Items were taken together.

Hartmut Walravens, Director, International ISBN Agency, reported on both these items. He asked members to note the following highlights from the reports:

Revision of ISBN: it is anticipated that the current revision of ISBN will lead to adoption of a thirteen digit number to provide for future demand.

ISBN funding: participating agencies will be asked to sign contracts and make a contribution to the funding of the ISBN administration.

IFLA Round Table on Newspapers: national libraries are encouraged to join the Round Table. A workshop on newspaper digitisation will be held in Mikkeli, Finland in June 2003.

19. ISSN

Francoise Pelle, Director, ISSN International Centre, reported on the following highlights:

Harmonisation of cataloguing rules(AACR, ISBD, ISSN) :this has been successfully completed and will enable wider re-use of records.

Formats: ISSN format is undergoing revision and is now compatible with the UNIMARC and MARC21 formats.

Persistent Identification: ISSN can now be used as a persistent name following the URN implementation at the International Centre.

CDNL members were encouraged to host centres if not already doing so and to identify and assign ISSN to more educational resources.

20. Country Reports

The Chair referred members to the country reports and encouraged members to contact each other if they have questions about a particular report.

Enes Kujundzic, Director, Nacionalne i univerzitetska biblioteke, Bosnia and Herzegovina, expressed sympathy for the libraries and other institutions suffering from the current flooding in Central Europe. He also reported on the reconstruction of the National and University Library and sought the acknowledgement of CDNL members for the work that has been undertaken by UNESCO, the World Bank and the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Wim van Drimmelen brought to the attention of members a press release distributed earlier in the day about an electronic archiving agreement between the Koninklijke Bibiotheek and Elsevier Science. The Koninklijke Bibliotheek will become the first official digital archive for Elsevier science journals.

21. IFLA Roundtable on Newspapers

This item was taken with item 18

22. CDNL – Future Issues

The Chair told members that input on future issues would be sought by the CDNL Secretariat during the year.

23. Election of the Vice Chair

The Chair reported that there had been no nominations for the position of Second Vice Chair other than that for Chris Chia. Lynne Brindley proposed that Chris Chia be elected to the position and this was seconded by Peter Lor. Chris Chia was elected by the acclamation of all members present.

24. Future Meetings

Elisabeth Niggemann, Director General, Die Deutsche Bibliothek, invited members to attend the thirtieth meeting of CDNL, to be held at Humboldt University, Berlin on Wednesday 6 August 2003.

25. Closure and thanks

The Chair thanked Lynne Brindley and Ian McGowan for hosting the meeting, and Wim van Drimmelen, Jasmine Cameron, Secretary CDNL, Gerard van Trier, Assistant Secretary CDNL and Elizabeth Watt, National Library of Australia for their assistance and support in running a successful meeting. She thanked members for participating in an atmosphere of good fellowship.


Appendix 1

ATTENDANCE REGISTER

Members and interpreters

Ms Maria Jose Faria Ramos ANGOLA

Mr Davit Sargsyan ARMENIA

Ms Jan Fullerton AUSTRALIA

Dr Galina N Oleynik BELARUS

Mr Francis Marie-Jose Zogo BENIN

Ven. Mynak R Tulku BHUTAN

Dr. Enes Kujundzic BOSNIA AND HERCEGOVINA

Ms Constance Modise BOTSWANA

Mr Zhang Xiaoxing CHINA

Ms Marina Mihalic CROATIA

Mr Adolf Knoll CZECHIA

Prof. Jong Thae Gyong DPR KOREA

Mt Li Hyok Song DPR KOREA

Mr. Erland Kolding Nielsen DENMARK

Dr Salah Fadl EGYPT

Dr Galal Ghandour EGYPT

Mrs Tiiu Valm ESTONIA

Dr Kai Ekholm FINLAND

M. Jean-Noel Jeanneney FRANCE

Dr Elisabeth Niggemann GERMANY

Dr George Zachos GREECE

Dr István Monok HUNGARY

Dr Sigrún Klara Hannesdóttir ICELAND

Mr Dady P. Rachmananta INDONESIA

Dr Ali Mazinani IRAN

Mr Brendan O Donoghue IRELAND

Mrs Rosalind Duke ISRAEL

Dr Livia Borghetti ITALY

Ms Antonia Ida Fontana ITALY

Mr Tsuyoshi Ujigo JAPAN

Ms Yoriko Sato JAPAN

Ms Roza Amangalievna Berdigalieva KAZAKSTAN

Ms Deborah Nyabundi KENYA

Mr Mehmet Gerguri KOSOVO

Mrs Wafa'a H. Al-Sane KUWAIT

Ms Anara Chynybaeva KYRGYZSTAN

Mr Andris Vilks LATVIA

Dr Vladas Bulavas LITHUANIA

Prof Monique Kieffer LUXEMBOURG

Mr Paskal Gilevski MACEDONIA

Dato' Zawiyah Binti Baba MALAYSIA

Mr Philip Borg MALTA

Dr. Wim van Drimmelen NETHERLANDS

Ms Margaret Calder NEW ZEALAND

Mrs Olayemi Omolayole NIGERIA

Ms Sissel Nilsen NORWAY

Ms Joanna Pasztaleniec-Jarzynska POLAND

Dr Fernanda Maria Campos PORTUGAL

Mr Hyun Taek Shin R O KOREA

Ms Sook Hyun Lee R O KOREA

Dr Vladimir N. Zaitsev RUSSIA

Dr Victor Vasilyevich Fedorov RUSSIA

Ms Tatyana Bataeva RUSSIA

Ms Mariétou Diongue Diop SÉNÉGAL

Mr Streten Ugricic SERBIA

Mr R Ramachandran SINGAPORE

Mrs Jarmila Majerova SLOVAKIA

Ms Vilenka Jakac-Bizjak SLOVENIA

Dr Peter Lor SOUTH AFRICA

Mrs Joana Escobedo SPAIN

Ms Araceli Sanchez-Pinol SPAIN

Ms. Dikeledi J. Kunene SWAZILAND

Dr Tomas Lidman SWEDEN

Dr Jean-Frédéric Jauslin SWITZERLAND

Ms Lynne Brindley UNITED KINGDOM

Mr. Ian D. McGowan UNITED KINGDOM

Mr. Winston Tabb UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Dr Le Van Viet VIETNAM

IFLA, UNESCO, ISBN and ISSN

Ms Christine Deschamps IFLA

Mr Ross Shimmon IFLA

Mr Derek Law IFLA

Ms Ingrid Parent IFLA

Ms Ellen Tise IFLA

Dr Hartmut Walravens ISBN

Ms Francoise Pelle ISSN

Mr Abdelaziz Abid UNESCO

Speakers

Mr Alex Byrne AUSTRALIA

Dr Johan Steenbakkers NETHERLANDS

Ms Lena Kua SINGAPORE

Ms Diane Nester Kresh UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Guests and Observers

Mr Jens Thorhauge DENMARK

Ms Susann Solberg GERMANY

Dott.essa Natalia Susanna Santucci ITALY

Mr Martyn Wade UK

Lord Eatwell UK

Prof. Michael Anderson UK

CDNL Secretariat

Ms Jasmine Cameron AUSTRALIA

Ms Elizabeth Watt AUSTRALIA

Mr Gerard van Trier NETHERLANDS

Dr Alan Marchbank UK

Apologies

Mrs Joy Ysaguirre BELIZE

Dr Celia Zaher BRAZIL

Mr Carlos Josi Reyes Posada COLOMBIA

Mr Diogenes Cespedes DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Mr Ra'ad Bander IRAQ

Dr Mamoun Th. Talhouni JORDAN

Ms Hussain Habeeb MALDIVES

Mr Johannes Loubser NAMIBIA

Dr Christopher Chia SINGAPORE

Ms Pamella Benson TRINIDAD and TOBABGO

Mrs Eileen Boe VANUATU