National Library of Australia - Gateways

ISSN 1039-3498 | no. 58| August 2002


Regional Officer Represents the Library in Singapore

Oliver Mann, the Library’s Regional Officer based in Jakarta, recently represented the Library at two gatherings of library and information professionals in Singapore.

The 10th Conference of Directors of National Libraries of Asia and Oceania (CDNLAO) was attended by 14 member countries, and chaired by Mr Ramachandran, Director of the National Library of Singapore. CDNLAO meetings afford the opportunity for member nations to exchange and discuss details of library developments in their respective countries. While there are inevitable disparities between the levels of library development in the countries in the region it was interesting to note that six countries highlighted significant advances in digitisation projects, including the establishment of a National Digital Library in China. The meeting also included a presentation and discussion on the implications of the United States of America’s Digital Millennium Copyright Act 1998 (US), and a presentation on the stunning new National Library of Singapore building, which is scheduled for completion in 2004.

The inaugural World Library Summit, organised by the National Library Board of Singapore, was attended by over 1000 participants from 19 countries. The theme for the Summit was ‘global knowledge renaissance’, which revolves around three concepts—knowledge augmentation, cultural entrepreneurship and knowledge governance. Speakers concentrated on knowledge governance and people connectivity as being the key foundations for new knowledge societies, together with the convergence of the traditional strengths of libraries and archives with IT applications.

Lynne Brindley is the Chief Executive of the British Library, and her paper ‘The Knowledge Society and the Role of Libraries’ looked closely at the impact and implications of the Internet on libraries, together with her vision for the British Library. Dagmar Schmidmaier, the Chief Executive of the State Library of New South Wales, discussed ‘Building a National Knowledge Agenda’, exploring initiatives undertaken by her Library and the Council of Australian State Libraries. Christopher Nailer, from the Economist Group, gave a thought-provoking presentation on ‘National Libraries in a World of Threat’. He asserted that the pattern of thoughts and behaviour that enables human societies to be peaceful and creative is currently under threat. At this time, libraries and particularly national libraries, have a special role in preserving the physical record of accumulated knowledge and the spirit of enquiry.

Aside from the Summit presentations, Lynne Brindley announced a collaborative venture between the British Library and the National Library Board of Singapore whereby the British Library will be providing digitised historical documents to the NLB Singapore, and these documents will be accessible on their web site. The NLB Singapore also launched the ASEAN Infonet web site (www.aseaninfonet.com) at the Summit. It features cultural and socio-economic information on the ASEAN member nations.
—Oliver Mann

Oliver Mann can be contacted at the National Library’s Regional Office in the Australian Embassy, Jakarta, Indonesia (oliver.mann@dfat.gov.au)

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