National Library of Australia - Gateways

ISSN 1443-0568 | no. 75 | June 2005


Visitors From Overseas Libraries

Mr Yves Chan Kam Lon (4th from right) with members of the Library’s Corporate Management Group
Mr Chan Kam Lon (4th from right) with members of the Library’s
Corporate Mangement Group

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The National Library often has visitors from overseas libraries, providing opportunities for the useful exchange of information.

In March the National Library was pleased to host a visit by the Director of the National Library of Mauritius, Mr Chan Kam Lon. The National Library of Mauritius is one of the newer national libraries in the world, having been established within the last 10 years.

Mr Chan Kam Lon spent several days looking at developments in digital library services at the NLA, as well as the collection of Mauritius material. He also took the opportunity to visit the Parliamentary Library, the Library of the Australian National University, ALIA and the ACT Library Service. The High Commissioner for Mauritius, Mrs Jane Jouanis, also met with Mr Chan Kam Lon during his time in Canberra.

In early April two staff members from the Helsinki University Library spent three days in Canberra looking, in particular, at the National Library’s digital archiving systems, as well as a range of other digital activities. Jani Stenvall is a senior systems librarian, and Esa-Pekka Keskitalo a business analyst. Jani is well known internationally for his work with projects such as The European Library and the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative.

Jani Stenvall (left) and Esa-Pekka Keskitalo from the Helsinki University Library Lynne Brindley, CEO, British Library, addresses a lunchtime meeting of Canberra librarians

Jani Stenvall (left) and Esa-Pekka Keskitalo from the Helsinki University Library
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Lynne Brindley, CEO, British Library, addresses a lunchtime meeting of Canberra librarians
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On April 13 Lynne Brindley, CEO of the British Library, spent a day at the Library with members of the Council of Australian State Libraries and the Library’s own Corporate Management Group. She shared with them her thoughts on a wide range of topics, including change management, marketing, fundraising, exhibitions, library support for educational activities and collaboration. The following day Lynne addressed a well-attended open meeting in the Library’s theatre. The slides from that presentation are available on the Library’s website at <www.nla.gov.au/initiatives/meetings/brindley.html> and provide a great deal of information about the strategic developments underway at the British Library. The new directions place much emphasis on marketing and fundraising, while implementing technological improvements to increase the efficiency of basic functions. Digitisation of collection materials is gathering momentum, with the priorities for the next few years being newspapers and sound recordings.
—SANDRA HENDERSON, Manager, Research, Coordination Support

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