SYReLIB: enhancing the global connections of Syria's academic community.

This is a brief report on a pilot project funded by the European Commission TEMPUS programme concerned with the modernisation of the university libraries in Syria and the enhanced visibility of the research outputs of the Syrian academic community. As background, it outlines the current state of the country's electronic and scholarly publishing, and the development of national and university computer networks. It reviews the project's contribution to introduction of automated library management systems with online catalogues and institutional repositories, and the expansion of journal collections. The issues likely to impact on further developments are discussed. Aspects of current professional education, including a shortage of qualified librarians with contemporary professional knowledge and skills, inhibit development. Other major challenges are the lack of effective strategic planning and poor management systems

The rehabilitation of library and information services and professional education in the post-Soviet republics: reflections from a development project.

This paper evolved from a project supported by the European Commission TEMPUS programme that provided technical assistance for developments in Armenia, Georgia and Uzbekistan. The project (NMPLIS) sought to underpin the modernization of library and information services by assisting the development of new Master's Degree programmes in Librarianship and Information Studies. The paper addresses a wide range of issues that were encountered during the project, including the dissemination of research information as well as the state of publishing, bookselling, libraries, and information services in those countries. It draws attention to the relatively poor international and bilateral support for library development compared with that formerly received by the developing countries, despite their economic similarities. It notes that the activities of international governmental and non-governmental agencies to offset the catastrophic effects of the disintegration of the centralized Soviet system have lacked coordination, and emphasizes the need for national governments to be encouraged to take a comprehensive, strategic approach to ensure more sustainable development of their library and information services, suggesting that this approach could be appropriate for the other post-Soviet Republics

Library development in the Georgian Republic: problems and progress since the dissolution of the USSR.

The paper provides a situation report on the state of libraries and information services, publishing and bookselling in the Republic of Georgia in the South Caucasus. It briefly describes their development, outlines the international development assistance that they have received during the last twenty years, describes their current situation, and indicates some of their future needs

Teaching online information systems: perspectives on the British experience.

The original aim of this paper was to review the development of education and training for online searching in Britain during the last ten years. The literature is fairly comprehensive in its coverage of the evolution of online searching, and of new developments such as OPACs (Online Public Access Catalogues), CD-ROM systems, expert systems, and image storage systems. It would have been possible to write a book on these topics but that task has already been completed by the authors of no less than three books which have appeared in Britain.1,2,3 The different approaches which have been taken to aspects of education and training, including the development of simulations and the place of online searching in the curriculum have also been thoroughly considered. After completing an initial review of this extensive literature, it became apparent that it would probably be most useful to draw attention to a number of issues which do not appear to have been widely discussed. Certain aspects of the British experience could be of particular significance for future development in those countries where online searching is not yet as widely practiced. These relate particularly to the impact of assistance and encouragement for experimental research; the impact of end-users' appreciation of the potential of online information services; and the implications of teaching online systems (and other forms of library automation) for curriculum development, student recruitment, funding, and the position of the Schools of Librarianship within their parent institution. These issues are not fully discussed in the existing literature, but have a long-term significance far greater than the solution of the technical problems associated with online searching. The paper therefore attempts to highlight some of those issues, drawing upon the literature and the author's observations of developments in Britain in the last ten years

S/NVQs and higher education in librarianship and information studies.

The development of National Vocational Qualifications (and Scottish Vocational Qualifications) has been generally welcomed by those employers who were concerned about the level of skills in the British workforce, and saw a move to improving skills training as a means of ensuring that Britain remained competitive in an increasingly global economy. It was clear that the amount of training undertaken by workers in many of our competitor countries was significantly greater than undertaken by comparable workers in Britain. The model chosen, competence-based education and training, is one which is currently attracting attention in other countries, including for example Australia. This short paper is intended to examine the implications of S/NVQs for the University Schools of Librarianship and Information Studies

Under-resourced, inadequately staffed, and little used: some issues facing many school libraries, seen through the lens of an exploration of the situation in Iraq.

This paper discusses why many school libraries may not have been seen as an essential element of education, and supported and used accordingly. It reviews the international agencies' advice and encouragement for the development of literacy, education, and school libraries, particularly that focused on the Arab world, and considers the provision of school libraries within the context of a country's economic, political, and social circumstances, with Iraq as a particular focus. From this evidence, it discusses the reasons why school libraries remained underfunded, inadequately staffed, and little used, and what appears to be needed to transform the perception of their contribution to a country's development, briefly reexamining the interactions between the education system and the training required by all the personnel involved in the development of a reading culture, the role of book publishing and new information media, and the place of information literacy within the curriculum. Finally, it draws some conclusions about issues in mobilizing support for development, and points to the lack of a focused and coordinated effort by the relevant international agencies. The paper draws on a wider case study of the development of librarianship and information management in Iraq, which is expected to be published shortly

Schools of librarianship and continuing education in Britain: part one.

In Britain the schools of librarianship are generally expected by the professional to provide some forms of continuing education. Some have indeed made a considerable contribution to the development of continuing professional education in the last twenty-five years, particularly through the provision of courses leading to further qualifications and short courses. This paper describes the developments that have taken place and the changing circumstances in which the schools operate

Gertrude Bell and the evolution of the library tradition in Iraq.

This paper discusses Gertrude Bell's involvement in the foundation of the Baghdad Public Library and the Iraq Museum Library, shedding light on issues that have surrounded their creation and development. It identifies Muriel Jesse Forbes as the person who actually initiated the concept for the library that, as a result of Bell's energetic support, became the Baghdad Public Library and ultimately the National Library of Iraq. It also reviews Bell's commitment to the development of a library as part of the Iraq Museum, and outlines its growth into a major information resource on the history and archaeology of Iraq. Finally it considers the motives underlying the efforts of Bell and her contemporaries, and their impact on the subsequent development of library and archives services in Iraq

Library development in Uzbekistan: progress and problems since the dissolution of the USSR.

The paper is a report on the development and current state of libraries and information services in Uzbekistan. It was initially prepared as background for a project supported by the European Commissions TEMPUS programme that provided technical assistance for developments in Armenia, Georgia and Uzbekistan. The paper is based on a review of the published literature and data gathered during the implementation of the project, and addresses a wide range of issues that were encountered. It provides some background information on the country, the state of publishing and bookselling, and the dissemination of research results; briefly describes the development of libraries and information services, and professional education; outlines the international development assistance that they have received during the last twenty years; describes their current situation; and indicates some of their future needs. It notes that, while the activities of international governmental and non-governmental agencies to offset the catastrophic effects of the disintegration of the centralised Soviet system may have lacked coordination, the national government of Uzbekistan appears to be taking a more strategic approach to the development of its library and information services

SLISNET: UNESCO's experiment in virtual networking between schools of librarianship and information sciences.

This paper examines the origins and activities of SLISNET - an international network of Schools of Librarianship and Information Sciences, established by UNESCO in 1995 as an experiment in collaboration across the Internet. SLISNET has a Web site, a discussion list, and members committed to various other activities to develop teaching and research related to the electronic library environment. The paper puts the aims and activities of the network in the broader context of collaboration between Schools, and international technical cooperation programmes. Using the aims of these activities, it reviews SLISNET's progress to date, and proposes some suggestions for future development