ht. Libr. Rev. (1974) 6, 13-16

INTAMEL MEETING 1973, INDIA

(2) Annual Report of the President 1972-73

It is barely nine months since the last Annual Meeting of our Associa- tion, when we were gathered in Milan, Florence and Rome. Twenty- four of the public library systems in metropolitan areas in various parts of the world were represented. This was the largest gathering which we had achieved to date and included from Europe, members in Berlin, Hamburg, Hanover, Dusseldorf, Paris, London, Liverpool, Glasgow, Florence and Rome. We were under the capable direction of our Vice- president, Mr Pagetti from Milan. North American members represen- ted included Chicago, Baltimore, Brooklyn, Denver, Vancouver, Toronto. However, the great innovation at that meeting was the presence of representatives from Delhi, Colombo, Mexico City, Cairo, Teheran, Lagos, Accra. Thirteen of the very excellent papers presented at the Milan-Rome meetings were published in the January 1973 issue of International Library Review. Three of these describe the public libraries in Italy, two deal with developing country metropolitan areas. There were also reports from Mr Andrae (Hamburg), Mr Black (Glasgow), Mr Castagna (Baltimore), Mr Moser (Berlin) and Mr Parkhill (Toronto), as well as our annual library statistics prepared by Mr Eyssen of Hanover. These papers have been issued in a separate publication of 82 pages which provides an excellent up-to-date statement of our activities. It may be secured from our Documentation and Information Centre, through Mr Chandler at the Liverpool Public Library.

In addition to this work which has been published, I would like to mention the projects being carried out by our members. These include the reports on Library Government and Legislation by Mr Ladenson (Chicago), on Library Data Processing by Mr Shearouse (Denver), on Public Relations by Mr Duchac (Brooklyn), on Relations with Industry by Mr Gaines (Minneapolis), and on Library Automation in Western Europe by Mr Rakowski (Duisburg).

In order to follow up the declaration of purposes with regard to metro- politan library development which our Association made in Rome, the Annual Meeting agreed on a plan for assisting developing countries

t H. C. Campbell, Toronto Public Library, 40 St Clair Avenue East, Toronto 290, Canada.

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projects concerned with the needs of metropolitan public libraries. This plan consisted of the appointment of consultants from amongst our members who would be prepared to work on the design of research studies in developing countries, taking steps to secure funds from sponsor- ing bodies throughout the world interested in carrying out research in metropolitan library development, and the designation of priority areas for attention on the part of our Association. These were the metropolitan cities in West Africa, South Asia and the Middle East. For the project on West Africa our Association approached the Inter- national Development Research Centre in Ottawa, which had provided initial funding to bring representatives to our meeting in Milan. We secured a grant so that a working party of our members could gather in Lagos in December 1972 in order to consolidate their work and review the next steps in their research.

At the meeting of the Executive Committee in Budapest in August 1972, we had a very full attendance with members from Berlin, Buda- pest, Essen, The Hague, Helsinki, Cologne, Lagos, Liverpool, Milan, Moscow, Philadelphia, Prague, Toronto and Westminster, as well as representatives from the Ford Foundation, IDRC, UNESCO and 23 other observers. At the meeting we were able to advance some of our projects. We greeted with pleasure the announcement that Mr V. V. Serov from the U.S.S.R. had accepted nomination as Vice-President of our Association. We discussed the programme of the present Annual Meeting in Delhi and progress on our research activities. It was clear at our meeting in Budapest that with the limited funds and facilities at our disposal our Association would be best advised to deal only with one project in a developing country at a time. With this in mind, it was agreed that we would select West Africa for first attention and leave other projects in South Asia, the Middle East and Latin America for later.

The Research Committees from Accra and Lagos of INTAMEL met in Lagos from 4-14 December 1972, along with Dr Laverne Carroll of the University of Oklahoma. The group considered details of two pro- posed research projects on public libraries in West Africa to be sub- mitted to the International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, for financial support. The Committee consisted of the local research groups from Ghana and Nigeria. The purpose of their study is to find by the means of surveys and other means the present form and extent of public library facilities in specified areas in each country with a view to evaluating the adequacy, effectiveness, as well as prospects for develop- ment and expansion of the public library, consistent with the pace of overall national development.

INTAMEL MEETING 15

Ghana has specified for the purpose of the study the Ashanti Regional Library system, with emphasis on the educational role of the public library, especially in the rural communities. Nigeria is to study the metropolitan and suburban areas of Lagos. The two schemes put together, it is envisaged, will provide a suitable complement within West Africa; and because of their contrasts and similarities, the study will present a full perspective of the problems and possibilities of the public library in developing areas.

In outline, the study in each case will embrace the social, cultural and economic milieu of the selected areas. It will also cover the level of user- satisfaction of library services provided in terms of requirements and supply of materials, distribution problems, staffing, finance and adminis- tration.

The above activity was reported to the IDRC, Ottawa, which has now decided that it will take up directly with each group in West Africa the next steps in connection with this project.

While we had placed first priority attention in our studies on West Africa, this did not mean that we had neglected other areas of the world. Our members in India, Ceylon, and other centres in South Asia have been active and we agreed that South Asia would be our second area for investigation. At a later date, I trust we can continue our interest in the needs of the metropolitan areas in the Middle East and Latin America, since we know very well the immense problems faced by public libraries in these regions.

In order to begin a review of the needs and interests for public library research in metropolitan areas in South Asia, a programme was developed during the past 6 months which will be outlined at the Seminar being held in conjunction with this. A review of research requirements from a number of the principal metropolitan centres will be presented. With the financial help of UNESCO and other sources, we were able to invite representatives from Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, Colombo, Kuala Lumpur, Djakarta and Hong Kong to meet with us and advise on their needs and requirements. The seminar which we have organized will review these problems and, at its final meeting, we will have an opportunity of assessing which studies can be assisted and in what manner.

The Executive of the Association, particularly the Secretary and President, had been in constant communication with regard to the various projects which we have undertaken. Contact has also been maintained with other officers and members of the Association. I had the opportunity to meet with 18 of the directors of large metropolitan public libraries of the United States in mid-January in Washington,

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D.C., at which time I spoke on the work of INTAMEL, and was assured of the support of several of its projects by those present. The Secretary-Treasurer has been in contact with our colleagues in Germany, particularly our Vice-President, Dr Eyssen, in connection with the 7th Annual Meeting, which will take place in Hamburg and Berlin in June 1974. Several members of the Executive have been in contact with the executive and staff of the International Federation of Library Associations. I was very pleased that at the December meeting of the executive committee of IFLA, I was asked to assist on the Execu- tive Board in view of the retirement of Mr Allerslev Jensen of Denmark. All of these matters indicate that our Association has demonstrated that it is able to play an active and vigorous part in developing international relations between public library systems in various parts of the world, as well as assist our members in areas in which they require help. This of course is the purpose for which we meet, and I am sure that it will be a purpose which all of us will carry out to the best of our abilities during the ensuing year. I should say that an executive committee meeting will be held in Grenoble at the 39th General Council Meeting of IFLA in August 1973 and we welcome the opportunity at that time to have representatives present from as many of our members as possible.

Finally, I would like to stress how very much we appreciate the interest, as well as the financial support, of both UNESCO and the International Development Research Centre in Ottawa in connection with our activities. Their concern for the problems of research into public library service in metropolitan areas indicates the value which they place on such services. I would end by hoping that, in the coming year, a regional group of the metropolitan public libraries in South Asia might be established among our members so that the very closest possible contact can be maintained between them and the rest of the members of INTAMEL. In this way, those of us who come from the countries of the West will feel we can learn more and more of your projects and ideas. We look forward to hearing more about these things not only in the next week, but in the years ahead.