Launch of the National Libraries group - Southeast Asia, CDNLAO Newsletter 35

No. 35, September 1999

(News from the National Library of Singapore)

LAUNCH OF THE NATIONAL
LIBRARIES GROUP - SOUTHEAST ASIA
AT THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF SINGAPORE

Tuesday 20 April 1999 was an auspicious day for national libraries of Southeast Asia. On this day, Directors of National Libraries of Southeast Asia came together at the National Library of Singapore to make a formal commitment in the formation of the National Libraries Group - Southeast Asia (NLG - SEA). Mr Ramachandran, Director National Library Singapore, who was also the Chairman of this Group, played a lead role in formalising NLG - SEA.

The 10 member countries comprised

10 Directors together
Brunei Darussalam,
Cambodia,
Indonesia,
Laos,
Malaysia,
Myanmar,
the Philippines,
Singapore,
Thailand,
and Vietnam.

The 10 Directors formally agreed to:

Promote ties and co-operation in library management which will contribute to the development of our respective institutions;

promote mutual co-operation and assistance in training to continuously increase our librarians' knowledge and skills in managing information resources;

promote and encourage mutual sharing of information resources to enhance understanding and interactions among our peoples;

assist in the acquisition of library materials published in the respective countries so as to strengthen national collection as well as to meet the wide range and in-depth needs of the participating libraries;

co-operate in producing library publications, such as compilation of directories so as to facilitate dissemination of information both at regional and international levels; and

explore the possibility of establishing network connections, co-operation and exchange of databases and information.

The Group has completed the following projects*:

NLG - SEA Directory: Telex, Fax, & E-mail Directory of Libraries and Information Centres in Southeast Asia;

NLG - SEA Directory: Computer Systems, Software and Databases in Southeast Asian Libraries;

Profile of National Libraries in Southeast Asia.

At this auspicious event, the member countries also agreed to examine further the possibility of working on the following specific projects that would benefit the group as a whole:

To develop a National Policy on Preservation & Conservation of library materials;

To develop standards for Digitisation of library materials;

To share experiences in library planning and development.

Directors of the 10 National Library
with representatives from the 10 National Libraries.

This formal occasion not only provided an opportunity for old friends to meet, it also gave staff of the National Library Board an opportunity to get to know their neighbouring countries' Directors of National Libraries.

* For more information on these completed projects, please contact Reference Point (remote enquiry service by the National Library of Singapore) at:

Tel: (65) 332 3255
Fax: (65) 332 3248
Email: ref@nlb.gov.sg

by Azizah Sidek
National Library Singapore
(azizah@nlb.gov.sg)