11th CONSAL Meeting, CDNLAO Newsletter 37

No. 37, March 2000

(News from the National Library of Singapore)

Congress of Southeast Asian Librarians comes to town!

The new millennium heralds the dawn of the new economy where knowledge becomes the competitive resource and capital. Thus in this new knowledge-based economy, the organisation, management, and deployment of information and knowledge becomes a critical asset. This opens up tremendous opportunities for libraries, librarians and information professionals. The 11th Congress of Southeast Asian Librarians (CONSAL) has been planned with this in mind.

CONSAL XI's theme had been aptly chosen to be "Stepping into the New Millennium" and will address the challenges for the library and information community. The congress will deliberate on the emerging trends, the evolving roles and the many new possibilities for library and information professionals in this new digital knowledge era.

Stepping into the New Millennium The 3-day event, to be held in Singapore from 26-28 April 2000 at the Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre, will feature an eminent line-up of international and regional leaders in the field. They will present a picture of the challenges, opportunities and threats as well as the strengths and weaknesses of libraries, librarians and information professionals.

The Minister for Information and the Arts, Mr Lee Yock Suan, will deliver the opening address. Dr Toni Carbo, Dean of the School of Information Sciences (SIS) at the University of Pittsburgh, and Professor at SIS and at the Graduate School of Public and international Affairs (GSPIA) will deliver the keynote address on The Global Information Highway in the 21st Century.

Other leaders who will share their thoughts and views via plenary sessions, papers and panel discussions include :

Local and regional leaders will provide insights to developments in specific areas in the regional arena. This would be kicked off by an update by Dr Christopher Chia, Chief Executive, National Library Board who is Chairman of the CONSAL XI Executive Board.

26th-28th April 2000
Delegates to CONSAL can also look forward to visiting the Asian International Book Fair (AIBF) and International Library Expo (ILE) when it makes its debut in conjunction with CONSAL 2000. This mega-exhibition is held for the first time on such a large scale in Singapore and will feature the latest product and new technological solutions as well as leading booksellers and publishers.

CONSAL is held once every three years and hosted by a member country. Singapore is the host country for CONSAL 2000. CONSAL's objectives are aimed at promoting co-operation in the fields of librarianship, bibliographic co-operation, documentation and related activities in the region.

Visit our website:www.consal.org.sg for information on CONSAL2000.