The National Diet Library (NDL) held the seminar on December 6, 2005 at the Tokyo Main Library and 168 people participated. As it was one year since the Indian Ocean Tsunami struck the surrounding countries, it was held to figure out disaster prevention of documentary heritage and how to support the recovery from the damage.

From the affected countries, directors of the National Library of Indonesia and Sri Lanka delivered reports on the actual situation of damage and recovery in each country with photographs. They are still in the phase of recovery of local infrastructure, and recovery of library and conservation of damaged documents has not been started yet. Support of many kinds including financial backing is strongly required. As the supporter, the International Focal Point and the Regional Centre for Asia (National Diet Library) of IFLA/PAC reported activities in response to the disaster, other usual activities and future directions. The Centre for Oceania and South East Asia (National Library of Australia) also gave comments on this matter. Mr. Isamu Sakamoto, who is engaged in the restoration of damaged documents on-site, had been expected to deliver a report on his support activities. Because he was dispatched to Indonesia again and could not participate in the seminar, an NDL staff member read the report for him.

Program
-Keynote address: Disaster Programs of the IFLA PAC, by Marie-Thérèse Varlamoff
-Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Plan for Libraries and Documentation Centers in the Province of Aceh, by Dady P. Rachmananta
-Tsunami Affected Libraries in Sri Lanka: Rebuilding Process and Challenges, by Upali Amarasiri
-One Step Forward – Relief Work for Damaged Documents at Aceh, Indonesia, by Isamu Sakamoto
-Recent activities of the IFLA/PAC Regional Centre for Asia, by Masaki Nasu

On the next day, December 7, the Director of the International Focal Point and the directors of three regional centers in the Asia region (centers for Oceania and South East Asia, for China and for Asia) had a meeting to discuss future directions of IFLA/PAC core activities. It was the first attempt for IFLA/PAC to have a directors’ meeting within a certain region. A preservation specialist from the National Library of Korea and directors of the National Library of Indonesia and Sri Lanka who had delivered reports at the seminar held on the previous day also attended the meeting. The topics discussed there were: cooperation among regional centers, establishment of new center(s) in South East Asia and South Asia, support for and cooperation with preservation activities in the area, direction of disaster prevention and support for reconstruction, and others. The results of the meeting will be reflected in the next PAC strategic plan (2006-2008) and applied in future activities in Asia.

See also: an article to be given in the International Preservation News, No.38