IN THIS DOCUMENT:

Executive Committee

Projects

Publications

Future Conferences

Round Table on Library History

Annual Report 1994-1995

Ms Pamela Spence Richards (School of Communication, Information & Library Studies, Rutgers University, 4 Huntington Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08903, USA (fax: +(1-908) 9326916; e-mail: prichards@zodiac.rutgers.edu)) is Chair of the Round Table on Library History, succeeding Paul Sturges (UK). Ms Martine Poulain (Bulletin des Bibliothèques de France, 27, rue Bezout, 75014 Paris, France (fax: +(33-1) 40641089; e-mail:poulain@ext.jussieu.fr)) is Secretary, succeeding Stephen Massil (UK).

Executive Committee

The Round Table has an Executive Committee of 23 members from 15 countries. In an effort to involve others in the work of the Round Table, the Committee will contact SHARP (Society for the History of Authorship, Reading and Publishing) and also the Early Book Society.

Projects

Pre-Conference Workshop

The major area of activity was the preparation of the Pre-Conference Workshop on "Orientalist Libraries and Orientalism" held at the Department of Library Science at the University of Istanbul on 17-18 August, and attended by 50-60 participants. Following Mr Massil's visit to Istanbul in June 1994 and discussions held in Havana in 1994 with Ms Ansel Yontar (Turkey) of the Department, planning went ahead. Work included extensive publicity and correspondence with potential speakers and participants and regular correspondence with Ms Yontar and colleagues. There was substantial library and local commercial sponsorship and a series of important library visits. A brief report of the workshop was given at the Executive Committee meeting in Istanbul, and this was published in IFLA Express during the conference week. A more detailed report was prepared for inclusion in the next issue of the RTLH Newsletter . It has been agreed that the papers will be published in a forthcoming issue of Libraries and Culture, and perhaps also in a Turkish edition under the aegis of the Department of Library Science.

International Directory of Library Historians

The Working Group (Paul Sturges (UK), Jorgen Svanne-Mikkelson (Denmark) and Don Davis (USA)) completed their report. The proposal to produce a second edition was questioned, given the resources and the availability of personnel.

Publications

RTLH Newsletter

Two issues of the Newsletter, edited by Ms Richards, were published during the report period. The Executive Committee agreed that the scope of the Newsletter should be broadened and should integrate where possible library historical material from a wide range of sources. Augmentation of the mailing list was also discussed.

Future Conferences

Vologda, Russia

Arrangements have been made for the Round Table to co-sponsor with the Section on Reading a "Collaborative Conference on Reading and Libraries" to be held in Vologda, Russia in June 1996. Other sponsors are the American Library Association and the Russian Library Association.

Istanbul 1996

Papers will be given on the destruction of Chinese national treasures during the 1900 seige of Pking; and on the history and nature of librarianship in South Korea.

Romanian Libraries Emerge from the Past
by HERMINA G.B. ANGHELESCU

Abstract:
The 1989 wave of revolutions that led to the collapse of the entire Eastern European block either in a smooth way (the "velvet revolution" in Czechoslovakia) or in a bloody way ("the Christmas revolution" in Romania). At macro level, these popular uprisings ended in overthrowing the communist regime and generated unpredicted change in all strata: societal, political, economic, and cultural. Within this context, at intermediate level, all Eastern and Central European organizations, libraries included, woke up from their half century of inertia, and had to cope with the change phenomenon. The communist heritage of libraries in the countries beyond the Iron Curtain translates into a complete isolation from similar institutions in Western Europe and the USA, oppression of heavy censorship, poor infrastructures with inadequate buildings, almost non-existent telecommunications systems, absolute lack of modern equipment. It is nothing but a miracle that the library profession has survived in the absence of professional associations banned by totalitarian governments. As a result, Romanian libraries defined similar parameters for their further development towards becoming integrated within the international circuit of information. Their needs focus on: adequate staff training, automation of library services, collection development through appropriate evaluation of acquisition materials, transition to provision of customer-oriented services. These libraries are undergoing a process of redefining their goals and objectives, of shaping their new identities. This is a slow operation animated by high ideals that sometimes conflict with the inflationist economic context. In their restructuring effort, Romanian libraries and librarians are greatly supported by their colleagues from Western Europe and the USA, as well as by IFLA.

Istanbul as a Center for East-West Information Transfer in the 20th Century
by PAMELA SPENCE RICHARDS

Abstract:
Istanbul remains a major conduit of information between the geographical east and west, but both the nature of the information and the agencies through which it flows have changed in the course of the 20th century because of political and cultural developments both outside of Turkey and within. This paper demonstrates the impact of these developments on Istanbul's role in information transfer. The particular developments addressed include the need of the colonial European powers for information about Islam, the legislated westernization of Turkey after the declaration of the Republic of Kemal in 1923, and the increasing importance of Turkey's relationship with the emerging Turkic republics of Asia. The paper describes the institutional infrastructure that was built up in Istanbul to service various information needs that these developments stimulated.

The Oldest Extant Ottoman Library Catalogues
by ISMAIL E. ERUNSAL

Abstract:
Not available.