The Arab Federation for Libraries confers at BA
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Alexandria, 28 December 2004–
The Arab Library and Cultural Development in a Changing World, is the title of the 15th Conference of the Arab Federation for Libraries and Information, hosted by the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, 27–30 December 2004. The conference aims to throw light on several issues concerning the role of the Arab library in giving authenticity to and conserving Arab culture, through five panels: (i) the role of the librarian in cultural development, (ii) the role of academic, public and school libraries in cultural development, (iii) how to protect Arab culture from intellectual invasion, (iv) Arab libraries and digital development, and (v) the Internet and cultural pollination.
In his opening speech, Dr. Ismail Serageldin, Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, asserted that the world is witnessing an information revolution that is making available every kind of knowledge at any given time, which adds to the value of digital libraries in developing societies, since most of them cannot afford printed sources of knowledge. Dr. Serageldin also pointed out the role of libraries as filters for information gateways, letting through only useful and suitable information, while preventing a lot of lies and distorted facts, which are published on the Internet all the time. On the issue of the availability of electronic periodicals, Dr. Serageldin, said that developing countries face an obstacle of a high cost of subscription, that may reach more than a hundred thousand dollars per year, whereas, the American Academy has made available for free all its electronic publications for more that 145 developing countries.
The 15th Conference of the Arab Federation for Libraries and Information conference hosted participants from around the Arab world; as more than 50 background papers were presented by participant from Libya, Sudan, Algeria and Saudi Arabia. Titles ranged between ‘The Role of Children’s’ Libraries in Cultural Development’, to ‘Electronic Publication and Serving the Research Society’, as well as ‘The Electronic Book and its Role in Supporting Digital Education’, and ‘The Role of Information Specialists in Cultural Development and Challenging the Digital World’. The conference is accompanied by an exhibition of the most updated software and programs used in the fields of library sciences and information technology.
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Speakers of the
Opening Session |
Opening speech of
Dr. Ismail Serageldin |