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ninch-announce: UNESCO World Information Report

ninch-announce: UNESCO World Information Report

UNESCO World Information Report

David Green (david@cni.org)
Wed, 30 Jul 1997 12:33:57 -0400 

Message-Id: <v0213050bb0051c91c3fb@[192.100.21.23]>
Date: Wed, 30 Jul 1997 12:33:57 -0400
To: ninch-announce@cni.org
From: david@cni.org (David Green)
Subject: UNESCO World Information Report 


NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT
July 30, 1997


UNESCO WORLD INFORMATION REPORT RELEASED

The first World Information Report has just been published by UNESCO.  This
390-page volume provides a comprehensive and topical worldwide picture of
archive, library and information services on the five continents in 1996.
It is divided into three parts:

In Part 1, libraries and information services, together with archives, are
presented in 13 chapters, each devoted to a particular region; audiovisual
archives are the subject of one worldwide chapter.

Part 2 reviews the infrastructures for information work with 5 chapters
devoted to computer developments, multimedia technologies,
telecommunication technologies, the Internet, and design criteria for large
library buildings.

Part 3 offers 8 chapters in which a number of issues and trends are
discussed: the information society, information highways, economic
intelligence, book publishing, access to archival holdings and unique
library materials, presentation of archival holdings and unique library
materials, copyright in the electronic age, international co-operation and
assistance.  The report is edited by Yves Courrier (UNESCO) and ASIS member
Andrew Large (GSLIS, McGill). The 32 authors were drawn from a variety of
countries, but most authors in part 2 and 3 are from the industrialized
countries.

Of the 27 chapters of the report, nine are available online, together with
an Introduction, at <http://www.unesco.org/cii/wirerpt/vers-web.htm>. The
online chapters are as follows:

Introduction, by Yves Courrier and Andrew Large;

Part One, INFORMATION SERVICES WORLDWIDE:
Ch 2: South Asia;
Ch 8: Latin America and the Caribbean;
Ch 10 The Arab States,
Ch 11 Africa;

PART TWO: INFRASTRUCTURES:
Ch 17 Telecommunications Technologies;
Ch 18 The Internet;

PART THREE ISSUES & TRENDS:
Ch 21 Information Highways;
Ch 26 Copyright in the Electronic Age;
ch 27 International Co-operation and Assistance.

Those wishing to pursue issues raised in the report may join a listserv at:
<worldinfo-report@unesco.org>
Orders for the 275FF Report may be made through UNESCO Publishing at
<http://www.unesco.org/publishing/jp2.html#88d6bfd0208436f80a471d3fdd1cc76b>


Below, I include the opening "Presentation" from the report

"The World Information Report provides a worldwide picture of archive,
library and information services in 1996. This sourcebook not only covers
in detail the state of the art of archive, library and information services
in the five continents, but also addresses the most challenging issues that
they face at the dawn of the twenty-first century.

"A thorough review of the world of information, from East to West and from
North to South, is offered in Part I. For the first time , a general
picture covering both developed and developing countries describes:
national archives, libraries and information centres; school, university
and public libraries; national and international networks; database
producers; professional associations and education; public and private
institutions providing all sorts of information services. Tables and
figures synthesize the data available region by region.

"The Part II deals with the basic technical components of information work,
which are presented in the form of state-of-the-art reports. Computers,
telecommunication and multimedia technologies, and Internet together with
library buildings are accordingly reviewed from an information perspective.

"Part III is concerned with issues and trends of relevance to information
provision. Crucial problems such as the future of books and copyright,
access to archives, preservation of the archival heritage, and
international co-operation and assistance are presented for the benefit of
the layman. Prevailing trends leading to the twenty-first century's
information world are covered in chapters such as The Information Society,
Information Highways, and Economic Intelligence.

"Prepared by UNESCO, which secured the contribution of the best specialists
from all over the world, the World Information Report is an instrument of
both diagnosis and decision. It will provide decision-makers, government
officials, information professionals and the public at large with a better
understanding of the information world as it is today and a more acute
insight of what it will be tomorrow. "


===============================================================

David L. Green
Executive Director
NATIONAL INITIATIVE FOR A NETWORKED CULTURAL HERITAGE
21 Dupont Circle, NW
Washington DC 20036
www-ninch.cni.org
david@cni.org
202/296-5346                                  202/872-0886 fax

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