SEALG Conference 2000
By R.L. ROBSON-MCKILLOP
The SEALG representatives from Great Britain, the Netherlands, France, and Germany met on the campus of the University of Sussex near Brighton on 2 and 3 June 2000. The main topic of discussion was how to deal with the flood of grey literature which is now being disseminated on the Internet. While some of this is very worthwhile, much of it is very ephemeral and does not need to be saved for a specific academic or scientific purpose. This shifting is a skilled process and requires knowledge and judgement of the topic as well as in many instances highly trained language skills. One problem facing libraries is finding members of staff who are capable of performing these functions. Finding properly qualified and enthusiastic staff is a difficulty which is growing more acute owing to the low esteem in which libraries are held and the far-better paid jobs which are available in information processing. This difficulty is one which we hope to address at our next meeting in London in September 2001, when we shall meet in conjunction with EUROSEAS. We would warmly welcome ideas and opinions from interested people about our major problems which could be summarized as the thwarting of the smooth functioning of libraries by people who choose to call themselves 'researchers' (which does not say very much, it is also possible to 'research' the number of soap packets sold at the local supermarket every Saturday), who are often extremely circumscribed in their own interests and knowledge. Many of these people would prefer to sit on their own collections and are petrified of making such collections accessible to the outside world. This is nonsense in view of the fact that knowledge is there to be shared for all. This situation is very frustrating to librarians who by the very nature of their work are required to have a very broad and thorough knowledge of their field of interest. This is particularly difficult for Southeast Asian librarians who are faced with a plethora of languages and cultures. In this too we should remember colleagues in Southeast Asian countries who are faced with heavy financial burdens, lack of skilled staff, and above all often a huge lack of understanding about the vital importance of libraries in the collection and dissemination of knowledge. We are looking forward to hearing some reactions and learning about some of the problems which you are facing. *
R.L. Robson-McKillop is Editor for Excerpta Indonesica and English Editor for the IIAS Newsletter.
E-mail: robson@let.leidenuniv.nl