Bridging the Digital Divide: report on the brainstorming session hosted by Kay Raseroka, IFLA President-Elect, at the 68th IFLA Conference in Glasgow, 21 August 2002

摘要

PREFACE IFLA embarked upon a restructuring process which culminated with the approval of the new Statutes in August 2000. The IFLA Core Values are an integral part of the new Statutes; but while they provide a unifying framework for members to definedirections and prioritize strategic actions for implementation, this was not done during the restructuring process. A very significant outcome of the restructuring is the use of the postal ballot for voting on any Council decisions, including election of the Governing Board. This facility empowers voting members of IFLA throughout the world to take part inIFLA decisions. One of the most important decisions for any organization involves determining the direction it will pursue in order to fulfil its mandate. IFLA is committed to enabling its members to participate in decisions on its overall strategic direction and actions plans for the period of the next Presidency, 2003-2005. To initiate this process of participation, it was decided to organize a brainstorming session during the Glasgow Conference. The creation of the position of President-Elect provided a new opportunity for planning for firm action on the Core Values through an open consultative process with IFLA members. The process aimed to identify the strategic actions that are recognized as priorities by the majority, and that are capable of being implemented either through existing IFLA structures or by new task groups over a defined period of two years. The brainstorming was based on voluntary participation in order to assess members' interest in and support for the idea of membership involvement in determining future direction and activities. It is clear from the response to the invitation to participate that IFLA members do indeed value the opportunity to make their views known. The brainstorming session was only the beginning of a process of consultation with the membership which it is hoped will lead to the definition of clearly prioritized actions to be implemented by IFLA in the period 2003-2005. The intended time frames were regretfully not achieved as planned, due to the richness, complexity and overlapping nature of the outcomes of the brainstorming activity, as well as limited human resources. I thus wish to express my heartfelt gratitude and thanks to Stephen Parker, Editor of the IFLA Journal, for the invaluable contributions he has made in various ways, but especially for the analysis and organization of the outputs of the Glasgow Conference Brainstorming session. Our appreciation and thanks are due to all who took the risk and not only embraced the idea of brainstorming as a consultative process, but also participated or facilitated the various stages in its implementation. Special thanks are due to the President-Elect's Planning Group, Winston Tabb, Alex Byrne and IFLA staff who enthusiastically provided support in numerous ways for the entire consultative process. Without the enthusiasm, generous intellectual contributions and the encouragement of colleagues in the various parts of the world, (both within and outside IFLA membership) who share with me their ideas unstintingly, the brainstorming processand product would have been difficult to implement. Thank you. Let this auspicious beginning bear fruit in an empowered IFLA and activities that meet the needs of stakeholders while advancing the implementation of actions embedded in the IFLA Core Values. Kay Raseroka President-Elect November 2002 1. INTRODUCTION 1. For nearly 200 participants in the Glasgow Conference, one of the highlights was a brainstorming session organized by the President-Elect, Kay Raseroka, with the support of Winston Tabb, Stephen Parker, Alex Byrne and IFLA Headquarters staff. 2. The purpose of the session was to encourage commitments to the implementatio