Public libraries and the Information Society

An EU-Egypt seminar on public libraries and the Information Society will be held in Cairo, Egypt, from 7 to 9 December 1998, organised within the framework of the EU's Telematics Applications programme (Libraries sector). The aim of the seminar is to generate discussion, at both political and professional levels, on the potential contribution of public libraries to the building of the Information Society and to stimulate EU-Egyptian cooperation as well as regional cooperation in order to attain this goal.

During the seminar, the findings of the study published by the European Commission on "Public Libraries and the Information Society" will be discussed. This research provides a well developed strategy for the public library community on how to deal with the challenges of the Information Society and defined models and scenarios that offer practical advice to public libraries.

The conference will cover a range of topics under the following headings:

- A vision of public libraries;
- Policy and legal framework;
- Education and training;
- Information technology and cooperation.
For further information, please contact:

European Commission
DG XIII - Telecommunications, information market and exploitation of research
Libraries Support Team
Monika Segbert
200 rue de la Loi
B-1049 Brussels
E-mail: Monika_Segbert@compuserve.com