IAML ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER

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IAML GOES DOWN UNDER: THE WELLINGTON CONFERENCE

IAML's 1999 conference celebrated not one, not two, but three 'firsts'! It was our first conference in the Southern hemisphere, our first winter conference, and, strange but true, the first international library conference to be held in New Zealand! With the weight of all this on their shoulders, one might have wondered if the New Zealand local organising committee might feel a bit daunted. Not a bit of it! The four main organisers, Roger Flury, Jill Palmer, Joan Clayton and Dorothy Freed remained cool, calm and collected throughout, and produced for the 138 participants (including very special accompanying persons, Alba and Lorenzo Gentili-Tedeschi), a truly wonderful and superbly organised meeting.

Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand, is located at the south end of the North island, and is a manageable city to get around. It offers, amongst other things, superb views over the harbour, a large number of excellent restaurants serving enormous portions of food, a wide selections of New Zealand wines available by the bottle in even the humblest café, and at least three automatic banking machines on each corner. The conference was located in the Town Hall, where the opening ceremony, hosted by the Mayor of Wellington, took place, beginning with a powhiri, or Maori welcome, featuring some fascinating dancing, singing and speeches, followed by excellent wine and food. Later on in the week, there was a reception at the National Library of New Zealand to launch three exhibitions entitled collectively 'Keeping the Score', consisting of early music sources in New Zealand, the 25^th anniversary of the Archive of New Zealand Music, and the 15^th anniversary of the Lilburn Trust. The Farewell Dinner was held in the James Cook Centra Hotel.

In addition to exploring the downtown area, investigating Te Papa, New Zealand's magnificent new national museum and gallery, and a ride in the cable car to view the city from a loftier angle, there were opportunities to see something of the countryside. A midweek excursion took us to the Kapiti Coast, and the Lindale Farm complex, where we saw a sheep sheared, and the President's husband milk a cow (the Secretary General chickened out!). Those staying on for an extra day or two experienced an amazing drive over the mountains to visit the wine growing area of Martinborough, and one of the finest sunsets I have ever seen, a fitting conclusion to what was a memorable week.

A small footnote which will only be understood by Those Who Were There. The known count of bungee sheep stands at four - three in the UK and one in Canada (you know who you are!). Are there any more out there?

BRANCH AND COMMISSION ELECTION RESULTS

Elections were held at the Wellington conference for new officers for the Professional Branches and Subject Commissions. The results produced some new faces, some old!

FUTURE CONFERENCES

Not much change here, except for the addition of a host for 2005

2000 August 6-11 Edinburgh, Scotland.

2001 July 8-14 Perigueux, France

2002 August 4-9 Berkeley, CA USA

2003 Tallinn, Estonia

2004 Oslo, Norway

2005 Warsaw, Poland

REPORTS FROM THE PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMME

In case those of you unable to be present in Wellington are under the impression that all our time was spend watching Maori dancing, drinking New Zealand wine, eating large meals and playing with bungee sheep, it is only fair to mention that we did also have a full professional programme to attend, and there were indeed many interesting and fruitful sessions. Some reports follow.

Highlights from the IAML Council

Commission on Service and Training

Commission on Audio Visual Materials

Bibliography Commission

Broadcasting and Orchestra Libraries Branch

Cataloguing Commission

Working Group on the Registration of Music Archives

CALL FOR PAPERS

Our next conference is coming up in Edinburgh, in August 2000. Is there something you know about that would make an interesting presentation to the Association? Consider sending the suggestion in to the Chair of the appropriate Branch or Commission.

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

A call for nominations for the next Presdential and Vice-Presidential elections will be appearing in Fontes shortly (we hope!). If you wish to nominate someone for one of these offices, please send your nomination in to the Secretary General, Alison Hall. Please ensure that the consent of the nominee is obtained in writing, and attach a short curriculum vitae of the candidate.

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This is the first trial issue of the IAML electronic newsletter. Pease send comments to the IAML Secretary General alison_hall@carleton.ca