Information Development

Electronic media such as the Internet promise to have a huge impact on educational institutions and information centres in the United Arab Emirates. While cost has not been a factor in the implementation of such networks in the Gulf region, social and cultural implications are likely to be profound. The utilization of such information technology needs to be closely allied with appropriate curriculum developments which incorporate cultural perspectives, language needs and the diverse skill levels of likely users in the newly emerging tertiary education sector in the UAE.

Edited version of a paper presented within the framework of the V Consultation Meeting of the INFOLAC Program, October, 1995. Reports on the objectives, expected outputs, activities, results and impacts of the Network of Networks Latin America Project, designed to strengthen eighteen Latin American information networks and systems.

Describes DRAiN (Drainage Information System), a computerized library management system using CDS/ISIS software prepared by the International Institute for Land Reclamation and Improvement (ILRI) within the framework of the network activities of the International Program for Technology Research in Irrigation and Drainage (IPTRID). DRAiN has databases for the storage of bibliographic data, addresses of institutions and persons, serials and data of ongoing research projects. It offers facilities for data input and exchange, retrieval (menu driven using HEURISKO), and output in different formats, including a current awareness bulletin. A manual is available.

Reviews the present situation of libraries in Eritrea since the country gained its independence from Ethiopia in 1993. Eritrea has no national library, national bibliography or legal deposit system. Outlines the history of the country and the problems of publishing in several local languages. Describes the Asmara University Library, school and public libraries, and the Research and Documentation Centre (RDC), which contains valuable collections on all aspects of the country's history and development.

A brief account of the Zimbabwe International Book Fair, 1995, including a two-day pre-Fair meeting on 'Freedom of Expression' attended by Nobel laureates Wole Soyinka and Nadine Gordimer. Includes information on the African Publishers' Network and the African Periodicals Exhibit.