Rusch-Feja, Diann

Acknowledgement
The author and project coordinator wishes to thank Bernd Wischnewski for his assistance in setting up the electronic questionnaire and results database, Marco Dittus for his assistance in translating many of the Spanish-language comments and write-in answers, and Sarah Aerni for her comments on the evaluation and close reading of the final paper.

Background and Motivation for this Survey

The "Digital Divide"[1] affects the economically and technologically underdeveloped countries most drastically as the funding and basic technology are often not widely available or, if they are available, the competencies for using this potential are seriously lacking. The Standing Committee of the IFLA Section on Information Technology was approached by this problem from several sides. Representatives of various countries in Africa expressed their hope that the Section could do more to promote adequate educational and training opportunities in information technology in the less privileged regions of the world. Reports on workshops on various aspects of digital libraries in Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and Malaysia emphasized the need for module-like training in specific aspects of information technology, digital library technology, and digitization. Discussions between representatives from the IFLA UAP Office, IT Section Standing Committee, Round Table on Continuing Professional Education, etc., focused on various suggestions for coordinated efforts to consolidate learning modules, workshop materials, distance and self-learning courses to support librarians in those areas where IFLA over the past 8 years has provided Regional Offices. However, for various reasons (including the current funding review of the Regional Offices, redistribution of UAP manpower), such efforts were virtually tabled. In order to best determine the exact needs for effective investment in IT training, workshops and distance learning modules, it was decided that a worldwide survey of the training needs for lesser privileged regions should be made. Hence, this survey evolved as a project of the IFLA IT Section. Additional advice in preparing the questionnaire was given by Dr. Claudia Lux (IFLA Executive Board and Director General of the Central and State Library of Berlin) and Dr. Jürgen Hess (Director of the Computer Department, Max Planck Institute for Human Development and visiting professor in various African countries supported by the German Foundation for Assistance to Developing Countries).

Procedure

The English questionnaire was translated into French and Spanish by members of the IT Standing Committee.[2] The questionnaire in English was sent out in paper form to all IFLA IT Standing Committee members and to Section members in the target countries with a cover letter and request to not only fill out and return the questionnaire, but also disseminate it to colleagues and key information technology experts in their country. A Website was established (http://www.mpib-berlin.mpg.de/dok/itneeds.htm), giving an introduction to the survey and from which the English, Spanish and French versions of the questionnaire were accessible. The survey was publicized in the IFLA general mailing list, as well as in various national and international lists and IFLA units. The Regional Offices were notified and cooperation in disseminating the questionnaire was requested. In addition, the library associations of developing countries and those in countries in economic and socio-political transition were emailed with information about the online survey, inasmuch as the associations were members of the IFLA. Furthermore, key persons known for their work in continuing education in these countries or their interest in IT training were contacted directly and notified of the online survey. Also UK, Scandinavian and US Institutions with partners in the target countries were notified and asked to share the announcement about the survey with these partners and contacts in these countries. Due to some technical problems, which unexpectedly prohibited submission of the completed questionnaires from the Website for over a week, the survey deadline was extended first from the 30 September 2000 to 31 October 2000 and later to accommodate a wider participation to 31 December 2000.

Results

Summary of the countries represented by the individual respondents:

During the duration of this survey, several European or American groups which serve as liaison parties or supporting groups contacted the project director and indicated both an interest in the results of the survey and their willingness to help disseminate the questionnaire. This at least partially accounts for the resulting distribution of the submitted questionnaires. However, contacts made with library associations in Africa and the Baltic countries did not seem to result in additional submissions from these countries. In order to have a more representative distribution of submissions, additional participants will be solicited during the second quarter of 2001 through additional requests to library associations and individuals in library training institutions in the target countries. The results of this extended survey will then be reported on in the oral presentation of this paper.

Initial Survey Results: Professional Distribution

Of the 102 submitted questionnaires, distribution according to profession and current job status was represented by

The range of professional experience (and average years of work) according to profession was:

The average age in almost all categories has been pushed upward in the calculations due to a large percentage of the participants with over 20 years of professional experience (20-60 years of experience was noted by 24, or 23.52%, of all participants). This, however, substantiates a high level of overview and professional insight which valididate the results of the survey, despite the relatively weak representation from the individual regions.

Initial Survey Results: Existing Range of Competencies and IT Experience

The questionnaire asked the respondents to evaluate their competencies in the individual IT skills on the basis of "none," "some/basic knowledge," "good," "excellent," and "ability to teach." The competencies were grouped in three groups: basic IT skills in the use of the computer, word processing, calculation software, database configuration and software, database installation and setup, database management, and networking with the possibility of adding "other". The second group of competencies included HTML and other programming languages (XML, SGML, Basic, Visual Basic, Pascal, C++, Fortran, MPEG7, Perl, and JAVA). The third section of competencies characterize special skill sets for creating and maintaining a digital library: digitization of texts, digitization of photos, data visualization, Perl & CGI scripts, web-accessible services, migration of library services to a library website, etc.

Competencies in programming languages were generally only indicated by the computer technicians and some information specialists. Rarely did a librarian attest to knowing Visual Basic, Fortran, Pascal or C++. HTML was more commonly known, but in general, the self-judgment of the survey participants indicated that even with HTML competencies, the need for advanced HTML knowledge was even more pronounced. Only 11 respondents (10.78%) said they had basic or even good knowledge of XML and even fewer (3, or 2.94%) said they some knowledge of SGML. These respondents were primarily in South American, with two each in Africa and Asia.

In the third section of the competencies, less than 50 % of the survey participants (45, or 44%, of the total participants) indicated competencies in digitization of texts and photos, 36 (or 34%) in data visualization (although three said they could teach it), and 30 (29%) in access creation of library services and catalogs.

In general, the questionnaires showed a greater range of IT competencies and experience than might have been expected. This can be attributed to the fact that the 460 members of the IFLA Section on Information Technology were directly contacted with both the paper survey and the website. Furthermore, it is likely that the members of this Section in the target countries are the most highly educated, and IT competent persons of their field in the respective countries, as well as being most likely involved in projects which require these skills. Despite the inadequate representation from individual countries, an interpretation of the submitted data will be attempted on the basis of regional or national differences:

Africa

Questionnaires submitted from the African countries showed extreme differences. The only one submission which came from a countryside librarian was submitted from South Africa and indicated that outside of the cities in S.A. very basic IT training courses in simple use of computer and the basic courses such as HTML, Digital Environment and Internet were desparately needed. Interestingly enough, however, the librarian/information specialist from a South African city judged him or herself only slightly bit better with regard to competencies in computer use, word processing, calcuation software, and programming languages. Some survey participants from African countries (Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, Zambia) indicated only "some" or very little experience in the use of computer, word processing software and other database software programs, although three survey participants from African countries (Nigeria, Tanzania, and Senegal) rated their knowledge as teaching abilities in the use of the computer, word processing software, and even in analysis of the social impact of electronic information (Senegal). In many of the African countries, a distinct -- though logical -- difference is evident between the IT skills of the librarians compared with those of the information specialists and computer technicians in the same country. The librarian usually has only basic knowledge in using the computer and word processing, and often does not indicate specific interest in many of the courses suggested on the questionnaire. The information specialists and computer technicians may be able to teach use of the computer or even a great deal more, yet they also recognize the need for more specific courses and specifically more advanced continuing education in all fields. Significant was also the fact that the information specialists not only chose IT needs from the usual IT courses, but also the courses geared to library transition to the digital environment. However, at the same time, most respondents from the African countries noted only the availability of basic IT training courses, with a few exceptions of additional courses available in advanced database configuration, advanced programming, advanced Internet, advanced information retrieval, and telecommunications (Tanzania).

Middle East

Middle Eastern participants often judged their own competencies as extremely limited, although they also indicated that a much wider range of IT courses were available in the immediate proximity. Some listed only "some" or "basic" experience with personal computers and commented that they were not aware of what some of the terms meant (Iran). Other comments on these questionnaires were very revealing about the difficulties these librarians and other professionals had in obtaining access to distributed, networked resources and many commented on interrupted use, unreliable connections and very slow connections which would inhibit continuing education courses offered via the Internet. The librarian respondent from Turkey noted competences only in the very basic IT areas: database, network, HTML and production of electronic texts. Similarly, the librarian respondent from Pakistan indicated only basic computer use, basic word processing, basic HTML, basic database skills, basic Internet skills, and basic information retrieval.

Asia, the Pacific Islands and Oceania

In general, participants from the Asian countries including Micronesia, China, Thailand, the Philippines, the Marshall Islands, and the Fiji Islands judged their abilities as "excellent", though not at the level of being able to teach. These participants also indicated a greater diversity of courses available to them, including programming courses and courses directly related to the development of digital libraries.However, some librarian respondents from South Korea, the Fiji Islands, the Philippines, and the Cook Islands noted competencies only in basic computer use, basic word processing, basic Internet, basic Information retrieval, although in most cases, courses in IT training in additional areas were available in the area. Another librarian respondent from the Fiji Islands showed rather comprehensive IT competences and noted that he or she had designed the USP Library's "Electronic Informatin Services Web Site" and digitization project. One of the librarian respondents from Thailand evaluated him- or herelf with teaching skills in digitization of texts and photos, prodouction of electronic documents, access creation for library services, use of the computer, word processing, etc.

South America, Central America and the Carribean

Since the greatest percentage (50%) of submissions came from South and Central America and the Carribean, some individual regional and country-specific interpretations can be made here. In South American countries, a greater range of transition to working with electronic resources on the basis of networked information resources and collaborations in the library and information field was evident. In general, the basic competencies for working with networked resources could be fulfilled. However, many of these countries indicated no courses in programming courses, programming languages, and work with digital full texts. In other countries where the survey participant had at least one year's experience with conversion of electronic texts, creation of a web-based digital library, and/or data visualization, and adequate courses were available for continuing development of the necessary competencies, the number of desired courses shows a lack of urgency. Such countries include Argentina, Colombia, and Costa Rica.

One Argentinian possessed very good competencies in programming languages as well as in perl, , ability to teach all of the basic courses (competencies), HTML and digitization of texts and photos. In addition, this person was very good in data visualization, access creation, CGI forms, digital library and metadata. Several other Argentinians and Mexicans were involved in multinational digital library projects such as webmaster of the site SISBI de Cordoba http://170.210.250.24 and the Argentinian Digital Library Development http://cib.cponline.org.ar:83/index.html. The two submissions from Chile indicated teaching skills in the use of the computer, database software, database setup and management, although no programming languages were mentioned and only "good" or "basic" knowledge of the digital library courses and concepts.

The two Chilean respondents showed good competencies in many of the basic IT skills suggested, including teaching abilities in the use of the computer. Various courses in the advanced areas of HTML, digital libraries, digitization competencies, etc., were said to be available, yet the courses which the respondents desired were primarily only at the basic level. Whether this was indicated as a specific need of the rest of their profession in Chile or in addition to what they could offer was not indicated on the survey.

The six respondents from Colombia all indicated good skills in the use of computer, basic digitization text, photos, some experience in database software and database setup, but only one indicated experience in database management. Three said they had very good knowledge of data visualization, two in networking and one in digital libraries, electronic texts and Perl & CGI scripts. In comparison, several (3) respondents from Colombia indicated that all the suggested courses in IT technology were available, but one said that very few courses (only 5) were available, indicating again that development is not at all equal across the country.

The seven submissions from Costa Rica indicated almost identically high levels of experience: from excellent knowledge in or even being able to teach the use of the computer, WP and other areas, coupled with good or excellent knowledge of digitization of photos and HTML, knowledge of calcuation software, database software, database management.and networking, as well as basic or advanced skills in C++, Pascal, Visual Basic, JAVA, CGI forms, access creation (eprint server), etc. In some cases, the respondents replied that no courses were available, in other cases, the respondents indicated a wide variety of courses available for IT training.

The one Ecuadorian librarian respondent, who indicated he or she had done research and website construction, attested to excellent knowledge in use of the computer and word processing software, as well as good knowledge of the digital library. This person also indicated basic knowledge of database software and configuration, setup and management, XML, SGML, and metadata. However, no courses were available to this librarian and the desired courses marked were very selective to enhance library IT skills. This person also provided several ideas for courses not already mentioned on the questionnaire, such as implementing metadata for electronic resources, information architecture, and research on user needs.

Peruvian submissions indicated good skills in basic IT competencies, and only some skills in database setup, digitization of texts and photos. The courses available to them included basic word processing, basic Internet, and basic information retrieval. Desired courses from these respondents included basic and advanced HTML, digital equipment, technical aspects of online document delivery, production and processing of electronic texts, advanced database configuration, advanced library databases, etc. (one library staff member with 24 years of experience was still willing to take part in such advanced courses!). In general, the librarians all were interested in the courses which were obviously directly connected with library catalogs and databases, less so in programming, website evaluation, etc. One Peruvian respondent indicated he or she was able to teach not only the use of the computer and word processing, but also database software, database setup and other courses. This person was a already a participant in a networking project on a regional basis and showed excellent skills in various IT areas (including good knowledge of Pascal, JAVA, XML, SGML). This person desired only 4 courses from those suggested in the survey, namely metadata, online document delivery technology, migrating the online library to an interactive website, and creation of payment modules.

Four respondents from Uruguay also indicated that they had a sound knowledge in the basic IT areas. With the exception of HTML, none had knowledge in programming languages, and very little knowledge of skills necessary for the digital library. In one case, only three IT training courses were available: basic database configuation, basic information retrieval, advanced use of the Internet, searching and evaluation of websites. Almost all respondents indicated interest in all the advanced courses suggested in the questionnaire.

Central America

There was only one respondent from each Nicaragua, Panama, El Salvador and three from Guatemala.

In El Savador, the librarian respondent indicated a self-judgment of good skills in word processing, calculation software, database software and configuration, as well as basic knowledge of use of the computer, database setup, database management, networking, Fortran, Basic, C++, Pascal, and HTML, although no digital library capabilities were marked. According to this respondent, only very few IT courses are offered: basic use of the computer , basic word processing, HTML, basic Internet, and basic information retrieval. Thus, this respondent desired all the suggested courses except the ones already available to him or her.

The Guatemalan librarian respondents all showed good skills in the use of the computer, word processing, and database configuration. One indicated some knowledge of database management, another of database setup and data visualization. The third mentioned some skills in HTML, digitization of texts and access creation to library services. All three indicated that only the very basic courses in IT skills mentioned in the questionnaire were available with the exception of two respondents who also added that programming and networking courses were available to them. The scope of desired courses was diverse: in the case of very few courses available, there were also only very few desired courses which may be traced to a greater lack of knowledge of what the more advanced courses would contain. In the second case, the desired courses included most of those suggested on the questionnaire and the third respondent was quite selective.

The Nicaraguan information specialist showed excellent capacities in the basic skills, several programming languages (Pascial, Visual Basic, JAVA, HTML), and all digital library functions. This respondent also indicated that at least four courses in advanced programming, telecommunications, database configuration and work in a digital environment were available. There were no desired courses marked by this respondent! The Panama librarian respondent is able to teach word processing, database software and judged him- or herself as good in database setup, networking, data visualization with basic knowledge of calculation software, Pascal, HTML, and digitization of texts. This respondent only noted 2 very basic courses available (basic word processing and basic Internet skills). His or her choice of desired courses included primarily advanced HTML, production of electronic texts, database skills including also advanced skills in library databases, advanced Internet skills, creating web access to the online library catalog and development of payment modules.

Nine respondents from Mexico gave very individual levels of competencies and indicated a diverse set of courses available to them: despite generally basic to good use of the use of the computer, and word processing software, not all Mexican librarians and information specialists indicated competencies in calculation software, database configuration, setup and management and HTML. Several had good networking background, and competencies in digitization of texts and photos, and one, who is a participant in the Project on the Digital Library "La Biblioteca de la Universidad de Guanajuato para el siglo XXI", indicated experience in data visualization, electronic documents and access creation. One respondent, who also noted no courses available to him or her: "Como se ve, le actualizacion de Tecnologlas de Informacion es practicamento nulo". Two respondents were able to teach word processing and a third could teach database software, configuration and setup. One of these persons indicated that all the suggested courses were available to him or her, yet the same person also desired 12 of the following 28 suggested courses in more advanced IT skills. A fourth librarian respondent indicated good knowledge of use of digitization equipment and conversion, as well as production of electronic texts. Linked with this, the same person also desired courses specifically with library interests but also JAVA, Intranet setup and website design and evaluation. Similarly, another Mexican librarian with good competencies in the use of the computer, database software and management, networking, HTML, data visualization, also noted only basic courses and one advanced course available in information retrieval. Again, this persons desired courses ranged from very basic courses to a wide variety of the advanced library courses, but no programming JAVA, XML, MPEG, or Perl & CGI scripts. In some cases, it seemed, at least in the case of the Mexican respondents, the greater the IT competencies were, the greater was the desire expressed for additional basic and advanced courses especially more specific courses in website design and evaluation, advanced work in the digital environment, etc.

The Carribean

Again, the competencies indicated by the respondents show great diversity. The two submissions from Cuba were from "cybernetico-matematico" - cybernetic mathematicians. Both indicated teaching skills in the use of the computer, word processing, calculation software, database software and setup, Pascal, digitalization of texts and photos, and data visualization. Both had excellent skills in database management, networking, HTML and good skills in various programming languages, metadata, CGI forms, electronic documents and access creation. However, only basic courses were indicated as being available and the number of desired courses was also very selective, including advanced telecommunications, advanced programming, migrating library services to intereactive webservices, and creating payment modules, etc. The remainder of the submissions from the Carribean came from librarians from Trinidad. One respondent showed good skills in the basic IT competencies, but no programming languages, some HTML, some experience in creating electronic documents and access creation for web-based library services. This respondent desired all suggested courses above the basic courses. The second respondent from Trinidad indicated far less experience, only basic use of the computer. For this person, the course offerings for IT were also very sparse (only basic computer use, word processing, basic Internet, and basic information retrieval. Interest in courses - as noted above - was also limited, but perhaps due to lack of knowledge on some of these areas. Precisely, this indicates the greatest need for supplying these countries with adequate IT training offerings which can be made available to them.

USA

The questionnaire answers submitted by the four respondents from the United States cannot be left out of this survey as in most cases, they indicated that they had at one time been in one of the countries of the targeted study or had personal background in one of the target countries. However, the level of competencies were in all cases higher than those of the rest of the respondents and the availability of IT courses seemed to meet any continuing education needs of this group at present.

Initial Survey Results: Courses Available in the Immediate Area or Region

The variety of courses listed by the participants as available in proximity to their place of work, especially was mildly surprising, when the direct correlation to the desired courses the individual participants wanted (as indicated above) was established. Some, indeed, had access to courses which they obviously could not take part in but for which they desired online offerings. This seems to be the case especially in the some of the Middle East countries, especially where a distinct hesitation was expressed concerning the willingness of the employer to allow time off to improve IT skills.

Table 1 gives an overview of the types of courses suggested in the questionnaire to the question which courses were in the immediate proximity of the respondent or regionally available to them. The first column gives the number and percentage of answers with respect to the total 102 submissions. The following four colums gives the number and percentage of answers with respect to the total number of responses in the individual regions.

Initial Survey Results: IT Training Needs Expressed

Table 2 shows these results of the answers to the question "what courses would you be interested in which could improve your IT skills?" Again the left column gives the numbers and percentages of the answers in total and the four following columns show the numbers and percentages by continent in relation to the total number of submitted questionnaires from that continent. The difference between the number of submitted total questionnaries in the far left column and the sum of the number of questionnaires in the regional categories is the number of participants from the U.S. who also indicated an IT training need for the respective category. The categories are ranked by the greatest need expressed to the lesser need expressed and do not correspond to the listing on the original questionnaire.

For the three most commonly desired courses, respondents from the Eastern European countries and Spain coincided greatly with their international cohorts. These three courses all focus on expanding library databases, advanced information retrieval and advanced Internet searching and website evaluation. The Eastern European need for the content of the other suggested courses in the survey, however, seems to be much less than that of the regional cohorts. Since these former Socialist countries already had established organizational structures (interlibrary loan, some library automation, etc.), enhancement of the existing structures through new technology provided in part through support of partnering countries and institutions in the post-Socialist years helped bridge the technology gap. In many cases, some training for integration of the new technology was also provided. However, there are still significant IT training needs which are expressed in part through this survey, although the representation of these countries will hopefully be increased and their needs substantiated through an extended period of the survey and targeted recruitment of Eastern European participants.

The most commonly desired courses (rated as desired by over 50% of all survey participants) are the advanced courses with the exception of advanced programming and the more advanced programming languages (XML, MPEG7, etc.). One respondent even commented that he or she had no knowledge of how JAVA, XML, MPEG7 or Perl andCGI scripts would help in libraries. In some regions, participants did not respond to any of the Internet courses or to the most recent topics, such as metadata, XML, JAVA, etc. In general, library/information specialists, were more specific and wanted JAVA, HTML and XML. This would indicate that the participants in the survey judge their basic abilities as sufficient and they are ready to go to a more advanced level. Due to the fact that the participants were solicited through electronic mailing lists, through the Section mailings of the IFLA IT Section and through the IFLA library association members, it can be assumed that these participants are in general more advanced in their IT competencies than are those of many of their national compatriots. Some of the comments to the questionnaire in general indicate this, as well as the comments mentioned above.

In general, an almost equal interest is shown in the desired course "Advanced Work in the Digital Environment" and for "Perl and CGI Scripts" for creating interactive website forms and templates. Surprisingly enough (and in contrast to the above speculations), respondents from the Middle East, Asian and Oceanic countries also show a much higher desire for courses in Basic Internet Use and Basic Use of the Computer. Looked at individually, however, these answers are predominately from the Middle East participants as opposed to from Pacific Asia, again suggesting regional telecommunications deficiencies and perhaps other sociological reasons dealt with below. In general, the participants' from Africa show a greater proportional desire for courses than the total percentage, the South and Central American participants show a fairly average proportion of desire compared to the over all, and the Middle East, Asian and Oceanic participants show less interest in the courses suggested.

Initial Survey Results: Conditions for Participating in Continuing Educational Offerings

In order to determine what conditions would be optimal to fulfill the greatest need for IT Training in the target countries, several questions were asked regarding the formal aspects of such continuing educational courses in IT Training. Table 3 shows the degree of agreement to the following conditions for participating in such courses. In contrast to the preceding tables, the regional percentages in Table 3 are the percentages of the total number of agreements in the far left column.

The questions summarized in Table 3 were augmented by the following additional questions concerning the factors which could inhibit participation in IT training courses which might be offered. Answers to these questions were not suggested in the survey, hence the write-in answers obtained are collated here:

These answers show a high degree of willingness to take continuing education courses to enhance IT skills, even if such courses are not part of a degree program or guarantee continuing education credit towards an advanced degree. The preference for the formal, traditional classroom situation has a definite edge over taking such courses via the Internet, but the latter answers still show definitive acceptance of this medium for IT training.

Initial Survey Results: Language Preference for Continuing Education Courses in IT

To the question regarding the preferred language for such IT training courses, English was the preferred language (50 responses, or 49.02% of total submitted questionnaires). This total includes 39 non-native speakers of English and 11 native speakers. A preference for Spanish was similarly high, 44 or 43.14% of total submitted questionnaires, whereby 93.12% of these spoke Spanish as mother tongue. French was only preferred by 4 respondents (3.92% of total), which included 2 native speakers of French in Africa and 2 non-native speakers in Eastern European countries. In addition, courses were requested in 11 native languages other than English, Spanish, and French, including Chinese, Slovak, Croatian, Hungarian, Czech, Portuguese, Persian, Hebrew, Marshallese, Thai and Swahili.

Summary and Concluding Remarks

The survey showed that IT training courses are available in certain regions, though it must be assumed that the predominately electronic form of the questionnaire (despite receipt of 9 paper questionnaires submitted by regular mail), has given a definite bias to more adequately equipped and trained respondents in metropolitan areas with some educational infrastructure for library and information professionals. However, it also showed that despite the good offering of IT training opportunities, in many cases, this offering could not be taken advantage of due to costs, lack of time, lack of employer support and inadequate opportunity for putting the new knowledge to use. Despite very well-educated experts in the field in each region, there are still librarians in each of these regions who have demonstrated the need for adequate basic IT training and even more who, having attained the basic IT competencies, desire the opportunity for more advanced training in applying IT to their daily work and to enhancing the library offerings and services. Other difficulties mentioned were the lack of sufficient knowledge of the English language, lack of general computer knowledge, and preference for the courses to be given in the native language. In general, the survey showed the respondents in all regions to be highly motivated and eager for this survey to present a stimulus for the development of suitable, regionally-customized courses. One respondent also commented on how important it was to have the courses suited to the profile of the institution and another emphasized that practical, job-oriented continuing education courses would be needed, not the usual kinds of courses found at the universities. Important findings of the survey seem to be in the fact that some expertise in advanced telecommunications, programming and digital library technology are available in each region. These persons could be resource persons for helping develop regionally suitable courses in partnership with IT training professionals from the more technologically advanced countries. Subsequent to evaluation of the results of the exension of this survey through June 2001, efforts should be made to establish a network of contacts for developing such courses and maintaining a publicly accessible web-based database of such offerings searchable by region, institution, language and content topics. In part, this coincides with the medium term planning of the IFLA Information Technology Section, and close cooperation with the IFLA Section on Library Education and Training and the IFLA Round Table on Continuing Professional Education, some of these goals for developing courses and an informational instrument about such courses could be realized. Furthermore, these efforts could form the hub of a network of persons and institutions which would extend far beyond the member bodies and persons in the IFLA. However, such efforts should be coordinated and publicized within the IFLA and without. Since several of the survey participants commented on the lack of effectiveness of economical assistance to the target countries, if this still kept the Internet costs and the costs of continuing education high, there must be concentrated efforts to devise specific low-cost, courses emphasizing the practical hands-on skills needed accoring to the individual country and work situation.

Diann Rusch-Feja
Max-Planck-Institut für Bildungsforschung
Lentzeallee 94
D-14195 Berlin
Tel.: +49 30 824 06-230
Fax: +49 30 824 99 39
E-mail: ruschfeja(at)mpib-berlin.mpg.de