Discusses the decline of African libraries and concludes that African libraries must find their own role within an African reality. Discussion covers failed internationally funded attempts to stem the decline, including establishment of national information policies and systems; donation of books and journals; staff training; development of rural…

Outlines the application of information technology in 13 of Thailand's academic libraries. Problems of implementation, budgets, specific applications and benefits, and future plans are discussed. (EA)

Reviews the problems of implementing information technology in developing countries and cites examples from African projects. The use of CD-ROM for access to information is examined, and experiences at the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Saudi Arabia in introducing CD-ROM search services are described. (Contains five references.)…

Outlines current and past library and information education and training in West Africa, focusing on the impacts of technological advancement; suggests information technologies that training programs should be able to access; and discusses formulating new curricula, staffing requirements, and further implications for the countries in this region…

Discusses information development in Portugal since the early 1980s. Topics include public libraries; the national bibliographic database; training; software; access to online databases; CD-ROMs; and Portuguese participation in information projects of the European Community. (AEF)

This theme issue includes eight articles that discuss the information age, the impact of information technology, and the role of libraries. Highlights include libraries in Brazil, Indonesia, and Nigeria; the Universal Availability of Publications (UAP) program; community literacy; database development in Malawi; and the Regional Energy Resources…

Discusses the need for a National Information Documentation Centre (NIDOC) in Nigeria. Topics addressed include functions of NIDOC, the location of NIDOC, including the role of the National Library; results of user studies; information storage and retrieval; library staff requirements and training; and access to national information sources. (17…

Description of scientific research and scientific and technical information in Ghana highlights the role of the Ghana National Scientific and Technical Information Network (GHASTINET). Obstacles to the provision of adequate resources are discussed, including lack of funding and lack of trained library staff; and recommendations for improvements…

Discussion of appropriate technology for libraries in South Africa focuses on the use of electronic bulletin boards. Topics addressed include information technology in South African libraries; local library networking; components of an electronic bulletin board; bulletin boards, telephones, and electronic mail; possible uses for a bulletin board;…

Discusses the development of reference services in developing countries and describes some of the functions of libraries and information services. Topics discussed include meeting users' needs; criteria for the planning and organization of services; and technology, including electronic dictionaries, computerized community information files,…

Six articles discuss the need for increased access to information for agricultural and scientific research in the countries of Zambia, Kenya, Ghana, Turkey, India, and Nigeria. Discussions focus on each country's current scientific and agricultural development and the demand for scientific materials and greater information dissemination. (MAB)

Discusses the potential receptivity to information technology found in the Caribbean and describes the establishment of regional information networks for the exchange of scientific and technical information. The role of the librarian is explored, and an outline for an assessment of the continuing education needs in information technology is…

Analyzes information technology used in networks and cooperative systems to access primary documents and its impact on the information industry. The concordance between old and new technologies in traditional and virtual libraries is considered. Discussion includes the resulting paradoxes, such as more people accessing relatively smaller…

Describes recent progress in China in the publication of scientific and technical journals and the computerization of information services; assesses the output of scientific and technical papers and the extent to which they are indexed by foreign bibliographical sources; and describes plans for computer-based library and information systems.…