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The Women’s Documentation Centres and libraries Network, formally established in 1995, links and coordinates 41 Spanish information units which are associated to various entities and are characterised by collections specializing in gender studies, feminism and women in general. Its purpose is to strengthen professional support for staff, library cooperation, solutions to common problems and the development of tools to facilitate the work of these centres. We present its origins, its evolution and development, structure and operation, plus a SWOT analysis that shows the external situation of the network and its internal features.

The growing volume of scientific information and its high rate of production serve as an incentive for researchers to participate in congresses, symposia, etc, both nationally and internationally, with the goal of communicating scientific knowledge. In these events numerous reports and research results are presented in a brief period of time. Currently multimedia technology —integrating sound, images, video, text and animation— is used as a tool by speakers for transmitting information visually, as well as verbally. Used properly, such tools contribute to the audience’s understanding of the message being delivered. This article covers the different points to be considered when preparing an oral presentation, in order to facilitate the dissemination of scientific results. These points include audience profile, purpose of the presentation, time allotted, highlights of the research project, and choice of software and hardware. The authors conclude that oral presentations of research results are as important as the written report, and proper planning and use of multimedia resources will enhance the possibilities for scientific communication.