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It was decided in 1978 to develop an international authority system and a working group was established for that purpose during the IFLA Conference in Strbské Pleso in former Czechoslovakia. Its terms of reference were the following: to discuss and formulate the specifications for an international authority system to satisfy the bibliographic needs of libraries, to develop the UNIMARC format for authorities, to develop methods for the efficient and effective exchange of authority data.

Ten years ago, IFLA's Long Term Policy, developed by the Executive Board and adopted by Council in Moscow, included the description of the new and expanded role of libraries in view of the development of new technologies, insisting on the new functions they should assume (access to electronic databases, networking, etc.). IFLA also recognized in this document the importance of elaborating international technical standards and protocols relevant to library practice. Several years later, the Professional Board, when drafting its Medium-Term-Programme 1998-2001, put a special emphasis on the electronic environment. This emphasis has been reflected in all plans of IFLA professional units with a large range of relevant activities (projects, research papers, seminars and workshops, etc.). They have covered rights managements, use of electronics in various settings and for different media, training, and, of special interest to us here, standards for the organization of electronic resources, including the use of classification as a finding tool.

Le succès de la pré-conférence de Berlin «Preparing for the Worst, Planning for the Best » a conduit le programme fondamental IFLA PAC à organiser cette session en co-opération avec les sections des bibliothèques nationales et de la conservation. L'enquête dont je vous donnerai les principaux résultats est la suite de la résolution adoptée à l'issue de la conférence de l'IFLA à Glasgow, résolution destinée à sensibiliser les institutions responsables de leur patrimoine national, à la nécessité de se doter d'un plan d'urgence afin de mieux prévenir les catastrophes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The success of the Berlin Pre-conference "Preparing for the Worst, Planning for the Best: Protecting our Cultural Heritage from Disaster" led the IFLA PAC Core Activity to organise this session jointly with the IFLA National Libraries and Preservation and Conservation sections. This survey has its origin in a resolution voted at the end of the IFLA conference in Glasgow, a resolution intended to raise awareness of the importance (for institutions responsible for safeguarding the national documentary heritage) of preparing for disaster and of writing and implementing disaster plans: "Be it resolved that, considering the many risks that threaten the cultural heritage, all libraries responsible for collections of national significance should set up, test, implement and regularly update a disaster plan". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information about the presentation by Marie France Plassard, programme director at the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, discussed during the 68th IFLA Council and General Conference held on August 18 to 24, 2002 in Glasgow, Scotland is presented. It provided an overview of the International Standard Bibliographic Description (ISBD). It highlighted several seminars, including the International Conference on Electronic Resources and Electronic Library Workshops.

The article presents the core activities made by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) for Universal Bibliographic Control and International MARC (UBCIM). It indicates that the IFLA aims to maintain a close cooperation with the Division of Bibliographic Control. Moreover, it also indicates that the UBCIM promotes and develops authority control at the international level.