Bibliotheca universalis. The idea of assembling all manuscripts, and as time went on - all books - in one library has been utopian throughout centuries. Even creating a comprehensive collection according to any criteria - e.g. covering one subject or topic - is difficult if not impossible. Thus have librarians throughout centuries arranged for their patrons a possibility to use items from other libraries.
So did manuscripts travel between monastery libraries in the past, so are thousands of publications now sent daily from one library to another worldwide, making information accessible to users no matter where the required publication is actually located. The new electronic environment has opened up new possibilities, still not reducing the use of traditional information carriers - the number of the latter is even increasing. Yet have the new technological means enabled to accelerate and make more convenient the use of other libraries' collections, allowing the electronic delivery of paper-born documents.
Interlending and document delivery have special significance for Estonia and other countries with complicated recent history - the scarce resources did not permit the purchase of the necessary literature, severe ideological restrictions posed another limit. For decades we lacked a large number of publications issued worldwide because they had been published in the "wrong" place or on the "wrong" subject. Now, with our researchers reinstating their place in world science, interlibrary loan and document delivery are of indispensable assistance in making accessible material lacking in our own collections.
Interlibrary loan and document delivery are among the means helping the world to become more unified, develop mutual understanding and create equal opportunities for all those needing information. This is the area best reflecting the possibilities and results of co-operation between libraries and librarians.
These important issues will bring together the 9th IFLA Interlending and Document Supply (ILDS) International Conference, held in the Conference Centre of the National Library of Estonia.
We hope to give you a venue for further developing mutual understanding, for discussing common problems, sharing successful experience and reaching for more efficient co-operation.
The working language of the conference is English. Conference materials at the conference website at http://www.nlib.ee/ilds will be updated regularly.
