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Parliamentary libraries and research services around the world play an important role in supporting the work of legislatures. However, the capacity of such services in parliaments across the world varies greatly; and for this reason they are increasingly a focus of programs to support and strengthen democratic institutions.

A recent report released in June this year by the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs provides an overview of the development of parliamentary research services in Central Europe and the West Balkans. Further information on the report, including good practice recommendations for legislative research services, can be found on the APLAP website.

The Hungarian Parliament

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) has announced its call for Nominations for President-Elect and Members of its Governing Board. The Governing Board is responsible for setting IFLA’s strategic and professional direction. The President Elect serves for two years in this role, and then holds the position of President for two years. Information about the roles and expectations of the President Elect and Board members, together with processes for nomination can be found here.

The deadline for nominations is 11 February 2015.

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) have released a framework to help improve and encourage effective public sector governance. The Framework encourages better service delivery and accountability in the public sector through improved decision making and the efficient use of resources. The Framework is available from IFAC’s website.

The Australian Digital Alliance (ADA) is Australia’s peak body representing copyright users and innovators in a digital world. Members include IT companies, cultural institutions, schools, universities, libraries, consumer groups and individuals.

Interested individuals can join the ADA mailing list to receive the Keeping Up with Copyright newsletter, which contains information about upcoming events and activities.

Concept Searching are offering a content management webinar entitled

Just the Facts: Auto-classification and Taxonomy Webinar

The National Library of Australia makes Australian newspapers freely available online through Trove as part of the Australian Newspaper Digitisation Program.

The Digitised newspapers home page features a map of Australia. Clicking on a particular state or territory shows:

• the titles available for that region, and
• links to Web Feeds of newly added titles and issues for the region.

Screencap of Digitised newspapers homepage from the National Library of Australia

The Program has been released for the 2014 APLA AGM, Workshop and One Day Conference to be held in Brisbane on 31 July and 1 August. It can be downloaded from the link below:

2014 APLA AGM and Conference Program (60 KB PDF)

The 2014 APLA conference and AGM will be held in Brisbane on 31 July – 1 August. The Queensland Parliamentary Library will host. More details to follow shortly.

The 2014 APLA Conference and Annual General Meeting will be hosted by the Queensland Parliamentary Library. The date is yet to be decided.