The Mission of the Library is to provide comprehensive and specialised technical library, information and documentation support to the staff of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), input to specific FAO programmes, and services to authorised external users. This activity supports the role of FAO as a centre of excellence in food and agriculture, which is briefly described below.

The FAO Library was named the David Lubin Memorial Library by the 1952 FAO Conference, which established FAO in Rome. It was built upon the collection of the International Institute of Agriculture and now comprises the Main Library and the Branch Libraries in the Fisheries and Forestry Departments and in the Food and Nutrition and Statistics Divisions. The FAO Library plays a major technical role in serving as the back-up resource library and information service for the FAO field network, and, insofar as resources permit, through communications, briefings and training, co-ordinates and standardises quality and levels of FAO library services around the world.

Some highlights:

Library reference and branch librarians utilised current technologies to distribute electronic current awareness reports to FAO technical and project staff around the world

Training sessions were conducted every day to show users how to discover the riches of the Virtual Library to find information for themselves. Virtual library orientation sessions were conducted for FAO’s new staff. Divisions currently share in the funding of important electronic services such as CC- Current Contents on Disk; TROPAG; ECONLIT; EIU Country Studies for User Group Access; CABI; Foods Intelligence; FSTA ; ULRICH International Periodicals Directory

The Library web pages were revised to include lists of new books, links to electronic journals and new links to full text resources.

Electronic full text subscriptions were increased by 100%, replacing or in exceptional cases, complementing paper information products.

Twenty new special Virtual Library products featuring full text information resources and the offer to conduct initiation sessions were announced to FAO staff through the Library List-Server, which has been further developed and membership expanded.

Through serving as the AGLINET Secretariat, and promoting its advantages, the Library obtains access to information resources it cannot afford to purchase. AGLINET now comprises 50 members in a co-operative network co-ordinated by FAO Library. It aims at closer collaboration among its members for more efficient exchanges of photocopies, electronic images and full text documents to the benefit of users in both developed and developing countries. We would like an Italian Library as an AGLINET member and invite applications.

Saving money for FAO and giving users access to a wider band of information resources, the Library is collaborating with other United Nations agencies in the implementation of a UN Library Consortium.

Full implementation to the field of FAO wide electronic news services continued.

THE FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION (FAO)

FAO was founded in 1945 with a view to raising the levels of nutrition and standards living of the peoples of member nations; securing improvements in the efficiency of the production and distribution of all food and agricultural products; bettering the condition of rural populations; and thus contributing toward an expanding world economy and ensuring humanity's freedom from hunger. Therefore FAO establishes its plan of work based on its Constitution with the ongoing guidance and approval of its member nations through the Conference and the Council. The responsibilities expressed in the Constitution are carried out through agricultural development assistance whereby FAO gives practical help to developing countries through a wide range of technical assistance projects, through the provision of information and support services, through the provision of advice to governments and through the role of acting as a neutral forum for promoting further action and development.

FAO is active in land and water development, plant and animal production, forestry, fisheries, economic and social policy, investment, nutrition, food standards and commodities and trade. It also plays a major role in dealing with food and agricultural emergencies. A specific priority of the Organization is encouraging sustainable agriculture and rural development. A long-term strategy is the conservation and management of natural resources to meet the needs of both present and future generations through programmes that do not degrade the environment and are technically appropriate, economically viable and socially acceptable.

Library and information resources assist in the development of and are complemented by a wide range of electronic resources produced by FAO in achieving its major objectives. On average, the FAO has some 1,800 field projects operating at any one time, ranging from integrated land management projects to policy and planning advice for governments in areas as diverse as forestry programmes and marketing strategies. [FAO website. _ HYPERLINK http://www.fao.org __http://www.fao.org_]

In addition to encouraging the direct transfer of skills and technology through field projects, FAO undertakes a variety of information and support services. Computer databases are maintained on topics ranging from fish marketing information to trade and production statistics and records of current agricultural research. The FAO's Geographic Information System (GIS) provides data on soils, vegetation cover and other aspects of land use. Satellite imagery is among the many tools used by the Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS) to monitor conditions affecting food production and to alert governments and donors to any potential threats. The information gathered by the FAO is made available through publications, videos, filmstrips and computer disks.

FAO's _HYPERLINK "../waicent/faoinfo/economic/giews/english/giewse.htm"__Global Information and Early Warning System_ (GIEWS) monitors the crop and food outlook at global and national levels to detect emerging food shortages and assess possible emergency food requirements. Since its inception in 1975, the System, in addition to its regular reports, has issued 338 Special Alerts/Reports to the international community on the deteriorating food supply prospects in various parts of the world.

The System issued warnings of developing drought in southern Africa in 1991/92 and again in 1994/95, some 3-4 months in advance of the harvest. In 1987, GIEWS issued an Alert three months ahead of the harvest on the poor performance of the southwest monsoon in Asia and its implications for regional food supplies. This enabled several countries to make critical decisions on imports and food stocks. Every day analysts study dozens of indicators that affect food supply. Satellite images and weather station data show how the growing season is progressing in broad areas of the developing world. Socio-economic indicators are monitored. In an emergency, major aid donors and humanitarian organisations are alerted by fax/telex. FAO missions are dispatched to the affected area to confer with local authorities and study the situation first hand. National and international efforts are mobilised to provide food for the hungry and to restore production and distribution.

FAOSTAT is an important information service, providing an on-line and multilingual database currently containing over 1 million time-series records covering international statistics in the following areas:

_PRIVATE__Production

Trade

Food Balance Sheets

Food Aid Shipments _Fertiliser and Pesticides Land Use and Irrigation

Forest Products

Fishery Products

Population

Agricultural Machinery __

Development and development assistance in agriculture is defined as providing the practical help to farmers in developing countries to make their farms more productive and efficient, now and in the future. This is done by training and funding for a broad range of sustainable agriculture practices and rural development initiatives [FAO website. _ HYPERLINK http://www.fao.org] __http://www.fao.org]_. In turn this provides an essential foundation for improving the nutrition, food security and standard of living of millions of people living in developing countries.

In conclusion, it is noted that development, rather than temporary aid, creates employment and generates income through farming, processing and distribution and contributes to overall national development. The development approach provides long-term solutions to the fundamental problems of poverty and hunger. In sustainable agricultural development, the Food and Agriculture Organization thus gives practical help to developing countries through a wide range of technical assistance projects using an integrated approach. Environmental, social and economic considerations are included in the formulation of development projects. By combining scientific information and procedures, technologies and at the same time encouraging people's participation, FAO technical experts draw on local expertise to co-operate in their development activities. New skills, ideas and technologies can thus be introduced in a sustainable way to rural communities around the globe.

The David Lubin Memorial Library is proud to assist in this mission.

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