9/15/2008
 So, we were promised a light breakfast before the conference program. HA. Well, I guess since the menu was toast, biscuits & jam, and watermelon with juice, coffee and tea to drink, that would be light.
A traditional Sevusevu Fijian Ceremony of Welcome with men in ceremonial dress began the program to welcome the President of IAMSLIC and through her, the rest of the conference attendees. Gee, if you ran for President of IAMSLIC, you’d get the be the honorary representative for the organization in this kind of ceremony. Quite a perk!
After, we were welcomed by the Vice-Chancellor’s representative with warm remarks about the importance of information and our role in helping to understand climate change and its effects on the islands of the South Pacific.
Climate Change : a Janus-Faced Challenge for Our Times by Dr. Patrick Nunn
Climate change is a continuous process that is having some major impacts on the South Pacific. However recent changes have been far more precipitous than historical changes such as the ice ages and previous warming eras. Cultural change is being studied as an effect of climate change. After all, if the environment changes, we are going to have to adapt and that will precipitate some changes to how people relate to each other and the world around them.
Climate is continuously changing.
Solar forcing is the principal cause of climate change.
Climate change in sthe principal cause of societal change.
Looking toward the future, he predicted that we are locked into a future that none of us would like to envision. **However, I have to disagree and would like to think that if we change our behaviors we can change the world and the future. The future cannot be that certain, especially if we work together.**
Now, back to the presentation. Food productivity, disease transmission and human comfort are all going to have an effect on societies around the world. Remember last year’s conference with the presentation on coral bleaching research, seems the effects of coral bleaching in the South Pacific have far-reaching effects through ecosystems and the cultures that depend on those ecosystems.
Dr Nunn had excellent classroom management skills as he paused each time that side conversations broke out and waited for those to subside so they didn’t distract the rest of the audience from his insightful presentation. Something like “I’ll just pause here until those in the back finish their conversation.â€
What Tea Time already? No coffee breaks in Fiji. Tea time includes homemade doughnuts (MMMMM), biscuits & jam, finger sandwiches, and sausage rolls with juice, coffee and tea. Light refreshments? Yeah, right.
Business Meeting
Big news is Jan Haspeslagh has changed jobs and is stepping down from President-Elect. The bylaws have rules for this contingency and Ruth Gustafson has been contacted about her willingness to serve as President in Jan’s place. The 2009 Conference will still be held in Belgium as planned.
Then on to the usual routine of the regular business meeting: minutes acceptance of the last business meeting. Sorry, I’m not the Secretary, so don’t have much to say here.
The President’s address included the accomplishments during the past year. You’re reading one of them.
And on to lunch…did someone say there wasn’t enough food last year? Lunch was fabulous dishes including chicken stew, beef stew, rice, and other side dishes with juice, coffee and tea.
CommFish : All About Alaska’s Commercial Fisheries by Daria Carle
Daria has been working with two other librarians to develop an online repository for Alaska Fish & Game reports. She outlined the difficulties of cataloging these documents and then making sure the copies were digitized properly.
Transforming Moana: Converting to Greenstone by Chris Hammond-Thrasher
Open source software… yes, the answer to many no-budget library’s prayers. However there is a cost in the installation of these software systems. Chris outlined the differences between Koha and Greenstone as these two systems were both developed in New Zealand. I’ve been thinking about installing Greenstone, but after listening, I think once more I am going to hold off until the software is a bit more mature before trying to use it in my library. The StreamNet Library (http://www.fishlib.org) currently uses Koha for the online catalog. We also converted from DBText and had quite an experience getting our records moved into MARC format. Anyway, I do encourage libraries to explore open source solutions rather than the standard commercial systems that require us to pay for licenses and subscriptions, etc. which takes money away from journals, books and staff to help our patrons get past the catalog.
Secretariat of the Pacific Community Fisheries Digital Library by Jean-Paul Gaudechoux and Anne Gibert
A brief summary of the digital library initiative at the Secretariat of the Pacific. I am sad to say that I was busy with the Guin Auction so didn’t really get to listen to this presentation. Although, the generosity of members is evident by the number of exceptional items up for bid in the Guin Auction.
Mould in the Library and What to Do About It by Peter Kemp and Heike Neumeister-Kemp
Mold, oops, Mould is a ubiquitous problem throughout the world. Well, ok, maybe desert environs don’t have to worry about moulds so much. Moulds thrive in a moist environment and can quickly move through a building from a single source. Mould can be microscopic through macroscopic.
Chlorine bleach is not a cure for moulds. The use of chlorine bleach merely disguises the presence of mould by removing the color. Use vinegar and elbow grease to get rid of infestations. There are other suggestions for mould abatement in the presentation. When the conference proceedings are available, you will be able to download all the great information presented.
Wow. Fascinating topic and a dynamic, interesting speaker. Who’d have thought that moulds would be so interesting.
Tour of Marine Science Institute of the University of the South Pacific
The tour of the Marine Studies area of the University of the South Pacific included the specimen rooms with terrestrial samples as well as an pretty comprehensive collection of coral samples. We visited a freshwater prawn culture lab, a seafood preparation lab and learned the history of Marine Studies at USP as well as the comprehensiveness of the programs.
After a bit of a rest, several of the usual suspects gathered at the Alliance Française for a bit of refreshment, delicious dinner and to watch “An Inconvenient Truth.†Dinner was a carrot salad to begin, beef stroganoff, potatoes & water cress for the main course followed by French banana chocolate pie. Kudos to the chef.
The movie was viewed outdoors under a large shelter and projected onto a large screen. My only complaint is no popcorn. Well, we were at Alliance Française. “An Inconvenient Truth†is really good at getting the message about global warming and climate change out to the public. Al Gore hits many of the same points as we heard from Dr Nunn in the morning. But some of the personal, biographical info about Mr Gore could have been left out and did we really need to relive the pain of the stolen election? The mosquitoes were out and hungry, but the movie was interesting enough that no one left.
Lenora A. Oftedahl
StreamNet Regional Librarian
Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission
