EDITOR'S LETTER

Dear Members, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for making my first FIAT/IFTA Conference hugely enjoyable, and for making me feel welcome in my new position as paid Administrative Secretary.

My appointment represents a desire in FIAT/IFTA to take the organisation further, on to a new level of organisational professionalism. We intend to grow, both in membership and in stature, to make the organisation known to more people and even more respected by those who already know of us.

This is not something that can be done by one person, but what I can do is to act as a coordinator of information and events for members, act as a one-stop source of information for outside inquiries, keep an eye on what is going on and, very importantly, make sure that FIAT/IFTA is active in between Conferences.

In order for me to work efficiently I need your help; there is no way I can contact everyone to ask what they are up to, to ask if they have information valuable to other members, to ask if they have ideas for what FIAT/IFTA should be doing, etc. If you think of something that is, or just might be, of interest to the membership, please, contact me, even if you are not sure it is worth the while; it is my job to gather and sift through information. I would also urge you to send copies of any training material, or other material, that might be of use to others. If, for example, you have produced a video on how to handle video tape, or a paper on the contents of your catalogue, why keep it to yourself?

As the new editor of the Newsletter I would also like to take this opportunity to ask for contributions to the next issue. The intention is to make the Newsletter more of an open forum for debate, to let in more articles of general interest to the members, and to be even more informative on issues directly relating to FIAT/IFTA. The next Newsletter, due out in early March, will be dealing mainly, not exclusively, with an issue addressed at the Paris Conference: the future of archives. For that issue I would like to concentrate on the near future, as in what is actually on the way and relevant for many archives, or what is needed. What are the well established and financially solid archives doing next? What do archives in poorer countries need? Where are the problems, and how do we deal with them? Teleworking and closer ties to production are two subjects I hope to be able to present articles on, but I am sure there is more. If you start writing now you have plenty of time to rewrite it to perfection.

Anything you yourself come across that you find interesting concerning archives should be passed on to me and possibly the Newsletter.

Keep in touch.

Gösta Johansson
Administrative Secretary