Introduction

You have just logged into the Database of the World Directory of Parliamentary Libraries. The Directory of Parliamentary Libraries, in the form in which you will now find it on the Internet, was originally published by the International Federation of Library Associations, or rather by the Section on Library and Research Services for Parliament.

Parliamentary librarianship is a distinctive type of information work. Parliamentary libraries are called upon not only to identify, locate, analyse and interpret information but also to synthesize and condense it and, in some cases, to simplify it and make it accessible to a wider public. Parliamentary librarians must not only possess the traditional skills relating to acquisition, indexing and referencing - to which a familiarity with automation must nowadays be added - but they are also expected to have analytical and presentation skills.

The principal task of a parliamentary library is to try to anticipate trends and developments and collect information on them in order to provide the members of parliament concerned with the information they need when the issue is discussed in plenary session. The main clientele of parliamentary libraries are members of parliament and their assistants. This is why every parliament needs adequate library, documentation, reference and information services.

One of the objectives of the section on Library and Research Services for Parliaments is to promote cooperation between parliaments and especially their libraries so that information can be exchanged worldwide and even better support services offered to members of parliament. The organization also provides help and encouragement to newly established parliamentary libraries across the world with a view to promoting the sharing of information among institutions with the same tasks.

The Directory of Parliamentary Libraries is in many ways a major first step towards encouraging communication among parliaments as it covers all the necessary data.

I would be very grateful if you could fill in the questionnaire whenever a change occurs in your parliament so that we can keep our register up-to-date. Thank you in advance for your kind cooperation.
Marga Coing

Advice for the user

The world Directory of Parliamentary Libraries registers parliaments and their libraries in alphabetical order. You will also find the data for a country using the clickable world map.

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