News from the Jakarta OfficeElections Indonesia recently held multiparty elections for the first time in thirty years. The Jakarta office is in the process of collecting material concerning these elections. The office has acquired publications and realia from all 48 parties, the electoral commission, and the international organizations involved with the election. The material includes numerous party platforms, brochures, pamphlets, flags, stickers, caps, etc. The office has also acquired governmental and nongovernmental reports as well as copies of the voter training video that was aired multiple times previous to the election. Capital Improvements 1999 saw many changes, both inside and outside the offices in Jakarta, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, and Manila. The Jakarta office capitalized on the strong dollar to fund several renovations. A new microform wing was completed and is now operational. Further, with an eye towards security and energy efficiency, repairs were made on the main building in compliance with safety codes. The changes in the suboffices were even more sweeping. The suboffices in Bangkok and Manila each moved location once while the suboffice in Kuala Lumpur moved twice. Field Trips Because of economic difficulties in Southeast Asia, commercial publishing and vendors are no longer as reliable as in the past. Therefore, the Jakarta office has instituted regular field trips to collect materials from nearly all provinces in Indonesia. Acquisitions trips were made to the provinces of Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines. These field trips, though beset with problems ranging from political unrest to uncertain transportation, have been enormously successful. In 1999, despite the decrease in commercial publishing, the number of items acquired actually increased. New Cooperative Acquisitions Programs The Jakarta office has become increasingly active in acquiring material from Indochina. Staff are currently working with USIS to acquire newspapers and other serials from Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Staff are also testing pilot programs to collect material in those countries. Those programs are expected to become operational in 2000. Lao and Khmer Materials In conjunction with the New Delhi office a program has been instituted to bibliographically control all unprocessed Lao and Khmer material. Material has been sent from the Library and the New Delhi office to the Bangkok suboffice for sorting, weeding, and cataloging. Go to:
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