Christine Deschamps

Christine Deschamps
Christine Deschamps at the 69th IFLA General Conference and Council - Berlin 2003
Born	France
Occupation	Librarian
Known for	President of The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions 1997-2003
Predecessor	Robert Wedgeworth
Successor	Kay Raseroka

Christine Deschamps is a French librarian. She was president of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) from 1997 to 2003. She wanted to lead the library sector towards a truly international work, and make it more inclusive for those whom English was not their first language.^[1] She stated that she wanted her presidency to be remembered as a pragmatic mandate.^[2]

Professional career

Deschamps was the last IFLA President to serve before the International Federation of Librarians' statutes were changed to a model where instead of electing the president, an elected president would be elected two years before becoming president of the Federation.^[3] She was re-elected after her 4-year term (1997 to 2001) to serve for two more years as president (2001 to 2003), where she promoted the work of libraries in the global information age, education, and standards development.^[4][5]

Before becoming president of the International Federation of Librarians, Deschamps held various positions at Parisian university libraries and also at the Ministry of Education in France.^[6]

Libraries and the World Summit on the Information Society

Deschamps called for libraries to be recognized at the United Nations World Summit on the Information Society as key participants in closing the digital divide.^[7] The digital divide and internet filters were topics that she worked on during the World Information Congresses.^[8]

Under her mandate, the First World Report on Libraries and Intellectual Freedom^[9] was established and she made statements on electronic publications and copyright.^[10] This work confirmed two committees in the Federation of Librarians: the Committee on Copyright (Copyright and other legal issues or CLM for its acronym) and the Freedom of Expression and Freedom of Access to information (FAIFE).^[11]

Internationalization of the library sector

Deschamps worked to decentralize the International Federation of Librarians (IFLA).^[12][13] She explained that she felt "that rebalancing power in the IFLA organization is necessary because there is a lot of influence from Europe and North America" and that developing countries should have a greater participation in the Federation.^[14][15]

In 1999, Deschamps and Jay Jordan of the Online Computer Library Centre (OCLC) announced the creation of the IFLA/OCLC Early Career Development Fellowship to enable librarians from developing countries to go to the United States for training and to visit North American Libraries.^[16]

Awards and distinctions

• Deschamps was recognized as an honorary member of the IFLA (Honorary Fellow in English) in 2003, along with Marianne Scott.^[17]
• Deschamps received the National Order of the Legion of Honor (in French: Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur) in 2001.^[18]

References

1. "IFLA '97 Election Results / Grant and Award Winners". archive.ifla.org. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
2. Deschamps, Christine (1998). "Interview with IFLA President Christine Deschamps". American Libraries. 29 (7): 91. ISSN 0002-9769. JSTOR 25635071.
3. "Christine Deschamps Returned Unopposed". archive.ifla.org. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
4. Rader, Hannelore B. (1999). "CONFERENCE CIRCUIT: Libraries as gateways to an enlightened world: The 65th IFLA Conference". College & Research Libraries News. 60 (9). doi:10.5860/crln.60.9.732.
5. Wilhite, Jeffrey M. (2012-08-31). 85 Years IFLA: A History and Chronology of Sessions 1927–2012. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-028844-5.
6. Deschamps, Christine (2001). "President's Annual Report to the 67th IFLA Conference in Boston". IFLA Journal. 27 (5–6): 297–300. doi:10.1177/034003520102700502. ISSN 0340-0352. S2CID 13964191.
7. "Libraries Help Bridge Digital Divide" (PDF). Top Librarian. 2003.
8. "69th World Information Congress was all about access". www.infotoday.com. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
9. "First IFLA/FAIFE World Report on libraries and intellectual freedom launched". IFEX. 2001-08-22. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
10. Deschamps, Christine (2000-01-01). "Electronic publishing and copyright". Interlending & Document Supply. 28 (4). doi:10.1108/ilds.2000.12228daa.001. ISSN 0264-1615.
11. Deschamps, Christine (1998). "Interview with IFLA President Christine Deschamps". American Libraries. 29 (7): 91. ISSN 0002-9769. JSTOR 25635071.
12. Rikowski, Ruth (2005-02-28). Globalisation, Information and Libraries: The Implications of the World Trade Organisation's GATS and TRIPS Agreements. Elsevier. ISBN 978-1-78063-077-9.
13. Lees, Janet (2009-10-19). "OCLC in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, 1998–2008". Journal of Library Administration. 49 (6): 603–611. doi:10.1080/01930820903238735. ISSN 0193-0826. S2CID 62589574.
14. "IFLA Newsletter" (PDF). IFLA Newsletter. 1997.
15. Jordan, Jay (2013-09-13). Weaving Libraries into the Web: OCLC 1998-2008. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-98687-4. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
16. Jordan, Jay (2013-09-13). Weaving Libraries into the Web: OCLC 1998-2008. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-98687-4.
17. "IFLA -- Honorary Fellow". www.ifla.org. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
18. "IFLA President Honoured" (PDF). IFLA Journal. 2001. p. 42. Retrieved April 24, 2022.