Introducing ADBS: The (French) Association of Information and Documentation Professionals

Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science, Oct/Nov 1996 by Menou, Michel

Members of ASIS may have noted from an announcement in the August/September issue of the Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science and posted on ASIS-L, that ASIS and the [French] Association of Information and Documentation Professionals (ADBS) have signed a cooperation agreement. Beyond reciprocal privileges granted to members of each society, the purpose of the agreement is to facilitate their interaction and cooperation in any suitable form. This introduction is expected to help achieve this.

It is all but an easy task to summarize the variety of interests and activities which can be found within ADBS. It is rich from the talent, expertise and dedication of its many members. We hope that you will find matching concerns which will prompt you to get in touch with them. If I can help ASIS members in making contact with ADBS members, I will be happy to do so. A parallel introduction to ASIS is being offered to members of ADBS.

More information about ADBS and its ongoing activities may be found on its Web site at http://www.adbs.fr/ which has an English version option, as do most Web pages in continental Europe. A Minitel service is also available at 36-16 ADBS. The headquarters may be contacted by e-mail at adbs@adbs.fr. The society further operates a non-moderated listserv, whose address is adbs-info@univ-rennes1.fr; it may be an easy channel of communication with colleagues in France and elsewhere, even though the use of the French language is preferred.

ADBS was established 33 years ago as the Association of Documentalists and Special Librarians, a name reflected in the acronym which was kept after the change of the full name. With a membership now over 5000 it is the largest professional society of information professionals in France. About half of the members are in the Paris region. International membership is relatively small (1.84%). Corporate members represent about 12% and student members 25%. Of course, France has a number of other professional or scientific societies in our field, reflecting particular concerns or trades. ADBS maintains a standing liaison with most of them, especially through an intersociety board.

ADBS is a not-for-profit association. It is managed by a president who is assisted by an executive committee, which meets almost monthly, and a board, which meets on a quarterly basis. The membership elects the board by a mail ballot. A third of the members are renewed each year. The president and other key officers are elected by the board.

A permanent delegation headed by an executive director with a staff of about 10 is securing the day-to-day operation of the society. Its office, located near Gare de Lyon in Paris, is used for meetings and training courses. It also hosts a few sister societies which, it is hoped, others will join in the future so as to form a House of Information.

The structure of ADBS includes 7 committees which assist and advise the board on a number of key issues; 18 chapters (called regional groups); and 18 sectoral groups, somewhat equivalent to the SIGs in ASIS, except that they correspond more to the sector in which members are practicing than interest in a particular topic.

The budget of ADBS is close to $2.5 million. Membership dues and subscriptions to the journal (which are separated) represent roughly 35% of the income and continuing education courses another 35%.

Continuing education has always been a major activity of ADBS. In 1995 some 125 courses were run over 370 days and involved 27,000 person hours of training. A number of courses are implemented in cooperation with other organizations, including sister societies in French-speaking countries, as well as in the major French cities in cooperation with the regional groups. All kinds of subjects are covered in information technology and methods as well as related disciplines, from introductory to advance levels. One-day seminars also allow a wider audience to be briefed about and to discuss hot topics.

ADBS publishes 5 issues per year of Documentaliste-Sciences de l'Information, which is one of the few French-language journals in information science and technology. The journal has 1800 paid subscriptions in addition to the 2700 members who choose to receive it. It is distributed in some 80 countries. ADBS also has a monthly information bulletin. The society publishes 2 series of monographs which carry for the moment 13 and 18 titles, respectively, and the proceedings of the now annual congress. It also distributes in France the European Union's information directorate (DG XIII) publications as well as those of ASTED, a sister society from Canada.

Both the permanent delegation and the regional groups are actively involved in a placement service. Jobs are advertised in the information bulletin and on the Minitel (with access restricted to members). A couple of years ago, ADBS initiated a procedure for granting professional certification and is working with sister societies toward European standards in this relatively new area.