iassist '84 Conference Report by Sue Gavrel, President Over 90 data archivists, librarians, researchers and other users and crea- tors of machine-readable data attended the IASSIST '84 conference in Ottawa, May 15-18. The week began with a day of pre-conference workshops designed to provide practical information and experience on specific aspects of machine-readable data. Workshop topics included: Complex Data Files; Micro- computers; Data Library Management; and Cataloguing Microcomputer Data Files. The conference opened with an international panel of representatives of statistical agencies from Canada, Sweden, England and the United States. The topic of the panel was "Issues Confronting Statistical Agencies: An International Perspective." Members of the panel included Christopher Denham, Office of Population Census and Surveys; Edmund Rapaport, Statis- tics Sweden; Lome Rowebottom, Statis- tics Canada; and Paul Zeisset, Bureau of the Census. Each representative outlined the activities of his respec- tive agency addressing specific pro- blems which are and will be confronted in the next few years. Similar issues were addressed and the audience was able to see how different countries were confronting similar issues. The session was very informative and sti- mulated many questions from both the panel and the audience. The sub-theme of Privacy and Con- fidentiality began in the afternoon with a plenary session focusing on the researcher's view of these issues. Professor John Bossons of the Institute for Political Analysis, University of Toronto, addressed the problems exper- ienced in obtaining and using micro- data. Two discussants, Thomas Brown, Vice-President of the Association of Public Data Users and David Norton of Statistics Canada, responded to the issues raised by Professor Bossons. The plenary session lead into three consecutive sessions, each deal- ing with a specific aspect of privacy and confidentiality: anonymization techniques, which addressed techniques used by statistical agencies and pri- vate companies in their collection and use of data; legislative aspects associated with machine-readable data in an international perspective; and the implications on archives of pri- vacy and confidentiality issues, in particular the effect on distribution and standardization. The second sub-theme, the Advance of Technology, addressed the advances in statisical software packages and their adaptation to microcomputers. Nancy Morisson, SPSS, Inc. and Gary Anderson, SIR/DBMS, Inc. were the major speakers and provided insights into the changes being made in these packages. It was suggested that a useful addition to this type of ses- sion would be a user of these packages who could discuss problems encountered in using the software. Three concurrent sessions followed, each one dealing with a specific aspect of the topic. "To Minis and Micros" dealt with the adaptations or approaches required by archivists and researchers in analysing data in hierarchical and relational databases. The "On-line Bibliographic Systems" session discussed the different approaches that can be taken in devel- ping on-line bibliographic systems. The third sub-theme. Changing Roles and Responsibilities, began with a session on "The Growth of the Informa- tion Elite." Nancy Brodie, National Library of Canada; Joseph Paradi , Dataline Systems Limited; and Erika -continued CONFERENCE REPORT continued Von Brunken, Karolinska Institute Library and Information Centre, Sweden, debated the question of whether a new elite was being created due to the cost of equipment and knowledge in the use of computers. Three concurrent sessions followed: "Data Archives and Libraries: New Challenges," which assessed the impact of government policies on the establishment and maintenance of data archives; "Data Collection and Use: New Directions," which addressed new trends in data processing and their impact on govern- ments, universities and private com- panies; and finally, the "Collection and Use of International Data," which outlined the problems which the collec- tion of data from cross-national sources poses to both archivists and researchers. Lunch hour meetings were held for two groups: Data Link and the lASSIST Working Group on the Preparation of an International Standard Bibliographic Description for MRDF. The latter met to discuss a draft working paper and approve reconmendations on changes to specific cataloguing rules. This report will be submitted to the ISBD (NBM) Review Group. Discussions carried over into the social activities of the conference. Both Statistics Canada and the Public Archives sponsored receptions for participants. A 10th Anniversary buffet/reception was held on the last night followed by a digital disco. A tour of the city in a double decker bus with a stop at Statistics Canada to see a CANSIM demonstration was organized. The week provided an excellent opportunity for participants to meet with colleagues from North America and Europe and discuss issues and problems which are confronting the profession. The Program and Local Arrangements Committees would like to thank all the participants for their enthusiastic ~^pcoming Elections Elections will be held this Fall, and all paid lASSIST members will receive information shortly. New officers will assume their positions at next year's conference in Amsterdam. The nominations and elections committee is composed of three people: Sue Gavrel Machine Readable Archives Public Archives of Canada 395 Wellington Street Ottawa, Ontario Canada KIA 0N3 Jackie McGee The Rand Corporation 1700 Main Street Santa Monica, California USA 90406 Ekkehard Mochmann Zentralarchive fur Empirische Sozialforschung University of Cologne Bachemer Strasse 40 D-5100 Cologne 41 Federal Republic of Germany Please address questions or comments to this group. participation in the conference. Next year's conference will be in Amsterdam, May 20-24. The theme of the conference is "Public Access to Public Data."