The 11th National Conference of Librarians, Archivists and Documentalists – BAD took place on 18, 19, and 20 October at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon on the topic “Integration, Access, and Social Value”.

It was a time for sharing experiences, knowledge and reflection, and for debate on the new challenges facing Libraries, Documentation Centres and Archives now and in future. It was attended by several professionals and important people in the field from Portugal and abroad.

During the three-day event, we had the opportunity to benefit from a vast and rich programme.

Representing the Foundation for National Scientific Computing (FCCN), we benefited from the presence of Professor Pedro Veiga, Pro-Rector of the University of Lisbon. The Pro-Rector of the University of Porto, Professor Lígia Ribeiro, represented the Council of Rectors of Portuguese Universities (CRUP). Also noteworthy was the presence of the Presidents of IFLA and EBILA, Dr Sinikka Sipilä and Dr Klaus-Peter Böttger, respectively.

In the context of Digital Libraries and open access to scientific literature – Open Access – the programme benefitted from the presence of Dr Eloy Rodrigues, of the University of Minho, who has greatly contributed to the development of these areas in the academic and scientific communities.

FMUL’s Library was represented by colleagues Emília Clamote, who moderated the session – “Technologies at the service of users”, Ana Cristina Mota and Sofia Amador. From the Institute of Molecular Medicine, we highlight the participation of Professor Maria Mota, who was invited to work as part of “Information Infrastructures in the development of research and scientific communication in Portugal”.

Once more, the importance of this kind of events was clear, as they enable positive interaction among those present in terms of sharing ideas, knowledge and experiences that promote good professional practice.

Ana Cristina Mota
Library-DIC