More than 150 librarians from 8 countries participated in the first IFLA/SEFLIN International Summit on Library Cooperation in the Americas. This international event was co-sponsored by the Southeast Florida Library Information Network (SEFLIN), in cooperation with the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA). The Summit was held in Miami, on the Biscayne Bay campus of Florida International University April 17-20, 2002. The theme of the event was "Models of Cooperation". The goal of the Summit was to open a dialogue between U.S. libraries and those in Latin America and the Caribbean. The professional program included papers and presentations on the Summit theme. The contributions came from librarians and experts working in the U.S., Latin America and the Caribbean. The three-day event offered a comprehensive approach to the Summit theme from the American and foreign perspective. The papers were of so high a quality that publication, as a monograph, will be sought for release next year.

Professional papers and presentations included:

• Nicholas Cop (OH)
  OCLC and Cooperation with Latin America and Caribbean Libraries
• Ernesta Greenidge (Trinidad and Tobago)
  An Overview of the Pan American Health Organization Virtual Health Library
• Patricia Borches (Argentina)
  The Virtual Library of Argentina
• Dr. Adolfo Rodriguez (Mexico)
  Models of Cooperation
• Johanna Tunon & Laura Ramirez (FL)
  Nova Southeastern University Partnership with Libraries in Latin America and the Caribbean
• Samuel Morrison & Pearl Woolridge (FL)
  Building Multi-Cultural Collections
• Kate Nevins (GA)
  Multiple Consortia and How They Work Together
• Dr. Vicki L. Gregory (FL)
  International Cooperative Efforts in Library and Information Science Education
• Bob Seal (TX)
  Interlibrary Loan: Integral Component of Global Resource Sharing
• Gayle Williams (GA)
  International Resource Sharing: The ARL Latin Americanist Research Resources Project
• Charles Mayberry & Jorge Pino (FL)
  Mi Servicio de Biblioteca of Southeast Florida Library Information Network
• Dr. Masood Ali Khan & Dr. Rasheed Ahmed Khan (India)
  Library Cooperation and Information Exchange in the Muslim World

The local organizing committee was chaired by Raymond Santiago, Director of the Miami-Dade Public Library and included representatives from all across the region of southeast Florida. During the Summit, attendees visited noted libraries in the area including the recently opened Broward County Public Library/Nova Southeastern University joint-use library in Davie, Florida.

Southeast Florida has become the gateway to many library services in Latin America and the Caribbean and the Summit served to foster and support those services, as well as offer attendees the opportunity to network and discuss mutual interests and take the first steps toward regional cooperation between these libraries. It is expected that there will be additional follow-up regarding these areas of common interest and cooperative agreements in the months to come.