A new direction for FAO’s information services World Agricultural Information
Centre (WAICENT)
Anton Mangstl, Director, Library and Documentation Systems Division,
FAO UN, Rome
The
specific components which make up the World Agricultural Information Centre
at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), are
described in this paper. WAICENT comprises three principal components which
are interactive and complementary: FAOSTAT, for the storage and dissemination
of statistical information, FAOINFO, which covers hypermedia information,
and FAOSIS which covers very specialized information systems. WAICENT has
brought a new strategic information approach to the Organization vis-a-vis
information production and delivery, along with two fundamental paradigm
shifts - paper versus electronic distribution and distribution versus central
storage. In this paper particular emphasis is given to the public information
initiatives under WAICENT; the specialized information services provided
by the various departments and delivered through WAICENT; the full-text
document storage and retrieval system study that is part of the initiative;
and the Virtual Library Project.
In response to the increasing problem of consolidating the 40 independent
databases developed throughout the Organization over the years, a first
prototype of WAICENT was presented to FAO’s Conference of Member Countries
in November 1991, and met with wide consensus. Among the principal aims
behind the creation of WAICENT were:
-
the need to increase the extent of information coverage handled by FAO;
-
improve and streamline in-house data management;
-
strengthen and simplify the flow of information to and from the Member
Countries;
-
reduce processing costs in all phases of receiving, treating and disseminating
information;
-
reach FAO’s target audiences more effectively.
The practical advantages hoped for were principally three:
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the capitalisation of the intellectual output of the Organization through
the maintenance of an institutional memory in electronic format;
-
availability of the information at the user’s desk top computer, bringing
greater efficiency and cost-effectiveness,
-
the reduction of the burden on the national offices of Member Countries
in accessing FAO’s information resources.
The complete version of this paper is available from the Library and
Documentation Systems Division (GIL) of FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations), Vialle delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy
Or contact e-mail: Anton.Mangstl@fao.org
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