FIRST DAY-- June 24, 1998

The first meeting of directors was held at the residence of Ms. Lien-Huong Fiedler, Registered Agent of LEAF-VN, at 1806 Youngblood Street, McLean, Virginia, on the 24th of June 1998 at 10:00 o'clock A.M.

The following were present: Ms. Le-Huong Pham, Ms. Suong Thomas, Ms. Lien-Huong Fiedler, and Mr. Hoang Ngoc Huu representing the quorum for six founding members of the non-profit organization of LEAF-VN (The Library and Education Assistance Foundation for Vietnam). Ms. Nga Thi Nguyen from Arizona and Mr. Vinh-The Lam from Saskatchewan, Canada were absent due to illness and office duty.

Also present at the meeting were: Ms. Cam-Lai Tran, visiting librarian from Hue Medical University Library, Vietnam; Ms. Boi-Tien Bui, Friend of LEAF-VN at Bethesda, Maryland, and Ms. Quynh-Hoa Nguyen, Ed. D., from Vietnam Library Education Project (VLEP), School of Library and Information Science, Catholic University of America.

Ms. Fiedler called the meeting to order and gave welcome remarks to guests and members while giving a brief history of LEAF-VN (The Library and Education Assistance Foundation for Vietnam). To describe the creation of this non-profit organization, Ms. Fiedler summarized its story as the merging of parallel dreams of former Vietnamese USAID (U.S. Agency for International Development) scholarship students. Her own dream began in 1993 when she picked up a booklet at an exhibition in the Library of Congress, "Donated Book Programs -- A Dialogue of Partners." The dreams of other founding directors had been more or less carried out in the early 1970's, right after they finished their library study in the United States and more recently through their efforts with the Vietnam Library and Education Project (VLEP) dissolved on March 1st 1996 (a).

The meeting proceeded and upon motion duly made, seconded and carried, Ms. Lien-Huong Fiedler, was duly elected as temporary chairperson of the meeting and Ms. Le-Huong Pham as temporary secretary thereof. They accepted their respective offices.

The secretary then presented and read to the meeting a certified copy of the Articles of Incorporation of LEAF-VN which had been filed by the State Corporation Commission, Richmond, Virginia, William J. Bridge, to authorize LEAF-VN to transact its business subject to all Virginia laws applicable to the corporation and its business, effective March 31, 1998. LEAF-VN is a non-membership, non-profit organization. The Board of Directors are its sole members. Only Board Directors can vote. It has, however a Board of Advisors and Friends of LEAF-VN. These Advisors and Friends are active associates or will become directors whenever they choose to do so as specified by LEAF-VN's Bylaws. LEAF-VN's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 54-1904267. Application for Recognition of Exemption Under Section 501 ©(3), form 1023 will be filed in the near future. At present, tax-exemption status for LEAF-VN is pending.

Hereby, the Articles of Incorporation and EIN were accepted and the secretary was directed to append these documents for inclusion in the official records of the corporation, LEAF-VN (The Library and Education Assistance Foundation for Vietnam).

Ms. Fiedler as the chairperson stated that the election of officers was then in order. Mr. Hoang Ngoc Huu replaced Ms. Fiedler to proceed with election procedure. The following were duly nominated and, a vote having been taken, were unanimously elected officers of the corporation to serve for four years and until their successors are elected and qualified:

President: Vice-President: Secretary: Treasurer: Project Director: Fundraising Director:

Ms. Lien-Huong Fiedler. Mr. Hoang Ngoc Huu. Ms. Le-Huong Pham. Ms. Ngoc Suong Thomas . Mr. Vinh-The Lam. Ms. Nga Thi Nguyen.

The president and the secretary thereupon assumed their respective offices in place and in stead of the temporary chairperson and the temporary secretary.

The meeting continued with its next business.

The Vice-President, Mr. Hoang Ngoc Huu, presented and read to the meeting the proposed Constitution and Bylaws regulating the conduct of the affairs of the non-profit corporation. Discussion for changes were made. Upon motion duly made, seconded and carried, the Constitution and Bylaws (b) were adopted and in all respects ratified, confirmed and approved and; the secretary was directed to insert them in the official records of the corporation.

Additional businesses were : A brief report of Mr. Vinh-The Lam's Vietnam Trip from March 26 to April 4 to present LEAF-VN's conference papers (c), The history of the connections with Vietnamese libraries & non government organizations (NGO)'s in Vietnam for LEAF-VN, and various internal business.

In her paper of the history of Vietnamese libraries and NGO's friends, Ms. Le-Huong Pham told her side of the story of LEAF-VN. After the Vietnam Library Education Project (VLEP) chaired by Ms. Quynh-Hoa Nguyen, Ed. D., was dissolved on March 1st 1996, she introduced three members of this group plus a few of her colleagues in Vietnam to Ms. Fiedler who had initiated the idea of forming an independent non-profit organization to help improve the library development for Vietnam (d).

Internal businesses such as a logo for LEAF-VN, a post-office P.O. Box to replace a residential address are still pending. LEAF-VN's temporary stationery and official business folders had been printed a couple of weeks prior to the meetings. As of today's meeting, LEAF-VN has its temporary web site for its HomePage (http://www.leaf-vn.org) serving as a reference tool with linkage of various library databases. Besides six founding directors, LEAF-VN has sixteen (16) Advisors, and twenty five (25) Friends who have more or less involved in LEAF-VN's projects or given advice on various matters (e).

Upon motion duly made, seconded, carried and ratified, all the attachments to the minutes of June 24 will be considered as official records of LEAF-VN (The Library and Education Assistance Foundation for Vietnam).

The first business fiscal year for LEAF-VN was also set to be from July 1998 to June 1999 with unanimous approval from the present directors.

There being no further business before the meeting of June 24, on motion, duly adjourned at 5 o'clock P.M.

SECOND DAY-- June 25, 1998

Project No. 2: Vietnamese Translation of The Concise AACR2, 1988 Revision, prepared by Michael Gorman, Chicago: ALA, 1989.

Ms. Le-Huong Pham representing three translators (Ms. Pham herself, Ms. Nga Thi Nguyen, and Mr. Vinh-The Lam) briefed on the project of Vietnamese translation of The Concise AACR2 [Anglo American Cataloging Rules, 2nd edition], 1988 Revision. In January 1998, the author Mr. Gorman granted these directors translation permission without fee and also promised to write an introduction for the Vietnamese version.

It is also necessary to point out that on the next day of June 27, at LEAF-VN's Presentation at ALA/IRC (American Library Association/International Relations Committee) East Asia and the Pacific Subcommittee, "the Subcommittee recommends that the IRC propose that ALA waive its copyright to The Concise AACR2 1988 Revision for the purpose of translation, for the benefit of further library development in Vietnam." (from the Minutes of ALA IRC East Asia and the Pacific Subcommittee -- June 27, 1998, by Isabel Stirling). It was projected to publish 1000 copies of the Vietnamese version. Out of this number, 900 copies will be shipped and distributed free to Vietnamese libraries.

Project No. 3: Library Training in the U.S. and Vietnam.

Ms. Pham described the frame work of library training programs which LEAF-VN's directors planned for fiscal years 1999-2000 to 2000-2005.

a. Training in Vietnam: There will be library seminars and workshops on The Principles of Cataloging, The Library of Congress Subject Headings/Classification, The Application of Anglo American Cataloging Rules second edition with specific application for the Vietnamese version of The Concise AACR2, 1988 revision, The On-site Training of Computer Equipment, and other technical library services.

b. Training in the U.S.: The purpose is to provide professional training at MLS (Master for Library Science) for professional staff of six university libraries selected for LEAF-VN's Pilot Projects. Hopefully, each year starting with fiscal year July 1999-June 2000, six librarians from these libraries will be sent for training in American library schools. The Library School of Simmons College, Boston, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will be the first universities LEAF-VN's directors will approach for scholarship and support.
These selected Vietnamese librarians will then be provided with internship programs at the Library of Congress. Ms. Diane Barber, LEAF-VN's Advisor and a Library of Congress staff will arrange various training with different departments in the Library of Congress for these librarians. The Soros Foundation's Regional Library Program, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's C. Walter and Gorda B. Mortenson Center for International Library Programs will be considered as initial organizations for cooperative supporting.

Project No. 4: Automation and Technology Update.

Mr. Hoang Ngoc Huu presented the result of his collecting fairly new computer hardware from his office, the Silicon Graphics System, Inc. To be able to proceed these hardware, he needs clearance documents, such as an EIN (Employer Identification Number for non-profit organization). Storage space and shipment for these hardware were also discussed. A maximum of three month period for storage would be economical.

Project No. 5: A Book Donation Program.

Ms. Fiedler reported her plans to carry out this project. The College Students' Book Committee chaired by Henry Nguyen has been formed and is in the process of recruiting more committee members from five American universities. Used textbooks from these universities will be collected as a donated item or with a small price. Advertisement in college newspapers, storage for these textbooks, and recruitment for more young college students are in planning stage.

International book donation agencies, U.S. publishers, as well as university press will be approached for support. The books selected will be geared to the university academic level on sciences and technology. The storage place will be in California where it is convenient for shipment to Vietnam.

Project No. 6: Indexing of Vietnamese Periodical Literature.

Ms. Pham presented her paper "Project of Indexing Vietnamese Periodical Literature." She believed that so far there has been no indexing work for Vietnamese periodical literature.

This is a long term project which might need a separate grant for supporting its various phases and parts. A Prototype Indexing Project will be tried out at selected American universities where the holding of Vietnamese periodicals is substantial, such as Cornell University, Yale University, etc. The result of this Prototype Indexing Project will be published in world wide web site, in LEAF-VN's Homepage, or in CD-ROM format. These final results will be used as models for training indexing of Vietnamese periodicals in Vietnam.

Manpower: Vietnamese American librarians for post graduate study will be trained in indexing fields, using new technology. They will be trainers for Vietnamese librarians and library paraprofessionals in Vietnam.

Software requirement: So far there has been no software program which can do indexing of Vietnamese language literature. Ms. Pham already either contacted or studied the following agencies: TriChlor group in Palo Alto, CA (http://www.trichlor.org/org/trichlor), The Vietnamese Professionals Society in San Jose, CA, (http://www.vps.org), The VNI Software Company, CA (http://www.vnisoft.com), and ABC/TCVN (a Vietnamese standard software used by official Vietnamese agencies). An organization among these or similar agencies will be chosen to work on creating a special software program for indexing Vietnamese periodicals with a charge.

Project No. 7: Fundraising Project and Grant Seeking for LEAF-VN.

This was briefed by Ms. Fiedler. LEAF-VN will form a Committee on Fundraising to work on financial activities for this independent non-profit organization throughout the year. This committee will be chaired by Ms. Nga Thi Nguyen and co-chaired by Ms. Fiedler. At present, the committee has only three members, Ms. Nga Thi Nguyen, Ms. Fiedler, and Ms. Le Thi Han (New York).

Fundraising should be carried out idealistically 4 times a year, with themes such as library, book, art, etc. in Arizona, DC, VA, or New York.

A semi-annual newsletter is another means for fundraising purpose and a way of communication with donors and supporters. LEAF-VN's directors and active associates will be responsible for the content and the publishing of this newsletter.

Grant proposal seeking will be an on-going activity for LEAF-VN as a means to finance itself independently. LEAF-VN's projects are the backbones for grant proposal seeking. Early this year in April, Ms. Fiedler made a one day visit to The Foundation Center's Library in Washington D.C. to do research on funding foundations for international development assistance.

The Foundation Center (http://fdncenter.org.html) directory comprises of links, both direct and annotated, to more than 290 grantmaker Web sites. It has a wide range of informational materials (e.g. program descriptions, application guidelines and procedures, grants, lists, etc.) produced by individual foundations hosted by the Center.

During the discussions of these projects, the directors had a break to view a videocassette of Ms. Le-Huong Pham's 1996 trip to Ho Chi Minh City where she gave a talk on "American Current Issues in Library Development" and presented 500 copies of ALA Tu Dien Giai Nghia Thu Vien Hoc Va Tin Hoc Anh-Viet (ALA Glossary of Library and Information Science edited by Heartsill Young). The film also showed the inside of The National Library of Vietnam, Hanoi, the Reference Room (one reader!), the workroom, etc. Ms. Le Huong Pham explained to other directors that her idea on an "indexing project" originated at this time, since she discussed with the Director of NLVN about indexing, and found out that "indexing" was indeed a very new concept to Vietnamese librarians.

Being no further business for the day, upon motion duly made, all the papers presented at the day's meeting were accepted for inclusion in the official records of the corporation -- LEAF-VN.

The meeting was adjourned at 5:00 o'clock P.M.

THIRD DAY-- JUNE 26, 1998.

REPORT ON THE ATTENDANCE OF SECTION 1 OF THE PRECONFERENCES OF ALCTS (Association of Library Collections & Technical Services, a division of ALA) ON FRIDAY JUNE 26, 1998, BY LIEN-HUONG FIEDLER.

SECTION 1: "What in the World ---Cataloging On an International Scale."

The ALCTS held three conferences on June 26 at Washington Hilton, 1919 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C.: (1) What in the World ---Cataloging On an International Scale; (2) The Transformation of Recorded Sound Preservation in the Digital Age and; (3) Jump Start: Theory and Practice for Cataloging Electronic Serials.

This one-day seminar with the theme "UNIVERSAL BIBLIOGRAPHIC CONTROL AND SHARED CATALOGING ON AN INTERNATIONAL LEVEL" was presented by the following speakers: Joan Aliprand, Research Libraries Group; John Byrum, Library of Congress; Daniel Kinney, State University of New York at Stony Brook; Olivia Madison, Iowa State University; Ralph W. Manning, National Library of Canada; Sally McCallum, Library of Congress; Monika Muennich, University of Heidelberg; Barbara Tillett, Library of Congress; Ingrid Parent, National Library of Canada; and Glenn Patton, OCLC.

John Byrum gave an introduction and overview of the preconferences, and presented his newly published book, "The Emerging Global Bibliographic Network: The Era of Standardization in the Development of International Cataloging Policy."

The IFLA Section on Cataloging was presented by Ms. Ingrid Parent who spoke about the history of IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions) from 1950's to 1999. The Section on Cataloging of IFLA has 146 members from Iran, France, United Kingdom, Sweden, Slovenia, Spain, Netherlands, Canada, Russia, Denmark, USA, Germany, Norway, Italy. Ms. Parent called for volunteers from Asian countries to be either members or chairs for IFLA/Cataloging Section. The major projects of IFLA/Cataloging Section includes: ISBD family; Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records; Form and Structure of Corporate Headings, Guidelines for Authority and Reference Entries; Guidelines for OPAC Displays, 1997, etc.

Ralph W. Manning from National Library of Canada and the second editor of AACR2, briefed on "International Conference on the Principles and Future Development of AACR." Mr. Manning mentioned the new policy of AACR2 Committee toward promoting international cataloging application for an universal bibliographical record. The Anglo American Cataloging Rules 2nd edition (AACR2) has been translated into eighteen (18) languages. The 1998 revised edition of Electronic AACR2 might be named as The International Cataloging Manual.

Ms. Joan Aliprand of Research Libraries Group presented a long lecture on "The Unicode Standard: Its Scope, Principles, and Potential for International Cataloging," a very technical lecture on the relationship between a character and the computer code. Examples of different languages such as Chinese, Hebrew, etc., were presented through computer coding.

Barbara Tillett from the Library of Congress presented "Authority Control at the International Level." Ms. Tillett discussed about the principles of IFLA/UBC (International Federation of Library Associations/Universal Bibliographic Control); the responsibility of each country for their national records and publications and; the differences for transliteration of languages' standards for cataloging rules. Examples of language variations such as "soccer" "football" "cataloguing" and "cataloging" were brought out as "linked records for same entity" or "virtual database on the Internet."

Monika Munnich from University of Heidelberg presented the differences in AACR2 and German RAK in cataloging rules and name authorities. OCLC records were also compared with German cataloging records.

Section on "What in the World ---Cataloging on an International Scale" was an informative discussion by experts in cataloging and other technical services. All the projects by LEAF-VN's directors are geared to collection development, automation, and library technical services. It is imperative if one or two LEAF-VN's directors become members of ALCTS. As the president of LEAF-VN, I recommend Ms. Le-Huong Pham to join ALCTS (Association of Library Collections and Technical Services). With Ms. Pham's strong desire to learn more about library technology and her background of library information, her joining ALCTS will enhance and update herself with useful knowledge which will benefit other directors as well.

I also recommend Mr. Vinh-The Lam, Project Director to join IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions). IFLA is a global organization to promote international sharing of information technology. Joining IFLA, Mr. Vinh-The Lam will be the first Asian Librarian for the Cataloging Section of this Federation. With his knowledge in library science/information technology and his experience with Vietnamese library system, he will bring benefits to both the Federation and LEAF-VN.

FOURTH DAY-- Morning of June 27, 1998.

LEAF-VN'S PRESENTATION AT ALA/IRC

LEAF-VN's PRESENTATION at the East Asia and the Pacific Subcommittee of ALA/IRC (American Library Association/International Relations Committee)

In response to the invitation of Dr. Hwa-Wei Lee, chairperson for the East Asia and the Pacific Subcommittee of the ALA International Relations Committee, on Saturday June 27th, Ms. Lien-Huong Fiedler, Ms. Le-Huong Pham, and Ms. Suong Thomas came to the Subcommittee's Round Table Discussion to report on the newly formed library non-profit organization, LEAF-VN (The Library and Education Assistance Foundation for Vietnam).

The Round Table Discussion was held during the ALA Conferences in Washington, D.C. at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on K and 14th streets. Present at the Round Table were Dr. Hwa-Wei Lee; Prof. Isabel Stirling from Oregon; Mr. Yungpei Tsai; Ms. Carol Erickson from ALA/IRC; Ms. Arleen K. St. Aubin; Ms. Yu-Lan Margaret Chou of Berkeley; Mr. D. Whitney Coe of Princeton; Dr. Beverly Lynch from UCLA; Ms. Shali Zhang; Ms. Jacquelyn Sapie; Mr. Robert Seal; Ms. Ichiko T. Morita of the Library of Congress; Mr. Binh P. Le from Pennsylvania; Ms. Suong Thomas; Ms. Quynh-Hoa Nguyen, Ed. D; Ms. Le-Huong Pham; and Ms. Lien-Huong Fiedler.

The agenda included eight items: Introduction by Dr. Lee; The Approval of the Subcommittee's last minutes of January 23, 1998 by Dr. Isabel Stirling who served as the meeting minutes taker; Report of the Contacts made with the Representatives of the China Working Committee by Dr. Lynch; The Progress Report on The Feasibility of Holding Another U.S.-Japan Library Conference by Dr. Lynch and Ms. Ichiko Morita; The IFLA 1999 in Bangkok, a New Request by Dr. Lee; The Progress Report on the Publication of the U.S.-Korea Conference by Mr. D. Whitney Coe; Report on the New Organization-LEAF-VN (The Library and Education Assistance Foundation for Vietnam) by Lien-Huong Fiedler; and other business and information sharing topics among members.

Ms. Fiedler and Ms. Pham met Dr. Hwa-Wei Lee in the hotel's lobby where they were checking for the meeting room. Dr. Lee had met Ms. Pham during 1992 meeting of the Vietnam Library and Education Project (VLEP). Since the Round Table Discussion would not start until forty minutes later, Dr. Lee invited both Ms. Pham and Ms. Fiedler to join him for breakfast to get acquainted.

Dr. Lee has worked many years for South East Asian countries on library and education issues. He also attended NIT '98, the 10th Annual Conference of New Information and Technology in Hanoi. During this trip, he visited the National Library of Vietnam, the National Centre for Scientific & Technologies, and the Vietnam National University Library in Hanoi. He also talked about his coming retirement, a sad news for the East Asia and the Pacific Subcommittee, since Dr. Lee is an experienced librarian and educator with a very pleasant demeanor.

The Round Table Discussion started at 8:30 A.M. with the welcome remarks by Dr. Lee and the introduction of each participant. Ms. Pham and Ms. Fiedler were joined by Ms. Suong Thomas at 10:00 A.M. due to Ms.Thomas' attendance at other ALA meetings early that morning.

The founding directors had prepared official information folders about LEAF-VN to present to the participants for the Round Table Discussion. Each folder includes (1) LEAF-VN's Homepage printout; (2) Mr. Vinh-The Lam's conference paper "Library Development in Vietnam: Urgent Needs for Standardization;" (3) Mr. Lam's Report on the Vietnam trip, "Two Weeks in Vietnam: Making Some Contributions to and Witnessing Some Achievements of Library Development;" (4) the title page of "ALA Tu Dien Giai Nghia Thu Vien Hoc Va Tin Hoc Anh-Viet = ALA Glossary of Library and Information Science;" (5) "Donation of Important Reference Tool to the Library Community in Vietnam," by Ms. Le-Huong Pham. A few copies of ALA Glossary were brought as gifts for interested librarians at the Round Table.

When it was LEAF-VN's turn to report its story, Ms. Lien-Huong Fiedler, summarized the creation of LEAF-VN (The Library and Education Assistance Foundation for Vietnam) as the merging of parallel dreams of former Vietnamese students of 1970's who had received scholarship for their education on library science from USAID (U.S. Agency for International Development).

Her dream initiated in 1993 when she picked up a booklet at an exhibition sponsored by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, "Donated Book Programs -- A Dialogue of Partners." She contacted the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, the U.S. Information Agency for more information on international book programs. Then in 1996, her dream materialized when she received from Ms. Pham a copy of ALA Glossary of Library and Information Science with an accompanied letter asking for money to send these books to Vietnam.

The two friends even thought of a possible Le-Huong & Lien-Huong Associates for Library Development and Book Program for Vietnam.

July of 1997, with a name list of several native Vietnamese librarians given by Ms. Pham, Ms. Fiedler came home to meet with these librarians and to survey their libraries. A Committee of Vietnamese Library Supporters was formed, consisting of five library directors, three in Ho Chi Minh City's university libraries and two from Hue University Library. Prof. Huynh Van Hoang (Secretary General of the Ho Chi Minh Federation of Scientific and Technological Associations, HOFESTA) and his assistant Vo Khac De also joined this library group of supporters.

As for the other side of these parallel dreams, Ms. Pham briefly told her story of LEAF-VN and her connection with the Vietnam Library and Education Project (VLEP) which was dissolved on March 1st 1996 due to the illness of the chairperson, Ms. Quynh-Hoa Nguyen, Ed. D. In October 1997, Ms. Pham introduced three former VLEP members to Ms. Fiedler who had discussed about the formation of an independent non-profit library organization to help improve the Vietnam library system. The 1996 VLEP publication of ALA Glossary of Library and Information Science was made possible with the financial support from the Galen Press, Ltd., the United Board of Higher Education in Asia, and the Al Kelly and Data Reproductions, Inc., Rochester Hills, Michigan.

Ms. Pham then briefed the librarians at the Round Table about the project of Vietnamese translation of The Concise AACR2, 1988 Revision. In January 1998, Mr. Gorman granted translation permission charge free to LEAF-VN's directors and also promised to write an introduction to the Vietnamese version. A copy of The Concise AACR2 and Mr. Gorman's letter were passed around. The Vietnamese version will have about 200 pages, with an estimated publication of 1000 copies. An appendix will be added to the Vietnamese version: Vietnamese names and entries using the cataloging rules of AACR2 will be demonstrated. To further explain this matter, Ms. Pham said, "We do not intend to impose the AACR2 rules on the Vietnamese library community. It is up to the Vietnamese librarians and its future library association to make certain standards for them to follow."

Ms. Pham then reported that she will write a letter to ALA to ask permission to allow LEAF-VN to carry out this translation project, referring to copyright fees and royalty waiver, etc. The participants questioned her on the filing elements of Vietnamese personal names. Dr. Beverly Lynch from UCLA and a past ALA president then joined the discussion by making a motion to ask ALA to waive copyright and related fees concerning The Concise AACR2 translation project. Dr. Lee accepted the motion and directed Dr. Isabel Stirling, the minutes taker to phrase this motion in the exact wording from Dr. Lynch for inserting in the Subcommittee's Minutes. This solution on copyright waiver will be forwarded to ALA Press for further discussion in the near future.

The participants at the Round Table were amazed and delighted by the measure of this hardworking group of LEAF-VN, especially when Ms. Pham explained about the contents in LEAF-VN's folders: Starting March 1998, Mr. Vinh-The Lam, Project Director already carried out his duty for LEAF-VN, presenting conference papers at NIT '98, the 10th International Conference On New Information Technology in Hanoi on March 24 and on April 2 in Ho Chi Minh City.

Ms. Lien-Huong Fiedler again thanked Dr. Lee for providing the honor to tell LEAF-VN's activities to the members of his Subcommittee as well as the appreciation from the directors of LEAF-VN for the motion made by Dr. Beverly Lynch.

Ms. Pham donated and signed her books to a few librarians at the Round Table, including Dr. Hwa-Wei Lee and Dr. Isabel Stirling.

The meeting adjourned at 10:40 A.M. on June 27, 1998.

Date July 24, 1998

Respectfully submitted.

Secretary: Le-Huong Pham.

President: Lien-Huong Fiedler.

Attachments:

(a) A Brief History of LEAF-VN (The Library and Education Assistance Foundation for Vietnam). Lien-Huong Fiedler.

(b) LEAF-VN's Constitution and Bylaws. Hoang Ngoc Huu

(c) Report on The Vietnam Trip, March 26 to April 4, 1998. Vinh-The Lam.

(d) LEAF-VN and Its Connections with Libraries and Non-government Organizations in Vietnam. Le-Huong Pham

(e) A Project for Indexing Vietnamese Periodical Literature. Le-Huong Pham

APPENDIX

FOURTH DAY-- Afternoon of June 27, 1998
LEAF-VN's BIRTHDAY PARTY

March 31, 1998 and June 24-27, 1998 were two important events for LEAF-VN. On March 31, 1998, it was incorporated under Virginia laws and; on June 24-27, 1998, it had its own Elected Board of Directors to start their projects on the official Fiscal Year from July 1998 to June 1999.

Having arrived first at LEAF-VN's birthday party from Charlottesville, VA, Dr. Marion Ross and Dr. Walter Ross honored this non-profit library organization with their check for LEAF-VN's bank account. Thanks Marion and Walter for initiating this benevolent deed !! To follow this example, Ms. Le-Huong Pham handled her check too ! Thanks Le-Huong !!

Guests came at different times between 4:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M., each waiting moment for the arrival of next guests seemed more exciting … Guests were all strong supporters for LEAF-VN ! They did not seem lacking topics for discussion. Their conversation and their laughing were constant: Were the topics so hot or the Vietnamese "hors d'oeuvres" and appetizers prepared by Lien-Huong, Le-Huong, and Suong so delicious !? Did they ask about LEAF-VN or just chatting away on subjects of library, book, Vietnam, war, or just jokes, ... !

About this friendly group ! There were Mrs. and Dr. Iserson who kept reminding their friends to call them ..."This is Ken ... and this is Mary Lou !" (no "doctor" term should be used here). Which laws does Mr. Attorney Husband of the Copyright lawyer Charlotte Douglass practice !? (no law discussion here please) ..."I practiced good laws ...That is my specialty ..." Then Ms. Cam Lai Tran, a visiting librarian from Hue Medical School's Library, with youth and charm of a real Hue woman, was taken as a Dong Khanh high school student. She revealed that she will have a daughter-in-law soon ! There were Dr. Ton That Chieu and his wife Boi-Tien who always provides LEAF-VN with good news and relevant information ...Thanks Boi-Tien !..

And Mr. Felix Chin, from the Chinese Economic Research Team of CRS (Congressional Records Services, Library of Congress), searching CRS files for news about Vietnam for Lien Huong Fiedler, was here this afternoon to witness the result of his help: LEAF-VN was born !! He demonstrated his Chinese calligraphy skill to a few guests! or "no sweat" he did guide the Maynards' automobile from Maryland through the Beltway to 1806 Youngblood Street! … Thanks Felix!

Then, Mrs. Roberta Phillips from the Library of Congress' Human Resource Office, accompanied by her lucky retired husband. All the directors work for pagoda or church or LEAF-VN and no salary no competition. An article on affirmative action and equal opportunity is not applicable here, but thanks! Ms. Pamela Barnes did witness a diverse group, LEAF-VN's guests this afternoon: "harmony can be found in diversity!!"

Mr. Ralph Oman, LEAF-VN's legal advisor could not miss this occasion to test on the business know-how of LEAF-VN's directors. So right after a week long with legal meetings, he hurried to the party. But the dinner soon got cold by the time Ralph arrived. Sorry. But you had enjoyed better meals in Vietnam ... Ralph was a Vietnam veteran, a Vietnam pilot (did not drop a bomb), and the ex-Register of the United States copyright !!

And there was Paul Maynard who did his homework before he came to join LEAF-VN's birthday party: Paul dared to read two big documents of LEAF-VN, The Summary Grant Proposal and The Story of LEAF-VN's Formation. His French wife? That lovely lady who enjoys listening to stories of people from all walks of life, especially if they came from oriental women ... The Maynards had spent nearly two decades in South East Asian countries.

But that was not all .... Came at 8:00 P.M. from Baltimore City were Dr. Le Trong Loc and his beautiful wife, Ngoc Anh who had waited hours for their babysitter who never showed up. Dr. Loc has been visiting Vietnam a few times to do his volunteer duties for his country. Last May, he brought medical books for libraries in Hanoi and Hue. He also visited patients from the hospitals in Hanoi and Hue areas. Dr. Loc and his group will work side by side with the directors of LEAF-VN in near future.

Ms. Fiedler and Ms. Pham were supposed to brief guests on the results of the meetings and to present LEAF-VN's future plans and projects. Instead, they offered the celebration of LEAF-VN's birthday with A BIG MOON-LIKE COOKIE and champagne and birthday song. But this long report will tell all about LEAF-VN plans and projects. If LEAF-VN's guests have guts to read it !?

Guests grouped together in the living room or moved outside as weather turned cooler in late afternoon, in the pleasant garden which was praised by the guest director from Modesto, California, Ms. Pham, "Lien-Huong and Jeff Fiedler have a beautiful house and garden which is decorated with some Buddha statues, Chinese Confucian scholars (look like the ones in Cultural Garden on Bolsa Street in Westminster, CA). Trees and flowers are around her garden. She put candles outside, but it was not dark enough to light them."

Again LEAF-VN's directors want to thank all the guests and supporters. This joyful birthday of LEAF-VN indeed ended the successful four day meetings of this newly formed non-profit library organization for Vietnam. To return for the wonderful support, the directors hope they can materialize their projects as soon as they receive financial support.

LONG LIVE LEAF-VN !!!