On June 28th, at 8:30 am Brasilia time, the BRICS online meeting of the Library Alliance took place. The meeting was hosted by China, which provided the appropriate infrastructure, with simultaneous translation into Chinese and English. The host Chen Ying, Deputy Director of the National Library of China, started the meeting by thanking everyone present and passing the word to the Director of the National Library of China, Mr. Xiong Yuanming.
After brief remarks, the conference began with the indicative agenda: From Digital Library to Smart Library: A Case for National Libraries - aimed at sharing latest trends for libraries and discussing innovative concepts such as Smart Library following the theme of library transformation.
The objectives of the meeting, as previously informed to the participating members, were, first, to provide a platform for the awareness of the National Libraries of the BRICS countries and, second, to share experiences, lessons learned that would have to do with the Smart Library concept.
Each director then made their presentation, starting with the hosts, in the person of Mr. Xiong himself. The second speaker was Mr. Luiz Carlos Ramiro Jr., on behalf of the Brazilian National Library. This was followed by the speech of the Director of the National Library of Russia, Mr. Vadim Duda. The next to speak was the representative of India, Mr. Prof. Ajay Pratap Singh. The meeting ended with a speech by Mr. Kepi Madumo, Director of the National Library of South Africa.
The meeting was in total no more than an hour and a half long, with speaking space only for the presentations. There was no space for discussion or debate. The meeting ended around ten o'clock in the morning, Brasília time.
