The European Association of Middle East Librarians: Melcom International's 25th Annual Conference, Beirut, 26-28 May 2003. Melcom's hosts and local organizers are this year: Orient-Institut der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft Bibliothèque Orientale and Université Saint Joseph, Wolf-Dieter Lemke, head of library Dina Banna, Librarian May Semaan-Seigneurie, directrice. There will be no special theme for the conference, though one section should deal with the library situation in Lebanon. There is a call for papers in the following usual categories:

• Acquisition policies and practices
• Manuscript studies and rare material collections
• Cataloguing policies and practices
• Libraries and new technologies. A first programme and more details will be circulated as soon as possible, but only to those who will have stated their interest, please keep this in mind. In order to register, send an e-mail both to the MELCOM secretary, and to Dina Banna, OIDMG ) before end of January 2003. Melcom website Via DAVO

... Comment