This situation, which is forcing us to look again at the structures of the core programmes, is also therefore the opportunity to go back to basics and think about the content of these programmes as much as their method of operation and funding. Mr van Drimmelen, Director of the Royal Library of the Netherlands, chaired the 'Group of Seven' members of the Conference of Directors of National Libraries, to help us come to an acceptable solution, based on preliminary proposals presented to them at last year's conference. I am delighted to say, that with the Group's help, we are very close to agreement. Some Core Programmes will be able to stay as they are, as they are the only actors in their specific field. We are only starting to reflect on this question.
Some programmes feel themselves directly threatened.
On the contrary, thanks are due to all these programmes and libraries for their outstanding work, their unfailing generosity and their continuing commitment. But there again, times are changing, and technical progress requires us to re-examine the content of our activities, in order to help libraries as best we can to rise to new challenges in a constantly changing environment. In this context, not to change is to stagnate, and thus to die. Libraries must prove their capacity to change, and the body that represents them, IFLA, must be the first to organise change. I want to reassure you that we will not change everything all at once, for the sake of changing, and jettison achievements and successes.