Over the years, I have tried to do my part as an individual to bring librarians and information professionals from developing, less developed, and developed countries together by starting this series of non-profit international conferences on new information technology (NIT) in 1987 with no outside resources. The NIT series has numerous goals and objectives. Primarily, the series establishes an informal global information network on NIT subjects, and equalizes information sharing opportunities aimed at information professionals from both developing and developed countries. The series also enhances global understanding of world wide information technology advances. In addition to these goals, this series of low-budget and non-profit conferences is meant to be a demonstration as well. Without defiance of traditions, these conferences demonstrate that motivation, good planning, and proper use of new technologies can do wonders.

By organizing these non-profit conferences with only shoe-string budget, I have learned a great deal. Like all new conferences, the First Conference, in Bangkok in 1987, was organized with considerable difficulty and with no outside funding except my own. However, the results were most gratifying. The following conferences in Singapore (1989), Guadalajara (1990), Budapest (1991), Hong Kong (1992), Puerto Rico (1993), Alexandria, Virginia (1994), Riga, Latvia (1995), and Pretoria, South Africa (1996) have had an impressive list of participants and several sponsors/endorsers. One sponsor, the US National Commission of Libraries and Information Science, has been constant since 1989, and deserves our special thanks for its invaluable and timely support all these years. It is this support which has met me half way and has enabled me to organize this series of conferences in far away places. It also provides partial funding for the preparation and printing of the conference Proceedings, which are complimentary to all full-time participant of each conference on the day of registration.

Like its predecessor, NIT '98 is a successful demonstration that even a very limited budget can go a long way. In fact, probably even farther than most support given for conference organization and attendance in "conventional" ways. I believe this because many participants have managed to attend by using their own limited resources, and thus have shared the responsibility for international cooperation and exchange.

NIT '98 has also demonstrated that international information work needs to be matched with a determined willingness to take risks, a sharp vision, and a deep commitment to this effort. While most conferences of similar scope and scale to those of NIT '98 have been run conventionally by professional organizations and/or profit making organizations, NIT '98 is the product of a very small but very effective group of professionals. As with all NIT conferences, each player shares the same goals, and is willing to work hard in an environment which can be logistically complex and inflexible. Each has volunteered his/her time and effort in good spirit to overcome every possible difficulty as it appears.

During my career, I have been extremely lucky to have worked with real professionals from many parts of the world, and have been incredibly blessed to have my own very powerful but informal network of over two thousand professionals in over 30 countries. During the last year, I have had the great pleasure in working with a number of them both in the US, Vietnam and other parts of the world on this conference. I shall elaborate on this.

NIT with its risk taking and adventurous spirit, has been credited for being the first of this type of conferences brought to several parts of the world after new "political" or other developments -- for example, NIT '91 in Budapest, NIT '95 in Riga, Latvia, NIT '96 in Pretoria, South Africa. Thus, in its modest way, NIT has played an important role in international library and information development. After NIT '96, as I began to think of the next NIT, I thought of Vietnam immediately because of the recent formal diplomatic tie between Vietnam and the United States. The interest was also heightened because of the very strong tie between Simmons College and Vietnam. Started in 1992, a rather impressive 3-year program to train 6 Vietnamese librarians each year have enabled our recent graduates to make very substantial contribution in developing information services in Vietnam since their return in almost all levels and all regions. This is reflected in many papers contributed by them in this conference and they have made us very proud of them. To me, it would be a great pleasure to bring NIT to Vietnam for them as well. So, the discussion on the possibility of having NIT in Vietnam started with my college classmate, Janet Nguyen of the National Library of Medicine, and her husband, Dr. Hoa Nguyen of the Library of Congress, when I visited them in early 1997, and that was followed with a number of preliminary communications between Dr. Nguyen and the National Library of Vietnam. I wish to acknowledge here their advice and efforts in getting the ideas started. From then, a number of professionals have been involved in the planning and implementation of this conference. I wish to thank specifically my colleague, Prof. Patricia Oyler, for her invaluable advice and hard work throughout the rest of the planning. Particularly because of my recent consultancy in Taiwan, without her "burning midnight candles" to serve as an intermediate between our Vietnamese colleagues and myself by showering me with faxes and phone discussions, I am very sure that our meeting will be delayed! Support from Dean James M. Matarazzo of the Graduate School of Library and Information Science, Simmons College is also gratefully ackowledged. Special thanks are due to my two local co-organizers -- Dr. Pham Xuan Sinh, Vice-Director of the Department of International Relations, Ministry of Culture Information of Vietnam, and Dr. Nguyen The Duc, the Director of the National Library of Vietnam -- whose interest in NIT '98 and support made it possible for us to hold NIT in Hanoi. The logistic support from Ms. Thuy Le Ngoc of the Ministry of Culture Information of Vietnam and Mr. Dang Van Uc of the National Library of Vietnam, as well as many other staff of the two organizations have been critical to the success of this meeting. Finally, I must acknowledge the most needed and timely help from Ms. Quan Mai Binh, Supervising Librarian of the Information Resource Center of USIS, Hanoi, also one of the Simmons graduates. During many critical times, Binh always served as the much needed intermediate between the local organizers and myself. Her email facilities have also facilitated the much needed communications between two parties. The effectiveness of this type of informal network is one of the keys to the success of this kind of conferences.

Despite the challenges related to the logistics and other complex elements that are always involved when working in an international environment, NIT's overriding consideration has always been the quality of the program. The contents of this Proceedings can attest to this. For this reason, thanks should be given to all authors/speakers for their sincere efforts in preparing manuscripts and their willingness to share their best ideas, techniques, and results with the participants at this conference. Unlike the Proceedings of many other conferences, which generally become available months and even years after the events have ended, this one is available on the day of the conference! Despite of the impossible deadline -- all authors had less than two months or some even less than one month to prepare their papers, and I had less than one week to edit, reformat, index, and produce the final camera ready copy for printing -- NIT's tradition to deliver the finished Proceedings on the day of conference lives on! one can clearly agree that this kind of production is no small task. I am deeply indebted to all authors for their understanding, incredible cooperation, and tolerance. Because of the "Tiger" New Year celebration and holidays in the Far East - called "Teh" in Vietnam, our colleagues in Vietnam and the Far East had literally no time to prepare their papers, yet they have managed to meet my impossible deadline. To them, my sincere thanks and congratulations!

Once again, we are successful in demonstrating that the proper use of new technologies can indeed not only increase productivity and efficiency but also do wonders. With the distance between Vietnam or other far away countries -- like South Africa, Zimbabwe, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Taiwan, UK -- and the U.S.A. and Canada, this conference has utilized the Internet, World Wide Web, and electronic publishing tools to the fullest extent. I was very touched when Dr. Odero from Zimbabwe apologized to me that he did not reply to my email earlier because he did not have email access for 8 days when he was in the "bushes," yet he managed to turn around quickly and sent his paper via Internet the next day. With this kind of experience, no wonder that "impossible" is most likely not easily found in my "dictionary".

In addition to the countless number of emails among the organizers and between the authors and me, the Internet has enabled me to download the electronic files of all authors -- regardless whether I am at home, office, or hotel rooms and organizations visited by me in other countries -- for final editing and production of the Proceedings. I was able to deliver the Proceedings in your hand with a miraculous 7-day Production period. Let's congratulate ourselves for this!

Finally, as is usual with all my activities, none of them can be contemplated and carried out without the assured support of my family! Those who have known me in the past two or three decades can attest to my great fortune to have a very close and incredibly supportive family. When the going is tough, everyone of them, regardless of his/her busy schedule, will come out to help. No one in the family has ever asked me "why are you looking for punishment?" because of their understanding of the importance of international exchange and cooperation, and they have lived the similar globally oriented lives. In particular, my husband, Sow-Hsin Chen of MIT, a science educator who has championed in global activities throughout his career, has provided me with immeasurable moral support from the very beginning of this activity. His constant love, support and understanding have made it possible for me to assume such types of strenuous and challenging activities without additional constraint, worry and guilt.

(Published in the Proceedings of the NIT '98 in Hanoi)