One of the major components of the current phase of the NEH-supported International Coalition on Newspapers (ICON) is a survey of U.S. institutions about their international newspaper collections. To further the project’s goals of better access to international newspapers—both bibliographic and physical, in terms of sound preservation practice—more information is needed about the extent and condition of these collections.

Building on an International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) Newspapers Section initiative to create a directory of newspaper collections that included collection policies and procedures, ICON is now refining a survey that will be sent to all CRL members early this summer. The survey is designed to elicit basic information from all of our partner institutions, but it will also offer the opportunity for librarians to describe their foreign newspaper cataloging, retention, storage, reformatting, and ILL policies in more depth.

The results will be invaluable for ICON’s present objectives and future planning, which in turn will benefit all CRL members and the larger research community. It should also help identify interested participants in the further development of the ICON Database of International Newspapers, a freely available resource located on the ICON website.

Our gratitude for your cooperation is extended in advance; look for results to be posted on the ICON website next fall.