THE UNIVERSE OF INFORMATION.pdf - ideals

C h a p t e r
X I I I
CHANGE, NEW DIRECTIONS
POLLARD AND A STRENGTHENED INSTITUTE
The IIB's Annual Meeting in 1928 took place in Cologne
tinder the presidency of Alan Pollard. The business before
it arose partly from Otlet's activities during the year, and
partly from some suggestions for change in the Institute
propounded by Pollard himself.
During the year Otlet had continued to publicise his
plans for moving the Mundaneum to Geneva. He published
a new study of these to accompany architectural drawings by
Le Corbusier of the proposed Center-City there. 1 He examined,
also, the possibility of creating almost immediately at Geneva
an International Library which could become a center for
universal documentation through the co-operation of the IIB,
the UIA and other organisations. 2 He also continued to negotiate
the future of the RBU. He appeared to have accepted a
proposition from Richardson in America that the RBU could
be developed apart from the other UIA—IIB collections, a
separation anticipated as early as the 1920 Conference of the
IIB. There was now no suggestion of discontinuing it, only of
moving it. It had been said that the League of Nations did
not implement the 1924 agreement with the IIB because of
lack of confidence in the IIB's administration. What was
needed, Richardson maintained, being, of course, fully apprised
of the attitude towards the IIB in the Paris Institute was
«some method of operation which would give weight to the administration
of the repertory as now defined, 3 in order that this
might command the confidence of the particular agencies from
whom it was hoped money might be obtained». 4 Otlet's response
to this, perhaps prompted by Richardson himself, was to
suggest that the American Library Association take over the
administration of the Repertory. Richardson reported that the
ALA Committee on Bibliography was prepared to support this
suggestion if the League would undertake to provide $25,000
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