IFLA has chosen Sao Paulo as the venue for the 9^th International Congress on Medical Librarianship, which will take place in 2005. At the annual IFLA meeting in Bangkok, the Section of Biological and Medical Sciences Libraries decided to recommend the bid developed by Bireme/PAHO (www.bireme.br) to bring 9ICML to their home city. The decision was made despite very strong rival bids from Sydney and Montreal, and the unprecedented strength of the competition is testimony to the growing importance of the International Congress in the professional calendar. 2005 will be ICML’s first visit to Latin America.

The decision is subject to ratification by the general assembly at the 2000 congress, but the 8ICML organisers are already beginning to work closely with the Bireme team. Elenice de Castro, who will be running the project, has joined the main 8ICML organising committee in order to reinforce these links.