Report of the Executive Committee for 1998.

The IUCr sponsored the following meetings held during 1998: 1. Implications of Molecular and Materials Structure for New Technologies, Erice, Italy, 28 May±7 June. 2. IV Latin American Workshop on Magnetism, Magnetic Materials and their Applications, SaÄo Paolo, Brazil, 7±11 June. 3. Seventh Annual ACA Summer Course for Crystallography, Athens, Georgia, USA, 5±18 July. 4. ACA Annual Meeting, Arlington, USA, 18±23 July. 5. Twelfth International Conference on Crystal Growth (ICCG-12) in conjunction with Tenth International Conference on Vapor Growth and Epitaxy (ICVGE-10), Jerusalem, Israel, 26±31 July. 6. Sixth International Conference on Biophysics and Synchrotron Radiation, Argonne, Illinois, USA, 4±8 August. 7. Eighteenth European Crystallographic Meeting (ECM-18), Prague, Czech Republic, 16±20 August. 8. Sixth European Powder Diffraction Conference (EPDIC-6), Budapest, Hungary, 22±25 August. 9. Gordon Research Conference on Electron Distribution and Chemical Bonding, Oxford, UK, 30 August±4 September. 10. International Workshop on Science of Crystal Growth Technology, Beatenberg, Switzerland, 5±16 September. 11. International School on Powder Diffraction, Calcutta, India, 7±10 October. 12. Third Conference of the Asian Crystallographic Association (AsCA '98), Selangor, Malaysia, 13±15 October. 13. II Workshop on Optoelectronic Materials and their Applications (including Solar Cells), Havana, Cuba, 2±6 November. 14. Meeting on Synchrotron, Neutron and Laboratory Source Crystallography at High Pressure, Argonne, Illinois, USA, 14±17 November. 15. Symposium on Protein Structure Function Relationship, Karachi, Pakistan, 16±19 December. The Executive Committee met in Arlington, USA, in July. The Finance Committee met twice, in Copenhagen, Denmark, in March, and then in July in Arlington, immediately before the Executive Committee meeting, to prepare its advice and recommendations on ®nances, establishment and staff matters. The most important items of business dealt with by the Executive Committee at its meeting, and in postal ballots, were: (1) editorial policy, pricing policy and subscription rates, approval of appointments of new Editors for Acta Cryst. Section C and the Journal of Applied Crystallography, approval of appointments of Coeditors, electronic publishing, Special Issues, and other matters concerning the IUCr journals; (2) approval of the audited accounts for the previous year; (3) the General Fund estimates and the level of the unit contribution; (4) investment policy; (5) sponsorship and ®nancial support for meetings, including young scientists' support; (6) funding and uses of the Publications and Journals Development Fund and the Research and Education Fund; (7) cooperation with databases, including relations between the IUCr and the Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre and between the IUCr and the Fachinformationszentrum Karlsruhe; (8) progress with Volumes A, A1 (formerly H), B, C, D, E, F and G of International Tables and development of associated software, consideration of suggestions for new volumes; (9) the IUCr Newsletter; (10) the Tenth Edition of the World Directory of Crystallographers; (11) ®ftieth anniversary of the IUCr; (12) the Ewald Prize; (13) discussion of the arrangements for the Glasgow General Assembly and Congress; (14) the role of crystallography; (15) nominations for Of®cers of the IUCr and for Chairs and members of Commissions, and proposals from the National Committees for these positions. Other items dealt with in this way were: (16) the implementation of the Crystallographic Information File (CIF) for Acta Crystallographica and other uses of CIF, patent application and adoption of the STAR ®le and CIF by other bodies, work of the Committee for the Maintenance of the CIF Standard (COMCIFS), provision of checking services to other publishers; (17) approval of publications, jointly with Oxford University Press, in the IUCr/OUP Book Series; (18) crystallography in Africa; (19) use of ®nancial support through ICSU; (20) access to large-scale research facilities; (21) review of the activities of the Commissions; (22) review of the activities of Regional Associates; (23) review of the reports of IUCr Representatives on other bodies. Items concerning the Chester of®ce were: (24) staf®ng requirements in the IUCr of®ce in Chester; (25) upgrading of of®ce technology in the IUCr of®ce in Chester, provision of Internet services, domain site name, formation of an IUCr World-Wide Web editorial board, and establishment of mirror sites.