Pacific POPIN, the first population network of its kind in the South Pacific, was established in 1991 through the Library of the University of the South Pacific (USP). Pacific Governments meeting at the High-level Ministerial Meeting on Population and Sustainable Development in Port Vila in 1993 formally recognized it as a subregional network in Asia-Pacific POPIN.

Pacific POPIN comprises Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Samoa, with participating institutions being the South Pacific Commission and the University of the South Pacific. The subregional centre is based in the Pacific Information Centre of the USP Library, which is responsible for coordinating the activities of Pacific POPIN.

The national centres in this subregional network are based mainly in the statistical offices of the respective national Governments. In two countries, they are based in the Government's planning department.

The long-term and immediate objectives of Pacific POPIN are as follows:

1. to raise awareness of the importance of population information directed mainly at decision- and policy-makers, politicians and planners; and
2. to provide access to timely and accurate population information to a broad cross-section of the community, including the media, health workers, teachers, researchers, students, academics and consultants.

The immediate objectives of the subregional POPIN centre are:

1. to coordinate among the national POPIN centres in each country;
2. to encourage and promote the use of population information for the integration of population variables and issues into national development planning;
3. to identify gaps in population information and find ways and means to close these gaps; and
4. to coordinate and collaborate with Asia-Pacific POPIN, global POPIN, NGOs as well as regional and international organizations.

The functions of the Centre are to:

1. identify, collect, organize and disseminate a core body of population information and data from national POPIN centres and other regional information producers;
2. liaise with and act as a central link with population information users and producers on the collection and dissemination of population information;
3. improve the production, repackaging and dissemination of population information products and services to targeted groups of users;
4. provide national POPIN centres with support in training and advisory services; monitoring and reviewing activities at the national level; establishing standards; carry out TCDC (technical cooperation among developing countries) activities; undertake cooperative activities in acquisitions, interlibrary loans, document delivery etc.; improve communication skills such as report writing and presentation skills, library and information skills and the repackaging of information;
5. liaise with other population development information personnel, experts etc., within the region;
6. seek financial and human resources for the establishment and maintenance of the national and regional POPIN centres;
7. improve the flow of population information through the production of publications such as directories, bibliographies and current awareness services from a centralized facility; and
8. liaise with other regional organizations involved in population information activities.

As a result of previous training, Pacific POPIN has a core of trained personnel in CDS/ISIS, which is the standard software for Pacific POPIN work, primarily in the production of various directories.

The Centre makes available to users the POPLINE database on CD-ROM, and PASIFIKA, the on-line database of the Library of the University of the South Pacific. Requests for searches from these two databases are accepted by fax, airmail and satellite through USPNET, the University's satellite network. "E-mail" communication is available within the USP Network and is therefore a facility available to Pacific POPIN members.

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