ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries December 1985 / 629 T h e te a m a p p r o a c h to lib r a r y c o n s u ltin g in a d e v e lo p in g c o u n tr y B y C arolyn A. S n yd er, Larry W. G riffin, A n d rea S in ger, a n d R o g er B eek m a n Indiana University Libraries A year o f consulting internationally at the University of Indonesia. T h i s article summarizes the experience to date of four In d ia n a U niversity ( I ğU.) lib ra ry faculty members who are involved in a team consultation for library development at the University of Indo nesia, Jakarta, Indonesia (U.I.). Their project is p a rt of the Midwest Universities Consortium for International Activities (MUCIA)/World Bank IX Education Project. The availability of positions in the M UCIA /In donesia W orld Bank IX Education Project was first publicized at Indiana University in February 1984. The project includes three Indonesian Universities: 1) University of Indonesia, Jakarta; 2) University of Andalas, Padang, and 3) G adjah M ada University, Yogyarkarta. This W orld Bank supported contract is prim arily for the upgrading of faculty and de partm ents in science, m ath, engineering, agricul tu ra l science, and economics, and includes tw o major aspects: 1) faculty in a num ber of disciplines are sent to Indonesia to work with the Indonesian faculty in curriculum development, departm ental organization, and research development, and 2) students are sent to the United States and to other countries for fu rth er education. Among the re quests for faculty in m any fields was a request for two librarians for a total of two years to work with the development of the library system and its com puterization at the University of Indonesia. The University of Indonesia was established in 1946 and was built upon the Schools of Medicine and Law th a t predated its founding by five to ten years. In 1982-83 there were 15,000 students w ith 90 percent baccalaureate. There are 11 Faculties (or colleges) including G ra d u a te Faculty. It is planned th at the entire University will move to a new campus in Depok, 20 kilometers from Jakarta. Four I.U. Librarians decided to prepare a team proposal for the library development, since no one p erso n cou ld m eet th e exact tim e p erio d s r e quested, and there appeared to be many advan tages to the team approach. O n M arch 22, the group indicated in w riting to the MUCIA Board of Directors our intention to prepare the proposal, outlining the basic approach to be taken. On April 27 a more detailed proposal was submitted which was approved by the MUCIA Board on May 24 and forw arded to the University of Indonesia. In late July, the proposal was authorized by University of Indonesia officials. This initiative was welcomed by project administrators, because on a practical level there would be more expertise for the funds invested. The team approach is especially advantageous in developing countries in which libraries are at a point at which most areas of the library are under development at the same time. For example, at U .I. not only was a library system being organized but major developments in technical services, au tomation, 630 / C &R L News an d staff developm ent w ere occurring. Thus, the situation at U .I. was one in w hich exper tise in all areas of lib r a ria n s h ip w as re q u ire d . Moreover, developm ent h ad to occur over a long period of tim e and the team approach provided a greater degree of continuity and coordination th a n h av in g a n u m b e r of experts consulted for sh ort term specific areas over a period of tw o years. The team approach, therefore, appeared to be th e most p ractical from both th e point of view of the Univer sity of Indonesia and th e consultants. Specific p la n ning for w ork in th a t University environm ent be gan im m ed iately , th re e m onths before th e first consultant left for Indonesia. T he proposal was th a t C arolyn Snyder, associate dean for public services at I.U ., w ould go to U .I. for one m onth to gather inform ation and to p ro pose th e specific assignments for the other consul tants. T he four consultants began im m ediately to gather an d share inform ation about Indonesian culture, politics, the economic situation and th e li braries. L anguage tapes w ere secured through th e M UCIA representative at I.U . an d th e consultants began learning Bahasa Indonesian. Contacts w ith th e East Asian Studies Program an d the I n te rn a tional Affairs Office a t I.U . led to other in fo rm a tio n a n d personal contacts w ith Indonesians on cam pus. All of this inform ation was valuable in p re p a rin g th e team for th eir assignment in In d o n e sia. L ittle w ritten inform ation ab out the U .I. li braries was available in English prior to Snyder’s visit. H owever, d u rin g her visit in Novem ber and D ecem ber 1984, several library p lan n in g an d sta tistical docum ents w ere translated. W h en Snyder arrived, the following terms of reference p rep ared by university adm inistrators an d librarians was presented for her consultancy: 1) To gain insight in th e University of Indonesia’s libraries by a. investigating the existing conditions of these libraries; b. studying the outline of th e desired system to be developed at University of Indonesia. 2) To aid in the design of a University L ib ra ry ’s M asterplan at University of Indonesia, including all aspects of organization, adm inistration, m a n pow er, funds, building, equipm ent, facilities, m a t e r i a l s , a u t o m a t i o n c o v e r in g t h e p e r i o d 1985-1990. 3) To design an au to m ated library system th a t fits into th e M asterp lan an d into its scheduled stages. To identify those areas th a t can be already au to m ated even before the cam pus moves to D e pok. 4) To m eet an d hold discussions regularly w ith the University of Indonesia’s L ib rary D evelopm ent T eam , and other relevant parties if necessary, in order a. to identify problem s brought about by m ov ing the cam pus to D epok, especially those related to th e lib rary field; b. to decide w h a t steps or measures need to be taken in im plem enting the p lan n ed University L i b rary system. 5) To d ra w a final report containing a. a plan of action; b. reco m m en d atio n s p e rta in in g to points 2 and 3; c. specific project proposals to be conducted d u rin g th e period 1985-1990. In addition, she learned th a t there is no central library at U .I. T here are 18 faculty an d institute li braries each reporting to a dean or director. There was neither a position of director of the libraries nor a lib rary system. T he coordination of library p lann ing w as occurring at the level of the Assistant to th e Vice Rector for Academic Affairs. Snyder’s assessment is th a t th e libraries of the University of Indonesia are at a critical p oint in their developm ent. T he decisions m ad e about the shape of the library system an d th e new C en tral L i b rary at the D epok C am pus and the funding p ro vided d u rin g the next five years are key to th e q u a l ity of th e library system for decades to come. In th e design of the University of Indonesia’s m asterplan for lib ra ry dev elo p m en t, Snyder reco m m en d ed th a t five m ajor areas require priority attention. They are 1) organizational configuration, 2) collec tion developm ent, 3) personnel developm ent, 4) autom atio n, and 5) p lan n in g for physics facilities. Assignments for the other consultants w ere m ade, giving highest priority to these areas b u t also in cluding other categories outlined in the report such as user education. A m ajor recom m endation of the Snyder report was the need for th e ap p o in tm en t of a head of the libraries. This was im plem ented prior to th e arrival in April of L a rry Griffin. A nother im m ediate recom m endation was th e need to add a building consultant to the team a n d for th a t person to go to U .I. as soon as possible, because p lan ning of the new C en tral L ib rary was scheduled for com pletion in th e next tw o m onths. D onald Kelsey, University of M innesota, a library building special ist, w as ad d e d to th e team . Kelsey spent th ree weeks in Ja n u a ry an d F e b ru a ry 1985 at U .I. w ork ing w ith a team of librarians and architects who w ere w ritin g a building program . T h e h e a d of th e U .L C o m p u te r C e n te r r e quested a report from a library com puterization specialist to include inform ation relevant to soft w are packages w hich could run on h a rd w a re avail able at U .I. an d inform ation ab o u t other m ajor factors relevant to library com puterization. L a w rence A. W oods, assistant director for autom ation and coordinator of technical services at the U niver sity of N otre D am e, was em ployed in th e United States to gather inform ation a n d p rep are th e re port. L a rry G riffin, head of interlibrary services at In d ian a University Libraries, arrived on April 1 for a six-month period. His assignments included w ork w ith th e ap p ro p riate adm inistrators and librarians in th e developm ent of th e lib rary system, follow-up to the Kelsey building program w ith detailed plan- D ecem ber 1985 / 631 U.I. meets I. U.: Librarians Y a n ty G oenaw an (Indonesia) a n d L arry G riffin (Indiana) in the University o f Indonesia C entral L ib ra ry Office. n in g in th e e q u ip m e n t a re a , ex ploration of te c h n o l ogy a n d o th e r c o m p u te riz a tio n ap p licatio n s, lo ca tio n of o th e r f u n d in g sources fo r th e lib ra rie s , personnel d ev elo p m en t, a n d d e v elo p m en t of a p la n for th e o rg a n iz a tio n of cata lo g in g a n d acquisitions on th e D ep o k C am p u s. A n d re a Singer, G o v e rn m e n t P u b licatio n s, a n d Roger B eckm an, h e a d of th e O p to m e try L ib ra ry , I n d ia n a U niversity L ib raries, a rriv e d on M ay 1 to sh are on e fu ll-tim e position for a o n e-year p erio d . T h e ir assignm ents in clu d e w o rk in th e d ev elop m e n t o f th e li b r a r y system , co llectio n d e v e lo p m e n t, p ersonnel d ev elo p m en t, user e d u c a tio n , a n d reference services. Snyder, th e te a m lead e r, r e tu r n e d to Indo nesia for a o n e -m o n th p e rio d in July a n d A ugust 1985 to review th e progress m a d e a n d to re c o m m e n d fu tu r e assignm ents for th e consultants. This article w as p r e p a re d d u rin g this visit a n d is th e assessment of th e fo u r te a m m em b ers p resen t in In d o n esia in A ugust 1985. T h e r e tu r n visit in J u l y - A ugust 1985 of te a m le a d e r C a ro ly n S nyder w as im p o rta n t. T h e th re e c o n s u lta n ts w h o a rriv e d in A pril a n d M ay h a d g a th e re d co nsiderable in fo rm a tio n a b o u t th e d e veloping lib ra ry system t h a t in d ic a te d it w as tim e to focus m o re sh arp ly on p ro b lem s a n d issues at h a n d . I t w as clear t h a t changes in a d m in is tra tio n , shifts in th in k in g , progress in d ev elo p m en t of th e li b r a r y system , a n d rep o rts d o n e by th e co nsultants h a d all c o n trib u te d to a re-sortin g of priorities. F or exam ple, d u r in g this p e rio d a n e w M inister of E d u c a tio n w as a p p o in te d , th e position of university recto r b e cam e v a c a n t, a n ew d ire c to r of p la n n in g for th e D ep o k C a m p u s w as a p p o in te d , a n d a n ew h e a d of lib ra rie s w as a p p o in te d . E a c h of these changes h a d an im p a c t on th e d ev elo p m en t of th e lib ra ry system a n d w h a t should a n d could be ac com plished d u rin g th e re m a in d e r of th e consul ta n c y period. As in any lib ra ry system co n stan t r e assessment of priorities is necessary. T h e te a m a p p ro a c h to a n in te rn a tio n a l consult ing p ro ject of this m a g n itu d e has m a n y positive as pects. T o p ro v id e su b stan tiv e in fo rm a tio n a n d a d vice in all of th e areas of lib ra ria n sh ip in th e term s of reference for this lib ra ry d ev elo p m en t p ro ject, persons w ith a v a rie ty of lib ra ry experience a n d e d u c a tio n a l b ack g ro u n d s are needed. T h e original te a m b ro u g h t to th e p ro je c t experience in v irtu a lly all areas of lib ra ria n sh ip . Collectively th e te a m has a w id e ra n g e of skills. T h e flexibility to a d d b u ild in g a n d c o m p u te riz a tio n specialists b r o u g h t to th e p ro ject highly spe c ia liz e d lib r a r y ex p ertise a t p o in ts w h e n it w as n e e d e d . T h e in v o lv e m e n t of several in d iv id u a ls over a g re a te r p e rio d t h a n an y one in d iv id u al could r e m a in in In d o n e s ia has also p ro v id e d a m u c h lon ger co n su ltan cy p erio d . F u r th e r c o n tin u ity has b een possible because of th e c o n tin u in g interest of th e te a m w h ile th e y a re in th e U n ited States. F o r exam ple, a fte r Snyder re tu rn e d from h e r visit th e te a m b e g a n m eetin g w eekly, so t h a t Snyder could sh are in d e ta il th e in fo rm a tio n she g ain ed d u rin g h e r visit a n d so t h a t p la n n in g could be d o n e for th e o th e r lib ra ria n s ’ consultancies. This allow ed th e m to g a t h e r i n f o r m a t i o n a n d c o m p ile d o c u m e n ts w h ic h w o u ld n o t b e av ailab le in Indonesia. I t also allo w ed tim e for th e consultants to discuss specific 632 / C&RL News issues w ith other Indiana University Libraries col leagues and ask for their assistance when needed. Since this project focuses on science and engi neering, colleagues at other universities such as Purdue were also contacted about collection devel opment issues. This link to colleagues at the Indi ana University Libraries and other institutions is very im portant, because through it the consultants in Indonesia had access to information and assist ance when needed. W ithout the support by the I.U. dean of university libraries for this project, it would not have been possible for four librarians, including a member of the top administrative team and a key departm ent head, to be gone from the I.U. Libraries and for the team to have the strong support of the Indiana Library system. Flexibility in staffing of the I.U. Libraries also allowed this project to be more innovative. D uring the consultancy period the MUCIA Resi dent Coordinator for W orld Bank IX/MUCIA was most helpful and participated as an advisor to the team in reviewing drafts of reports, arranging meetings and consulting when needed. There has been considerable cam araderie among all of the MUCIA consultants. The library consultants, for example, learned much about the academic struc ture of the university, its curriculum, and teaching methods from MUCIA teaching faculty consul tants. The sharing of information has gone beyond the consulting team , enabling the library consul tants to gain a broader perspective than had one consultant been responsible for all areas, outside contacts, and reporting. The team approach has also provided opportu nities for six individuals to be involved w ith the project rather th an the two originally requested. It has allowed the senior members of the team to gain this additional experience and to be away from their regular positions for shorter periods of time. The junior team members are having an interna tional consulting opportunity which they probably would not have had if they had applied individu ally. The opportunity for them to utilize their expe rience and to gain experience in a team environ m ent is also valuable. The home institution is strengthened by develop ing contact w ith a group from the same institution. I.U. has over the years m aintained a continuing in terest in cooperative programs in Southeast Asia. Upon their return the consulting team will take w ith them experience and contacts th a t enable them to contribute to campus programs and activi ties on Southeast Asia. Moreover, contacts, both formal and informal, can bring students, faculty and librarians to Indiana to study and conduct re search. In conclusion, the team approach to consulting in Indonesia has thus far proven successful. Both the host institution and consultant institution are developing international cooperation in a w ay th at will have long-term benefits for both organiza tions, both countries, and for individuals on both sides of the world. ■ ■ Midwest Library Service You w on ’t find more specialized service … anywhere College and university librarians: If there are gaps in services being rendered by your current library jobber, then Midwest Library Service may be what you’re look ing for. Midwest has specialized in service to college and university libraries for 24 years—so long that pro viding books from even the most obscure publisher is standard practice. For prompt, efficient service on all orders, contact Midwest Library Service. Midwest Library Service 11443 St. Charles Rock Road Bridgeton, MO 63044 Call toll-free (800) 325 8833 Missouri librarians call toll-free (800) 392-5024 Canadian librarians call collect (800) 527-1659