ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries ovember 1982 / 345N Western E uropean Specialists Section Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect: Joan F. Higbee, 13 N. Bedford Street, Arlington, VA 22201. Nominating Com m ittee: C hair, Kenneth O. Jensen, Director for Collection Development, Al­ derman L ibrary, University of V irginia, C har­ lottesville, VA 22901. E ditorial Boards C h oice Editor: Rebecca S. Dixon, C hoice, 100 Riverview Center, Middletown, C T 06475. C ollege & R esearch L ibraries Editor: C. James Schmidt, Research Libraries Group, Jordan Quad­ angle, Stanford, CA 94305. C o lle g e & R esea rch L ib r a r ie s N ew s E d ito r: George M. Eberhart, ACRL/ALA, 50 E . Huron treet, Chicago, IL 60611. A C R L N on prin t M ed ia P u b lica tion s E d ito r: ean W . Farrington, Assistant Circulation L ibrar­ ian, Van Pelt Library, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104. A C R L Publications in Librarianship Editor: Ar­ thur P. Young, Dean of Libraries, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881. ■ ■ r S J International Exchange of Librarians and the Ohio University Internship Program H w a-W ei L e e K. M ulliner Ohio University L ibraries E d ito r ’s N ote: This p a p e r w as p resen ted to th e ALA International Relations Round T able at the P hiladelphia Annual C on feren ce on July 12, 1982. I n t r o d u c t i o n “International exchange of librarians” is often interpreted as those bilateral arrangements be­ tw een institutions to exchange librarians on a short-term basis. The details of such arrangements vary from agreement to agreement and, as a rule, are expected to work out to the mutual advantage of both institutions and of the individuals. But, practically speaking, not all exchanges are bilateral nor on a one-to-one basis. Some may begin as uni­ lateral and later become bilateral as a result of the relationships established while others may lead to multilateral or other asymmetrical relationships. No matter the form, it is likely that exchanges will require considerable negotiation, patience, and time to finalize a multitude of details. This paper will illustrate the above points by discussing some of the exchange opportunities available for Ameri­ can librarians and then by focusing on the library internship programs offered by the Ohio Univer­ sity Libraries. O p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r A m e r i c a n L i b r a r i a n s Many of the exchange arrangem ents among American librarians and their foreign counterparts result from personal contacts. W hile this means that those individuals with international connec­ tions are most likely to develop further contacts, those wishing to join the international library com­ munity are not excluded. One of the media for ini­ tial contacts which has been little utilized is the advertisement section of professional journals.1 This year, in response to an ad in C ollege & R esearch L i­ b r a ries N ew s, April 1981, p. 108, placed by a French librarian, a colleague is arranging to switch jobs with his French counterpart. The realization of such exchanges requires not only the willingness of both individuals to agree to a mutually satisfac­ tory arrangement but also the strong yet flexible support of their respective library and institutional administrations. This latter is essential as not all ex­ changes are perfectly matched in terms of specific positions held or the qualifications of each individ­ ual; therefore, special administrative actions may be required to make an exchange possible. In addition to personal contacts, a variety of other approaches may also prove fruitful. The Fulbright Exchange Program and the Peace Corps, for examples, are two of the best known programs administered by the U.S. government. The Fulbright Program offers opportunities for teaching or research in professional fields, includ­ ing library science, in many parts of the world— both developed and less developed. The Peace Corps, which lists library science as a program­ ming emphasis is suitable for both young and expe­ rienced librarians interested in library service in less developed countries. Opportunities for Peace Corps Volunteers with library background or ex­ pertise include teaching, consulting, and service. Although monetarily the Peace Corps may not be the most attractive, the experience itself can be both challenging and rewarding. Two of my col­ leagues on a field trip to Southeast Asia last year re­ ported en co u n terin g P eace Corps V olunteers working in libraries and teaching in library science programs. For such positions the Peace Corps of­ fers a standard of living comparable to locally employed 7 Also potentially valuable are the exchange no­ tices sometimes carried in the IF L A Journal. 346 / C &R L News peers within libraries and other institutions. And, while it is not stressed by Peace Corps, Volun­ teers receive a “readjustment allowance” of $175 for each month that they serve at the end of their assignments, reflecting a level of savings that many of us in the U.S. wish we could maintain. Funded by U.S. government agencies and pri­ vate foundations, the Com m ittee on Scholarly C om m unication w ith the People’s Republic of China (a joint standing committee of the American Council of Learned Societies, the National Acad­ emy of Sciences, and the Social Science Research Council) maintains a number of exchange pro­ grams with the People’s Republic of China. The Committee has a program for American graduate students and postdoctoral scholars to carry out long-term study or research in affiliation with C hi­ nese universities and research institutes; a short­ term reciprocal exchange of senior-level Chinese and American scholars; a bilateral conference pro­ gram; and an exchange of joint working groups in selected fields. Although American librarians have not actively participated in these programs, a visit by a group of Chinese librarians to this country was among the first exchange visits under the auspices of the Committee. For experienced librarians and library educa­ tors, opportunities for short-term consulting or teaching assignments are frequently available through the U.S. Agency for International Devel­ opment, the U.S. International Communication Agency, the United Nations, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the World Health Organization, and others. Some comparable opportunities may also be available through foundations and foreign gov­ ernments and institutions. W ith the financial sup­ port of the Asian Development Bank and other in­ tern atio n al agencies, m any universities in the developing nations of Asia are embarking on long­ term development projects which will require the services of library consultants. W ith rising standards of living in many develop­ ing countries, some can now offer salaries and em­ ployment attractive to librarians from the U.S. In Asia many American librarians are known to be (or to have been) employed in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiw an, and Thailand, all of which have a strong demand for experienced librarians as they modernize their library services. There is a shortage of trained librarians in many of these countries. I n t e r n s h i p s f o r A s i a n L i b r a r i a n s To provide experience in modern library prac­ tices and concepts for middle and upper-level pro­ fessionals in some Asian nations, Ohio University inaugurated a library internship program in 1979, initially at the request of Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand. Since its inception, the pro­ gram has been designed to serve two distinct groups of librarians from East and Southeast Asia. The first is comprised of middle or upper management personnel who have been working for several years and are now in need of upgrading their knowledge and skills, particularly with regard to the applica­ tions of technology to the information field. This group has since been broadened to include library science faculty, to provide them with practical ex­ perience to enhance their teaching capabilities. The second group includes recent graduates from professional degree programs in the U.S. and has aimed at providing hands-on experience with auto­ mated systems prior to returning to their home in­ stitutions to assume responsible positions. The geographical preference indicated in this program arises from the strong ties of the Ohio Uni­ versity’s Southeast Asia Collection with libraries and librarian s from E ast and Southeast Asian countries. Thus far, three librarians from T h ai­ land, one from Indonesia, and five from Taiw an have completed internships ranging from two to six months (although three months has been the pre­ ferred minimum). Among the interns, three are li­ brary science faculty and six hold responsible li­ brary positions at the middle management level or higher. Three of these also teach part-time in the library science programs of their institutions. The success of these programs has attracted UN­ ESC O funding for two of the library school faculty last year and two more this fall, each for three months. Another program which is being carried out in cooperation with the G raduate Library School of Library and Information Science of Sim­ mons C ollege, w ith p artial funding from UN­ E S C O , provides graduate library education at Simmons and practical training at Ohio University for a staff member from the Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (IS T IC ). This program is especially tailored to combine educa­ tion and training to meet a special need. The internship programs at Ohio University L i­ braries2 have, among others, the following special features: 1. As much as possible, the training program for each intern is planned to suit the individual needs of the intern and his/her institution. It takes into consideration the intern’s educational background, previous training and experience, and career goals. 2. The length of an internship, normally three to six months, proves to be mutually beneficial for the interns and for the Ohio University Libraries. It provides sufficient time for the interns to be trained in their chosen areas of specialization plus it affords an overview and some experience in library man­ agement and departmental operations. During the 2The article by Ron Coplen and Muriel Regan, “Internship Programs in Special Libraries: A Mu­ tually Beneficial Experience for Librarian and Stu­ dent,” Special L ibraries 72 (January 1981):31-38, capably highlights many of the general character­ istics of internships and thus the discussion here fo­ cuses on characteristics special to international ex­ changes. Novem ber 1982 / 347 internship period, the Library in return receives the services of the interns, Their area and language expertise are welcome additions to the Southeast Asia Collection and the Cataloging Department. The internships also include attendance at selected library workshops and conferences as well as visits to major libraries in the eastern United States. For instance, within easy driving distance is Colum­ bus, the home of O C L C , Chemical Abstracts Ser­ vice, and Ohio State University. Several library schools (including Kent State, Case Western Re­ serve, Pittsburgh, and Indiana) are also conven­ iently accessible. 3. Although the internships stress modern library concepts and the practice includes computeriza­ tion and networking such as O C LC online catalog­ ing and in te r lib r a r y loan system s, d a ta b a se searches, etc., special attention is given to the ap­ plicability of the technologies to the interns’ home countries. The Library’s Southeast Asia Collection, one of the best in the U.S. ‚ provides an ideal learn­ ing environment for the interns to relate their training to fam iliar materials and situations. 4. Complementing the Southeast Asia Collec­ tion, Ohio University Libraries also has a number of staff members familiar with library develop­ ment in Asian countries. These professionals are able to guide and advise the interns with regard to their individual needs. Additionally, Ohio Univer­ sity has strong ties with a number of educational in­ stitutions in Asia, particularly Malaysia. This is ev­ idenced in the recent joint gift by the Malaysian government and U.S. corporations to establish the endowed Tun Abdul Razak Chair for Malaysian Studies at Ohio U niversity. These associations which span diverse faculty and administrators con­ tribute to a cordial and supportive working and learning environment for the interns. Adequate financing is of course essential to im­ plementation of the intern program. Essentially, there are three types of direct costs involved: 1. Travel Expenses. These include the interna­ tional travel to Ohio and return, local transporta­ tion for visits, and the costs of participating in con­ feren ces and w orkshops. D ep en d in g on th e distance to the home country, the number of visits to be made, and the number of conferences to be attended, there can be considerable variation in cost, but $3,000 should be considered an absolute minimum for interns from Asia (based on mid-1982 air fares). 2. L ivin g Expenses. These include room and board, insurance, and personal and incidental ex­ penses. For a rural locale such as Athens, Ohio, $600 per month is adequate for subsistence. Obvi­ ously, this figure depends on local costs and must be 348 / C&RL News adjusted for inflation. 3. A dm inistrative Expenses. These include the travel expenses (but not salaries) of library staff who will accompany the intern (s) for visits and conferences as well as the cost of telephones, telex, postage, photocopying, and database searching. To this should be added receptions and official en­ tertainment. The minimum estimate for these ex­ penses is about $1,000. Applying these figures to a three-month intern­ ship, the direct costs would be about $5,800. The estimated indirect cost to the University for staff time spent programming, coordinating, supervis­ ing, training, and counseling plus overhead will amount to about $1,500 each month for each in­ tern. These indirect costs can be partially and justi­ fiably returned by assigning the intern to work ap­ proximately one-half time in a library department. This benefits the intern by deepening his/her un­ derstanding of how the library really works and how things are accomplished but at the same time contributes to the library’s productivity. An impor­ tant mutual benefit which cannot be monitized is the exchange of ideas between the interns and the library staff through daily contacts.3 Funding for the internship programs with the Ohio University Libraries has come from a number of sources. These have included full support from UNESCO for four library school faculty from Southeast Asia, shared UNESCO and home-institution support for a technical librarian from China, support for tra­ vel and living expenses for five librarians from T a i­ wan by their universities and information agencies with Ohio University underwriting the adminis­ trative costs, and other combinations. U.S. Federal funding under Title V I (Foreign Language and Area Studies) also partially supported two interns from Thailand and, beginning in October 1982, in­ te rn su pport was in clu d ed in our T itle I I - C (Strengthening Research Library Resources) pro­ ject for cataloging Southeast Asian materials. In this project, the intern from Southeast Asia will profit from the opportunity to work in a modern automated library and the Library will profit from having a professional librarian with linguistic and cataloging skills not available in the U.S. Despite the importance of outside funding, the success of the programs relies on the strong com­ mitment by Ohio University, and particularly its top administration, to international cooperation. And, as is evident above, the support from UN­ E SC O , both financially and through encourage­ ment, has also been vital in the programs’ growth. In summarizing the internship programs, we consider them to have special merit. They are rela­ tively inexpensive in comparison with formal li­ brary science education programs and have far 3The benefits to the institution hosting an intern described in the Coplen and Regan article, ib id ., p. 32, are all applicable to the international context and often heightened as a result of the cross- cultural dimension of the interaction. more substance than study tours. The programs are particularly advantageous for professional librari­ ans from Third World nations as they are afforded concentrated training and experiences which pro­ vide both depth and breadth within a relatively short period. As these individuals occupy or will be occupying responsible positions within the library profession in their own countries, the opportunity to use and understand contemporary technological applications and management processes can im­ pact on the advancement of entire nations. C o n c l u s i o n s International exchanges have many benefits. In the long run, they not only benefit the individuals but also foster inter-institutional cooperation, in­ formation sharing, networking, and standardiza­ tion on a global basis. Library internships, such as those at Ohio University, fulfill an important need. This is evidenced by the growing number of re­ quests received and the availability of external funding. The fact that many institutions are will­ ing to send their librarians to Ohio University L i­ braries for internship training at their own expense manifests the value of such short-term training. It is hoped that more libraries in the U.S. will open their doors to foreign librarians either on exchange or on internships. Standing in the forefront of mod­ ern library developments, the U.S. has much to of­ fer in librarianship. Yet, at the same time, there is much that U.S. librarians and libraries can learn from others through such interchanges. ■ ■ A CLENE SLATE The Continuing Library Education Network and Exchange (C L E N E ) is increasing efforts to publish papers of interest to the continuing library education community. Concept Paper number 7, Planning C oordin ated Systems o f Continuing L i­ brary E d u c a tio n : A W o r k b o o k a n d Discussion G uide by Kathleen Weibel was released in Febru­ ary. Concept Paper number 8, E ducational N eeds Assessment: The Group Interview T echn iqu e by Suzanne H. Mahmoodi and Mary M. Wagner is be­ ing released this fall. C LEN E is seeking articles, guidelines, manuals, planning models, etc. ‚ that have proven invaluable on the local level and is encouraging continuing ed­ ucation professionals to review their materials and submit a copy of works of general interest to the C L E N E office. C LEN E will provide a royalty to the authors of papers accepted. For further information, contact Patsy Haley Stann, Executive Director, 620 Michigan Avenue, N .E ., Washington, D C 20064; (202) 6 3 5 -5 8 2 5 .■ ■