ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 1 6 2 /C&RL News Hosting an international lib rarian B y N ico letta M attioli H ary a n d F ra n cesca L. H ary This worthwhile experience requires time and effort F o r alm ost a century A m erican librarians have felt th e n eed to share their advanced m eth o d s w ith foreign colleagues. This g e n e r­ osity has allow ed m any international librarians to b e trained in this country an d to return hom e w ith k n ow ledge acquired in A m erican libraries o r library schools. In 1993 th e Library Fellows Program , fu n d ed by the U nited States Inform a­ tion A gency (USIA) a n d adm inistered b y ALA, b eg an placing international librarians in U.S. libraries to en h an ce their professional e x p eri­ en ce a n d enable them to gain expertise in a specific area o f librarianship. T he Library Fellows Program carefully at­ tem pts to m atch libraries w ith librarian inter­ ests. ALA provides round-trip travel for the fel­ low an d o n e d ep en d en t, a stip en d ($33,000 p e r year, pro rated for grant duration), basic health insurance, lim ited funds for authorized travel a n d p urchase o f professional materials, a h o u s­ ing subsidy, an d an orientation program for fel­ low s a n d m entors. ALA assists w ith visa, Social Security, a n d tax preparation. This n e w pro g ram su p p o rts th e teach in g m issio n o f lib rarian sh ip a n d has stim u lated n u m ero u s A m erican libraries to host an inter­ national librarian. A lthough prestigious for the h o st library an d rew arding for staff involved, this type o f hospitality requires extraordinary com m itm ent from th e host library. T he rew ards m ay outw eigh th e efforts in­ volved, b u t hosting an international librarian is q uite different from training an A m erican li­ brary intern. More tim e is req u ired o n the job a n d th ere are m ore responsibilities outside the w orkplace. The host library m ust p lan o n d o ­ nating co nsiderable staff tim e a n d som e m o d ­ est am o u n t o f m oney. B efore inviting an international librarian, a library’s adm inistration m ust co n sid er not only if it can accom m odate th e interests o f the guest o r w h e th e r a staff librarian w ith ap p ro p riate expertise is w illing to act as m entor, b u t also sta ff tim e, in s titu tio n a l e n th u s ia s m fo r th e project, h o u sin g availability, a n d budget. This article (suggested by a recen t hosting ex p erien ce) aim s to clarify w h at a host library a n d its staff sh o u ld b e ready to offer an inter­ national fellow. Begin w ith training Providing suitable training for th e guest is p ara­ m ount. Since interaction is vital during train­ ing, it is im portant th at the visiting librarian b e in o r n e a r th e w o rk area o f th e m entor. A w ork sp ace sim ilar to th o se o f o th e r professionals sh o u ld b e p re p a re d (e q u ip p e d w ith a personal co m p u ter from w hich the library’s online cata­ log, CD-ROM databases, an d th e Internet can b e accessed). U p o n arrival, th e visiting librarian sho u ld b e in tro d u ced by th e m en to r to library adm in­ istrators an d th e staff o f th e d ep artm en t w here h e /s h e will b e w orking. After that, th e guest sh o u ld receive a general to u r o f th e library, to b e follow ed in time by m ore in -d ep th visits to e a c h area. T raining activities in o th e r areas o f th e library sho u ld b e co o rd in ated by th e m en ­ to r w ith the respective supervisors; th e fellow sh o u ld “job -sh ad o w ” professionals in th ese dif­ ferent areas. This b ro a d e r ex p erien ce will help Nicoletta Mattioli Hary is associate director f o r technical services a t the University o f Dayton Libraries, e- mail: hary@ data.lib.udayton.edu; Francesca Laura H ary is a reference librarian at the Dayton a n d Montgomery C ounty Public Library mailto:hary@data.lib.udayton.edu March 1 9 9 5 /1 6 3 the guest librarian u n d erstan d th e cu rren t d e ­ v elopm ent o f librarianship in th e U nited States. Such train in g activities c o u ld b e b rie f o r m o re in te n s e , d e p e n d in g o n th e in te re s t o f th e g uest. T here should b e a training plan in place from the beginning. T he m en to r sh o u ld m eet w ith the fellow to discuss goals a n d objectives an d their attainm ent. G oals m ight w ell change once the fellow realizes all available opportunities. The m e n to r sh o u ld en co u rag e th e trainee to take advantage o f learning o p p o rtu n ities at the host institution. It is o f u tm ost im portance that th e interna­ tional librarian receive all th e training n e e d e d in th e specific area o f librarianship selected for em phasis. Thus, it is im perative th at th e m en ­ tor have extensive experience in that area. Train­ ing requires atten tio n as w ell as supervision; b o th are b est given if teac h er an d stu d en t w o rk closely together. W hile it is im portant that the guest librarian d o som e m eaningful w ork, the focus sh o u ld rem ain o n training rather th an on any contribution to th e hosting departm ent. In a d d itio n to b ein g inform ed o f training opportun ities a n d conditions, the fellow sho u ld also b e told ab o u t atten d an ce expectations an d the privileges e x te n d e d by the host library. It is b est to agree o n th ese m atters from the start o f th e relationship. T he g u est sh o u ld b e trusted like any staff m em ber; h e /s h e sh o u ld b e given keys a n d passw ords. A long w ith prov id ing the visitor w ith a b o rro w e r’s card, it seem s a p p ro ­ priate to offer free photocopying. Involving the community Shortly after th e fellow ’s arrival, th e hosting institution sh o u ld arrange for publicity; inter­ view s w ith th e local n ew sp ap er, th e library’s new sletter, a n d /o r cam p u s p u b licatio n s can focus o n th e goals a n d learning expectations o f th e visitor, conditions o f libraries in the guest’s country, o r com parisons o f stu d en t life there w ith th at o f th e U.S. Inform ing the local com ­ m unity an d the library’s constituents o f the pres­ en ce o f th e fellow will benefit b o th the guest a n d the hosting institution. T h e international librarian sh o u ld b e given o p p o rtu n ities to visit different types o f libraries in th e region; it w o u ld seem valuable to se e at least o n e academ ic library, a large public li­ brary, th e b ran ch o f a public library, a c o rp o ­ rate library, an d a school library. Any ex p en ses in c u rre d w ith m ak in g su ch visits sh o u ld b e un d erw ritten by th e h o st library. Naturally, the guest sh o u ld b e included in all p ertin en t staff m eetings, socials, o r cultural events sp o n so red by th e library. D uring the visit, the fellow might like to share h is /h e r culture w ith th e library staff o r a larger audience. If this is th e case, th e m en to r sho u ld m ake th e arrangem ents. Since establishing useful professional c o n ­ tacts is o n e p u rp o s e of th e Library Fellows Pro­ gram , h o st library staff sho u ld assist the guest in m aking su c h connections. It m ight b e useful for th e visitor to talk w ith th e OCLC re p re se n ­ tative an d A m erican b o o k ven d o rs serving the area o f h is /h e r country. W henever possible, the international librarian should attend (subsidized by th e ho st library) local a n d regional library conferences. T he program funds th e fellow ’s a tte n d a n c e at o n e n atio n al c o n fe re n c e , b u t sm aller conferences will also contribute to a better u n d erstan d in g o f the professional activi­ ties o f A m erican librarians. Housing an d accomm odations T he h o st library is responsible for securing suit­ able h o u sin g for its guest. Since the fellow is allow ed to bring a d ep en d en t, lodging w ith oth­ ers in a private h o m e is n o t alw ays suitable. T he best accom m odation is pro b ab ly a small ap artm en t located n ear th e library o r co n v e nient to public transportation. If th e host library is p art o f an academ ic institution, it m ight b e possible to secure cam pus housing. Proximity to th e library is advisable; it reduces com m ut­ ing tim e a n d allow s th e visitor to retu rn to th e library at any time. S ecuring b e fo re h a n d a p riv ate fu rn ish e d ap artm en t could b e a m ore difficult task, b u t it is a g o o d idea to have h ousing ready w h e n th e guest arrives. If this is not d o n e, tem porary ac­ com m odations will have to b e secured, either in a h otel o r in so m eo n e’s hom e. Furtherm ore, private apartm ents an d cam pus h o using n o r­ m ally co n ta in only essen tial furniture. Such necessary item s as linens, dishes, co oking u te n ­ sils, lam ps, radio, an d television are usually lack­ ing. It w o u ld b e a w elcom ing gesture if the library staff offered to provide these items along w ith so m e basic food supplies. O n ce housing is secured, th e library sho u ld prom ptly inform th e fellow o f the details o f th e situation. Since th e fellow m ay n o t elect to hav e a te le p h o n e in th e apartm ent d u e to ex p en se, th e library sh o u ld b e ready to offer assistance, n o t only for local calls b u t also for som e lim ­ ited long d istance calling. Allowing th e guest to m ake o n e b rief w eekly p h o n e call h o m e at 1 6 4 /C&RL News th e library’s ex p e n se seem s a reaso n ab le an d affordable courtesy. Acculturation concerns Com ing from an o th e r country a n d culture, th e guest librarian will n e e d h elp b ecom ing famil­ iar w ith th e A m erican w ay o f life. Offering a television fo r th e ap artm en t is im portant b e ­ cause it will increase ex p o su re to Am erican cul­ ture, k e e p th e fellow inform ed o f th e new s, an d p ro v id e exercise in u n d erstan d in g sp o k e n A m erican English. Since social etiq u ette varies am ong countries, guests m ay n e e d som e o cca­ sional advise o n h o w to m eet situations that are n e w to them . H elp will b e m ost n e e d e d w ith practical everyday m atters, su c h as w h ere to s h o p econom ically o r h o w to ren t a car. The guest sh o u ld have opportunities to learn as m uch as possible a b o u t th e U.S. This can be d o n e in various ways: inviting th e fellow to o n e ’s hom e; visiting local m useum s an d his­ torical sites; attending lectures, concerts, show s, a n d m ovies; an d traveling o n w e e k e n d s to visit o th e r cities or n eighboring states. A ttendance at an A m erican graduation cerem ony should b e en co u rag ed since it is a n ev en t m ost foreign countries d o n ’t have. Most o f th ese activities m ust b e suggested b y th e m en to r o r o th e r A m erican colleagues w illing to spare th e tim e an d d o th e driving. If th is w illingness is lacking, th e fellow c o u ld sp e n d w e e k e n d after w e e k e n d co n fin ed to h is / h e r apartm ent. T he staff o f the host library m ust recognize th at th e responsibility o f providing hospitality for such a guest is n o t lim ited to the sc h e d u le d w o rk w eek. Responsibility of the mentor Selecting th e right p erso n to b e th e m en to r is critical to th e success o f th e h osting e x p eri­ e n c e since th e m en to r will b e th e active c h a n ­ n e l th ro u g h w hich th e entire ex p erien ce will b e funneled. In assum ing this role, how ever, h e /s h e sh o u ld b e ready to carry it o u t alm ost single-handedly. C olleagues will give som e as­ sistance w ith training a n d entertainm ent, b u t it will b e th e m e n to r’s task to organize an d coor­ din ate th ese activities. E xperience h as sh o w n th at th e fellow will d e p e n d prim arily o n the m e n to r for all h is /h e r professional a n d personal needs. For instance, th e m e n to r m ay h av e to m ak e sure th e visitor has tran sp o rtatio n to the su p erm ark et a n d th e lau n d ro m at at least o n ce a w eek. At w ork, m entoring will take tim e aw ay from regular duties and, d e p e n d in g o n circum ­ stances, th e m e n to r m ight hav e to m ak e u p som e o f this time. Since m entoring m ay also entail so m e extra ex p en ses— su ch as tran sp o r­ tatio n costs o r occasional m eals— th e library sh o u ld b e w illing to p ro v id e the m en to r w ith just reim bursem ent. Conclusion of the experien ce B efore d e p a rtin g , th e fellow s h o u ld h av e a d eb riefin g sessio n w ith th e m en to r. H e /sh e sh o u ld also m e e t w ith th e su p erv iso r o f th e h o stin g d e p a rtm e n t a n d th e library director. T hese exit interview s will allow th e fellow a n d h is /h e r hosts to h an d le u n reso lv ed issues a n d discuss the positives an d negatives o f th e ex­ p erience. H opefully, b o th parties will have a sen se o f accom plishm ent. U ndoubtedly, b o th will have co n trib u ted to b etter international u n ­ derstanding. T o th e staff o f th e hosting institu­ tion, th e results will p ro v e th eir efforts w ere w orthw hile; th e international fellow will return h o m e w ith sh a rp e r skills a n d a w ealth o f n ew an d useful know ledge. A farew ell party for th e d ep artin g fellow is also ap propriate. Short sp eech es, th e p re se n ta ­ tio n o f letters o f recognition, a n d sm all gifts representative o f th e h osting institution are fit­ ting. It is also d esirable th at th e hosting librar­ ians rem ain in to u c h w ith th eir g u est in o rd er to continue their professional exchanges as well as th eir friendships. Benefits w orth the effort T he rew ards o f hosting a foreign librarian far o u tw eig h any necessary w o rk o r ex p en se. Par­ tic ip a tio n in th e USIA/ALA Library F ellow s Program brings recognition to a library an d its staff. Certainly th e p erso n al credentials of the m e n to r will b e e n h a n c e d b y th e experience. T he entire library staff will also b en efit from the p re s e n c e o f a visiting foreign librarian w h o will bring u n iq u e abilities a n d ex p erien ce to th e job. B ey o n d th e institutional a n d p erso n al benefits, th e hosting library a n d its staff will have fulfilled th eir g reater obligation tow ards th e profession, th e international library com ­ m unity, an d th e w orld. If you o r y o u r library are in terested in host­ ing a non-U.S. librarian, contact R obert Doyle, Director, Library Fellows Program , A m erican Li­ brary Association, 50 East H u ro n St., Chicago, IL 60611; ph o n e: (312) 280-3200 o r (800) 545- 2433, ext. 3200; T elex 4909992000 ALA UI; fax: (3 1 2 ) 944-3897; e-m ail: R OBERT.P.DOYLE ©ALA.ORG. March 1 9 9 5 / 1 6 5 166 /C&RL News