ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 172 / C &B L News J o u r n e y to T ransylvania: T h e 1 9 9 1 ALA C o llo q u iu m o n L ibrary S c ie n c e B y O p r i t s a D . P o p a Business Librarian University o f California, Davis and Robert P. Doyle Director, A LA /U SIA Library/Book Fellow Program American Library Association A n A L A delegation introduces R om anian librarians to m o d e m library services and operations. A t th e h eight o f the revolution in Rom ania th at brought down the Ceausescu regime, the Am erican Library Association (ALA) “to take a leadership role in helpingrestore libraries and library services in Romania. ” O ne fulfillment of th e prom ise m ade by ALA in January 1990 was the organization o f a colloquium on c u rre n t topics in U.S. librarianship for Rom ania’s librarians. H eld from August 10-12,1991, in the picturesque m edi­ eval city o f Brasov in Transylvania, the m eeting featured presentations by 13 American librarians, all o f th em nationally known educators and m anag­ ers, led by ALA President-E lect Marilyn Miller. T he ALA colloquium, sponsored by the National Library of Romania, took place at a crucial historical tim e w hen progressive ideas could fundam entally affect th e course of scholarship in the country and th e developm ent of library policies and services. Secluded behind the Iron C urtain, R om ania was isolated from all W estern scholarly thought for 46 years. State control over publishing, censorship, surveillance o f contacts with foreigners, and a gen­ eral atm osphere of distrust w ere day-to-day reali­ ties for librarians. After the bloody uprising o f late 1989, however, a revolution o f sorts also took place at the National Library, which oversees all Rom a­ nian public libraries. Librarians m oved to replace th eir com m unist director with a library professional they felt could respond to the changing n eeds of a society in transition. In early 1991 G heorghe Bercan becam e th e country’s first “democratically e lected” National Library director. p W ith a collection of more than eight million volumes, the N ational Library is the second largest in leRdogmeda nia. D irector Bercan inherited the high expec­ tations o f a new era in all th e nation’s libraries: the urgent need for updated information in every field of knowledge, calls for imm ediate modernization of library services and operations, and dem ands for library education and training. C onfronted with this pressure for new services and better access, Romania’s library community sought advice from W estern col­ leagues. Through a generous grant from the Interna­ tional Research and Exchanges Board (IREX) and at th e invitation of the National Library, ALA re­ sponded with the Colloquium on Library Science. T he ALA colloquium had several goals: to present an overview of U.S. library and information science; to help strengthen the new university-level library science curriculum in Romania; and to prom ote the adoption o f international library standards, thus fa­ cilitating access to scholarly resources. For the Ameri­ can delegates, the m eeting was an opportunity to enrich their own professional experience as well as to increase international understanding and scholarly cooperation by establishing personal and profes­ sional relationships with Romanian librarians. T h e c o l l o q u i u m A visit to the National Library in B ucharest and a discussion with Romanian librarians was the first item o f the itinerary o f th e U.S. delegation. In August 1991, one-and-a-half years after the fall of March 1992 /1 7 3 Ceausescu, th e capital still b ore d e ep scars o f vi lence. Bullet holes w ere visible on m any building graffiti still called for people to join th e revolutio and candles b u rn e d at m akeshift stre e t altars f those w ho died in the fight for freedom . T he blac e n e d hull o f th e C entral U niversity L ibrary i Palace Square, a vivid re m in d er o f th e long an destructive ba ttle for th e city, was veiled in scaffol ing. "The sight of the ruined C entral Universi L ibrary was absolutely heart-w renching,” Marily Miller rem arked. “[It represented] the destroye record o f a nation, th e irreplaceable loss o f treasure and th e betrayed trust o f scholars, writers, teacher and students. No m atter how m any tim es we passe th e site . . . th e em otional reaction n ever lessened At th e N ational L ibrary an enthusiastic welcom awaited the Americans in the form o f w arm speeche traditional Turkish coffee, a n dtsuica (plum brandy Librarians had also c rea te d an exhibit featurin representative titles received by th e library throug th e ALA/USIA Books fo r Rom ania project. Ov th e last two years this highly successful b ook driv has re su lte d in donations o f approxim ately a q u a rt o f a million scholarly books and journals to R om nian libraries. T h e ALA group was delighted to se th a t th e gifts h a d re ac h ed th e ir destination, and visit to th e stacks revealed th at m uch o f th e m ateri had b e en cataloged prom ptly a nd was already i heavy dem and. o­ s, n, or k­ n d d­ ty n d s, s, d .” e s, ). g h er e e r a­ e a al n R eporters from th e library m edia a nd m em bers o f th e local press w ere on h and in Brasov, w here 150 librarians from all co m ers o f th e country h ad gath­ e re d for th e ALA colloquium. T hey re p re se n ted public, academ ic, a nd special libraries, as well as the new library school in B ucharest w hich o p e n ed in S e p tem b e r 1990. F o r th e next th re e days th e U.S. librarians m ade form al presentations in English, w ith sim ultaneous translation, on a host o f c u rre n t library topics including m anagem ent, education, censorship, interlibrary cooperation, and public and technical services. Vigorous d ebate a nd in te n ­ sive discussions am ong th e Rom anian librarians characterized all th e colloquium sessions, as well as th e social a nd cultural events h eld afterwards. Participants h e a rd from ALA library leaders who re p re se n t m any years o f experience in th e ir special­ ties. Marilyn M iller (University o f N orth Carolina, G reensboro) discussed th e missions a nd goals of library education as well as curricula and accredita­ tion. She also offered th e group an overview o f both children’s services in U . S. public libraries and school library m edia program s, a nd delighted audience m em bers w ith ch ild ren ’s books and posters sent by A m erican publishers. Rom ania’s newly form ed dem ocratic library as­ sociations are strugglingto establish astro n g p ro fes- sional p resence in th e country. R obert P. Doyle, d irecto r o f th e ALA/USIA Library/B ook Fellows “I knelt before the m achine a nd alm ost h id u n d e r the table as they crow ded around the screen,” said E d w a rd Valauskas o f the Superconductor Collider Lab in Dallas, w ho dem onstrated m o d e m com puters to R om anian librarians. 174 / C& RL News Program , spoke on the missions, activities, and b u d g e ts o f lib ra ry associations. L a te r in th e colloquium Doyle talked about intellectual fre e ­ dom and censorship at a h ushed and intense ses­ sion. T he q u iet atm osphere seem ed to reflect the Rom anian participants’ reverence for concepts that until recently h ad b e en b ra n d ed as heresy. “Listen­ ing to Bob’s paper, I understood th at intellectual “The sight o f the ruined Central University Library was abso­ lutely heart-wrenching. . . . No m atter how many times we passed the site … the emotional reaction never lessened. ” freedom is a difficult course and one that is u nder constant fire in any society,” said ALA representative James Moldovan (United States Court of Appeals, San Francisco). “T he students who died in the Decem ber 1989 revolution were fighting for the very subject of his paper.” Jordan Scepanslá (California State University, Long Beach) and Anita B reland (IBM ) lectured on library organization and m anagem ent, offering up- to-date m odels th at fe atu red organizational charts, jo b descriptions, d ifferent m anagem ent styles, and paradigm s for decision-m aking and budgeting. T he R om anian librarians seem ed very receptive to W estern m anagem ent ideas. Parallel discussions of public and technical ser­ vices took up an entire day o f th e m eeting, with m ore th an 60 p ercent o f the participants attending the technical services section. At that session, Nancy John (University of Illinois at Chicago) gave the audience an overview o f technical services in U.S. Share your opinion with C&RL News readers Do you feel strongly about a particular issue and want to share your thoughts with a wider audience than just your colleagues down the hall? Now you have the opportunity to share your thoughts with a national audience. C &R L News is looking for well- reasoned commentaries on issues of interest to academ ic and research librarians for its new column,’T h e Way I See It.” Essays should be be­ tween 500-750 words and should be sent to ‘T he Way I See It,” C&RLNews, ACRL, 50 E. Huron S t, Chicago, I L 60611-2795; fax: 312-280-7663; e-mail: U38398@UICVM. libraries. “T he discovery o f th e large n um ber of librarians practicing cataloging with enthusiasm and skill was indeed a pleasant surprise,” she observed. Joseph Boissé (University of California, Santa Barbara) covered th e history, philosophical base, a nd strategies for collection developm ent for the group. “O u r Rom anian colleagues w ork u n d e r very difficult conditions,” he com m ented, “y et their com m itm ent to excellence in library service is no less solid than our own.” Boissé a nd John together p re se n te d a program on fundam entals of resource sharing in libraries. Also on th e technical services slate was E laine Svenonius (University o f Califor­ nia, Los Angeles); num erous articles in Romanian professional journals had indicated th e re was a strong in te rest am ong th e country’s librarians in her topic— thesaurus construction. O n th e public services side, the R om anians w ere particularly inte rested in reference. A to rre n t of questions repeatedly in te rru p te d a talk on re fe r­ ence services given in R om anian by O pritsa Popa (University o f California, Davis). Inform ation and referral services, business reference, literacy p ro ­ grams, and children's services as expressions of response to com m unity needs w ere new concepts to th e audience. F o r at least te n m inutes, partici­ pants forgot about th e speaker and argued loudly and intensely a bout th e feasibility a nd benefits of various services. T he Am erican delegation could only look on, am azed at th e passions unleashed by m ere descriptions of library services. This extraor­ dinary reaction m ade us realize th at we w ere in fact “exporting” a dem ocratic philosophy o f library ser­ vice dedicated to th e b enefit o f the comm unity. In th e end, this may be one of th e m ost im portant legacies o f th e ALA colloquium. L ucinda Covert-Vail (San Francisco State U ni­ versity) gave th e Rom anian librarians a c o m prehen­ sive overview of com pact disc technology in librar­ ies, a topic new to m ost o f them . Participants w ere clearly fascinated by th e volume o f inform ation included on C D -R O M discs and by th e sophisti­ cated search strategies and system features now available. C o m p u te r d e m o n s tr a t io n s by E d w a rd J. Valauskas (S uperconductor C ollider Laboratory, Dallas) w ere a m ain attraction o f th e three-day proceedings. “I have n ever h ad a reception like the one I experienced in Rom ania,” Valauskas said. In th e autom ated G rolier’s Encyclopedia, participants searched for entries on Transylvania, Bucharest, vampires, and Moldavians; in Facts on File, they found articles o n th e country’s re ce n t political his­ tory, a nd they called up m aps o f E astern E urope searching for Brasov a nd th e surrounding area. T he level o f conversation rose as the Rom anian librar­ ians pressed closer and closer to th e com puter. “I knelt before th e m achine and alm ost hid u n d e r the table as they crow ded around the screen,” Valauskas M arch 1992 /1 7 5 re p o rte d . “All I could do was look on and sm ile. I have n ever h ad a class in w hich I was so h appy to see th e students take over.” Sharing th e p odium for a session on library autom ation w e re S. M ichael M alinconico (U niver­ sity o f Alabam a) and V inod C h a ch ra (VTLS, Inc.). M alinconico gave a de ta ile d a n d highly illustrated explanation o f library and e lectronic technologies, including benefits, justifications, a n d p ro d u c ts a nd services, w ith special em phasis on N o rth A m erican applications. Based upo n exam ples draw n from th e VTLS system, C hachra d e m o n stra ted in tegrated library system s. M alinconico, w ho h ad visited R om a­ nia in 1987, c o m m e n te d on th e desire o f th e audi­ ence for progress and th e lim itations o f th e ir situa­ tion: “T he R om anian co m p u te r specialists w ere ex­ trem ely frustrated. T hey know all too well th e b e n ­ efits th a t could be achieved w ith technology. T hey have th e ability to do it— th ey only lack th e m eans.” T h e re was am ple tim e o utside colloquium ses­ sions for th e ALA d elegation to socialize a n d learn m ore a b o u t th e ir R om anian colleagues. T h e R om a­ nians talked o f th e ir “losing b a ttle ” for bibliographic c o ntrol d u e to th e re c e n t exponential grow th o f jo u rn al titles a n d th e a p p ea ran c e a n d d isa p p ea r­ ance o f publishing houses virtually overnight. T hey spoke m ovingly a b o u t th e joy o f rediscovering m o d ­ e m W este rn lite ratu re. U.S. librarians also visited th e m ain historic a n d c u ltural sites o f th e region, am ong th e m th e m edieval Black C h u rc h in Brasov, several repositories o f re sea rc h m aterials, C o u n t D ra cu la ’s castle in B ran, a 1 6th -ce n tu ry m onastery in C urtea-de-A rges, a nd several colorful villages. T he local and regional press recorded th e delegation’s jo u rn ey in new spapers and on national television. All along th e A m ericans’ route, mayors, prefects, and ordinary p e ople cam e o ut to g re et th e m enthusias­ tically, offering b re a d and salt, tsuica, and music. “Viva Americanii! Long live the Americans!” was a favorite salutation. “T he genuine affection the Roma­ nian people have for Americans is humbling,” said Joseph Boissé. “I could not have felt more welcome.” Conclusions In retrospect, all m em b ers o f th e ALA delegation w ere im pressed by th e spirit o f th e Rom anian people, w hich has survived m iraculously unspoiled through- o u tth e bleakyears o f comm unism . “Rom ania touched m e personally and professionally in very m any ways,” recalls N ancy John. “Til always re m e m b e r a few experiences in particular: th e enthusiastic w elcom e o f tow nspeople, holding N apoleon’s personal copy o f Catullus in m y own hand, th e d e struction caused by a tyrant, th e excitem ent o f an em erging d em oc­ racy (“No, we d o n ’t have a co n stitution yeti”), a n d the role R om anian librarians will play in it, and finally enjoying th e w arm th th a t com es from a shot o f p lum b randy any tim e o f day w h en you are drinking it w ith good friends, new a nd old. As I sit in m y office trying to m anage th e avalanche o f paper, all o f a su dden a few strains o f m usic, a smell, a face pierce my consciousness. I laugh o r smile, and know I ’ll n ever b e th e sam e p erson again.” ALA P re sid e n t-E le c t M arilyn M iller c o n cluded th a t th e gro u p h a d well fulfilled its task o f delivering a series o f lec tu re s on librarianship, U .S.-style. “B ut The American delegation could only look on, am azed at the passions unleashed by mere descriptions o f library services. w h a t w e g a ined m ay have b e e n m ore im portant. W e cam e away w ith p ro fo u n d re sp e c t for th e R om anian librarians w ho have struggled to k e ep th e ir libraries alive for 46 years. T hey have d one this in th e face o f political oppression a nd m anipulation, personal intim idation, th e ab sen ce o f financial support, a nd isolation from th e d e v elopm ents in th e ir p ro fes­ sion.” M iller p o in te d o u t th e R om anian librarians’ o v e rw helm ing n e e d fo r collegiality, u p -to -d a te p re p a ra tio n program s, th e m odernization o f collec­ tions, financial support, a n d technology. “T he te m p ­ tatio n is very strong to u rge ALA to a d o p t R om ania in o rd e r to h e lp d e m o n stra te library d e v elopm ent strategies th a t c o uld b e u se d by o th e r c o untries th at have also b e e n intellectually, socially, politically, a nd em otionally isolated from th e re st o f th e world. ” O u r educational jo u rn ey to Transylvania ended. D id w e accom plish o u r goals? T he answ er m ust be an em phatic “yes,” b u t m uch m ore rem ains to be done. Jordan Scepanski em phasized th a t training o f b o th rank-and-file librarians a nd library adm inistra­ tors for m ore th a n ju st a few days was n eeded. “T he investm entthat will mostprofitRom ania and the profes­ sion at large is one m ade immediately—in people.” ■ ■ Put C&RL News on your mailing list C &R L N ew s likes to in clude short, practical item s o f in te re s t to o u r readers. M any o f th ese item s are p ick e d u p from b r ie f notices re a d in lib ra ry n e w sle tte rs M any o f th e p e rso n n e l changes, notices o f acquisitions a n d grants, and n e w no tes w e re p o rt a re also p ick e d u p from th ese new sletters. I f y o u r library o r in stitution has a ne w sle tter p lease b e sure C ò R L N ew s is on y our m ailing list. N ew sletters should b e sentto: E ditor, Cò-RL N ew s, 50 E. H u ro n St., Chicago, IL 60611.