Libraries in Developing Countries

Catherine BairdBecky Jansen

Co-Chairs of OperationsLibrarians Without Borders

July 18, 2006

Agenda Inception and History of Librarians Without

Borders (LWB)

Brainstorming

Group Work

LWB Experiences

Conclusion

Inception of LWB December 2004

Founded by a group of LIS students Need for books and information in Angola

Mission To improve access to information resources

regardless of language, geography, or religion, by forming partnerships with community organizations in developing regions

LWB Values Role of Libraries

Intellectual freedom Equal access to information

Access to Information/Education supporting learning and literacy, reducing

poverty, empowering citizens, and building strong communities.

Embrace Diversity Work in cultural context with appropriate

languages

Collaboration

History of LWB February 2005

LWB officially began

September 2005 Launch party

October 2005 LWB incorporated as a non-profit organization

Fall 2005 Fundraising Activities

History of LWB January – April 2006

Began planning for Sponsor-a-Book Campaign (SaB) Raise $ to purchase Portuguese language medical books for

post-secondary education in Angola

May 2006 – Present Planning for SaB on hold Charitable Status Development of Board of Directors Moving from Student based to Professional Based

Always contemplating issues that face libraries in developing countries

Top 5 Issues What do you think the top 5 issues are

that libraries in developing countries face?

1. Individually

2. Pairs

3. Small Groups

Group Activity 8 groups of 5 or 6 people

Read assigned article individually

Answer questions with your group

Record answers on overhead

Be prepared to give 30 second summary of article

What to Read?? Brief Communication

Whole Article

Indigenous Knowledge for Development pp. 375-377 (stop before “system architecture”) p. 381-382 (just the conclusion)

Books and Education in Subsaharan Africa pp. 13-16 (stop before “education in the Subsaharan

Africa”) p. 17 (just the conclusion)

Public Library system in India pp. 180-182 p. 185 p. 189-190 (just the conclusion)

LWB Experiences Our first Sponsor-a-Book (SaB) project

SaB Campaign challenges

What we learned from CODE

Should we use Blue Trunk?

Sponsor-a-Book Campaign

Location – Huambo, Angola

Raise funds for Portuguese language medical resources for post-secondary nursing/medical programs

Angola - Located in Southern Africa

Bordered on West by South Atlantic Ocean, on North by Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the East by Zambia and on the South by Namibia.

Angola Fast Facts Independence from Portugal in 1975 27 year civil war ended in 2002 Population: 12,127,071 (July 2006 est.)

Capital: Luanda -- 2nd largest City: Huambo

Official language: Portuguese

Many traditional languages still spoken including Umbundu, Kimbundu and Kikongo

66.8% of the population (over 15) can read and write (82.1% of men & 53.8 % of women)

Religion: Traditional beliefs 47%, Roman Catholic 38%, Protestant 15%

Campaign Challenges

Health Resources needed Our goal – place material in central location Accessible to students and health practitioners

Plans to restart the medical school in Huambo

2 nursing schools in Huambo (basic & intermediate) 1 closed in past 6 months

Project on hold – charitable status

Communication in Huambo Internet access in Huambo is minimal

Phones don’t always work

Letter mail is VERY slow and unreliable

Project liaison was in Canada

Cultural differences in communication styles

Portuguese vs. English

Collection Development Goal is an Angola-centric collection

Original booklist from Dean of Nursing outdated

Communication barriers

Language barriers

Solutions? Communication

Patience Using other networks Learning about culture Translators

Collection Development Portuguese publishers Sent booklist to Angola in May 2006

General Guidance from other organizations

CODE Canadian charitable organization

Founded in 1959 Volunteers in a Toronto basement

Currently based in Ottawa $9.4 million budget (2004-2005)

Promotes education and literacy in 13 local organizations in nine countries Guyana, Senegal, Mali, Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya,

Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique

How? Current focus

assist in the development of primary-school libraries for local children

Oral traditions incorporated into material

Children’s Book Project (Tanzania, 1991) training local writers, printers, illustrators and

booksellers to produce and distribute books and magazines in local languages.

CBP has reached over 7,000 schools in Tanzania and supported the publishing of over 500 local language books in several countries

Skills Development in Teaching/Librarianship

Pictures courtesy of Yvonne Appiah, Executive Director of CODE

http://www.codecan.org/

Camel Library - Kenya

What we learned from CODE Importance of local traditions/languages

‘Any book is not better than no book’

Partnerships – must be equally committed

Patience

Should we use Blue Trunk? Developed by World

Health Organization

Up to date relevant medical and health information primarily for health care providers

Trunks in French, English, Portugese (2006)

Should we use Blue Trunk? Advantages

Ready to use Covers a wide range of topics

Disadvantages For health care providers Primarily Brazilian publications No training

Questions?