ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


310

national shared cataloging and interlibrary loan ef­
forts? What might be the effects o f zero funding?

Any group or individual interested in sharing 
additional information or concerns should contact 
the Chair o f the CLS Impact Committee, John

Sheridan, Head Librarian, Transylvania Univer­
sity Library, Lexington, KY 40508; or the Chair 
o f the C ollege Libraries Section, Thomas G. 
Kirk, College Librarian, Berea College, Berea, 
KY 40404.—John Sheridan. ■ ■

The Exchange Experience: 
An American Perspective

Larry W. Griffin 
Interlibrary Services 
Indiana University

As I have just completed eleven months at the 
University of Edinburgh Library as an exchange 
librarian from Indiana University Libraries, a 
number o f librarians have asked me about my ex­
perience. In this report I will comment on some 
aspects o f the exchange program that may be use­
ful to other American librarians who are planning 
a similar experience in a British library.

It all began in 1975 when I met Ruth M ei­
ling, British librarian now in Colchester, England, 
who was an exchange librarian at the Indiana- 
Purdue University campus at Fort Wayne. When 
I asked her how I might arrange a similar ex­
change, she explained that certain agencies in­
volved in exchange programs for teáchers would 
occasionally aid librarians, but their contacts with 
British libraries were inadequate. She suggested 
that I find someone in Britain who was interested 
and pursue it on my own.

My plan remained dormant until March, 1980, 
when I responded to an interlibrary loan inquiry 
from Margaret Dowling, ILL librarian at Edin­
burgh University Library. For some reason I was 
inspired to add a postscript that read: “ W ould 
you be interested in trading jobs for a year? If so, 
let me know. W e may be able to work something 
out.” Ms. Dowling very quickly wrote back say­
ing she was interested. From that point it was a 
matter o f 1) securing from our supervisors ap­
proval in principle, 2) exchanging resumes and in­
formation about our respective positions and li­
braries, and 3) pushing all o f the paperwork for 
official approval through the bureaucratic process. 
This, along with negotiations for living accomoda­
tions and personal family matters, took a full 
year. A single person could easily speed up the 
process, but m oving my family o f  four 4,000 
miles required a great deal of logistic planning.

Apparently my fishing technique was a stroke 
of luck, for a colleague o f mine has tried the ap­
proach several times with no result. British li­
brary administrators were often interested, but I 
met few librarians who were willing to trade jobs.

Family concerns and job  security were the major 
reasons for their reluctance.

In my case most o f the paperwork was done by 
us rather than by the university administration. 
Following an exchange o f resumes and job de­
scriptions the library administrators decided what 
position could be offered to each exchange per­
son. It was not a direct exchange. At Edinburgh I 
took over Ms. D ow lin g ’ s position  which was 
changing because o f reorganization. At Indiana 
my administrative position was filled temporarily 
with an experienced IU librarian, and Ms. Dowl­
ing was offered a position as a reference librarian 
in the Undergraduate Library. Each o f us found 
the arrangement to be exactly what we w ere 
seeking. For me it was a year in which I got away 
from the demands o f an administrative position 
and worked directly with users in reference and 
ILL. For Ms. Dowling it was an opportunity to 
broaden her experience by becoming actively in­
volved in library instruction and undergraduate 
reference service, in contrast to her working 
primarily with faculty and graduate students at 
Edinburgh.

The librarian at the University o f Edinburgh 
and the dean o f libraries at Indiana University 
then agreed in writing to accept each other’s li­
brarians without pay and conform to the working 
conditions of the host library. Earlier it had been 
decided that the best way to arrange the ex­
change was for each o f us to continue to be paid 
by the home institution and be sent “ on assign­
ment” to the host library. Any other arrangement 
would have required Edinburgh to provide con­
siderable justification for a work permit for me, 
and it is very likely that it w ould have been  
denied— proving that I was more qualified for a
reference and ILL position than 3 million unem­
ployed British citizens is not an easy task!

At Indiana approval by the dean o f faculties, 
the vice president for academic affairs, the presi­
dent, and the board o f trustees was necessary. 
Similar arrangements had already been made for
teaching faculty, so that once the dean’ s office
found the appropriate procedure, it was a matter
of moving the paperwork through the right chan­
nels.

 

 
 
 





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One surprise occurred at the immigration desk 
upon my arrival. I was prepared for questions re­
garding employment in Great Britain and had in 
hand letters from both universities stating that I 
was being paid by IU, not a British employer. 
But I did not expect to have to register as an 
alien with the local police at a fee of $40! The old 
maxim, “ Take less luggage and more money,” is 
the best advice I can give.

I went to Edinburgh with 14 years o f experi­
ence in virtually every department of a library 
except rare book collections, and Ms. Dowling 
came to Indiana with over 10 years o f varied li­
brary experience. One aid to the transition was 
that we both had been working in areas that dif­
fered primarily in procedure, not function. Li­
brarians or managers working in specific subject 
areas, rare books, acquisitions, referen ce, or 
interlibrary loans will probably not have a long 
period o f adjustment. Even catalogers may escape 
being overw helm ed by procedural differences, 
because a surprising number o f British libraries 
are using Library o f Congress classification.

British libraries are also coping with the same 
issues as we are— budget cuts, automation, and 
copyright. The problems are the same but there 
is a different approach. University library com ­
mittees are given considerable authority and are 
less advisory in nature. A librarian’ s academic 
rank is more significant than his or her position. 
Middle managers function differently than in the 
U.S. Personnel budgets, not materials budgets, 
are the sacred cows. The change in perspective is 
sometimes enlightening and sometimes frustrat­
ing, but the experience is most valuable for both 
parties to the exchange.

As a manager returning to front-line reference 
work after several years, I was concerned about 
my ability to cope. I found, however, that al­
though Edinburgh’ s reference collection had a 
British emphasis, I quickly learned what was 
where and how to use it. Reference questions re­
garding the university, its organization, and its 
archival material were the most difficult.

Lack o f a subject catalog was the most trouble­
some problem in reference work. I never quite 
understood the classification scheme (a variation 
o f Dewey) well enough to use the classed catalog 
effectively. Catalogers served as subject spe­
cialists, however, and were always available and 
willing to help.

A n oth er reason why I learn ed the jo b  so 
quickly and easily was the friendly, helpful, 
stable, and experienced staff at Edinburgh Uni­
versity Library. Unlike many American academic 
libraries where staff turnover is high and within a 
year one can becom e a senior member o f the de­
partment (as my exchange partner did), most o f 
the staff at Edinburgh had been in their positions 
five years or more.

Perhaps the most obvious difference I noticed 
was a less formal, less anxiety-ridden atmosphere

than one finds in large libraries in the U.S. The
fact that librarians at Edinburgh do not face the
rigors o f annual evaluations, salary increments
based on performance, and a promotion and ten­
ure process very likely has something to do with
the m ore relaxed approach. W orking in both
types o f situations has been personally rewarding.

The benefits o f this kind o f exchange program
depend on the backgrounds, interests, abilities,
and positions o f the exchange partners. W e were
able to experience one year o f working in a dif­
ferent position in a foreign library without com ­
mitting ourselves to a perm anent m ove (or 
higher mortgage rate). Exchanges within the
United States and abroad seem to be a viable
means o f helping librarians to avoid burnout. No
matter how much you like your job, ultimately
boredom will set in and productivity, initiative,
and creativity will decrease. An exchange pro­
vides a needed change, a fresh view, an opportu­
nity to try something different. If nothing else re­
sults from an exchange, you very likely will learn
that your own situation is not so bad after all.

An exchange for librarians is analogous to the
teaching faculty’ s sabbatical. The personal, cul­
tural, and professional benefits o f an exchange
comprise an essay in itself and depend considera­
bly on the person. A poor librarian would likely
return from an exchange unchanged; a good li­
brarian will benefit immeasurably. If we ever ex­
pect to realize the utopian dream o f international
cooperation and resource sharing, what better
place to begin than by sharing our librarians?

E d itor’s Note: Margaret Dowling will share her
version o f  the Exchange Experience in the No­
vember C&RL News. ■ ■

Exchange Option

Another institution has shown an interest in 
participating in the ACRL Exchange Librarian 
Program (see C&RL News, June 1982, p. 205, 
July/August 1982, p. 241, and S eptem ber 
1982, p. 302). The C o lch e s te r In stitu te, 
Sheepen Road, Colchester, Essex C 0 3  3LL, 
United K ingdom , is an institute o f  higher 
education much like an American community 
college. Many o f the students are 18-20 years 
old. Ruth H. M elling, Institute Librarian, 
writes: “ W e have an unusually wide range 
academically, from bricklaying to bachelor’ s 
degrees in music.”

Libraries or librarians interested in par­
ticipating in an exchange should contact the 
Institute directly.

 
 
 

 
 

 
 
 

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