ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 3 9 0 / C&RL N e w s The Cologne-Cleveland librarian exchange By Klaus Peters, Hannelore B. Rader, and Alice Reviere Smith Two lib ra ria n s sh a re their e x c h a n g e experiences I n 1988 Cleveland State University (CSU) Library hosted it’s first librarian exchange w ith the University of Heidelberg (C&RL Ne March 1989). This proved to be a very success­ ful experience for both librarians involved. Pro­ fessional information w as exchanged, different customs w ere observed, and new ideas w ere generated. Staffs in both libraries w ere invigo­ rated through this relatively short exposure to a librarian from another country. Therefore, w hen in O ctober o f 1990 a law librarian from the University o f Cologne becam e interested in doing a professional exchange w ith an aca­ demic librarian in the United States, it was de­ cided to pursue the matter. Arrangements were finalized in the sum mer o f 1991- Klaus Peters from the University of Cologne spent August 19, 1991, to Septem ber 13, 1991, at Cleveland State University Library while Alice Smith w ent to the library at the University o f Cologne dur­ ing the sam e period. Following are summaries o f their experiences. Klaus Peters comments American librarianship is considered exemplary in Germany. Therefore, many G erman librar­ ians dream about doing a study trip to the United States to obtain additional know ledge about American librarianship in order to en­ rich their ow n know ledge. Each situation in w hich the individual finds himself or herself usually determines w hat particular interests h e / she will pursue. I am a law librarian and serve as the head o f the user section. In addition to ws that, I teach library m anagem ent and legal li­ brarianship at the Library School for Library Science and D ocumentation in Cologne. 1 also consult and serve as representative to the Union o f G erman Library Associations regarding copy­ right. I chair the w orking group on copyright for the European Research Librarians (LIBER), a, nd have a very strong interest in learning about American library management, m anagem ent of a law library, and collecting material about li­ brary copyright in the United States. Approximately tw o years after becom ing a librarian in 1988,1 talked with Elizabeth Simon, the head o f the Library Foreign D epartm ent in Germany to help me in the realization of my plan to organize a study trip to the United States. In O ctober 1990 H annelore Rader offered me a four-week exchange w ith a librarian from the Cleveland State University Library. A condition o f this exchange w as that the exchange part­ ners w ould finance the trip and living expenses themselves by exchanging homes. The direc­ tor of the University/City Library and the pro­ vost o f the University in Cologne supported this exchange project. They allowed m e a spe­ cial four-week leave with pay and gave me my travel expenses. Thanks to the marvelous hos­ pitality of my American colleagues, I had little opportunity to spend much m oney during my stay in the United States. In Cleveland I lived w ith Gary Thompson, w ho w as a w onderful host. I felt extremely comfortable in his house. He provided trans­ portation and took me to many different places. Thanks to his marvelous help and support I did not need to rent an automobile. My exchange partner, Alice Smith, stayed in my apartment in Cologne. The apartment is approximately two kilometers from the library and can easily be Klaus Peters is law librarian a t the University o f Cologne, Germany; H annelore B. R ader is director o f the University Library a t Cleveland State University; a n d Alice Reviere Sm ith is blackstudies/wom en's studies librarian a t Clevelend State University. J u n e 1 9 9 2 / 3 9 1 reached by streetcar. I organized the program for the practicum for her. My p ra c tic u m , o r g a n iz e d b y H a n n e lo re Rader, to o k m y interests into consideration. I h ad an opportunity to participate at the w eekly m eetings an d at an all-day retreat o f the Man­ agem ent Team of the CSU library as w ell as to find out ab o u t all th e departm ents in th e li­ brary. Rader also to o k m e to m eetings of the statew ide system, OhioLINK, an d to m eetings o f regional resource sharing groups. She m ade it possible for m e to sp e n d several days at the Law Library at CSU as w ell as the Law Library at Case W estern Reserve University. At the lat­ ter university I w as also invited to lecture to students on the principles o f G erm an law and legal research. I w as able to visit the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) and the law firm I t s e e m e d to m e th a t A m e r ic a n lib r a r ia n s o n th e a v e ra g e a re h a p p ie r a n d m o r e p r o d u c tiv e th a n G e r m a n lib ra ria n s. of Squires, Sanders and Dempsey in Cleveland. Wherever I w ent I was warmly welcomed and pro­ vided with much information and materials. These are my findings: 1. The principle o f com petition seem s to be an im portant on e in th e university environm ent, m uch m ore so th an in G erm any. Com petition also plays a role in defining th e w ork of the libraries. Libraries feel that they have a very im portant role to play w ithin th e university and m uch to contribute to th e com petition. The CSU Library M anagem ent Team regularly discusses its strategies for the library to fulfill its mission w ithin th e university. D uring these discussions, they continually u p d ate a n d revise their very elaborate strategic plan. I w as m ost im pressed w ith the scientific level o n w hich th e long-term plans an d goals o f the library w ere discussed in a n all-day m anagem ent retreat. This w as a learning ex p erien ce for m e ab o u t the u se of the know ledge regarding inform ation science for the practice o f librarianship. C om petition w ith all g ro u p s w ith in th e university is e x ­ tremely im portant for the CSU Library. This com ­ petition, w hich ultim ately results in budgeting allocations, continues to b e a m ajor challenge for the library director, w h o m ust aggressively portray the im portance o f the library, vis-ă-vis th e strategic goals an d plans o f the university. 2. W hile G erm an academ ic librarians have a special civil service status an d receive ap p o in t­ m ents for life, librarians at the CSU Library w ork u n d er annual contracts. Librarians are evaluated according to established goals. Negative evalu­ ations can conceivably result in non-renew al o f contracts. The director is evaluated annually by th e provost an d every three years by the librarians. It is obvious that this particular sys­ tem results in higher perform ance than th e sys­ tem in process in G erm an academ ic libraries. It seem ed to m e that American librarians on the average are h ap p ier an d m ore productive than G erm an librarians. Perhaps one can explain this p h e n o m e n o n w ith the com petition principle deeply rooted in the American culture. I w as am azed that the competition betw een colleagues did not result in a fight betw een all. O n the con­ trary, team w ork an d discussion seem ed to be polite an d to the point and w ere a major part of fulfilling o n e ’s w ork role o n an everyday basis, m uch m ore so than in Germany. I interpret the o p en doors as signals of constant availability for conversation. The cooperation during the w ork time may explain that a num ber of librarians enjoy spending time aw ay from w ork together. In this m anner, I gained im portant insight into the American society and culture w hich helped m e understand American librarianship. My practicum at C leveland State University Library w as a w onderful experience for m e both professionally an d personally. The overw helm ­ ing hospitality w hich I received from Ms. Rader an d h e r colleagues will rem ain in my m em ory forever. I can only ho p e that many of my Ameri­ can colleagues w h o took such g o o d care o f me in Cleveland will visit m e in Cologne so o n and provide m e the opportunity to reciprocate. Alice R eviere Smith com m ents I am the Black Studies/W om en Studies Librar­ ian at C leveland State University, serve o n the Faculty Senate, an d am very involved in ALA’s Black Council. I traveled to Cologne o n Au­ gust 24, 1991, an d returned o n S eptem ber 13, 1991- A lthough th e practicum w as in ten d ed primarily for m e to becom e familiar and ac­ qu ain ted w ith a university library an d G erm an academ ic librarianship in particular, I w as able to visit an d peruse o ther types o f libraries in­ cluding private an d public. A visit w as p o s­ sible also to the m ajor library school in th e area of Cologne, the Fachhochschule fur Bibliotheks­ u n d D okum entationsw esen. Some areas of in­ terest to m e included the status o f w o m en in J u n e 1 9 9 2 / 3 9 3 Alice Reviere Smith, Hatmelore Rader, Klaus Peters German librarianship; w om en studies as a n area o f collection development; bibliographic instruc­ tion for international an d beginning students; u s e o f c o m p u te rs, o n l i n e , a n d C D - ROMs in information a n d re fe re n c e s e r­ vices; an d p re p a ra ­ tion for academic li­ b rarian sh ip in G er­ m any as well as lo­ cal and regional co­ operation. The University of Cologne an d Cleve­ land State, although dissimilar in many in­ stances— 55,000 students versus 19,000 an d a history dating back to the twelfth century ver­ sus the beginning o f Cleveland State in 1965— have similar problem s and solutions. Each is an urban institution with a large commuter population and are dependent on funding from the state (North Rhine/West-phalia and Ohio respectively). Although students at Cologne pay n o tuition, CSU stu­ dents are faced w ith rising tuition an d other costs. Politics still enter the process at b o th in­ stitutions in funding for the libraries w ith the flagship universities in the respective state capi­ tals seem ing to receive a greater share. Cologne is beginning to develop an d use com puters for tasks w hich American libraries have b een d o ­ ing for som e time, yet this is the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Regional cooperation in the use o f com puter technology is developing in a data processing center for the academ ic librar­ ies o f the North Rhine-Westphalia; w hereas, Cleveland State w as o n e of the founding m em ­ bers of OCLC, Inc. O ne area o f vast difference is in preparation for and training of academic librarianship. Ger­ m an librarians are of three types with the high­ est level requiring a doctorate or master’s in a subject area before entrance into library school. Academic librarians in the United States usually acquire subject m aster’s and doctorates after ac­ quiring the library school degree and som e pro­ fessional experience. Duties are also dissimilar w ith blurred lines betw een cataloging an d ac­ quisitions or collection selection at the Univer­ sity of Cologne. More emphasis is given to biblio­ graphic instruction in American libraries with the predominantly open stacks concept in use. The Central Public Library of Cologne an d one o f the private libraries I visited seem to have m ore m o n ey for u se of the latest com ­ p u te r an d m edia technology, use o f personal com puters for librarians an d o th e r staff, and use o f various types o f CD-ROMs for p a ­ trons. C leveland State, w ith o n e b ran ch li­ brary (law), is quite a c o n tr a s t to th e U n iv e rs ity o f C o­ lo g n e w h ic h h a s 150 “institute” and “se m in a r” libraries w h ic h v a ry fro m th e com prehensive an d w ell-eq u ip p ed medical library with a highly qualified staff to the smallest seminar library with a secretary as staff. The trip was a revealing and interesting exercise for the comparison of two distinct philosophies of librarianship as well as concepts of an urban uni­ versity and its libraries. Once again, the international librarian exchange has enriched the CSU Library and its staff. One of the best things about the exchange is that staff have become aware of how much they have accom­ plished in recent years and how global librarian- ship has become. ■