ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries June 1 9 9 0 /5 1 7 Through the looking glass By Opritsa D. Popa Bibliographer f o r Economics, Russian, and German Humanities and Social Sciences University o f California, Davis and Sandra J. Lamprecht Online Search Coordinator Humanities and Social Sciences University o f California, Davis A sampling o f University o f California students’ experiences in libraries abroad. The University of Californias Education J B . Abroad Program (UC-EAP) extends to ­ day to 80 institutions in 33 countries. In 1988/89 over 1,000 undergraduates left UC campuses to study abroad. To ensure the quality of the program, EAP requires the following minimum qualifica­ tions: a 3.0 cumulative GPA, com pletion of foreign language courses, w here needed, and approval of candidates by a campus selection com mittee. The reputation of the UC-EAP program is widely rec­ ognized: host institutions consider it to be one of the best of its kind and participants com pare most favorably w ith o th e r u n d erg rad u ates studying abroad.1 In the Adm inistrative Review o f the Education Abroad Program (1989), the stringent academic standards facing EAP participants abroad were underscored: “University students in most E u ro ­ pean countries are a highly select group rep resen t­ ing the country’s best young minds. EAP partici­ pants in integrated programs thus face two formi­ dable challenges— matching their skills with those of highly qualified local students in an atm osphere of high academic expectations, and being p e r­ ceived, for b etter or for worse, as the best and 1A. T. Brugger, et ah, A n Adm inistrative Review o f the Education Abroad Program (Berkeley, Calif.: University o f California, Office of the President, 1989), 1. brightest their university, if not their country, has to offer. A student’s ability to deal with these chal­ lenges can be the determ ining factor in the success of the EAP experience.”2 It is our conviction that effective use of information sources in host univer­ sity libraries is one of the contributing factors to academic success. EAP annually distributes a questionnaire to stu­ dents who have recently retu rn ed from their ed u ­ cation abroad experience. While very detailed and carefully crafted, this survey does not solicit d e ­ tailed information on students’ experience in for­ eign, university libraries. A group of 20 questions, however, requires students to com pare various aspects of their academic environm ent abroad, including libraries, with their UC campus experi­ ences. This comparison is expressed on a scale from one to five, w here one is labeled “Much Less Abroad,” th ree is “Same as U C ,” and five is “Abroad M uch M ore.” A table published in Participant Questionnaire: Analysis o f Responses3 recorded the mean value for each of these 20 academic aspects com puted across all respondents. While most data clustered around three, i.e., the 2Brugger, 26. 3Jerry S. Carlson and David J. Yachimowics, Participant Questionnaire: Analysis o f Responses (Santa Barbara, Calif.: University of California, Education Abroad Program, 1987), 136-137. 5 1 8 / C& RL News experience abroad was similar to th e experience at the UC hom e cam pus, two questions received com paratively lower scores: “Availability o f C o m ­ puters Abroad" scored lowest at a 1.48 m ean, while “Usefulness o f Library Facilities Abroad" scored slightly higher, at 1.78. This dissatisfaction o f UC students w ith foreign university libraries p ro m p ted us to p ro b e fu rth e r for data and opinions. To this en d a questionnaire was sen t to 1,000 1988/89 U C -E A P stu d en ts, studying in 33 countries. This questionnaire q u e ­ ried students on collection availability, access, li­ brary facilities, library hours and services at th e foreign university library th ey w ere using. T he percentage o f re tu rn (10%) was not large enough to lend itself to statistical analysis.4 N onetheless, as most responses expressed dissatisfaction with li­ braries abroad, o u r results su p p o rted th e data re ­ co rd ed in th e 1987 P articipant Q uestionnaire.5 F u rth erm o re, th e inform ation collected by our survey identified th e areas w here foreign library reality fell short o f stu d e n ts’ expectations and helped explain why service, en vironm ent and col­ lections w ere perceived as less useful than hom e cam pus libraries. Expectations and realities T he vast m ajority o f responses to o u r q uestion­ naire w ere critical o f one or m ore aspects o f foreign library organization, facilities, collections, and services. Most EAP students seem ed totally u n p re ­ pared to discover th a t m ajor differences exist b e ­ tw een th e UC and foreign libraries in practically every aspect o f library life. T hese differences, dis­ cussed in th e following sections, p ro m p te d reac­ tions ranging from m ild irritation to d eep fru stra­ tion and disorientation. Library hours EAP students are accustom ed to finding th e ir libraries open from 8:00 a.m. to m idnight at least five days p e r w eek during th e academ ic year with certain reading room s rem aining o p en around th e clock. EAP participants discovered th a t such g en ­ erous hours are scarcely th e norm abroad. F ro m a university library in G hana, a stu d en t d ep lo red th e fact th at th e library “does not open on tim e, and during break th e hours are very sporadic." F rom F rance, Israel, Japan, Sweden, Australia, H ong 4Reasons for this small rate o f re tu rn included serious delays o f th e mail while en ro u te to EAP students. Although th e questionnaires w ere m ailed with an “air m ail” designation in F ebruary, many recipients did not receive th em until m id-M ay or June. O u r deadline for response was May 1, 1989. 5Carlson, 136-137. Kong, and Ireland, students com plained about lim ited library hours making research difficult to fit into th e ir schedule. According to th e ir responses, w ith one exception in New Zealand, no foreign library is open after 10:00 p.m ., while a great n u m b e r close th eir doors by d in n er tim e. D uring vacations and holidays many libraries rem ain dark. F u rth e rm o re , in Japan, Mexico, Scotland, Norway, Sweden, Spain, and Ireland, students found librar­ ies closed on w eekends. In Padua, Italy, m ost libraries close betw een 1:00 p.m . and 3:00 p.m ., taking th e obligatory siesta. Adequacy o f buildings and equipm ent O u r questionnaire p ro m p ted EA Pers to com ­ m en t on library space, com fort, light, te m p e ra tu re control and noise levels. T he majority o f students com plained about overcrow ding in reading areas, lack o f com fort in furniture design, and high noise levels. Light and te m p e ra tu re control, however, ap p eare d to be acceptable to most, while p h o to ­ copying facilities, despite som e limitations, seem to be currently th e norm in host university libraries. A p a rtic u la rly p le asa n t study en v iro n m e n t m e n ­ tio n ed was St. Andrews University Library in Scot­ land. Its reading room was described as very com ­ fortable and with a m agnificent view o f th e N orth Sea. Stacks F o r general collections, UC libraries adhere to an open stacks, self-service policy. Abroad, th e great majority o f libraries offered direct access to th e ir collections as well. Some libraries, e.g., Ir e ­ land, Australia, Costa Rica, and F rance w ere re ­ p o rte d to have both open and closed stacks. Several E u ro p ean libraries, however, offered solely m ed i­ ated access to th eir resources. This policy is dic­ ta te d by necessity, “since books are often shelved by size and/or chronological o rd er in labyrinthine stacks created w herever space can be found."6 In such cases students com plained about u n reaso n ­ able delays in receiving m aterials and b em o an ed th e loss o f browsing capabilities. “T h e closed stacks are my main source o f fru stra­ tion," w rote a student from Spain, “Just to get books takes at least 45 m inutes to 2 ½ hours." In F rance, “you o rd e r as many books as you w ant and can pick th e m u p a few days later. This makes for many library runs!" Closed stacks ap p eared to be p r e ­ d o m in a n t in Irelan d , Scotland, Italy, Norway, Sweden, and France. 6Joan McConkey, “F ren ch University Libraries in 1988," C & R L N ew s 49 (D e c e m b e r 1988): 73 9 -4 3 . June 1 9 9 0 /5 1 9 C ollections In th e U C system ad eq u ate book budgets have allowed for steady and healthy collection growth. In addition to w ell-ro u n d ed old er collections, UC libraries m aintain strong c u rre n t collections o f books, journals and magazines, as well as m ultiple copies o f standard works, a m ainstay o f u n d e r­ graduate populations. F oreign university libraries do not necessarily follow th e sam e collecting patterns. F o r several countries bud g etin g difficulties affecting libraries have resu lted in very selective cu rre n t acquisitions. Some o f th e libraries used by EA Pers exhibited gaps in c u rre n t m aterials. Am ong th ese w ere th e libraries in H ong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, C osta Rica, and G hana w h ere “m ost publications are p re- 1976.” In Spain stu d en ts e n c o u n te re d difficulties in finding c u rre n t inform ation: “M any books are too old and th ey are no t even useful,” w rites a stu d en t from Spain. “As far as fu tu re EA P students go— tell th e m B.Y.O.B. = Bring Your O wn Books!” W ith reg ard to s tu d e n t’s experiences in E n g ­ land, “th e library suffers from severe lack o f funds resulting in very few books being added, and often only one copy, even o f m ajor w orks,” lam ents one un d erg rad u ate. Libraries, in general, do not seem to acquire m ultiple copies o f re q u e ste d course materials. This, according to responses, results in m any texts being p u t on reserve or short loan, w hich is inconvenient d u e to th e lim ited copying facilities. N onetheless, w h e re “tre a su re s ” w ere found, EA Pers w ere n o t frugal w ith praise: “T rinity,” w rites a stu d e n t from Ireland, “as a copyright d e ­ posit library has superlative coverage o f British publications (including those U.S. academ ic p u b ­ lishers w ho m aintain a L ondon p resen ce, like UC Press) and q u ite good coverage o f early (Aldine 15th C en tu ry and later) p rin te d editions.” “T he Balm e L ibrary is a w onderful library for old periodicals,” w rites a stu d e n t from G hana, while an o th er considers H e b re w U niversity Library in Israel as “th e b e s t” he has ever used. F ro m a library in Padua, Italy, a stu d e n t m arveled at old m an u ­ script collections. C ollection access Access differences can leave students puzzled and disoriented. In F ran ce, stu d en ts searched for “an equivalent to R eaders’ G u id e” and did not have a clue on how to find periodical articles by subject. At a Library in H ong Kong th e circulation co m ­ p u te r was in a c c u ra te in re p o rtin g m issing o r checked o u t books. P adua libraries w ere seen as “chaotic,” “very u n organized,” and “not well cata­ loged.” “R esearch in Italy is extrem ely difficult to do as books are e ith e r m issing/stolen o r too delicate to photocopy. In th e rare chance th a t you find a book to photocopy, you can only photocopy 50 pages. Overall, doing research is a n e a r im possible nightm are for A m ericans and Italians alike. C o m ­ p u te riz e d searching is u n h e a rd o f and new acquisi­ tions ra re .” F ro m Mexico a stu d en t c o m m en te d th a t “shelv­ ing in call n u m b e r o rd e r is not strictly respected, resulting in m any m isplaced (i.e. lost) m aterials.” W e w e re e sp ecially in te r e s te d in know ing w h e th e r stu d en ts found online public access cata­ logs (OPACS) in libraries abroad and if th e se sys­ tem s w ere “user-friendly.” T he m ajority o f students did no t find online catalogs abroad and som e ex­ p ressed dismay. A stu d en t in Israel com m ented, “I f it w e re n ’t for th e lack o f an online user-friendly catalog, my library experiences abroad w ould have b e e n fulfilled. H owever, th e re w asn’t such an in ­ stru m e n t o f efficiency, and I was left not quite satisfied.” OPACS w ere also not found at EA P host univer­ sity libraries in F rance, Italy, Norway, Australia, H ong Kong, and Ireland. In older E u ro p ean lib rar­ ies, w here card catalogs are th e only access to th e collection, stu d en ts w ere am azed to find old h a n d ­ w ritten bibliographic entries. A m ong countries w hose collections w ere available via OPACS, stu ­ dents m en tio n ed N ew Zealand, E ngland, Scotland, and Japan. H ow ever, online catalogs o f th e UC system w ere consistently rate d superior and m ore user-friendly th an any o f th e ir foreign c o u n te r­ parts. Loan periods for library m aterials w ere, in g en ­ eral, adequate. F ines for tardy or lost library m a te­ rials ap p e a r sim ilar to those o f th e UC system. R eference help M ost foreign libraries rep o rted ly offer referen ce service. W e hypothesized th a t EAP participants w ould avail them selves o f this service. T h e m ajority o f o u r resp o n d en ts confirm ed this assum ption, and rate d th ese services as satisfactory. H ow ever, close to o n e-th ird characterized librarians as “insensi­ tive” to th e ir inform ation needs. S tudents in Spain expressed th e m ost displeas­ u re w ith referen ce librarians. O u t o f seven sur­ veyed, five stu d en ts w ere u nhappy w ith th e service received. L ibrarians seem ed not to care: “T hey can ’t be fired very easily, so th ey are as ru d e as they w ant to b e ,” was th e co m m en t o f an un h ap p y EAP stu d en t. Overall, C anadian re fe re n c e librarians received favorable rem arks. H owever, h e re too, an EA P stu d e n t cam e “across one b ad ap p le.” In th e ir concluding rem arks, m any EA P p artici­ pants expressed gratitude to th e ir hom e UC librari­ ans for being helpful and sensitive to th e ir inform a­ tion needs. Orientation tours and information brochures M any host libraries did not advertise library orientation tours in a m anner th a t w ould catch th e eye o f a foreign student. EA Pers in Costa Rica, the Peoples R epublic o f China, D enm ark, France, Israel, Spain, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Swe­ den, and Taiwan eith er responded th at they w ere unaware o f any orientation tours or th a t no tours were available. A Costa Rica student com m ented: “Some o f the problem s I had early on could have b een avoided by some kind o f library orientation to u r.” T he majority o f students in Austria, Canada, England, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, and Scotland, on the o th er hand, participated in library o rienta­ tion or at least knew o f its existence. In th e UC library system, inform ational b ro ­ chures describing library layout, collections, hours or services seem to be m uch m ore visible than abroad. O ut o f 79 responses, 62 students could not find any brochures. No inform ation brochures could be found by EA Pers in libraries in Austria, the Peoples R epublic o f China, Costa Rica, France, Germany, Israel, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Norway, or Taiwan. EAPers in C anada, England, Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand had th e most luck in finding printed guides. This data seems to indicate th at EAP students in English-speaking countries found guides while those in foreign-language countries did not. W h eth er guides in the language o f the country w ere available and not used by foreign students or w h eth er brochures are not a high p rio r­ ity and/or not considered relevant rem ains an open question. Online access to rem ote databases The vast majority o f students e ith e r did not have access to, or know about, online sources via a vendor system such as D IA L O G at th e ir host li­ braries. From a total o f 80 responses, only eight students rep o rted such a service. T hese eight stu­ dents w ere studying in England, D enm ark, New Zealand, Scotland, or Sweden. No one in this group felt sufficiently inspired by th e service to com m ent either on its m erits or its deficiencies. Concluding remarks Responses to o u r questionnaire su p p o rt th e conclusion th at UC students selected for EAP, although academically accom plished, do not seem to adapt quickly to foreign library environm ents. At the tim e of th e ir departure, EAP students lack im portant inform ation about organizational, op ­ erational and collecting differences betw een th e UC and host libraries abroad. Thus an im portant com ponent to academ ic success, access to infor­ m ation, appears to be underutilized. Frustrations with foreign libraries and false ex­ pectations could be greatly m inim ized if librarians w ould actively participate in th e planning stages o f this educational journey. P red ep artu re activities may include a presentation on conducting research in libraries abroad. O n this occasion, differences and potential problem s could be outlined. Obviously, not all problem s and difficulties can be solved by educational means. N evertheless, arm ing students with specific and directly appli­ cable inform ation on foreign libraries may make th e ir transition easier. A useful suggestion to traveling scholars ad­ vanced by Fagan” could be adapted to th e situation o f th e education abroad participant. Based on d e ­ tailed questionnaires sent to key host libraries, librarians could develop profiles o f foreign infor­ m ation centers used by EAP students. These p ro ­ files may list such data as hours and calendar, loan periods, how to obtain a library card, collection access and collecting patterns, special strengths o f collections, services, photocopying facilities and a description o f th e library environm ent. T he library profiles could be m aintained as a com puter-file and could be u p d ated by requesting periodic revision from host libraries. T hey could be m ade available to all in terested departing students. U pon th eir re tu rn students could add w ritten com m ents th a t w ould help personalize a library experience and ease th e ir colleagues’ entrance into a very different and challenging library world. B B 7M ichele L. Fagan, “Practical Aspects o f C o n ­ d u c tin g R e s e a r c h in B ritis h L ib r a r ie s a n d Archives,” RQ 26 (Spring 1987): 371. Fulbright position in U.K. T he Fulbright Commission in London has announced an opportunity for a practicing li­ brarian to p u rsu e professional work in th e U nited Kingdom at a degree-aw arding institu­ tion or major research library. T he com petitive aw ard is b e in g m ade available u n d e r th e Fulbright Scholar Program to allow librarians to enhance cross-cultural skills and insights. Its purpose is to prom ote th e exchange o f ideas betw een library staff in th e U.S. and th e U.K. T he deadline for applications is August 1,1990. F o r m ore inform ation and a list o f libraries approved for affiliation, please call: (202) 686- 7878, or write: C IE S, 3400 International Drive, N.W., Suite M-500, W ashington, D C 20008.