ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries October 1989 / 819 Librarians can play a part in overseas development projects By B. Robert Tabachnick Professor University ofW isconsin Center f o r Education Research Some suggestions fo r international cooperation. T he purpose of this p a p e r is to explore some ways in which university librarians can b e ­ come participants in developm ent p roject seas. “O verseas” has a lim ited m eaning in this discussion, referrin g to th ird w orld countries of Latin America, Africa, and Asia. T here are o ppor­ tunities to work in E u ro p ean university libraries, e.g., exchanges of bibliographers o f special collec­ tions, b u t th at will not be p a rt of th e discussion here. (M ore inform ation about this may be avail­ able from th e C ouncil for th e In tern atio n al Ex­ change of Scholars in W ashington, D.C .) It is also very likely th e case th at we d o n ’t have to go over­ seas to find a th ird world country. I was at a m eeting last w eek w here one o f th e participants from At­ lanta re fe rre d to W est G eorgia as a th ird w orld country; he insisted th a t he was not trying to be insulting, ju st descriptive. T he needs of rural and u rb an p oor people for access to post-secondary education are critical, if we are to avoid the creation of aperm anent underclass in th e U nited States. We have not invented as yet, e ith e r workable solutions to providing th e kind of educational opportunities that best m eet th eir interests or the kinds of library services that can support and drive these o p p o rtu ­ nities. B ut th a t is not th e subject o f this paper. The p a p e r is about being a m em b e r o f a developm ent project in Sierra Leone, W est Africa, or Indonesia in Southeast Asia, or C osta Rica in C en tral A m er­ s ica, and sim ilar places. W hile it is not possible in th e short space avail­ oavbelre­ to discuss th e historical and social contexts of developm ent in any thorough way, it is im portant to recognize th a t developm ent is a political, social, economic construction. W hat follows is the briefest possible outline of some of th e background and present context for developm ent, especially educa­ tional developm ent. This will serve as introduction to my com m ents a bout becom ing p a rt of th a t d e ­ velopm ent effort. Before the second W orldW ar, developm ent was n o t prim arily co n c ern e d with th e w elfare of colo­ nized peoples. Its aim was to exploit the natural and hum an resources o f th e colony for th e b e n e fit of th e colonial power. A fter th e second W orld W ar and th ro u g h th e 1950s and 1960s, country after c o untry in Africa and Asia gained in d ep e n d e n c e from E u ro p e an colonial powers. T h e new co u n ­ tries had enorm ous econom ic resources th at w ere undeveloped or un d erd ev elo p ed b u t little in the way of investm ent capital. Most of th e newly inde­ p e n d e n t countries tra d e d econom ic concessions and privileges, often to th e ir form er colonizers, in exchange for a share of th e econom ic retu rn s of investm ent, often avery small share, andaprom ise to groom local talent as future technicians, m anag­ ers, and controllers of th e new industries. It was a prom ise th at wasn’t kept very well until two events occurred— one a dram atic surprise and the oth er a October 1989 / 821 slow accretio n o f accom plishm ent. T h e first was th e triu m p h o f O P E C p ricin g in th e m id-1970s, which d e m o n stra ted th e d e p e n d en c e o f th e indus­ tria lize d co u n tries on th e reso u rces o f th e th ird w orld. T h e second was th e ed u cational revolution th a t began after indep en d en ce in m any th ird world countries. In th e first 10 years after independence, elem en­ tary school e n ro llm e n ts in Africa south o f th e S ahara d o u b le d a n d d o u b led again. S econdary school enrollm ents ju m p e d 6 tim es, and university e n ro llm e n ts in cre a se d by a facto r o f 20 in m any countries o f th e region. W hen th e D utch, after 400 years o f occupation, finally gave in to th e insurgent Indonesians, th e re w ere few er th a n 5,000 u n iv er­ sity grad u a tes in a c o untry o f 80 m illion p eo p le. T oday th e r e are 45 go v e rn m e n t universities, 450 private post-seco n d ary institu tio n s a n d a to ta l e n ­ ro llm e n t o f m ore th an a m illion p o st-seco n d ary s tu d e n ts . All th a t has h a p p e n e d in ju s t 40 y e a rs. W hat p a id for th a t expansion in e d u c atio n ? T h e re was an ex trao rd in ary c o m m itm en t o f local s u p p o rt— 20%, 25%, 30% o f to ta l r e c u r re n t gov­ e rn m e n t e x p e n d itu re s w e re com m on for e d u c a ­ tional developm ent and m aintenance o f program s. In addition, th e re w ere large grants from b ilateral aid agencies in th e fo rm e r colonial pow ers, from th e U n ite d States, Scandinavia, a n d W est G e r­ many, and from such in te rn atio n a l associations as U N E SC O /U N D P. W hile th ere was great potential for exploiting reso u rces in th ird w orld countries, th e scarcity o f local in v estm en t capital sug g ested ca re fu l p lan n in g o f d e v elo p m en t. Social d e m a n d for e d u c atio n was so g re a t th a t m ost p la n n e d t a r ­ gets for en ro llm en ts w ere easily exceed ed and th e p re ssu re to o p e n m ore schools was politically irre ­ sistible. Som e very significant changes have tak e n place in th e 35 to 40 years since m ost th ir d w orld c o u n ­ trie s achieved th e ir in d e p e n d e n c e . M ost A m eri­ cans easily recognize th e changes th a t s u rro u n d th em at hom e. L ibraries have certainly changed in th e ir physical characteristics— th e use o f space, th e use o f c o m p u te riz e d access to in fo rm atio n ab o u t lib rary holdings, to m en tio n a few obvious ex­ am ples. T h e re are p ro fo u n d changes in sp irit as well. N athaniel Shaler studied with Professor Agas­ siz, th e distinguished Am erican biologist at Yale. In S h a ler’s w arm m em o ir o f his life as stu d e n t and in stru cto r at Yale at th e e n d o f th e 19th century, he m en tio n s seeing th e university lib ra rian strid in g across cam pus— a n d smiling. H e was a d o u r m an, th e librarian, not m uch given to smiling, and Shaler rem arked, “You seem to be feeling well this m o rn ­ ing.” “Yes, I am. All th e books are in b u t two. Agassiz has those, and I ’m goingto get th e m .” T hat is certain ly d iffe re n t from tod ay ’s library sp irit or P rofessor K aiser’s c o m m e n t th a t books are aca­ dem ic tools th a t w ear o u t w hen th ey are well used. As easy as it is to recognize change a ro u n d us, m any o f us expect life in o th e r co u n tries to have frozen in to im m obility. In th e th ird w orld, th e fam iliar F re n c h adage is insightful: th e m ore things change, th e m ore th ey stay th e sam e. It is even m ore insightful w hen tu rn e d on its ear: th e m ore things stay th e sam e, th e m ore th e y change. O ne o f th e m ost significant changes has been th e shift in relatio n sh ip b e tw e en th e fo rm e r “receiv­ ing” countries and th e form er “donors.’’T h e grants th a t w ere m ade for various d e v e lo p m en t projects 20 o r 3 0 years ago p u t those p ro jects largely u n d e r th e co n tro l o f th e g rantor, w ho ju d g e d w hat was good to s u p p o rt and was m o re o r less in sisten t ab o u t how th e m oney w ould b e spent. D u rin g th e last 10 years, aid funds have felt th e p re ssu re o f a tig h ten in g w orld econom ic situation. T h e p re s e n t p a tte rn is for very few grants to b e m ade. S u p p o rt for projects comes largely from loans from bilateral agencies and from th e W o rld Bank. T h a t changes th e rela tio n sh ip o f host c o u n try and local p a rtic i­ p an ts to c re d ito r agency a n d p ro je c t p a rticip an ts from o u tsid e th e country. Local p e o p le te n d to a rticu la te th e ir own n eed s m o re definitely. W hen th ey borrow m oney it becom es th e ir money. Since they are supposed to pay th e m oney back, they te n d to be m ore cautious in spen d in g it and in getting as m uch in re tu rn for cost as th ey can. T h a t all m eans m uch m ore c o n tro l over p ro je c t decisions by th e host c o u n try and th e host in stitution. T h e expatri­ ate p ro je c t m em b e rs m ust b e persuasive ra th e r th a n coercive; th ey have to explain activities and convince colleagues o f th e likely b en efits o f a p ro ­ posal r a th e r th a n m erely d e c id e (for o th ers) w hat should be done. W hile this can b ecom e a source o f fru stra tio n , it c re a te s th e possibility for a genuine co llaboration am ong colleagues, a kind o f social interactio n th a t m ost o f us find particularly satisfy­ ing. T h e id ea o f d e v e lo p m en t has also c h an g ed in resp o n se to a c o n tin u in g c ritiq u e . T h e sim ple n o ­ tio n th a t to be rich and pow erful as in d u stria liz e d countries are, less developed countries m ust indus­ trialize them selves has som e tru th in it, b u t it can also be a tra p . T h e tra p is a race according to rules a n d in a tim e fram e th a t p rev e n ts th e less d ev el­ o p e d c o u n tries from e v e r “c a tch in g u p ” a n d th a t rea rra n g e s th e specifics w hile k eep in g th e ea rlie r s tru c tu re o f in eq u a lity and d e p e n d e n c e in place. W h e th e r th ey im prove th e q uality o f life of m ost p e o p le in a c o u n try o r not, ideas for d ev e lo p m en t are com ing from w ithin th e developing countries as well as from outside. D ecision makers w ithin coun­ tries are becom ing m ore assertive about w hat they h o p e to p reserv e and m aintain, w hat th ey are will­ ing to change, in w hat directio n th ey expect th e ir countries to develop. T he m ajor planners are insid­ ers ra th e r th a n o u tsid e rs . W hen ou tsid ers p a rtici­ pate, they are again m ore likely to b e cast in th e role 822 / C &R L News of colleague-advisor th an as m entor-controller. T hat local voices speak m ore clearly to local needs does not m ean th a t th e se voices are all in a g re e m e n t w ith each o th er. It is te m p tin g to h e a r only those voices w hose education has in tro d u c ed th em to th e c u rre n t conventional opinion abo u t som e professional issue. In d ig en o u s know ledge has helped p eople survive, som etim es u n d e r harsh conditions o f deprivation. Indig en o u s solutions may be m ore sensitive to local conditions and m ore a p p ro p riate th an ap p a re n tly technically su p e rio r solutions p ro d u c e d at a d istance from th e local context. F o r example, I understand that th e cu rrent conventional wisdom is th a t c e n tral libraries are m ore cost effective and m ore serviceable th an having m ainly satellite libraries in a university. In Indonesia we w orked with th re e universities. C e n ­ tral libraries w ere p ro p o sed by local academ ics for all th re e . O n two cam puses th a t d id n ’t seem to be a p roblem . In one o f th em , especially, even th e satellite libraries w ere weak to nonexistent. O n th e th ird cam pus, it was a h o t issue. In te restin g ly enough, th a t university was th e only one o f th e th re e to ask for c o n su ltan t librarians to h elp in developing th e ir library services. It b e c am e ev id en t very quickly to th e library consultants in th e p roject th a t this was not m erely a tech n ical q u estio n o f choosing th e m ost efficient option. T h e issue was s a tu ra te d in politics and p ersonalities. T h e controversy involved tra d in g sh o rt-te rm b en efits for a lo n g er te rm gain, or else m aintaining an ongoing program at s tre n g th at a cost to schools or faculties in th e university th at had m uch w eaker library support and little to m aintain. In th e end, b y tread in g v ery carefully andinvolving all th e pow er players, th e U . S. consultants h e lp e d th e local p a rticip a n ts weave to g e th e r a c o m p ro ­ m ise th a t p ro te c te d satellite faculty lib raries for advanced students and lecturers while establishing a new c e n tral library w ith a sta ff stru c tu re and building th a t could accom m odate fu tu re changes a n d grow th. T h e key to th a t com prom ise was r e ­ specting th e local wisdom in m eeting local interests and m eshing local practice with alternatives to th at practice. I suppose th e question is, “How can you becom e a p a rt o f th a t kind o f activity o r b eco m e a p a rt o f it again?” Two d iffe re n t ways to b e involved in w ork overseas are to go it alone o r else to form a group w ith o th ers in y our university o r in o th e r universi­ ties. As an individual, you can look for a n n o u n c e ­ m ents and advertisem ents for positions in th e usual sources. T hese are well know n and I ’ll only m e n ­ tion one o f them . T he Council for th e International E xchange o f Scholars in W ashington, D .C ., m an ­ ages th e F u lb rig h t p ro g ram aw ards for tea c h in g and research abroad. U sually req u e sts com e from w ithin a cou n try for scholars in various disciplines to w ork w ith universities or o th e r g o v e rn m e n t agencies in th a t h o st country. T h e re have b e e n som e, b u t relatively few re q u e sts for librarians. W h e n th ey com e, th e y are o fte n for academ ics from D e p a rtm e n ts o f L ibrary Science ra th e r than for op eratio n al librarians. F o r exam ple, th e latest a n n o u n c e m e n t o f F u lb rig h t o p p o rtu n itie s (for 1990-1991) lists a re q u e st from In d ia for som eone in library a n d inform ation science to advise and teach graduate courses in any specialization. T here is no reaso n why tea c h in g can n o t b e b ro ad ly d e ­ fin e d to inclu d e librarians w orking along w ith c o u n te rp a rts and academ ics. Som ebody will have to e d u c a te p e o p le b o th ab ro ad a n d at hom e to th e value o f inclu d in g o p eratio n al library specialists am ong F u lb rig h t req u e sts. It is m ore likely to h a p p e n if th o se w ho are in te re s te d p u rsu e th e ir goals actively. F u lb rig h t lists are c o m p iled by a F u lb rig h t F oundation in each participating country. T here is n o t one F u lb rig h t p ro g ra m b u t m ore th an one h u n d re d se p ara te program s. Lists o f req u e sts are p u t to g e th e r in N o v e m b e r o r D e c e m b e r o f each year. T h e following A pril o r M ay th e se are a n ­ nounced, w ith appointm ents beginning a year and a half later. I f you have already established contacts in a country, e.g., th ro u g h an exchange o f letters or through discussions at an international professional m eetin g , or th ro u g h previous w ork abroad, th e n you can try to get a local person to w ork th ro u g h his or h e r university to get a re q u e s t to th e F u lb rig h t F o u n d a tio n b e fo re N ovem ber. An alternative w ould b e for you to w rite directly to th e executive d ire c to r o f th e F u lb rig h t F o u n d a tio n , U.S. E m ­ bassy, in th e capital city o f th e c o u n try (N airobi, Kenya; San José, C o sta Rica; K uala L u m p u r, M a­ laysia, etc.). A le tte r se n t in Ju n e or S e p tem b e r co u ld in d icate y our in te re s t in w orking for a 3 -1 2 m onth p e rio d in an overseas university library or in linking your university library to one in th a t c o u n ­ try. Some p eople will p u t you off by suggesting th at you w ait and see w hat tu rn s up in th e usual annual list. O thers will b ecom e in te re s te d enough to float th e possibility by som e o f th e ir contacts as they travel a ro u n d th e c o u n try enco u rag in g req u e sts from local institutions. Individuals can register w ith some of th e private agencies th a t develop p ro je c ts in resp o n se to r e ­ quests for proposals. T h e re are also rec ru itin g agencies th a t search o u t and supply n e e d e d p e r ­ sonnel to g o v e rn m e n t aid or o th e r projects. A few o f th e se are listed in an appendix at th e e n d o f this paper. I f you send th em a curriculum vita, you may tu rn up on th e ir c o m p u te r w hen th e y n e e d som e­ one in your field. T hat is possible b u t less prom ising th an bu ild in g your own contacts th ro u g h sh ared in te re sts o r social affinity w ith som eone in your specialty in a n o th e r country. In ad dition to th e private consulting and devel- o p m e n t agencies, universities a n d collaborating October 1989 / 823 groups of universities are th e m ost likely to m anage large p ro jects overseas. M any universities have special adm inistrative s tru c tu re s to facilitate th e involvem ent of th e ir faculty in overseas p ro je c ts. I f th ey know abo u t your in te re st, th e y can often p u t you in to u ch w ith o p p o rtu n itie s to w ork ab ro ad as p a rt o f som e university project. At m yuniversitythere is a university-wide Office of In ternational Studies and Program s h ead ed by a dean. T h ere are separate offices in th e Colleges of A griculture a n d E n g in e erin g a n d in th e School o f E ducation. T h e University ofW isconsin-M adison belongs to a consortium o f eig h t o f th e Big T en universities. T h e co n so rtiu m is called M U C IA (M idw est U niversities C onsortium for I n te r n a ­ tional Activities) and it m anages contracts for p ro j- ects totaling tens o f millions o f dollars, b u t I w ould guess th a t few er th a n one in five o f my colleagues on th e faculty know th a t w e belo n g to it or w hat M U C IA does. W hat M U C IA does is to identify potential projects and requests for pro ject propos­ als . From th e eight participative universities, term s are assem bled to resp o n d to th e req u e sts. I f suc­ cessful (th a t is, if M U C IA is asked to m anage a project), M U C IA chooses a lead university, one of its m em b er institutions, to coordinate and staff th e project. M U C IA has special in te re s t groups in agricul­ tu re , e d u catio n , e n g in e e rin g , d ev e lo p m en t a d ­ m inistration, and tourism . W hy not an in te re s t group o f librarians? In te re st groups share inform a­ tion about possible p ro jects overseas, develop re ­ sponses to requests for proposals from donor agen­ cies, help rec ru it suitable p ro je c tp a rtic ip a n ts, and in th e case o f librarians, th ey could also lobby th e consortium directors and th e ir own cam pus r e p re ­ sentatives to include library service consultants as essential elem ents o f future projects. I t is possible to conceive o f such efforts aw aken­ ing recognition th at a project m aybe n e e d ed w here th e m ajor purpose is to develop an effective univer­ sity library system. T h e re are few req u e sts at p re s ­ ent, so far as I am aw are, th a t have such a priority. Instead, th e priority is for building d e p a rtm e n ts in agricultural sciences or engineering, or creating an agricultural extension service or a distance e d u c a ­ tio n p ro g ram th ro u g h an “o p e n ” university. Now why w ould any o f those p rojects n e e d a consultant or two for library services? Is th a t a n e e d w orth giving up 6 or 12 m onths o f service from engineers or soil scientists or curriculum specialists? O r is th e n e e d w orth adding on to th e cost o f a p ro je c t? It seem s to m e th a t university librarians m ight know convincing answ ers to those questions. T hose a n ­ swers a n d o th e r initiatives n e e d to get to your university colleagues w ho p u t projects together. T he m ost useful tim e to exert influence is w hen p ro jects are b e in g designed. T h a t m eans staying closely in to u ch w ith th e o perative p eo p le on your cam pus w ho h e a d in stitu te s for d e v e lo p m en t ac­ tivities (such as th o se at P ittsb u rg h o r H arvard) or offices of International Studies and Program s (such as at th e University ofW isconsin-M adison or In d i­ ana U niversity or B eloit College) o r w ith th e a d ­ m inistrative offices o f th e various university c o n ­ sortia th ro u g h o u t th e U nited States. T he state u n i­ versities in N ew York form a consortium , as do those in Florida. T h e re is a n o rth e a st consortium (N E C ID ) with headquarters at Cornell University, and a southeast consortium (S E C ID ) w hose head office is in C h ap el Hill, N o rth C arolina. T h e re is a M id-A m erica S tate U niversities A ssociation (MASUA) b ased at Iowa S tate U niversity, a n d a M id-Am erican In ternational A gricultural C onsor­ tium (MIAC) based at th e University o f Missouri in C olum bia. T h e re are co nsortia for in te rn atio n a l activities in th e southw est, the northw est, and Cali­ fornia. T h e re is even one on G uam (P P E C , th e Pacific Postsecondary E ducation Council). To find th e one n earest you or to discover if your university is a m e m b e r o f a consortium , you m ight sta rt by asking som eone in th e cam pus office working with overseas program s or serving foreign students and visitors, or talk to a cam pus co o rd in a to r for som e pro ject in progress. T hese consortia offer an obvious advantage to a d o n o r agency. T hey o p e n access to a m uch w ider range o f hu m an experience and resources th an are fo u n d on any single university cam pus. F o r th e participating universities, they m ake participation possible for faculty w h e re th e university’s own reso u rces w ould n o t have w a rra n te d aw arding th e m a con tract for a p ro je ct. T he usual p ro ce d u re is for position notices to circulate am ong faculty of th e m em b er institu tio n s. It is rare th a t these can all be filledfrom “inside” people, a n d itis com m onfor a w id e r n e t to be cast. E ven if y our own cam pus is n o t a co n so rtiu m m e m b e r or active in overseas activities, it is w orth making your in te rest known to appropriate people who are active in international w ork in your field at o th e r un iv ersities. O ne needs to be p a tie n t and p ersisten t in p u rsu ­ ing overseas opportunities. It is com m on for team s to b e fo rm ed to assess n e e d s for d e v elo p m en t b e fo re a p ro je c t proposal is w ritte n . O ften th e assessing team lays down th e outline o f th e project design and it is la te r e xpanded a nd its details r e ­ fined. B eing closely in to u ch w ith d e v elo p m en t activities th at involve your cam pus colleagues puts you in position to indicate your availability and that o f your colleagues in library services for a p ro je c t th at may eventually be developed. B ut th e negotia­ tions betw een participating country, donoragency, and c o n tra c to r can drag on for m onths and even years. A p ro je c t can seem im m a n e n t and th e n d isa p p e a r from view. W hen it has b ecom e only a ru efu l “m ight have b e e n ,” it suddenly surfaces again, alive and hearty, eager to begin at once w hen 8 2 4 / C& RL News y o u r plans already com m it you to o th e r activities. M ore negotiations, this tim e a b o u t w hen and how you m ight take p a rt, are possible and expected. It also takes an active im agination to see possi­ bilities w h e re th e y are n o t obvious or to o p e n an avenue th at seem s closed. In our Indonesiaproject, we w e re asked to supply one lib ra ry c o n su lta n t to s p e n d two years at th e U niversity o f In d o n esia, h e lp in g to develop a c e n tra l lib rary a n d also u p ­ grading staff skills a n d p ro ce d u re s. W e w ere really in trig u e d by a proposal from D e a n S nyder at I n d i­ ana U niversity th at indicated a d e e p in te rest on the p a rt o f several sta ff m em b e rs o f th e In d ia n a U ni­ versity libraries, none o f w hom could be away from th e ir positions for two years. Eventually, we agreed to th e ir proposal th a t u se d 24 m o n th s o f s ta ff tim e to supply us w ith fo u r library c o n su lta n ts over th e tw o-year p e rio d , each offerin g d iffe re n t b a c k ­ g rounds a n d expertise an d all form ing one closely c o o rd in a te d IU team . T h a t is n o t so m e th in g we w ould have thought up ourselves. In addition to th e w ide ran g e o f ex p ertise it o ffe red , w hat m ade it a ttrac tiv e was th e close c o o rd in a tio n possible b e ­ cause th e y w ere all colleagues from th e sam e u n i­ versity library. In addition, th ey w ere able to id e n ­ tify In d o n e sia n library sta ff w ho cou ld m e e t r e ­ q u ire m e n ts for a c ce p ta n c e at In d ia n a U niversity for fu rth e r study in library science a n d to establish a link b e tw e e n th e two u niversity libraries .W h e n we rea liz e d th e p o te n tia l b e n e fits o f th e a rra n g e ­ m en t, we e n c o u ra g e d sim ilar te a m resp o n se s to staffing n e e d s in fields as diverse as physics, biol­ ogy, geodesy, and geography. T h e U n ite d S tates In fo rm a tio n A gency has a U niversity A ffiliation p ro g ra m th ro u g h w hich grants are m ade o f $50,000 -$ 6 0 ,0 0 0 over a th re e - y ear p e rio d to enco u rag e a linkage b e tw e en a U . S. and a foreign university. T he 1989 program was an­ n o u n c e d in th e Federal R e g iste r in A ugust 1988 w ith a January d e a d lin e a n d aw ards to b e a n ­ n o u n c e d in Ju n e 1989. O n e c o u n try , G h a n a in W est Africa, listed library science as a specific priority. Seven o th er African countries, th re e coun­ tries o f S outheast Asia, th re e Pacific c ountries and m ost countries o f th e M iddle E ast invited proposals in “any eligible d isc ip lin e .” T h e exchange is to e n c o u ra g e teach in g , lec tu rin g , and re se a rc h for o n e- to th re e -m o n th p e rio d s a n d pays for costs of travel and m a in te n a n c e (salary is p a id by th e p a r ­ tic ip a n t’s hom e institution). T h e exchange should b e n e fit b o th o f th e p a rtic ip a tin g in stitu tio n s and aim to w a rd c o n tin u in g co llaborative activities. W hile academ ic fields o f lib ra ry science easily qualify, it w ould only take a little im agination to find ways to have libraries qualify for exchange visits a n d to have o p e ra tio n a l lib rarian s m e e t th e requirem ents for teaching, lecturing, and rese a rc h . Som e advance discussion w ith U SIA sta ff in th e U nited States and with th e USIA or C ultural Affairs O ffic e r at th e U.S. E m bassy involved w ould c e r ­ tainly help. Collaborative p lan n in g b etw een staff of th e two universities is a req u ire m e n t. I have trie d in this b r ie f p a p e r to give som e idea a b o u t th e ran g e and v ariety o f o p p o rtu n itie s for w orking in various th ird w orld c o u n tries. At th e sam e tim e, I have su g g ested som e strateg ies for b eco m in g a p a rt o f an overseas d ev e lo p m en t p ro j­ ect. It is clear th a t I th in k th a t taking an initiative is m o re effective th a n a m ore passive response. P o s­ sibly th e first step in m aking an active e ffo rt to c o n n e c t to som e overseas o p p o rtu n ity is to assess yourself. W hat is your b a c kground and your in te r ­ e st— p rac tic a l o p e ra tio n o f a lib rary ? scholarship a n d rese a rc h ? teaching? all o f th e s e ? W h at are th e c o u n trie s th a t seem m ost ap p e alin g to you and w hat can you lea rn a b o u t th e ir history, th e ir c u l­ tu ra l diversity, th e state o f p ractice and research in your own field o f specialization? C an you s ta rt a c o rre s p o n d e n c e w ith som eone in a sim ilar jo b in th e c o u n trie s th a t in te re s t you, possibly th ro u g h fo rm e r stu d e n ts at your university, o r th ro u g h fo r­ eign p a rtic ip a n ts in a professional m ee tin g you a tte n d e d ? You may find th a t you send m any letters, new sletters, o th er m aterials, and get few back. T hat is u n d e rs ta n d a b le , since you are w riting in y our native language, English, and your c o rre sp o n d en t is probably w riting in h e r or his second language. I f you p lan a visit o r a tte n d an in te rn a tio n a l m ee tin g in th e c o u n try th a t in te re s ts you, you are likely to fin d a w arm w elcom e even if c o rre s p o n d e n c e has b e e n lim ited. You can also lea rn m ore a b o u t th e possibilities a n d c onditions for w orking in th a t c o u n try or w ith th a t colleague. W h e n you know th e a re a th a t in te re sts you, you n e e d to stay in to u ch w ith your local cam pus in te r ­ national pro ject activists to know w hen projects are b e in g d esigned a n d to p u t forw ard y our in te re s t in p a rticip a tin g . C am p u s a re a stu d ies groups are sources o f in fo rm a tio n a b o u t foreign visitors and p ro je c t possibilities. A rea studies colloquia and lectu res are useful and pleasant ways to get to know m o re ab o u t th e places th a t in te re s t you. P a tie n c e, p e rsiste n c e , a n d im agination will eventually su c ce e d — a n d th e r e you’ll be, finding new colleagues in a fascinating new environm ent. T o w ork to g e th e r as colleagues, p e o p le n e e d to u n d e rs ta n d and value one a n o th e r. It is difficult en o u g h to do th a t at h o m e . P irandello w rote about th e care w ith w hich w e adjust th e masks th a t p r e s ­ e n t us to th e w orld. B eh in d th e o u te r m ask is a n o th e r mask. “N o th in g is t r u e ,” h e concludes. I w ould p refe r, “N othing is easy to u n d e rsta n d .” It is ju s t th o se su b tle d ifferen ces in m ean in g a n d th e struggle to share a n d co m m unicate, how ever, th a t give th e overseas experience its special charm and addictive appeal. October 1989 / 825 Appendix A: Some private developm ent agencies and recruiting companies in the United States Private development agencies Academy for E ducational D evelopm ent, 1255 23rd Street, N.W., W ashington, D C 20037; (202) 862-1900. C ontact person: R ichard Lancaster. M ultiple fields of in terest in education. Louis Berger International, 100 H alsted Street, E ast O range, NJ 07019; (201) 678-1960. C ontact person: Charles Bell. M ultiple fields o f in te rest in education. R obert N athan Associates, 1301 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., W ashington, DC 20004; (202) 626- 8138. Contact person: D eborah Shaeffer, In tern a­ tional R ecruitm ent. M ultiple fields of in te rest in education. C hecchi & Com pany C onsulting, 1730 Rhode Island Avenue, N.W ., W ashington, D C 20036; (202) 452-9700. C ontact person: Patricia M cPhe- Ĭim. M ultiple fields o f in terest in education. E xperience, Inc., 1725 K Street, N.W ., W ash­ ington, D C 20006; (202) 659-3864. C ontact p e r ­ son: W es W eidem ann. Mainly agriculture related projects. A rthur Young International (Business), 3000 K Street, N.W., W ashington, D C 20007; (202) 956- 6476. C ontact person: D an Lounberg. Mainly business-related projects. Some recruiting companies Clapp & Mayne, 5530 Wise Avenue, Suite 1115, Chevy Chase, M D 20815; (301) 951-4477. C on­ tact person: Larry Posner. Pragm a C orporation, 116 E ast Broad Street, Falls C hurch, VA 22046; (703) 237-9303. Contact person: Elizabeth Thompson. Appendix B: Consortia and associations U. S. consortia T he following organizations are som e o f th e consortia involved in international activities and are based in th e U nited States. C onsortium for In te rn atio n a l D evelopm ent (C ID ), Earl Kellogg, Executive D irector, 51 5 1 E. Broadway, Suite 1500, Tucson, AZ 85711; (602) 745-0455. M id-Am erica State U niversities Association (MASUA), D ennis P eterson, Acting D irector, 1987-88, International Educational Services, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011; (515) 294-1120. M id-American International Agricultural C on­ sortium (MIAC), J. W endell McKinsey, Executive D irector, 215 G entry Hall, University of Missouri, Colum bia, MO 65211; (314) 882-4413,882-3679. N ortheast Consortium for International D evel­ o p m en t (N E C ID ), Larry W. Zuidem a, Associate D irector, In ternational A griculture, P.O. Box 16, Robert Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853; (607)255-3035. Southeast Consortium for International D evel­ o p m en t (S E C ID ), Main Office: W illiam E dw ard Vickery, Executive D irector, 800 Eastowne Drive, Suite 100, Chapel Hill, NC 27514; (919) 493-4551; (800) 334-8537. S E C ID (W ashington Office): 1612 K S treet, N.W ., Suite 704, W ashington, DC 20006; (202) 429-1804. International consortia and organizations The following organizations are representative of consortia and oth er organizations involved in international activities and based in countries out­ side of th e U nited States. Association Intern atio n ale des Universités (AIU), 1, Rue Miollis, 75732 Paris Cedex 15, France; 45-68-25-45/46. T he British Council, 10 Spring G arden, London SW 1A2BN, U nited Kingdom; 01930 8466. International D evelopm ent Program of Austra­ lian U niversities and Colleges (ID P ), K enneth Back, Executive D irector, GPO Box 2006, C an ­ b e rra CT 2601, Australia; (062) 497833. Mission interuniversitaire de coordination des échanges franco-am ericains (M IC E FA ), Pierre D o m m e rg u e s, D ire c to r G e n e ra l, A lliance F rançaise B 511-515, 101 Boulevard Raspail, 75270 Paris Cedex 06, France; 548 08 95. N etherlands Universities Foundation for In te r­ n a tio n a l C o o p e ra tio n ( N U F F I C ) , T. G. V eenkam p, D irector, B adhuisw eg251, P.O. Box 90734, 2509 LS T he H ague, T he N etherlands; 070-574201. T he Pacific Postsecondary E ducation Council (PPEC), P.). Box23067, GM F, Guam 96921; (671) 734-2962. U nited N ations Educational, Scientific, and C ultural O rganization (U N E SC O ), 7, Place de Fontenoy, 75700 Paris, France; (1) 577-16-10. ■ ■