ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries S e p te m b e r 1989 / 659 Providing library services to the university’s overseas development projects By Elaine Brekke and Rita Fisher Reference Librarians, O w en Science and E ngineering L ibrary W ashington State University Establishing an overseas support unit within the library. I n 1975 th e T itle X II a m e n d m e n t to th e F o r ­ eign Assistance Act o f 1961 (F am ine P re v en ­ tion and F re e d o m from H u n g e r), was e n a c te d , in part, because Congress had declared that the U nited States should stre n g th e n th e capacities o f land- grant and o th e r eligible u niversities in p rogram - related agricultural institutional developm ent and research.1 Congress described how various partici­ pants w orking to g e th e r could m ake th e d ifference in p rev e n tin g fam ine a n d estab lish in g freed o m from hunger for all the w orld’s people.2 O ne o f th e provisions o f Title XII was th e establishm ent o f th e S trengthening G ra n t p rogram w hich was specifi­ cally designed to increase th e effectiveness o f U. S. land-grant universities in th eir efforts to assist oth er countries in th e developm ent o f im proved agricul­ tural system s. E ligible universities w ere e n c o u r­ aged to apply for a m atching gran t from th e U.S. Agency for In te rn a tio n a l D e v elo p m en t (U SA ID ) 1Bru ce H. A nderson and D ari E. Snyder, Strengthening U nited States U niversities f o r Par­ ticipation in Title X II, A U SU D IA P P u b licatio n no. 1 (W ashington, D .C.: A U SU D IA P, 1977). 2U.S. Board for International Food and Agricul­ tural Developm ent, A Guide to Title X II andB IF A D (W ashington, D .C.: T h e Board, 1983). to “stre n g th e n th e ir capabilities” for p articipation in T itle XII. W ashington S tate U niversity, a lan d -g ran t u n i­ versity, has been involved in international develop­ m e n t for over fifty years. F o r th e p u rp o se o f this article, th e p h rase “in te rn atio n a l d e v e lo p m en t” refers to contracting for and operation of technical assistance projects abroad, and also to th e in teg ra­ tion o f in te rn atio n a l d e v e lo p m en t activities into appropriate and relevant on-campus program s. This involvem ent has b e e n c o n sid e red an integ ral p a rt o f th e lan d -g ran t m ission o f th e university. W ith this in m ind, W SU accepted a S tre n g th e n ­ ing G ra n t from U SA ID in 1979. T h e goals of th e S trengthening G rant, as defined by Albert C. Yates, W ashington State University’s executive vice-presi­ d e n t a n d provost, are: “1) to in crease th e u n iv er­ sity’s ability to staff developm ent projects at hom e and abroad; 2) to increase th e university’s ability to expand and im prove educational program s relative to th e needs o f developing countries; 3) to improve W S U ’s ability to p re p a re faculty a n d stu d e n ts for long-term involvem ent in developm ent program s; 4) to stim ulate th e ability o f faculty to relate dom es­ tic rese a rc h program s to th e n e e d s o f developing countries; a n d 5) to im prove adm inistrative ca p a ­ bility in su p p o rt o f d ev e lo p m en t p ro je c ts .” T he 6 6 0 / C & R L N ew s International Program Developm ent Office (IPD O ) was c re a te d to d ire c t and co o rd in a te th e U n iv e r­ sity’s involvem ent with d evelopm ent projects.3 The need Experience with th e University’s initial develop­ m ent projects dem onstrated a n e e d for rapid access to background inform ation abo u t th e host country and to scientific litera tu re relating to th e p ro b le m ­ solving mission o f th e project to assist in th e accom ­ p lish m e n t o f th e p ro je c t’s goals. A ccording to th e N ational Association of State Universities and Land- G ra n t C olleges, “By th e n a tu re o f d e v e lo p m en t activities, professionals on international assignm ent are som ew hat isolated professionally, at lea st in com parison to th e ir colleagues at hom e. A co ntinu­ ous flow of u p-to-date inform ation.. .improves p ro ­ ductivity, b o th th ro u g h know ledge th a t th e r e is a m echanism for k e e p in g u p -to -d a te , a n d th ro u g h th e usefulness o f new inform ation in th e exercise of the job assignm ent.”4 Access to inform ation is avail­ able on-cam pus th ro u g h th e use o f c o m p u te riz e d database searches, p rin te d indexes, a n d books and jo u rn a ls available in th e lib rary ’s collections, or se cu re d th ro u g h various d o c u m e n t delivery ch a n ­ n e ls . T he challenge was to provide sim ilar services to p e rso n n e l w orking on th e p ro je c t in-country. A lthough m ost developing co u n tries have e m e rg ­ ing inform ation delivery capabilities, th e research ­ e rs ’ n eed s for access to in fo rm atio n o fte n exceed those capabilities.5 T h e co n c ern to provide a d e q u a te lib rary serv­ ices to overseas p erso n n e l c o n trib u te d to th e d e c i­ sion in 1980 to in itia te an a g re e m e n t b e tw e e n th e W SU c o o rd in a to r o f th e U niversity’s S tre n g th e n ­ ing G ran t a n d th e L ib ra rie s’ d ire c to r to establish a S tre n g th e n in g G ra n t-fu n d e d library s u p p o rt unit to provide faculty on international assignm ent with access to inform ation services. This ag reem en t had th re e m ajor com ponents: a .25 F T E in te rn a tio n a l d e v e lo p m e n t liaison lib rarian , .25 F T E su p p o rt staff, and an allocation for th e purchase o f m aterials 3A lbert C. Yates, A Special Challenge to th e M odern U niversity, W ashington S tate U niversity International Program D evelopm ent Office, O cca­ sional P a p e r n o .2 (Pullm an: W ashington S tate University, 1984). 4N ational Association o f S tate U niversities and L a n d -G ran t Colleges, Basic Principles f o r College a n d U niversity In v o lv e m e n t in In te rn a tio n a l D e­ velopm ent Activities (W ashington, D.C.: T he Asso­ ciation, 1983). 5P a u le tte Foss G e o rg e and D o n n a Schenck- H am lin, “U sing Special Libraries to In terface with D eveloping C ou n try C lien te le ,” Special Libraries 77 (Spring 1986): 80-89. to in itia te an In te rn a tio n a l D e v e lo p m e n t C o llec­ tio n w ithin th e L ib ra rie s. The back-stopping support unit T h e first and forem ost responsibility o f th e unit is to serve as a “b a c k sto p ” for th e library and in fo rm atio n needs o f W SU faculty and staff w ork­ ing on p ro jects overseas. T h e goal is to im ita te as closely as possible th e library e n v iro n m e n t th a t a faculty m em b er w ould experience if he o r she w ere lo ca ted on-cam pus. T h e lib rarian in charge o f th e u n it provides re fe re n c e service, c o n d u cts a u to ­ m ate d bibliographic database searches, supervises a d o c u m e n t delivery service, a n d provides o th e r services u pon re q u e st. T h e d o c u m e n t delivery service is extrem ely im p o rta n t since datab ase searches identify re fe re n c e s to m aterials th a t may n o t b e available in-country. T h e cam pus p ro je c t s u p p o rt office for W S U ’s p ro jects acts as th e in term ed iary for th ese services a n d d ire c t charges, e.g., com m ercial datab ase search es, photocopies, and IL L service, are b illed to th e individual p ro jects. T h e lib rarian has also su p p lied extensive refe re n c e service to th e pro ject p erso n n e l located on cam pus including identifying su p p lie rs for o rd e rin g e q u ip m e n t a n d supplies, in itia tin g arran g em en ts w ith a book jo b b e r fo r th e p u rc h a se o f library m aterials for an overseas facil­ ity, selecting a p p ro p riate lib rary furnishings for a specific library b e in g d e v elo p ed , and necessary o r d e r inform ation for books a n d jo u rn a ls. A ddi­ tionally, this support has b e e n expanded to include service to th e c o u n te rp a rts a n d o th e r sta ff and stu d e n ts in-country. The international development collection A n o th e r c o m p o n en t o f th e su p p o rt unit was th e cre a tio n o f an In te rn atio n a l D e v elo p m en t C ollec­ tion. In 1980, utilizing th e fu n d in g d e sig n a ted for this p u rp o se by th e In te rn a tio n a l P rogram D e v e l­ o p m e n t Office (IPD O ), acollection was initiated to provide m aterials th a t could be used in th e o rie n ta ­ tion o f p ersonnel w ho w ould be w orking on WS U ’s d e v e lo p m e n t p ro jects, e ith e r overseas o r on ca m ­ p u s, a n d for faculty a n d s tu d e n ts involved in new c o u rse s and existing courses th a t h a d a d d e d an in te rn a tio n a l dim ension. T h e su b je c t c o n te n t o f th e collection reflects th e in terdisciplinary n a tu re o f th e c o n cern s and activities o f W S U ’s d e v e lo p ­ m e n t projects. Thus topics ran g e from w orld h u n ­ g e r to country-specific in fo rm a tio n to cro ss-cu l­ tu ra l needs and concerns. T h e prim ary geographic coverage is Africa a n d th e M iddle E ast b e c au se o f W S U ’s em phasis, b u t o th e r develo p in g areas are also rep re sen te d . T his special collection is n o t in te n d e d to be c o m p re h en siv e n o r does it extensively d u p lic a te S e p te m b e r 1 9 8 9 / 661 materials elsew here in th e U niversity Libraries. It does provide a m eans to acq u ire m aterials th at pertain to ongoing developm ent projects, th ereb y enhancing the Libraries’ collections in subject areas where acquisitions are lim ited due to collection d e ­ velopment policies or bu d g etary constraints. T he monographic titles are easily identified and acces­ sible through th e Libraries’ online catalog. Additional im p o rta n t resources th a t are p a rt of this collection include two m ajor non-print collec­ tions and a p p ro p riate language tapes. T h e Sahel Microfiche Collection, articles selected from Michi­ gan State University’s Sahel D ocum entation C e n ­ ter, and th e A ppropriate Technology M icrofiche Library w hich contains th e com plete text o f m ate ­ rials on proven village technologies, w ere acquired because o f th e ir unique subject content. The collectio n ’s m ost dynam ic e le m e n t is th e vertical file. This file houses rep rin ts, speeches, reports, conference proceedings and papers, news­ letters and o th e r serial publications o f m any in te r­ national d e v elo p m en t agencies, e tc .— m aterials published and distributed outside of norm al publi­ cation channels and freq u en tly re fe rre d to as gray literature. In addition, th e collection contains cir­ culating copies of W SU ’s p ro je c t rep o rts, th ere b y providing c onvenient access to th ese e p h e m e ra l publications. An online file is m ain tain ed on a m icrocom puter, and a p rin te d index is p ro d u ce d with m ain entry, title, and subject access. O f course, all of th e m aterials supporting W SU’s development activities are not purchased with these funds and are, th ere fo re , n o t located w ithin this collection. However, by using th e online catalog, a user has access to all relev an t titles (except th e vertical file m aterials) regardless o f location. Additional activities As W SU’s participation in international develop­ m ent activities has c hanged over th e years since 1980, so has th e L ib raries’ intern atio n al d ev elo p ­ m ent co m p o n en t. B ecause W S U ’s involvem ent em phasizes in stitu tio n building, fre q u e n t sh o rt­ term training sessions on campus have been sched­ uled for developing country p erso n n el associated with these different institutions. The liaison librar­ ian has participated in th ese courses by p resenting inform ation on various aspects o f library m anage­ m ent and developm ent. O th er developing country personnel visiting W SU have b e e n provided infor­ m ation on library and docum entation c e n te r roles and needs even if a formal training program has not b e e n c o n d u cted . S h o rt-term tra in in g program s specifically d esigned for library p erso n n e l have been offered for several projects. E ach o f th e d e v elo p m en t p ro jects for which W SU serves as th e lead in stitu tio n has an on- cam pus advisory c o m m itte e . T he liaison librarian serves on th ese advisory com m ittees, thus playing an integral role in th e im plem entation o f th e indi­ vidual projects. This involvement also provides the o p p o rtu n ity to suggest w here th e library m ight resp o n d to specific inform ation n eed s a n d thus make a con trib u tio n to th e success o f th e project. W hen th e International Program D evelopm ent Office (IP D O ) investigates new op p o rtu n ities for th e university’s involvem ent, and a m eetin g of rep re sen ta tiv e s o f th e relev an t d e p a rtm e n ts on campus is scheduled, the liaison is included. T here­ fore, even if th e R equest for Proposals (R FP) does not specify library and inform ation needs, th e li­ b rarian has th e o p p o rtu n ity to stress th e im p o r­ tance o f including at least some aspects of an infor­ m ation m an ag em en t c o m p o n e n t in th e response subm itted for consideration. The Libraries’ international developm ent activi­ ties have c o n tin u e d to be s u p p o rte d by first th e S trengthening G rant and later by its successor, the M emorandum of Understanding (MOU) grant from USAID. T h e in cre ase d utilization o f th e offered services has resulted in th e increase o f th e librarian position from .25 F T E to .5 F T E . Summary This article has described one means o f respond­ ing to th e inform ation needs o f faculty working in ­ c o u n try on a dev elo p m en t p roject. Providing li­ brary services to p ro je c t p e rso n n e l is not unique. W hat is u n iq u e is th e cooperative a g re e m e n t b e ­ tw een th e W SU Libraries and th e university office responsible for th e overseas developm ent projects w hich provided funds to initiate th e L ib ra rie s’ backstopping unit. The existence o f a librarian position in th e unit provides a firm link b etw een individuals on overseas assignm ent and th e essen­ tial library services th a t are available to anyone on cam pus. It enables th e Library to extend its service area to include W SU personnel working overseas. It also m ore firmly establishes th e Library in a p a rt­ n ersh ip w ith o th e r areas on cam pus in th e fulfill­ m en t of W SU ’s in te rn atio n a l d e v elo p m en t goals and objectives. T he u n it’s activities have increased th e recognition o f th e im p o rtan ce o f library serv­ ices by pro ject directors w ithin th e University and by host-co u n try adm inistrators. T he L ib ra rie s’ backstopping u n it has provided invaluable assis­ tance to th e University and th e in ternational com ­ m unity th a t it serves. ■ ■