feb06b.indd


Harvey
Varnet
and
Michèle
V.
Cloonan



Educating Iraqi librarians and library 
and information science educators 
Risks
and
rewards



Responding
to
the
devastating
effects
of
war
on
Iraqi
libraries,
the
Simmons
Graduate

School
 of
 Library
 and
 Information
 Science

(GSLIS)
and
the
Harvard
University
libraries

began
a
joint
program
in
2003
to
train
Iraqi

librarians
and
library
and
information
science

educators,
to
aid
in
modernizing
Iraqi
librar-
ies,
and
to
help
address
the
country’s
serious

shortage
of
librarians.


ties
scholarship
to
advance
knowledge
and

understanding
 of
 Mesopotamia,
 the
 region

between
the
Tigris
and
Euphrates
rivers
in

present-day
Iraq.”1


Initial
communications
with
our
Iraqi
col-
leagues
was
challenging
because
of
the
war
in

Iraq.
In
2003,
when
we
began
this
project,
few

people
had
either
personal
computers
or
reli-
able
electricity
in
their
homes.
We
depended


Twenty-three
Iraqi
librarians
attended
the
second
training
session
in
Jordan
off
 ered
through
 

an
NEH-sponsored
program
developed
by
Simmons
College’s
GSLIS
and
Harvard.
A
total
of


40
librarians
were
trained
in
2005.


In
March
2004
the
National
Endowment

for
the
Humanities
(NEH)
awarded
Simmons

and
Harvard
a
grant
for
a
two-year
project.

The
grant
is
part
of
the
NEH
program
“Re-
covering
Iraq’s
past
to
preserve
and
docu-
ment
Iraq’s
cultural
heritage,”
which
funds

projects
to
“preserve
and
document
cultural

resources
 in
 Iraq’s
 archives,
 libraries,
 and

museums.
 This
 initiative
 continues
 NEH’s

longstanding
history
of
support
for
humani-

on
the
Middle
East
Library
Association
(MELA)

and
 on
 a
 series
 of
 connections
 that
 Jeffrey

Spurr,
Lesley
Wilkins,
and
András
Riedlmayer

of
Harvard
University
had.
Charles
Jones,
then


Har vey Varnet is librar y director at the American 
University of Kuwait, e-mail: hdjvarnet@yahoo.com, 
and Michèle V. Cloonan is dean of Simmons College’s 
Graduate School of Library and Information Science and 
principal investigator for the project, e-mail: michele. 
cloonan@simmons.edu 
© 2006 Harvey Varnet and Michèle V. Cloonan 

February 2006 
87
 C&RL News 

mailto:cloonan@simmons.edu
mailto:hdjvarnet@yahoo.com


Iraqi
librarians
engage
in
informal
discussion
during
a


class
break
at
the
first
training
session
offered
in
2005.



of
the
Oriental
Institute
of
Chicago,
started
the

IraqCrisis
Line.2


A risky proposal 
A
planning
meeting
was
held
in
Amman,
Jor-
dan,
in
June
2004,
with
members
of
Simmons,

Harvard,
 the
 project’s
 advisory
 board,
 and

representatives
of
Iraq’s
libraries
and
library

and
 information
 science
 professorate.
 Even

something
as
seemingly
simple
as
arranging
a

meeting
is
fraught
with
risk
for
Iraqis
because

of
the
dangers
of
traveling
in
Iraq.
We
relied
on

them
to
decide
whether
to
fly
(the
airport
road

in
Baghdad
is
one
of
the
most
dangerous
in
the

country)
or
drive
across
Iraq.
They
chose
the

latter
route,
but
some
of
them
were
detained

at
the
Jordanian
border
for
many
hours.


It
 was
 with
 both
 anxiety
 and
 relief
 that

we
 finally
 met
 our
 colleagues
 at
 the
 Inter-
Continental
 Hotel
 in
 Amman,
 where
 we

worked
together
for
five
days.
The
fi
rst
day

was
spent
getting
to
know
one
another
and

learning
more
about
the
still
uncertain
situation

in
Iraq.
What
followed
were
four
scintillating

days
as
we
discussed
the
many
changes
in
the

profession
that
have
taken
place
in
the
past

20-plus
years.
It
is
difficult
for
Americans
to

understand
the
extent
of
the
Iraqis’
isolation

from
their
international
colleagues
for
the
past

25
 years.
 This
 is
 a
 result
 of
 the
 cumulative

effects
 on
 cultural
 institutions
 of
 the
 nearly

decade-long
 Iraq-Iran
 war
 in
 the
 1980s,
 the

Gulf
 War,
 the
 ensuing
 embargo,
 and,
 most

recently,
the
American
invasion.3


At
 that
 Amman
 meeting
 our
 team

developed
 the
 framework
 and
 pa-
rameters
 for
 the
 courses
 that
 would

be
 taught
 in
 2005.
 There
 were
 two

back-to-back
sessions
in
Amman,
with

the
first
session
commencing
on
July
4

and
the
second
session
ending
on
July

29,
2005.
The
courses
were
held
at
the

American
Center
of
Oriental
Research

(ACOR)—a
private,
nonprofi
t
academic

institution
that
is
dedicated
to
promot-
ing
research
in
Near
East
Studies.
Sceni-
cally
situated
on
a
hill
overlooking
the


University
 of
 Jordan,
 ACOR’s
 campus

has
a
library,
classroom
space,
conserva-

tion
lab,
and
living
and
eating
quarters.
The

ACOR
 staff
 provided
 both
 the
 Simmons-led

teaching
team
and
the
visiting
Iraqis
with
lo-
gistical
support.
The
opportunity
to
live
and

socialize
with
the
Iraqis
made
our
time
in
the

Middle
East
a
true
cultural
exchange.


The
ACOR
staff
did
a
wonderful
job
and

is
to
be
thanked
greatly
for
their
hospitality

and
efforts
on
behalf
of
all
participants.
And

the
more
we
got
to
know
our
colleagues,
the

more
 effective
 our
 teaching
 became,
 as
 we

could
 draw
 on
 examples
 that
 we
 gathered

from
talking
to
the
Iraqis
“after
hours.”4


The
curriculum
included
sessions
on:

•
 preservation—traditional
 practices
 as


well
as
digital
preservation
issues

•
collection
management

•
management

•
reference
services

•
automation

•
digital
libraries


•
organization
of
knowledge
(cataloging)


•
curriculum
development

•
electronic
publishing

Seventeen
Iraqi
library
and
information
sci-

ence
professors
(eight
men
and
nine
women)

attended
the
first
session.
In
the
second
ses-
sion,
17
additional
Iraqi
library
and
informa-
tion
science
professors
attended,
along
with
6

women
from
the
National
Library
and
Archives

in
Baghdad—a
total
of
23
in
all
with
5
men
and

18
women.
Iraqi
institutions
represented
were

Al-Basra
University,
Al-Mustansiriyah
Univer-
sity,
 Al-Mosul
 University,
 Foundation
 of
 the


C&RL News February 2006 
88




Technical
Institute
for
Education–Baghdad
and

Mosul,
and
National
Library
and
Archives.


Challenges and opportunities 
Some
of
the
challenges
in
holding
these
ses-
sions
in
Jordan
were:


1)
 The
 logistics
 of
 getting
 the
 teaching

team
members
there
for
each
person’s
“ses-
sion”—arranging
flights,
airport
taxis,
etc.


2)
Coping
with
the
early
arrivals
of
many

Iraqis—travel
in,
to,
and
from
Iraq
is
perilous,

and
 many
 individuals
 chose
 to
 arrive
 early

in
 order
 to
 ensure
 themselves
 they’d
 be
 in

attendance.


3)
Dealing
with
the
unexpected;
some
Iraqi

mothers
brought
their
children
and
we
needed

to
make
on-the-spot
accommodations.


4)
 The
 “American

model”
 of
 teaching

can
 be
 intense—the

day-to-day
 schedule

had
 to
 be
 modified

on
 occasion
 to
 take

into
account
the
sub-
ject
 matter
 and
 the

energy-level
of
all
par-
ticipants.


5)
 Teaching
 via

translation
is
a
serious

challenge.
 The
 Eng-
lish-language
skills
of

the
 Iraqi
 participants

are
 quite
 good.
 Still,

communicating
 the
 nuances
 of
 the
 subject

matter
was
and
is
a
challenge
for
interpreters

and
learners
alike.


Fortunately,
 the
 classroom
 set-up
 was

more
 than
 adequate.
 Classes/sessions
 were

held
 in
 ACOR’s
 Library.
 The
 teaching
 team

had
the
use
of
a
video/data
projector—several

brought
their
own
laptops
for
teaching.
Iraqi

participants
had
the
use
of
approximately
ten

desktop
 computers
 as
 part
 of
 the
 ACOR/Li-
brary
lab.


We
can
report
that
the
first
phase
of
this

project
has
been
very
successful.
To
a
person,

the
 Iraqi
 librarians
 responded
 positively
 to

the
teaching
team’s
efforts.
Even
though
the

Iraqis
have
been
isolated
in
their
professional


The
American
Center
of
Oriental
Research
(ACOR)

in
Amman,
Jordan.


practice
for
a
long
time,
we
were
impressed

with
their
level
of
knowledge
and
their
thirst

for
 information
 regarding
 current
 practices.

Evaluations
 of
 the
 first-phase
 efforts
 by
 our

Iraqi
counterparts
were
overwhelmingly
posi-
tive.
However,
it
is
clear
that
the
fi
rst
phase

was
 just
 that,
 an
 initial
 effort
 to
 provide
 a

comprehensive
overview
of
modern,
current

practices.


The
participants
told
us
through
their
evalu-
ations
and
directly
that
what
was
needed
next

is
more
intense,
in-depth
instruction
in
several

areas.
The
in-depth
training
would
need
to
be

followed
 by
 relevant
 internships
 in
 western

libraries—observation
 of
 current
 practices

would
help
Iraqi
professionals
understand
in

context
the
skills
they
are
developing.


At
the
beginning
of

the
 courses,
 the
 fac-
ulty
 decided
 to
 keep

blogs
so
that
we
could

share
our
experiences

with
 our
 colleagues

back
 home.
 We
 also

invited
 the
 Iraqis
 to

do
 the
 same.
 Here

are
excerpts
from
two

entries,
 the
 fi
rst
 from

Harvey
 Varnet
 fol-
lowed
by
one
from
an


Iraqi,
Abdul.5


“ H e l l o 
 a g a i n 

from
 Amman—it’s


Friday,
 the
 holy
 day,
 so
 things
 are

much
 quieter
 all
 around.
 I’m
 in
 the

library/teaching
 lab
 and
 there
 are
 a

few
Iraqi
men
already
at
work
on
the

computers.


“The
 news
 from
 London
 sobering

(the
 day
 after
 the
 subway
 bomb-
ings)—while
 chatting
 with
 some
 men

this
morning,
they
are
sympathetic
but
.

.
.
they
live
with
this
kind
of
thing
every

day—they
 are
 not
 unkind,
 just
 some-
what
resigned
to
the
world’s
craziness.

We
 talked
 about
 ‘is
 the
 glass
 half-full

or
half-empty.’
They
say,
‘it
has
water

in
 it
 that’s
 all’
 practical?
 philosophic?

Who’s
to
say.”


February 2006 
89
 C&RL News 



“Hello,
everyone—I
am
Abdul,
and

I
am
a
member
of
the
Iraqi
group
that

is
 training
 in
 Amman
 at
 ACOR.
 I
 am

an
assistant
lecturer
in
al-Mustansiriyah

University
in
Baghdad
in
the
department

of
Information
and
Libraries
in
the
Col-
lege
of
Arts.


“We
are
now
in
the
tenth
day
of
the

course
 and
 I
 want
 to
 tell
 you
 a
 little

about
these
days.
First,
we
had
a
very

long
 and
 dangerous
 and
 exhausting

trip
 from
 Baghdad
 to
 here.
 We
 spent

more
than
13
hours
on
the
roads
’cause

we
were
coming
by
car
and
we
came

through
 a
 lot
 of
 checkpoints
 and
 car

inspections—these
took
a
lot
of
time!


“We
 had
 2
 days
 rest
 because
 we

arrived
early
due
to
the
long
trip
and

wanting
to
get
to
the
course
on
time.

We
 met
 with
 the
 instructors
 who
 are

very
nice
people
and
who
seem
to
have

good
experience.
We
could
benefi
t
from

them
because
of
the
circumstances
in

Iraq
and
we
have
been
cut
off
from
the

world
for
so
long.”6


Looking towards the future 
We
often
ask
ourselves
if
our
work
matters.
We

know
we
speak
for
the
entire
teaching
team

when
we
emphatically
say
yes.
Our
outreach

to
 our
 Iraqi
 colleagues
 has
 been
 graciously

received
 and
 deeply
 appreciated.
 We
 have

not
only
improved
their
skills,
we
have
made

friends
 and
 established
 relationships
 that

should
benefit
libraries
and
librarians.


The
 Simmons/Harvard
 team
 recently

learned
that
NEH
has
awarded
us
a
second

round
of
funding
allowing
us
to
offer
addition-
al
courses
to
32
Iraqis
this
summer
at
Al-Ain

University
in
the
United
Arab
Emirates.


We
close
this
brief
report
with
a
quote
from

one
of
the
blogs
kept
by
Michèle
V.
Cloonan

during
the
training:


“So
what
is
our
role?
While
in
Am-
man
I
read
some
of
Vaclav
Havel’s
early

essays.
(For
those
of
you
too
young
to

remember,
before
Havel
was
president

of
 the
 Czech
 Republic,
 he
 was
 a
 well

known
playwright,
poet,
and
dissident).


A
prolific
author,
he
often
wrote
about

moral
responsibility
in
the
face
of
politi-
cal
repression.


“As
librarians
we
seldom
think
about

the
potential
of
our
moral
force
against

the
destruction
of
libraries,
archives,
and

museums.
For
me
this
past
month
was

an
important
example
of
how
even
in
a

country
as
unstable
as
Iraq,
librarians
can

continue
to
offer
the
kinds
of
services
that

will
aid
in
the
rebuilding
of
a
country.”


Notes 
1.
National
Endowment
for
the
Humanities


guidelines
at
www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines

/iraq.html.
 This
 special
 initiative
 concluded

October
 1,
 2005;
 NEH
 will
 consider
 ap-
plications
 for
 projects
 on
 Iraq
 in
 its
 regular

programs.


2.
IraqCrisis
Line
is
online
at
oi.uchicago.edu

/OI/IRAQ/iraq.html.


3.
 For
 a
 report
 on
 the
 current
 state
 of

libraries
in
Iraq
see,
Jeffrey
Spurr,
“Indispens-
able
 Yet
 Vulnerable:
 The
 library
 in
 Danger-
ous
 Times.
 A
 Report
 on
 the
 Status
 of
 Iraqi

Academic
 Libraries
 and
 a
 Survey
 of
 Efforts

to
Assist
Them,
with
Historical
Introduction,

June
2005.”
(MELA
oi.uchicago.edu/OI/IRAQ

/mela/indispensable.html).


4.
 The
 teaching
 team
 comprised
 the
 fol-
lowing
 individuals:
 Dean
 and
 Professor
 Mi-
chèle
V.
Cloonan,
Simmons
College;
Basima

Bezirgan
 (translator),
 retired,
 University
 of

Chicago
 libraries;
 Cynthia
 Correia,
 Simmons

College
adjunct
faculty;
David
Hirsch,
(transla-
tor/teacher),
Librarian
for
Middle
Eastern
and

Islamic
Studies,
Charles
E.
Young
research
Li-
brary,
UCLA;
Associate
Dean
and
Professor
Ian

Johnson,
 Aberdeen
 Business
 School,
 Robert

Gordon
University,
Scotland;
Shayee
Khanaka

(translator),
University
of
California-Berkeley;

Professor
 Patricia
 Oyler,
 Simmons
 College;

Harvey
Varnet,
Special
Assistant
to
the
Offi
ce

of
the
Vice
Present,
Providence
College.


5.
To
protect
this
individual’s
identity,
we

offer
only
his
partial
name.


6 . 
 A l l 
 o f 
 t h e 
 b l o g s 
 c a n 
 b e 
 r e a d 

a t 
 m y . s i m m o n s . e d u / g s l i s / r e s o u r c e s 

/publications/index.shtml#letter.


C&RL News February 2006 
90


http:oi.uchicago.edu
www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines