Airport road 3
Satellite dishes everywhere.
July 31, 2006
Airport road 2
Lots of newly built buildings right next to half-rebuilt ones.
Some scenery along the road into Pristina from the airport
Some scenery along the road into Pristina from the airport
Originally uploaded by Simmons College GSLIS.
Arrived In Kosova
Operating on one hour of sleep in the past 30, so please forgive the brevity. The four of us arrived safely in Pristina at about 4 pm local time. We got into our hotel and then had a meeting over dinner with Larry Corwin from the US Office Pristina (http://pristina.usmission.gov/).
I'll try to post a couple of pictures taken on the way into town from the airport.
Oh, and just before I posted this, the power went out for about a minute--apparently a regular occurrence! Good thing I was using the laptop battery.
July 28, 2006
Post-Parting Perspectives
We have been back for nearly a week and I am still processing everything that we experienced. For me there were three parts: the United Arab Emirates, the teaching/translation/logistics team, and the Iraqis.
The UAE
On a map the UAE is nestled on the tip of the "shoe" of Saudi Arabia. The northern most towns of the UAE and Oman are fewer than 100 miles from Iran on the Arabian or Persian Gulf. (In the UAE it is considered the Arabian Gulf; to the Iranians it is the Persian Gulf.) This geographical placement belies the excitement that defines this Gulf nation, where the building of spectacular high rises takes place 24/7. Sixty years ago pearling was a major source of the economy. Today, though still fueled by oil, tourism and finance are central. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are international cities inhabited by many fortune-seekers; it's the southern California--or perhaps the Nevada--of the 21st century. Sun, water, heat, and amusements. Where else in the world can you ski in a shopping mall?
But what made the UAE our choice for this year's courses is the government's commitment to establishing important museums, libraries, and documentation centers. There are many new libraries, and within the next three years, Abu Dhabi will be home to branches of both the Louvre and the Guggenheim. Consider this July 10th headline in the Khaleej Times: " MoU inked to train nationals to protect cultural heritage." This Memorandum of Understanding-- between Zayed University and the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH)--establishes programs to "foster the conservation and promotion of the tangible and intangible heritage" in the UAE.
David Hirsch has studied, worked, and consulted in the UAE over the past 20+ years so his professional connections coupled with the rich cultural resources, made the Emirates an ideal training ground for the Iraqis.
The Simmons-Studded Team
Simmons College "irregulars" Michael Leach from Harvard, Will Wakeling from Northeastern, Harvey Varnet from the American University in Kuwait, and consultant Cynthia Correia, joined the Simmons College "regulars," Pat Oyler, Michele Cloonan, and Carla Magenheimer. But regular and irregular are fluid terms. Carla is en route to Bangladesh to become a School librarian. Ian Johnson from Robert Gordon University and David Hirsch of UCLA deserve the title "honorary Simmons regulars." And there is nothing irregular about the contributions that Michael, Will, Cynthia, and Harvey make to GSLIS. Special thanks to Sid Berger who guest lectured in my preservation course, ran errands, and kept Will Wakeling out of trouble (or maybe he got Will into trouble; I can't remember which).
This was a great team; when we arrived in the Emirates to find that the Iraqis still had not been granted visas, we did what any high-functioning team would do: we drank beer. Then we proceeded to set up our classrooms, make photocopies, and wait for Godot.
And then there were 32
And miraculously enough, all of the Iraqis arrived. Of course the usual delays and dangers awaited them this year. I'm not sure that I can adequately describe the emotions I have felt over these past three summers as we waited for the Iraqis. The first year, in Amman, Jordan in 2004, we held a planning meeting to plan the courses we offered last year. Our Iraqi colleagues faced innumerable challenges and dangers driving across Iraq. When the first person arrived, her head was covered with gauze. I was sure she had been assaulted, but it turned out that she had fallen down at home just before she had left Baghdad.
Last year some of the men were detained. This year the only challenge was the issuing of the visas. It is getting more difficulut for Iraqis to receive foreign visas.
But even when things went well with our training sessions, the agonies of daily life in Iraq continued unabated. The brother of one of our participants was shot and killed in Baghdad, and she had to return home just two days after arriving in the Emirates.
Teaching was a lot of fun. I had seven students in my course, a couple of whom were with us in Amman last year including Fallah, of Tom and Jerry fame. One of my favorite classroom discussions was about the Wikipedia. We were discussing the challenges of preserving dynamic electronic resources. I mentioned the Wikipedia as an example and no one was familiar with it. We browsed it and the Iraqis were both amazed and puzzled by it. They were concerned about reliability and authenticity. They have not yet immersed themselves in social computing, except through e-mail.
At the end of the trip we had a banquet with much singing and dancing. Our stars were Harvey and Cynthia. The singer at the restaurant lent her mike to Cynthia who sang a jazzy/bluesy version of a bossanova song. And that Harvey--he can really dance!
The two weeks flew by. One of my going away presents was a magic lantern. The women who gave it to me asked me to use it to raise moe money for future courses. Enshallah.
July 27, 2006
Background - Kosovo Librarian grant
Here is some background on the Kosovo project. Simmons GSLIS and the Institute for Training and Development (ITD) jointly conducted a 17-week training and academic program for nine Kosovars employed at the National and University Library of Kosovo. The dates of the program were August 21 to December 17, 2005. This program and the Kosovar participants’ expenses were paid for by a grant from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State.
The goal of the project was to familiarize the Kosovar participants to the policies and procedures of contemporary librarianship so that they may serve effectively as librarians in a new University Library Center at the University of Pristina in Kosovo. The participants will support the university curriculum and needed expertise in all aspects of university librarianship.
The major components of the stateside program were: academic classes at Simmons GSLIS in Boston and South Hadley, university library internships, visits to a variety of libraries and other relevant organizations, lectures and workshops at ITD, action planning, homestays with American families, and technical and cultural trips to Boston, New York City, and Washington DC. Each participant took courses in GSLIS.
The participants returned to Kosovo in December 2005. We are now following up on the training. My colleagues are all front-line, practicing librarians, expert in their fields, and I am looking forward to working with them.
Brian Kysela, Mount Holyoke College
bkysela@mtholyoke.edu
Information technology, Linux, Apache, web development, WIN2003
Rebecca Henning, Amherst College
rrhenning@amherst.edu
Cataloging, ALEPH systems training, technical services workflow
Pam Skinner, Smith College
pskinner@email.smith.edu
Reference, electronic resources, reserves
Our time in Kosovo will be comparatively short, especially compared to what needs to be done. Brian, Rebecca, and Pam will be in Kosovo from Monday through Saturday, July 31 – August 5. I will remain until August 8. Our goals are to work with the participants on specific services in the library. The rollout date for the University of Pristina Library Center is October 2006. Even with such a short time frame, we are optimistic and look forward to success. We especially look forward to meeting with the Kosovar librarians again.
Terry Plum
July 26, 2006
From Iraq (Baghdad) - blog # 2
Hello everyone - this is Harvey Varnet from Kuwait, forwarding along another blog from Abdul Latif. I did some very minor editing, as he asked me to do - corrected group names, etc. I do not try to rewrite his use of the language, as I feel he can communicate his thoughts and feelings quite well without my undue assistance.
Enjoy - this is a young colleague full of promise!!
July 24, 2006
Hi every one,
Khairy, Abdul latif is here again,
I would like here to share with you here - as I have promised you in my 1st Blog - some thoughts about what happened in the training course in UAE, there is too many things to talk about too, so, I will try to tell you about what happened briefly.
In the 1st morning, we met almost all friends that we have met last summer in Amman, except Cynthia & Ian who were coming later, & there are new 3 persons in the lecturers group, they were Michael, William & Sid, & we met at last Carla, who we knew her through e-mails only.
In our 1st lecture, all of us were in the same classroom, we introduced ourselves to each other, then Michele & some of lecturers talked to us briefly, & then we split into our 4 groups, which were (Digital libraries & automation, Collections management & development, Preservation, Cataloging & classifications ) .
I was in the Digital libraries & automation group, we were 11 participants in this group, it was the largest group. We start with Michael, he is a very intelligent person, we learn from him too many new things, his lectures in digital libraries course was about Database issues, Database types, Networking issues, Software & Hardware issues, I was very eager to learn more from him, but you know that the program was already too late ( because of Visas, airplane reservations.... as I have told you before). In the same time, I am one of a team ( which includes Mrs. Juwan - one of our course group too, & Rasheed, Falah - the other young man from last summer - one of preservation group, & some other peoples ) which plan to create a new digital library in Iraq, by digitizing the Iraqi Academy of Science collections, so we were very interested in this course.
Next, we have Cynthia, which was one of my favorite lecturers from last summer course, because she deals with the thing that I always prefer ( ICT ), she gave us too many useful things about Database interfacing, Searching strategies, Web development and Information Architecture, Site planning & design, Classification, Labeling, Navigation & search, & Evaluation & usability.
For sorry, her lectures were too short, because of the same thing ( time issue ), but I
think that she was clever enough to learn from the course of the last summer in Amman, & the time problems that she faced, she gave us a CD contain all the things that she was planning to give us, & many many things that related to it, such as readings, websites, ... ets.
In the middle of this course, Carla & Michael were have to leave us, because they have another important things to do, we were very sad to see them going so fast.
Beside the lectures & specific groups, this year program is different from the last year, because it contain a very interesting thing, which was the " Field Trips", they took us in number of field trips to many different Institutions in UAE, & each of these institutions contain a different model of libraries. For me, the best of these libraries was the library of American University of Sharjah, it was very unique, in its building design - which has been created by the cooperation between engineers & librarians, computerized systems, the many many rooms for different use & users, & the most thing that I liked was the circulation system, it was very modern & unique, simple & easy to use in the same time. Beside the AUS, we visited many libraries & information institutions, in Al-Ain, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi & Dubai, we noticed that they have spend a lot of money on the buildings & decorations, but they might not be aware about all the users needs (some of these institutions not all of it ), we did not found any digital library there ( except in the AUS, & the documentation center who says that they planning to).
I have to mention here that we have some entertainments times too, we visited Al-Ain museum, we went many times for shopping (in the evening), & we have went to Hafeet mountain in the last evening & have a very nice party there, we done some songs, dancing, & having fun.
In the next morning, all groups took a lecture together for Mr. Ian, his lecture was a new thing to learn from. Well, here the course was ended, & we have received our certifications in a formal party in Zayed central library in Al-Ain in that afternoon, then there was a very sad time, because it was the goodbye`s moments, we were very sad for leaving our friends which we might met again or not ( "if we still a life & safe" I guess - that what I have told my friends there ), some tears was dropped ... it was a very emotional moments ...
Well ... I remember here what my friend Mr. Harvey said in one of last summer Blogs : " The courses may be over but the work goes on!!" , & that is the best thing that I can finished my Blog with...
... to be continued ...
I hope that I did not bother you again with my 2nd long Blog, & I will be pleased to let you know whatever you want to know else, so, feel free to ask me.
God bless you all.
yours;
Khairy, Abdul latif
Baghdad, Iraq
librarian_latif@yahoo.com
July 23, 2006
Blog # 1 from Iraq
Dear Colleagues - I had asked Abdul Latif Khairy if he would blog again this year, and his first entry appears below. Abdul Latif is a very bright, hard-working and caring librarian and LIS faculty member. His English is excellent, though as you'll see below he speaks better than he writes (though he makes his points very well).
Im will pass along any other blogs he sends, if he can get to writing them. As he points out, life in Iraq is tragic and dangerous every day! Harvey Varnet
July 21, 2006
Hi every one again, This is Khairy, Abdul latif.
I think that some of you knew me from last summer,
It's an honor for me to represent my Iraqi colleagues by Bloging to you ... & through my dear friend Mr. Harvey again. I want to thank him very much for what he has done for us, as I do to the other teaching team members ( Michele, Cynthia, Harvey, Ian, David, Michael, Carla, Pat, William & Sid ) who kindly try to give us what ever they have from the latest developments & changes in our field ( LIS ) , & they gave us the lessons, & took us in number of field trips, which helped us to improve our skills & try to give us information about the latest developments in our field.
I would like here to share with you some thoughts about what happened before, in & after we finished the training course in UAE, but, there is too many things to talk about, so, I will to tell you about it in 3 different Blogs, & here ( if you do not mind ) I will try to tell you about what happened before.
In Iraq, we are in the worst circumstances that you can imagine, too many Electricity power shut down, so is the water, too many main streets are blocked, & too many other things that you may know or hear of it, in the same time we are thinking of what can be done for the sake of preservation and reconstruction of Iraqi libraries, this through some of the thoughts that we have already have, & these we have got from the last summer training courses in Amman.
I want to tell you something new that I have already told my friend Mr. Harvey & some of the teaching team. we have new thing here, which we can call it "Professors Assassinate", & it happens here too many times, as example, in our college, we have lost number of professors, & in 2 days, we lost 2 of them, & in the third day, in the morning, we did not say "good morning" but we asked "who dies today?"
So, you can imagine now our circumstances before we gone to UAE, & for sure, it will stay the same thing after we get back...
Ok, let us talk about the courses, because we have got the invitations for it, but the Visas was too late, & because of that we have lost our reservations for flights many times, & have a very big problem with get another one in the right time, but thanks for god (( Al hamdo le Allah - as we say )) we have got some, but in different days & flight companies, for me, I was in the last group that arrived to UAE, we were 5 persons, me & 4 women's, & we stuck in Iraqi airport from 10 AM to 11 PM !!!, & we arrived to Dubai in 1:10 AM, we call Mr. David, who tell us that there is a driver waiting for us there, & (( Al hamdo le Allah )) we found him, & he have took us to our hostel's which we arrived to it in 3:10 AM ...
We were very eager & heart warm to meet all the good people who arranged the training course & who we met (( many of them )) last summer tomorrow in the first morning ...
... to be continued ...
I hope that I did not bother you with my long Blog, & I will be pleased to let you know whatever you want -- feel free to ask me.
God bless you all.
yours;
Khairy, Abdul latif
Baghdad, Iraq
librarian_latif@yahoo.com
July 21, 2006
Looking in...
This blog was written by Dr. Sidney Berger, professor at Simmons College and husband of GSLIS Dean Michele Cloonan. (Harvey Varnet putting it up on the blog.)
An outsider's view of the UAE experience
I was not on the official teaching team for the project to train Iraqi
librarians and library educators, but I did give a 2-hour lecture in
the Preservation class on paper, so I feel like an ex officio participant. Hence my contribution to the official blogs.
All of the students I met--and that was most of them--seemed eager for
knowledge, grateful for the experience, and happy to have the
opportunity to be with one another in what was a combination of an academic and a "vacation" setting. Most of them enjoyed the field trips and the classes, and they all loved the shopping.
For me the most poignant moment came in the lecture I gave. I was
asked to talk about the manufacture and composition of paper and how this knowledge impacted the duties and responsibilities of librarians in terms of housing, preserving, and conserving paper-based materials. The students had many good questions, which led from one thing to another, getting onto important tangents, topics that they would have heard about later in the class from Michele--but they anticipated these important things and wanted to know NOW.
They wanted, for instance, to know about environmental controls and I
told them about HVAC systems; humidity, temperature, and air filtration; monitoring of light levels; and so forth. Then one of them asked me what she should do when her library had no electricity.
We operate in such a privileged environment that we never even consider
such a level of privation. It was startling and sobering to have heard such a question. And it just reinforces how important this program is for the Iraqis, some of whom are working at a truly primitive level in their institutions.
Two nights ago we had a splendid banquet to mark the conclusion of the
formal program of classes and field trips. Everyone ate a modestly sumptuous banquet at the top of a hill overlooking Al Ain. And almost everyone sang happily on the bus back to our residences.
Then yesterday (July 19) we had the ceremony to hand out certificates,
say all of our thank-you's, enjoy a couple of meals together, and say good bye to each other. A few of us--instructors and Iraqis--commented on how sad we were that it was coming to an end. One Iraqi woman said to me, when they were gathering to get onto the bus to take them for the last time to their dorms, "I hate this moment. I just don't want to say good bye." I'll let my readers speculate about what was on her mind.
I can't stop writing without saying something about what was (for me)
two of the most prominent phenomena of the trip: shopping and the weather.
Michele and I were in Istanbul for a few days before we got to Al Ain.
We saw markets and shopping areas and bazaars and shops all over the place, selling all kinds of local or craft items. It was overwhelming. No such experience here in the Emirates. The only local "craft" we saw was date-picking. There are dates everywhere. I mean EVERYWHERE. You'd think they grew on trees! David and I went to a place last night to ship out a couple of boxes of his books and the men in the business office gave us dates. The hotel had dates, in abundance, in their restaurants. In fact, about 90% of the trees in Al Ain are date palms.
Will and I did go on one mad carpet-shopping foray and wound up in an
Irani carpet market in a suburb of Al Ain. It was primitive and hot, but really fun.
But the lack of local products doesn't mean that the Emerati don't have
anything to shop for. Nearing midnight last night we were in the Al Ain Mall, which was still filled with shoppers and others, probably just trying to escape the weather.
The weather. It was hot. Then it got hotter. When the temperature
went down, it was still hot. At midnight we got out of a cab and were hit in the face with a hot blast of wind. When we got up in the mornings, it was hot. (Am I making my point? It is hot here.) I was either too hot or too cold, since all the buildings are air conditioned to about 40 degrees F.
Will and I shopped for luggage (we hade done some serious
shopping!— especially in the Irani carpet market), and we decided to walk from the Al Ain Mall to the LuLu Center (where we were told we could find a luggage shop). It was only about 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile, but it was hot. Did I say "hot"? The walk was worse (better?) than a sauna. We were soaked in the first three minutes. But it was so close, it seemed ridiculous to take a taxi. We commented that the
walk wasn't so bad for the first three or four yards. But then . . . .
Anyway, this trip is almost history. It was fun and educational, but I
can hardly wait to get back to Boston, which is having a killer of a heat wave.
I'm ready for it.
Sid Berger
July 19, 2006
Group
UAE Group - thanks for another great year! (photo from Harvey Varnet, 7/19/06)
Guide
(photo from Harvey Varnet, 7/19/06)
Camel
Harvey's favorite painted camel. "It is painted as a bee – gotta love it!" (photo from Harvey Varnet, 7/19/06)
So near... So far...
Hello colleagues and friends – as this long-ish note is being sent to the blog site at Simmons College, the group is in its final session on Wednesday morning. Pat Oyler is running a “debriefing session” on what people learned form the visits to the various libraries the past two days. Then, Ian Johnson of Robert Gordan University in Scotland will run a mini-workshop on “change management” – talk about an understatement when it comes to Iraq and its library needs!
The past two days have been very busy and productive (and fun). David worked his magic (he really is a “jinn”) and we traveled to Abu Dhabi and visited three sites. The first place we visited on Monday morning was the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research. The facility itself is magnificent, very modern and whoever designed its interior was a first-class professional. The center provides reports to various government officials and focuses on four areas – economics, military, history, and development related to the UAE in general. One of the ambitious goals of the ECSSR is to acquire 1,000,000 volumes in five years – no shortage of work to be done if this goal is to be accomplished. The staff seemed competent, and we were treated with much consideration and kindness. You can find them on the web at: www.ecssr.gov.ae
On Monday afternoon we went to the Cultural Foundation (www.cultural.org.ae),
a hybrid organization that is a library, a cultural center/archive and a center for the arts and crafts of Abu Dhabi and the UAE. The building is a bit older – built in the early 1980s – not as magnificent as other places we visited, but… What was nice is that the library and the arts/crafts areas were being used by local people, including many children. One gets the feeling that this center is a hands-on place, very well used, and very welcoming. Again, the facility is ‘choppy’ in that each collection is in its own area, but it works, and that’s what counts. They have a very nice manuscripts collection, too. One lovely silly: they have painted camels outside of the building, and I’ve sent a picture of my favorite one to the blog – it is painted as a bee – gotta love it!
Our evening (we stayed at the Novotel in downtown Abu Dhabi) was concluded with a visit and mini-tour of the Emirates Palace, a Kempinski hotel that is as opulent as its name implies. Gold everywhere, a multi-story atrium, several hundred rooms, with the lowest priced one going for approximately $500/night in off-season. Visiting royals stay here, on two extremely secure floors – the price per night for a suite of suitable stature is approximately $15,000/night – serious money, as some of my ol’ New Bedford MA friends would say. If you are interested, the web site for the chain is at: www.kempinski.com “All things are possible in the Gulf!!”
On Tuesday morning, we trekked back to the Cultural Foundation for a lecture on intellectual property and copyright. The lecture was given in Arabic (with powerpoint slides in English) by Helmi Noman, a US Embassy staffer of Yemeni origin. Helmi is quite accomplished, and the lecture was of benefit to us all.
Our final visit was to the Center for Documentation & Research, also in Abu Dhabi. Again, a very new facility, lots of flashy touches, and headed up by a man of Iraqi origin – many in our training group knew Dr. Jassem. The CDR (www.cdr.gov.ae) has as one of its goals to scour the world and make copies of any documents related to the UAE, its emirates and its history from any and all time periods. (They also try and collect as much as they can about other Gulf countries.) The intent is to make available, in country, all of what has been written by and about the Emirates. The Library portion of the facility is quite small, but it has a large collection capacity, due in main part to the installation of compact, moveable shelving. They also kindly served the group lunch – deeelicious!
The bus took then us back to Al Ain. One of the wonderful parts of this experience is having fun with our Iraqi colleagues. They sing to us, clap hands to the rhythm of songs, and we sing back. It is amazing the old songs one can pull up from one’s memory, and to be honest, any song will do – it’s the musical bonding that counts. The bus ride back flew by.
To conclude our two-day whirlwind tour, we had a lovely meal at the hotel Mercure Grand Hotel up on Jebel Hafeet. We ate out by the pool – good food with a sweeping view of the city of Al Ain below – the city looked like sparkling twinklies. After the meal, some of us danced (including yours truly, of course) – I think we surprised the Iraqis by our unfettered bouncing around. The Iraqis talked Cynthia into singing, which she does darn well. All in all, a great evening, and of course the bus ride back to our respective residences included much more singing and clapping and good-natured kidding…
So, here are some of my initial thoughts of what have we accomplished on this trip? We have reconnected with people who were at last summer’s session, and we made new friends with those who we met for the first time here in Al Ain. Because of the visa issues, we did get off to a late start, but Pat, Michael, Michele, Will and Cynthia revised their teaching plans and covered as much materials as they could. We exposed the Iraqis to several libraries that are modern and functional, including the one they studied and worked in at UAEU. We talked about what they saw that worked, and what they thought of each place. Perhaps they can’t do everything like it is done in the UAE, but there will come a time soon when they’ll have some resources to begin the rebuilding work necessary to operate a modern university library system. We are hopeful that we’ve given them some tools to see both the forest (the big picture) and the trees (how to go about getting things done, one by one). As leaders, they’ll teach and train colleagues, and of course one of our goals has been to “train the trainers” – we only hope we are at least moderately successful.
The end of any program like this is bittersweet. We get to go back to our respective countries (the USA, Scotland and for me, Kuwait), and the Iraqis go back to Iraq. We have heard many stories of everyday life there and how dangerous venturing out can be. We have been told of literally being chased off of campus by gun-toting thugs and of the many academics that have been killed. There is electricity for a couple of hours per day, yet we talk of cyberinfrastructures. Through all of this, these librarians and library science faculty persevere, trying to serve students and the nation by keeping on task. They remain remarkably upbeat, and to be with them lifts your own spirits.
We’ll miss our Iraqi colleagues, and the goodbyes later today will be with mixed emotions. Here’s hoping that somehow, someway, programs like this continue. For me, it is clear that we are doing a lot more than just teaching and sharing library concepts and skills. We get to show at least some Iraqis a different “face” of America and the west, and we get to know them as individuals. We were kidding around last night, as one of the gifts given to Michele was an Aladdin’s lamp – three wishes, and of course the first one was PEACE – here’s hoping…
July 17, 2006
Bedu Tent
In replica Bedu tent - Harvey in center - with Maysoon, Thana, Juwan, Zainab, Muna, Dhmya, Azhar & Abdul Latif (photo from Harvey Varnet, 7/17/06) For more photos, see the Simmons College GSLIS Flickr account. (Do a search on "People" or "Tags Only" for "Simmons College GSLIS".)
Cataloging Class
Pat Oyler's Cataloging class (photo from Harvey Varnet, 7/17/06)
Preservation Class
Michele Cloonan's Preservation class (photo from Harvey Varnet, 7/17/06)
Digital Libraries
Michael Leach's and Cynthia Correia's Digital Libraries class (photo from Harvey Varnet, 7/17/06)
Collection Development
Will Wakeling's Collection Development class (photo from Harvey Varnet, 7/17/06)
Abu Dhabi Travel Agency
Dania (from Damascus) & Samiha (from Beirut), helpful travel
agents at Abu Dhabi Travel Agency (photo from Harvey Varnet, 7/17/06)
agents at Abu Dhabi Travel Agency (photo from Harvey Varnet, 7/17/06)
July 16, 2006
Work, work, work...
Work, work, work…
Well, we started the second week of the training program yesterday. Everyone got right to task, and it appears the classes are going very, very well.
One thing that is certain is the deep and intense interest of the Iraqis in the courses and the materials. Similar to last year, one of our goals is to provide them with as many tools as is possible. Admittedly, they will not be able to use them all – at least for now – but at a minimum they’ll have them in the grab-bag of academic/library tricks for future reference. The fact that each person is only in one course also helps with getting to ‘depth’ in the course.
Comments from our colleagues who are teaching are revealing. Things such as: “they really are curious and interested in everything…” and “they have not seen database licenses before, so we went through all of the details…” and “we went down one path, got diverted by an interesting discussion, and got back on track – all of which was useful for them and for me…” and “we talk about what we are doing is not possible to implement now in Iraq, but there will be a better future so the preparation is valuable…” and “class time flies – we cover so much, because the interest is there – I’m tired after class and can appreciate the ‘push’ for knowing more and wanting more information.”
We would be remiss if we did not comment on the incredible helpfulness of the UAE University Libraries staff! These folks have adopted all of us. Of course they know David very well – he’s like family to them – but they’ve also treated us like family. It is an immense logistical effort to move us all around. The Zayed Central Library of UAEU is quite a distance from the dorms and the hotel, yet we all seem to get where we are going, on time, thanks to the excellent local coordination.
On the logistics side, I got everyone’s plane travel back to Iraq done yesterday – what an effort. I made some new-best-friends at the Abu Dhabi Travel Agency yesterday, Miss Dania (from Damascus) and Miss Samiha (from Beirut). None of the Iraqi air carriers is automated, so all 31 tickets had to be done on paper – t e d i o u s! Samiha wanted to talk politics yesterday, with obvious interest because of the situation in Lebanon. We agreed that there is a very real difference between America and Americans. The latter are well-liked and respected here – the former…
As we get nearer to the end of this two-week program, we need to prepare all of the certificates for the participants (done beautifully by Carla). Those for the Iraqis are done, but David and I are working on certificates for local participants – we are so pleased that several UAEU staff has taken up our offer to join classes, as their work time permits. Certificates of completion and appreciation are a big deal here in the Gulf, and we want to be sure that everyone who should be is acknowledged. We went out last night to find more certificates and/or paper and/or a color copier service. David knew of a place that made color copies, but they did not have any appropriate paper stock. The place is run by Iranians, and of course our man from UCLA discussed our needs with them in Farsi – the guy is amazing! (btw, he also talks to the laundry man in Hindi, as he is from India)
Tomorrow we head off to Abu Dhabi where we will visit 1) the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research, 2) the Cultural Foundation, and 3) the Center for Documentation and Research. These are places of UAE national interest and importance, as Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the UAE. This will be an overnight excursion, so we’ll get a chance to check out Abu Dhabi by night.
Upon our return from Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, we will have a dinner for everyone up on Jebel Hafeet at the Mercure Grand Hotel. The buffet menu looks way-too good and I suspect we’ll have a feast for all!
If you are curious about Jebel Hafeet, here is some tourist information from Wikipedia:
Jebel Hafeet (variously translated Jabal, Jabel and Jebal) is a mountain primarily in the United Arab Emirates on the outskirts of Al Ain. The mountain actually straddles part of the border with Oman. The mountain rises 1240 meters and offers an impressive view over the city, with what has been described as "the greatest driving road in the world"[1] extending to the summit. Jebel Hafeet was a well-known landmark through out the area's history and is a contemporary tourist attraction. An extensive natural cave system winds through Jebel Hafeet.
At the foothills of Jabal Hafeet lies the Green Mubazarrah, a well developed tourist attraction. At the Green Mubazarrah, hot-water springs gush forth in little streams and form a lake. Swimming pools and jacuzzis are scattered all over the Green Mubazarrah. Jebel Hafeet is also home to a wide range of animals including bats, foxes, snakes, etc. It is often incorrectly labelled U.A.E's highest mountain (as it is certainly the most well-known); this honor actually belongs to Jabal Yibir.
That’s it for the moment, dear colleagues. I’ll try to blog again after we return from our road trip to Abu Dhabi. The time is flying by way too fast…
July 14, 2006
Iraq project - … Al Ain 033
Visiting the Sharjah Public Library (photo from Harvey Varnet, 7/14/06)
Iraq project - … Al Ain 029
Lorin Ritchie, University Librarian at AUS, describing the Information Commons area at AUS - photo from upper level... (photo from Harvey Varnet, 7/14/06)
Iraq project - … Al Ain 019
David Hirsch & Michele with Iraqis in the student study room at AUS (photo from Harvey Varnet, 7/14/06)
Iraq project - … Al Ain 010
Iraqis during class break - Lamya, Azhar, Mahmood, Thana and Luma (photo from Harvey Varnet, 7/14/06)
Yin & Yang of “Road Trips”
Dear Colleagues – it is Friday, 14 July – Michele’s birthday, Bastille Day (bon annee France!), and a day of rest. Nothing “official” to happen today, so we’re all taking it easy after a hectic week.
Yesterday was a long day… We started by leaving Al Ain around 8 a.m. to pick up the Iraqis at the dorms, then to head off to Sharjah (one of the 7 emirates that make up the UAE). It is interesting to note that the men’s and women’s dorms are remote from each other and they are pretty far away from the campuses as well. UAEU must have a decent way to shuttle people around, as the distances could not be negotiated on foot (particularly when the weather is hot in the early part of Fall semester or the late part of Spring semester). And, as you might imagine, “access” to the women’s dorms is well- guarded (an understatement).
Our first stop was at the American University of Sharjah (AUS), where Lorin Ritchie, University Librarian, had graciously arranged for a tour of the new library by our whole group. This is a beautiful, well-designed, functional new library, so our Iraqi colleagues got to see what is possible with good planning and a fair amount of money. The Iraqis asked lots of questions – they are particularly interested in how technology and E-resources are planned for and used. AUS, similar to other AU’s in the Gulf, has a very small Arabic collection, and the Iraqis were very curious about automated Arabic cataloging and online access to these materials. Lorin also arranged for lunch for the group – again, very gracious and generous. All in all, the visit to AUS was a major success and very valuable for people to actual see what is possible!
AUS is physically located in an area of Sharjah known as University City. Our next visit was to the brand-spanking new Public Library of Sharjah, just down the boulevard. The building is enormous, to say the least – perhaps cavernous describes it best for me. The collections are arranged in their own unique way, using an A to Z room location guide. Each large room has two entrances, one for men and one for women. There are also separate Internet Rooms for each gender – fairly typical for this part of the Gulf. The “feel” of the public library was interesting in that it is not near any of the population, so one wonders how much use it will get. However, as a statement, it sure is a bold one (at least physically). It will be interesting to hear what the Iraqis have to say when we chat about the two libraries on Saturday…
Okay, by now it was around 5:00 p.m., so the last part of the day was an excursion to the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai. On the way, there, we rode by the Sheikh Maktoum residence (ruler of Dubai) and on the road there are hundreds of peacocks, preening and showing of themselves. This is the Gulf, so all things are possible!
The Mall of the Emirates is enormous – teeming with people of all types, and it is especially interesting to see the women dressed in every fashion imaginable – from head-to-toe covering to the latest slinky fashions. The shops are mostly high-end – this is the land of discretionary income – and the place was busy, busy, busy – the “buzz” was palpable.
One truly marvelous indication of what is “possible” is the Ski Dubai place attached to the Mall. Okay, I am not making this up – take a look at the we site www.skidxb.com and you will see why those of us who live in the Gulf region do say “only in the Gulf” when something like this is built!!
So, all of the above is the Yin of the day. The Yang of this excursion was herding the Iraqis back to the bus. We planned for a shopping trip of about 1 ¾ hours at the Mall. It was very easy to get disoriented in this place, as the again the scale is enormous. Most of the Iraqis made it back on time, but several went missing, which was a challenge, to say the least. Search parties formed, with yours truly as scout leader. We eventually found all of the Iraqis sans one, who we were very worried about (a woman). After 45 minutes or so, I found her, very worried, at a very different place than where she had hoped to be. It seems she got lost and then came close to panic at being found. But, like most stories, this one had a happy ending – lots of salaams and apologies, but all accounted for.
We began our trek back to Al Ain. Ali, our fabulous driver, pulled over on the highway, flagged down a taxi, and Miss Carla headed off to the airport. Carla has to get back to the USA so she can wrap things up for her next life event- working in Dhaka, Bangladesh. She’ll be a school librarian there, spreading the name of Simmons and good librarianship even further. Carla has done yeoman’s work on this project, both last year and this, and all wished her well. Carla made some new and long-lasting friends with the Iraqis – was lovely to see the interactions they had – good for Carla, good for the Iraqis, good for all of us!
So, as I write this on a quiet Friday morning, I’m reminded of last year in Amman when the days were long and chock-full of “experiences.” We get up early, work, play, eat late (it at all) and get to bed late. Doing this kind of time-and-location intensive training seems glamorous (which it is), but it also requires an emotional as well as an intellectual commitment from those who do the teaching and the translating. Pat, Michael, Will, Michele and David have been going full-speed ahead, with Cynthia about to jump on the train. By the end of each day, folks are tired, and rightfully so. BUT, there is no grousing, because everyone cares so much about what is being done to make a positive statement about our profession and our desire to see things develop well for Iraq and the Iraqis.
One final note for this blog entry: David deserves yet another mention, as he has used his far-ranging connections to set up just about everything we do here. We are all so appreciative of his efforts, the Iraqis just beam when they are around him, and his UAE friends clearly like (love) and admire him. UCLA – you employ a gem of a librarian!!
July 11, 2006
And they're off
And they’re off… 12 July 2006
Hello colleagues and friends. Well, yesterday 30 of the 32 expected Iraqi librarians were on site, so the program began in earnest. There were lots of ‘salaams’ to go around, as many of the people who started yesterday were returnees from last summer’s program – it felt good to see them in person and to re-establish relationships.
The day started with a general session, then broke up into the four classes. This phase has the Iraqis taking one class for the duration – either Cataloging or Digital Libraries or Collection Development or Preservation. It looks like each class got off to a running start, as the ‘buzz’ was excellent!
Yours truly spent part of his day trying to sort out return flights to Iraq. I made an initial contact with each of the 3 airlines used (Iraqi Airways, Ishtar Airlines and Kurdistan Airlines), and today I hope to send them a list of all returnees per location (Basrah, Baghdad and Mosul). It may get tricky, as three of the Iraqis drove to Basrah from Baghdad and flew from there to here – and of course now they want to fly back directly to Baghdad – we’ll see if that works or not. This is not to mention the man who flew here from Yemen on a round-trip ticket who wants to go from here to Basrah – doubt that will work, but…
Another part of my day was spent trying to get large denomination bills changed to smaller denomination bills (in U.A.E. dirhams) so Carla could make payment packets for each Iraqi. The first bank I went to told me “no account, no change” – but, I smiled and groveled a bit and got them to make some change into smaller bills. Then walked into a second bank with the same scenario – success, but not complete success. It feels a bit strange to be walking around with large amount of money in one’s carry-case – as you might imagine, it never leaves my sight.
We had our first crisis yesterday afternoon, as one of the participants was called and told her brother had died back in Baghdad. David did his magic (should we call him a “jinn”), talked to airlines folks, and he got her a seat on a flight out today. I probably sound like David’s promotional manager, but he is remarkably engaging, and his personality plus his language and local knowledge skills really work for him (and for us ). Tonight David gets to go to a royal wedding – let’s hope he debriefs us so we can tell all anon…
All in all, things are going well. It is a very different ‘feel’ this year, primarily because we are not all living together. We’re in a hotel, while the Iraqis are being housed through the good graces of UAE University in men’s and women’s dormitories. At the very least, this changes the after-class dynamic. We’ll have to get creative to find more ways to talk informally, which I’m sure we’ll do.
Well, I’m typing this before breakfast, so will close for the moment. I’ll try to report more from the Iraqi point-of-view next, assuming people will open up about everyday life there (I’ve been told a bit, but would like to hear more before I share with you). As my dear friends who read my diaries from Kuwait know, it’s work, eat, sleep – work, eat, sleep… a hard life – not!
July 10, 2006
Finally Arrived!
This morning we finally met up with some of the participants from Mosul and Baghdad. The first group of 18 came in late last night, arriving in Al Ain around 2am. Needless to say, they are a bit tired today. Some are quite shy and speak little English, some are talkative and have already shared how they used the information from last summer with their colleagues and students - all are happy to finally be here and are ready to learn. The faculty has been waiting three long days to finally teach, but with other groups coming in today and tomorrow, they won't really be able to get into the meat of the courses until Wednesday.
The morning began with introductions and general business. Each faculty member shared information about themselves and their qualifications. Because just about everything must travel through translation, this process took much longer than it would in the states. A coffee/cake break was a good time for them all to check their emails and send word to family members that they have arrived safely. Next was a breakdown of the courses, with a chance for them to share topics they would like to have covered. Amazingly, most interest centers around digital libraries, for they understand this is the future of libraries. On the flip side, they would like to know more about how to teach their students that not all information can be found on the web (sound familiar?). They want their students to value books and other materials as much as their precious internet. It seems they have similar concerns as our colleagues in the states, and are looking forward to having these concerns addressed in the next week.
The day will end early with a tour of the Zayed Central Library here at the United Arab Emirates University followed by lunch. The library is graciously sponsoring all meals, housing for the Iraqis (sans soap and shampoo apparently), and use of classrooms and computer labs, as well as the expertise of Moza, a very competent administrative assistant. In the evenings, the university will provide transportation to the local malls and "souks" (shopping areas) so no one will become bored.
So, who are these people and where are they from? We have a number of institutions represented from around Iraq. A group of 6 have come from Mosul in the north of Iraq. 4 are educators from the University of Mosul, and two are from the Mosul Technical Institute. They travled 90 km to Kurdistan to fly from Erbil Airport. The group from Baghdad is spread out among Al Mustansiriya University, the Foundation of Technical Education, the Iraqi Academy of Science, Iraq National Library and Archives, and Baghdad University. They had to pay large sums of money to get to the airport safely - security at the airport is extreme. The last group is from the University of Basra in the south of the country. Although they could have travled two days by boat down the Persian Gulf, they chose to fly out (wise choice, I think). Things seem much safer down in that part of the country, and they have their own airport. There is a pretty even breakdown of men to women, and ages range from late 20's to 50's. Since I have been emailing these people for the last year, it is great to finally be able to meet them face to face. They have also been quite curious about me-
Respectively submitted by Carla Magenheimer
July 08, 2006
Educating Iraqi Librarians - Phase Two
Educating Iraqi Librarians – Phase Two 9 July 2006
Hello colleagues – this is Harvey Varnet writing from Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates.
As many of you will recall, several of us blogged from Amman, Jordan last summer, where we were part of the teaching team that worked with 42 Iraqi librarians. In those sessions, we tried to bring our Iraqi colleagues up-to-date on what has been happening in the library and information science world while their country was closed off from the rest of the planet. We like to think we made a good start last summer, and getting a 2nd NEH grant to continue this project was a real coup for Simmons and its partner institutions UCLA and Harvard. We know last summer’s sessions were well-received and we all felt like we had made a positive contribution to international librarianship and cross-cultural understanding.
As I write this, most of the teaching team is on site. Our host is the UAE University Library (Dr. Husam is their Director). David Hirsch of UCLA has been close friends with these folks since the 1980s, and he has been the lead person in getting all of the arrangements set up. As some of you will recall from last summer’s blogs, David is the kind of person for whom there are no strangers – just new friends he has yet to meet. David is multilingual, and he’s a joy to be with. Lucky for Pat Oyler in that David will be her translator (we are hopeful we’ll have 3 other good translators for English-to-Arabic communication). David is also a fun-loving person, playful and has an excellent sense of humor.
Our team leader, Michele Cloonan (Dean of GSLIS at Simmons) arrived yesterday with her husband, Sid. Michael Leach of Harvard also arrived yesterday – he’ll teach the beginning of Digital Libraries, to be followed by Cynthia Correia who will conclude that class (Cynthia arrives this Wednesday). Will Wakeling of Northeastern U. will be teaching Collection Management, Pat Oyler of Simmons’ GSLIS will be teaching Cataloging and Michele will be teaching Preservation. Carla Magenheimer and I are here to provide technical support (to do whatever is asked) – Carla leaves this Thursday and I’ll be here for the duration until the 19th. Meeting both Will and Michael is a first for me – I knew ‘of’ them but am now glad I can call them friends!
As often is the case in this part of the world, things don’t work out exactly as originally planned or hoped. The UAE government was extremely cautious in granting visas to the Iraqis, and they were actually just issued yesterday, 8 July – yesterday was to have been the original first day of classes. David worked with the UAEU Library staff to get the visas scanned and e-mailed off to the Iraqis – "no copy of visa, no plane ticket." We have heard from about half of the 33 Iraqis and hope to hear from them all asap – we know some will arrive tomorrow and some Tuesday and we hope to begin classes Monday, “inshallah.” All of the classes will be held in the Zayed Library at UAEU – a nice, modern facility which should work out well for teaching and gathering.
A brief aside: When I worked in Oman in the mid 1980s, I came through Al Ain and stayed one evening. At that time, this was a sleepy place – two hotels and not much else to see. Al Ain has grown tremendously and seems very much like a mature small city now. This is not Dubai, to be sure, but then again no place else is quite like Dubai with its frenetic pace and ever-upward building boom. However, Al Ain has 2 malls, shopping areas, plenty of restaurants – 4 hotels with more on the way, and what looks like a robust economy. It also has a very cool camel market, a nice reminder of its cultural heritage. UAEU now has over 10,000 students. Al Ain is a bit inland and upland, so it is not quite as hot as other Gulf areas nor quite as humid as Dubai. This is all relative, to be sure, as it feels like temps hitting around 100 – 100 F during the day – cool by Kuwait standards, but then again everything is cool by Kuwait standards!
I am sure others will blog as we get rolling. I will, of course, offer up observations regularly. If any of what is said (or left unsaid) intrigues you, please feel free to ask questions or offer your insights.
One thing I can tell, from a very personal point-of-view, is that it makes me proud to be associated with people like those who are here. The work is good work and the people doing it are excellent in ways that matter – professionally competent, decent and caring human beings. It is my good fortune to see this a fair amount in my overseas work – lots of Americans can and should be proud of their fellow countrymen. These folks not only do their jobs well – they make friends for a country very much in need of good vibrations from the rest of the world!
More anon....