Simmons GSLIS: Dispatches from the Field

Hi all,

This is Khairi, Abdulateef (or Khairy, Abdul latif as you knew me from my old Blogs). As some of you know me, I am from Baghdad-Iraq. I am a university professor in Al-Mustansiriyah in Baghdad, & I am now at Simmons College for my PhD studies (along with my colleague Falah).

I’d like to tell you here about our long trip from Baghdad to Boston, but you know what, that will be a long Blog, so, I`ll try to do it in three different Blogs. The 1st will be about our suffering in Baghdad, the 2nd will be about the long trip, & the 3rd will be about what happened after we came here to Simmons College. This will be my 1st Blog.

I think that almost all of you are aware about what happens in Iraq & Baghdad, & I have written about it before. However, for this trip, I think that we faced more problems. One of the least helpful things was the non-cooperation from some of our employers in our university, so, it has taken a very long time just to finish some regular routine
papers. We should have started our 1st PhD semester course here in Simmons College in September, but, because of these difficulties, we were stuck with this paperwork for more than 1.5 months later, even when we had started these procedures from the end of June.

The people here at Simmons were very worried about us, & we were very worried that we might lose this great opportunity, which might came once in the life time for somebody in our circumstances. In the same time, we were very eager to get this opportunity, & because we are the 1st Iraqi people that join the Simmons College, & the 1st ones who will get the PhD in LIS from the USA (& maybe any other places out of Iraq as far as we know). So, you can imagine how eager we were to take this great opportunity.

After all that suffering, we got some of the papers that we needed. Then, we needed some other regular routine papers in the University, & another one from the Higher Education ministry. When we were in the University, someone there advised us to contact the college that we were accepted in (Simmons College) & ask them to send us another acceptance paper containing some new wording on it because there is a new routine set of instructions that might make us start over from the beginning. So, we took his good advice & asked the great people at Simmons to help us again by sending the new acceptance papers. In a very short time, the rescue came by the great people at Simmons College, & we finished our papers in the University.

Now, we started to have some other bad luck. Fortunately for our best luck, we found a good friend there to help us in Dr. Zainab A. Al-Wa`aly. (Dr. Zainab was in the 1st & 2nd Iraqi groups in the training courses held by Simmons College in Jordan & UAE). So, she was very very helpful to us, & she let us know whatever we had to do exactly to finish all the paperwork in the best time. She did whatever she could just to help us finish & get to Simmons, & she is the one that we will be grateful for her forever!

After all these troubles in Iraq, we had some visas problems, which was due to the timing & other things. One of the problems was because we had to go to Amman in Jordan to get a visa. You can not get a visa to the USA in Iraq. That requires an early appointment, & some other things such as getting to Amman, which was a little difficult, too.

Finally, we have got the visas, which were sent in our Passports in the (ARAMEX) fast mail (some thing like FedEx that you have). We started to get ready to come here after we finished other small paperworks in our College.

To be continued…

Yours,
Khairi, Abdulateef

Posted by Meaghan O'Connor at 09:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Hiiiiiiii,

I am Thana, one of group that participated in the Amman training sessions that started on 18th, Nov. that Simmons College is responsible for.

I want first to thank Dr Michele, Dr Harvey, and Meaghan about the big efforts they did to succeed in geting this training, and many thanks also for each one who shared and supported this training program.

I like to talk about the name of our 2 group - for our group work , we choice this 2 names - 1. Chula College and 2. Lala College.

When we call anyone chula in Iraq that means he is a trouble maker. A chula is a small cooker that works in ceirouseen (kerosene) and almost all Iraqi use it in cooking because of gas and power problems. Using a chula is always boring and exhausting and needs a long time for cooking.

Lala is a lighter - we use it for lighting because of electricity problems. If u forget lala at night, you will find your face at morning like aubergine. (This was all done in good fun and made each group – each team – compete with each other in a productive way. Harvey)

At training we enjoyed our lessons and discussion and also the time for fun and shopping was wonderful.

I hope we will meet again, and we wish another meeting that will be in Iraq. We pray that Iraq will be safe to meet our american friends and make them show how much Iraqi people are generous and how much Iraq is wonderful place.

(Note: the above only lightly modified by Harvey Varnet, who was asked by Thana to do so and send to the blog.)

Posted by Meaghan O'Connor at 02:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We finished teaching on Thanksgiving, but wrapping things up at ACOR, spending Friday at the Dead Sea, and traveling home, have kept me away from any keyboards.

The last class was lively and mutually informative. I discussed theories about leadership as well as how to teach leadership in LIS management courses. Harvey and I had the Iraqis work further on their curricula. We set up the groups so that each one had representatives from the LIS programs in Mosul, Basra, and Baghdad. The timing was appropriate: in Iraqi universities programs revise their curricula every four years. The LIS programs are half way through their cycles. We showed them curricula from various parts of the world. The two they found most useful were from Simmons--because we offer so many courses--and the University of Kuwait, which is a new program.

When the working groups reported their results, we could see how the workshops which we have organized over the past three years have influenced their thinking. Since 2004, when we had the initial planning meeting in Amman, we have been bringing them new textbooks. The textbooks, in combination with the workshops we have taught, have helped to bring them up to date. They are excited about continuing to be able to add new courses to what they already offer.

These workshops have also been an excellent forum in which the Iraqis can get together with each other. Colleagues at different universities in Baghdad don't see one another because of the continuing violence there. And of course it is also nearly impossible for people to travel across Iraq to see one another.

As always, I said goodbye to the Iraqis with much trepidation. One of the participants has received death threats, others continue to worry about their day-to-day safety. In Baghdad, safety continues to be an issue, as well as electricity. It has been nearly four years since the Americans invaded Iraq and yet electricity is still only available a few hours a day. Text messaging has become a more effective way for Iraqis to communicate than e-mail.

Once again I wonder whether we will be able to fund any further workshops. I can only say, "enshallah."

Posted by Michele Cloonan at 08:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

23 November 2007 Amman, Jordan

It is 2:30 pm on a quiet Friday at ACOR. Almost all of the Iraqis have departed – two to go at 3pm and then I bug out at 3:30. Michele and Meaghan have left as well, making ACOR seem way-too-quiet.

We concluded our week with a wonderful dinner at the best Lebanese restaurant in town, Fakhir El Din. All 13 of us went, so it was a 4-taxi adventure to get there (my taxi driver was clueless…). It was even harder getting taxis back, as the restaurant is located off of the main road. Interestingly enough, Fakhir El Din is right behind the heavily guarded Iraqi Embassy – hmmm…

It is always bittersweet when one of these programs ends. We have renewed old acquaintances and made several new friends. It seems to me that a working group this size is so much easier to deal with in all ways – logistics (and there have been many challenges with regards to passports, arrivals, money and bank transfers, letters of invitation, etc.), discussions, lectures and actually having meaningful two-way conversations. We’ve learned much more about their institutions and how things are run – they have a fair amount of independence on each campus, yet they also have ‘national’ constraints.

This program was focused mainly on curriculum issues. Laying out the 5 institutions’ curriculums alongside each other made it clear that they have lots to do in updating/modernizing their programs. We shared with the Iraqis various programs from the USA, Kuwait, Europe and even Vietnam (where Simmons has been instrumental in developing librarians – Can Tho University has a brand new BA curriculum that looks challenging and promising).

This week, again perhaps due to the size of the group, I saw for the first time discussions that involved professional differences, clearly stated to each other. The culture in this part of the world is not one where junior people openly challenge senior people – we’ve talked about this in the past. This time, however, there were discussions by the junior attendees that were firm, well-stated and where they did not back down. In the past, department heads have dominated discussions – more ‘voices’ are now being heard – a very good sign.

To a person, our LIS colleagues from Iraq realize that they have to make big strides in the area of technology in all aspects of librarianship. Right now, they simply do not have the tools, the faculty expertise, examples in country of how a model library functions, nor an infrastructure that works – you can’t run computers without electricity, a daily problem all over the country.

We may be near the end of training programs that take a group if Iraqis out of the country to a neighboring country site. The truth of the matter is that the countries surrounding Iraq don’t want any more Iraqis emigrating – there are millions of refugees in Syria, Jordan, Beirut, etc. – so they make getting visas a royal pain in the ----. With the situation in the north of Iraq becoming more stable, this may be the location where future workshops occur – now there will be an interesting set of logistics challenges to overcome!

Thanks must go to: the US Embassy in Baghdad for the funding and a tremendous amount of cooperation; the USA’s ISU, Iraq Support Unit, here in Amman that did up several versions of a “travel facilitation letter” that helped the Iraqis get through Jordanian Immigration; the US Embassy Kuwait for all the local assistance and encouragement I received; AUK where the Finance people came through and where the administration allowed me to do my thing; ACOR – a tremendous site staffed by terrific, caring professionals; Michele Cloonan for taking on the lead in teaching this week; and, Meaghan O’Connor, a future library wizard and a young woman with a ‘curious mind’ and great spirit.

Of course, sincere thanks (that sounds so trite compared to what I actually mean) go to our Iraqi colleagues. They deal with life-threatening stuff every day, yet they remain remarkably sanguine about it all!! These folks really do want the best for themselves, their students and their country. We find them generous, gracious, talented, resilient and intellectually curious – a wonderful tribute to them all!!

What next? Well, we are not at all sure, but… we will keep trying to help as much as we can. Anything we do that is positive is worth the effort.

Ma’a salaama from ACOR in Amman.

Excelsior!!!

Posted by Meaghan O'Connor at 08:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Just a quick post to say we wrapped up the program yesterday. Michele gave the final session on leadership and we had a small "graduation" ceremony complete with certificates for each participant. We had a celebratory dinner at one of the nicest restaurants in Amman. Michele, Harvey, and I all received gifts from the Iraqis, which was very touching and a bit overwhelming. Fortunately Harvey had warned me that this was going to happen, so I wasn't taken by surprise. Between what I purchased and the gifts I received, it was tough to close up my suitcase.

Today Michele and I are off to the Dead Sea for a little tourism and relaxation, and we fly back to Boston on Saturday morning. Not sure if I'll have internet access between now and then, so this may be it for a few days, but I'll be sure to send in some concluding thoughts at some point.

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Encyclopedia
Originally uploaded by Meaghan K

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Camels!
Originally uploaded by Meaghan K

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Here we go Red Sox!
Originally uploaded by Meaghan K

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Wednesday, November 21st

Greetings from Jor-raq-us, my nickname for our "republic" within ACOR. Harvey, Meaghan, and nearly all of the Iraqis are in Petra today. Unlike summertime, this is a quiet time of year at ACOR.

The rain is falling crisply and loudly against the stone surfaces of ACOR. Now the drops are knocking loudly against my window. It is a good day to be inside working.

ACOR feels like a home away from home. There is a new director and assistant director, but all the other staff members are still here: Cathy, the manager, the short cook and his two tall sons, the librarians. Harvey, Meaghan, the Iraqis, and I are all here, with adjacent rooms and suites so the setting is intimate. The ACOR fellows are in the library and computer room all night so scholarly energy fills the air.

Last summer there were 30 Iraqis, 8 faculty, and Carla. The Iraqis stayed in dorms and we stayed in a hotel across town. Since men and women in the UAE aren't allowed to stay in the same dorms, we (the faculty) had to stay in a hotel in order to get our work done. This year with 2 faculty, Meaghan, and only 10 Iraqis, it has been much more festive and collegial. The teaching is going well; Harvey and I are a good team. However, this is the first year that we don't have a translator. Most of the participants understand English well, but every so often I hear someone utter David's name. David Hirsch is a translator without equal.

In the past I have taught preservation and collection development there. There are special challenges to teaching management, however. So many elements of management are influenced by cultural practices, religious beliefs, and so on. I am trying my best to draw in as much as I can from other cultures.

An added challenge is that we are trying to teach the Iraqis new ways of teaching management to their students. Harvey already told you about the challenges we had trying to apply the case study method to curriculum development. We had a more successful session using two case studies from Library Journal.

But it's not all work. In the evenings we go shopping. The Middle East is hands-down the most vivacious and entertaing place to shop. Every store holds new items to admire. It's not just about bargaining. People love to show you their wares. Sometimes they give you coffee or tea. And they always provide entertainment.

As far as I can tell (without speaking Arabic), after three years of shopping in Jordan (2004, 2005, 2007), I would say that the Iraqis are some of the best negotiators around. They certainly know how to wear the Jordanians down. Meaghan and I are the lucky beneficiaries of the Iraqis' shopping skills.

Last night we had a pizza party at ACOR. David Hirsch's friend Rajai and his daughter Jude joined us, as they did for my 50th birthday bash here in 2005. Because we were a mixed group, the Iraqis didn't dance. Therefore, Harvey, Meaghan, and I kindly provided all the entertainment.

Harvey stole the show, though. After we played an hour of Lebanese music he turned on the Bee Gees. To the beat of the Saturday Night Fever sound track, Harvey jumped on one of the dining rooms tables (which is now sagging) then boogied onto the floor. Ten phone cameras went off in unison. We will either become celebrities our we'll have to go underground. (Now you know how I coined "Jor-raq-us.")

Tomorrow, Thanksgiving, is our last day of teaching. Back on July 4th, 2005, the ACOR cook prepared hot dogs, hamburgers, and watermelon. Can't wait to see what he serves up tomorrow. We will be sure to let you know.

In the meantime, a very Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.

Michele

Posted by Michele Cloonan at 02:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

DSC01745
Originally uploaded by Meaghan K

Well, the canyon is not really in a crescent shape, but Petra is absolutely stunning and somewhat unreal. 10 of us left on a bus at 6:15 this morning for the three hour ride. I had planned to sleep during the bus ride, but it was my first experience in a desert environment so I was awake and looking out the windows most of the way. We passed a camel herd and some shepherds with their goats.

From the entry gate of Petra it's about a 1km walk through the canyon to where all the really cool stuff begins. From there you can explore more or less at will, and you're free to walk anywhere in the site. This was surprising, because in America all of these sites would be roped off.

At the Treasury we split into two groups. Some people wanted to explore at a leisurely pace, and a few of us wanted to take the more serious hike up to the Monastery. It wasn't too difficult a hike, although I was pretty tired from not sleeping well all week (I have a busy head from all that is going on). There were merchants along the route selling Bedoin necklaces and other wares. For a slightly different experience, you can pay for a donkey ride to the top, but I'm the kind of gal who feels that taking the donkey ride isn't the "real" experience because you don't have to work for the view. Sharing the small trail with the donkeys was sometimes challenging, but it was impressive to watch how sure-footed they were on the rough terrain.

I think I must come back to see Petra again on another trip. It is enormous, and we only had time to see a very small piece today. At night the pathways are light with candles, and there are singers and performances in front of the Treasury. Dr. Harvey tells me that this is quite an experience, and you feel like you're a traveler on the frankinsense route.

Everyone fell asleep almost right away on the bus ride home, and after we stopped for tea at the halfway point the ladies played us some Arabic music on their cell phones and then sang for us. Back at ACOR now relaxing, hoping for a restful night before the last day of workshop.

DSC01753
Originally uploaded by Meaghan K

DSC01754
Originally uploaded by Meaghan K

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Spice merchant in downtown Amman
Originally uploaded by Simmons College GSLIS

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The gentlemen from Basrah have arrived, which means all 10 people made it to the training. Hurray!

The atmosphere is very fun and playful. One of our favorite words is chula or troublemaker. Yesterday the participants were split into two groups for a curriculum development exercise, and the two universities they made up were Lala and Chula.

Last night I went shopping with two of the ladies - we walked around one of the downtown areas and shopped like crazy. Once you start, it's hard to stop - everything is so cheap. I was watching the ladies bargain and wishing that I could understand Arabic and learn their techniques - they are ruthless! Everything is negotiable in shops, even if it has a pricetag. We got an excellent deal in one store because the owners are Iraqi, and they were glad to do a favor for other Iraqis. We shopped and shopped and shopped, and then we went to a falafel stand. I asked the guy making the falafel if I could take his picture,* and he gave me a fresh piece to sample, right out of the frier. It was delicious. We took our wraps to a juice cafe and had "juice cocktails" (no alcohol, more like a smoothie) while we ate. When we got back we showed everyone our purchases and there was a lot of oohing and aahing.

Tonight we're eating in, listening to music, and generally hanging around. I have my iPod loaded with all kinds of music to share, and I know the Iraqis have some Middle Eastern music to play for us. We're ordering dinner from Pizza Hut, believe it or not. I've also spotted McDonald's (no surprise), BK, Popeyes, Dominoes, Pizza Hut, Subway, and even Gloria Jean's Coffee. Very weird.

Wednesday we're all going to Petra for some sightseeing - those of you familiar with my love for the Indiana Jones movies can imagine how excited I am for this. The American Center for Oriental Research (ACOR), where we're staying and having all the classes, is actually a home base for archaeologists. People stay here for months at a time working on excavation projects. Talking to all the people working on field projects only heightens my enthusiasm!

*I'll be posting some pictures soon, I promise!

Posted by Meaghan O'Connor at 03:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Right now the Iraqis are working on a curriculum development project (see Harvey's post below), so I'm taking the time to do a little blogging. The first session that we held has been the most interesting to me (sorry Michele and Harvey). Rather than a lecture, it was a rambling conversation about the state of LIS education in Iraq, how the five programs are structured, and some of the major challenges they are facing, aside from the most obvious. Here are some of the things that came up:

* There are five schools with library science programs. The basic level degree is a bachelor's, although there are also three master's programs and one doctoral. Two of the five programs are at technical institutes, which are two year programs rather than four. The five schools are: University of Baghdad, Baghdad Technical Institute, University of Mosul, Mosul Technical Institute, University of Basrah.

* The high schools work on an exam system and students are assigned to an undergraduate program based on their exam scores. The most successful students are assigned to engineering, medicine, and science. It sounds like librarianship is pretty far down the ladder. So the professors have students who didn't choose the subject and are not necessarily motivated. (This is different for the master's and doctorate program - they have rigorous application processes.)

* Primary schools and high schools don't have libraries, and the public libraries are in bad shape. The students being assigned to library science programs haven't even used a library, much less worked in one.

* Because the textbooks are so horribly out of date, professors work hard to come up with supplementary materials for their classes. Of course, if they are having a technology lesson and the power goes out, that's pretty much it for the day.

Harvey is very straightforward when talking about the larger problems in Iraq, acknowledging outright that there are many things they simply cannot do because of the security situation. The conversation doesn't go much beyond that, because it's not what we're here to talk about and it's out of our control. Mostly, we stick to libraries and library science education. Once in a while, though, someone will make a comment that recalls the bleakness of the situation in Iraq. We were discussing a particular program's required course in human rights and one participant said, "Yes, we are teaching human rights in a country without human rights." Those are the observations that will stick with me, reminding me of why we're here in the first place.

Posted by Meaghan O'Connor at 08:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

19 November 2007 – Monday

1:40 pm here in Amman, and we have just finished a long morning session that started at 9am. Michele has done a superb job covering ‘management theory history’ and mixing in the practical with the theory. It is a challenge to get across to our Iraqi colleagues these ideas in such a way that they can use them in their teaching. Working with LIS faculty is very different than with practitioners, at least to me. With practitioners, one can ‘teach skills’ or concepts and hope people get it. With faculty, one is supplying content to the teachers – changes the approach a bit.
What is clear is that our Iraqi colleagues appreciate our efforts. We have given them lots of material, both in paper and electronically. This is useful stuff they can convert and apply to their own teaching – we’re trying to make that process as easy as possible.

Anyway, the spirit is good and everyone still very ‘up!’

Btw, my piece on ‘strategic planning’ yesterday afternoon went fairly well. It is an important but not the most exciting topic to talk about. The Iraqis face incredible challenges, only one of which is actually planning for a better future. All that we do here is aimed at that time, so it can seem a bit surreal talking about an updated curriculum, technology, appropriate resources – all in the midst of constant war/terror, hardly any electrical power per day, safety and security issues that transcend anything we’ll do here.

Shifting gears: 10 of the 11 of us went knocking about downtown Amman last night. Similar to Kuwait, Amman is a shopping mecca – thousands of shops, and like other places the shops that sell ‘like’ products are clustered together. We really enjoy the company of one another – that shows in the interpersonal interactions – warm, attentive and fun.

This afternoon, Michele will set the Iraqis off on a ‘case’ – they’ll be asked to design a model curriculum “with no constraints.” It will be interesting to see if they can unload the current baggage and do this task. We plan to split up the group so that one person from each institution is in each group – two groups. This is the first time that I can recall that we’ve tried this type of assignment – will be interesting to see how it plays out.

Tonight, more shopping, no doubt. We’ve also altered our schedule – more on that later.

In short, things going well – Michele, Meaghan and Harvey (c’est moi) are a good team – we are pretty darn compatible. The Iraqis are attentive and participating nicely, so language (we are teaching in English, and they deal with their colleagues when they don’t get the concept by doing Arabic with each other). So far, so good!!

Posted by Meaghan O'Connor at 08:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

17 November 2007- Saturday

It is early Saturday morning here in bright, sunny and cool Amman. I am at ACOR, the American Center for Oriental Research which is where we’ll hold the training sessions for our Iraqi LIS professor colleagues. ACOR is a very good place to hold such sessions, as it is self-contained – rooms for sleeping (dorm-like), a kitchen, dining room, library, conference room and a neat location overlooking the University of Jordan. Amman is very hilly, so if you are up on a hill, you get nice views. I am up early, as usual, with very few folks awake here. I arrived last night at 7pm, got settled and walked over to the Amman International Hotel for a bite to eat.

The Iraqis are supposed to arrive early this afternoon. However, I have already heard from the two men from the U. of Basrah that their flight has been cancelled. “Stuff happens” in this part of the world, and flights are regularly cancelled in and out of Iraq. Hmmmm, wonder why? They may make it Monday…

We’ve got a busy but not frenetic week planned for the Iraqis. We’ll hold two sessions daily – morning and afternoon. Our overall goal is to make them aware of where they need to go with their curriculums. I’ve received from each of the five programs what they teach, and for sure each of the programs needs a major update. They will have challenges, as they don’t have much in the way of technology, and their own professional expertise is lacking in this area. Libraries are now technologically-driven, and these folks need to tool up their offerings so future practicing librarians of Iraq have a skill-set which is useful and relevant.

Michele and Meaghan arrive late tonight via London, so they’ll likely be tired. We kick off tomorrow at 10am.

BTW, the money for all this is not yet here – aarrgghh!! What, me anxious – oh, yeah!! The funds sent initially to AUK are “in transit” and hopefully get here tomorrow – ‘bukra, inshallah!’ The funds sent here from the US Embassy in Baghdad have arrived (actually, ACOR banks in Boston). I am fond of saying ‘things will sort themselves out’ and I certainly hope this is true!

Well, I believe you’ll be hearing from Meaghan and Michele this week, so you’ll get at least three impressions of what is happening. If I can get them to, I’ll ask the Iraqis if they’d like to blog with us – hopefully, one or more will say yes, and that will give you a flavor for the challenges in their own words. To be continued…

18 November 2007 - Sunday

Our first session has just completed – successful, if participation is any indication. Michele led off , talking about LIS issues that are relevant for the Iraqis and relating them to USA practices. We also began a discussion about the curriculums of the Iraqi programs. The Iraqis have been very forthcoming about their challenges. Also raised were accreditation issues as they relate to improvement – a western concept that might be of eventual use for the Iraqis.

All this, of course, and I should have started by saying that 8 of the 10 Iraqis are here – arrived early afternoon (4 of them from Mosul – they drove via Syria) and 4 others late afternoon via air from Baghdad. M & M arrived after midnight last night, so we plan to keep the pace ‘civilized’ today. Meaghan has been immensely helpful already, getting stuff copied, printed, searched, etc. – a real “do-er” in the best sense of that word.

Social side (of course): I went into town with the 4 from Baghdad – we ate at a nice, inexpensive place and walked about the city. Amman bustling these days – nice, and the energy level seemed high. I am hopeful that there’ll be several trips into town – food, shopping, fun.

I will do a piece this afternoon, after lunch, on strategic planning.

To be continued…

Posted by Meaghan O'Connor at 10:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Greetings from Heathrow Airport!

It's Meaghan, your trusty Fellow for Dean's Initiatives, and I'm on my way to Amman, Jordan with Dean Cloonan. For the next five days (Sunday - Thursday), Dean Cloonan will be co-leading a workshop on teaching management to LIS students for a group of Iraqi library science professors. I'll be helping out with the administrative bits and pieces, and I'll also be blogging throughout the week.

We flew out on Friday night after wrapping up the Lazerow Lecture (many thanks to Peter Hirtle & Sarah Thomas, who are a marvelous duo) and arrived at Heathrow at 6:00 AM local time. We've been browsing the shops, we had lunch, and we even had showers (it's nice to travel with someone who flies as often as Michele - she can get us into the club rooms). We'll be flying on to Amman in a few more hours, arriving at 11:00 PM Amman time. Class starts Sunday morning, which should be an interesting turnaround.

How did this all come about? Simmons has been training Iraqi librarians since 2005 thanks to a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. You can read a brief history of the program here. Since the conclusion of that program, many people have been working to secure funds for futher training sessions. Harvey Varnet -- one of the original organizers, a GSLIS alum, AND a previous Beatley Library Director -- was able to obtain a grant from the US Embassy in Baghdad. Training was supposed to take place in September at the American University in Kuwait (where Harvey currently works), but the Iraqis weren't able to get visas into Kuwait. Harvey graciously reorganized and rescheduled everything, and here we are. Well, here we almost are.

If you have any questions about what's going on, please leave them as comments and I'll do my best to answer. Also, there doesn't appear to be spellcheck in MoveableType, so please forgive any errors.

Posted by Meaghan O'Connor at 08:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)