attached mail follows:
Following is the Library portion of a report on the trip by the USAID funded Stony Brook team (https://listhost.uchicago.edu/pipermail/iraqcrisis/2003-October/000399.html). Forwarded at the request of the author. The USAID-Iraq HEAD-Stony Brook University Program in Archaeology and Environmental Health Libraries Assessment: Baghdad Visit 17-22 December, 2003 E. Christian Filstrup, Director of Libraries, Stony Brook University Subsequent to the first USAID-Iraq HEAD Program meeting, held in Amman, Jordan 15-16 December 2003, a team from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, including myself, Elizabeth Stone (Director) and Jennifer Pournelle (Asst. Director) of the Archaeology Project; and Wajdy Hailoo (Director) and Shawky Marcus (Asst. Director) of the Environmental Health Project visited Baghdad to inspect facilities, assess needs, and solicit bids toward execution of the Program. A critical component of this effort, aimed at restoring Iraq's capacity to conduct higher education in these fields, is bringing libraries-including both their holdings and their management-up to current graduate standards. We investigated in some detail the rehabilitation, shelving/furnishing, telecommunications infrastructure, and computer requirements of the University of Baghdad College of Arts (Kulliyat al-Adab) archaeology library and the Mosul University College of Arts library, identified electronic resources to deliver to these two libraries once they have good Internet connections, profiled their printed book and journal needs. (Prior to our trip, we had consolidated lists of in print books and determined procurement sources.) We began investigation of shipping arrangements, and at the recommendation of CPA Education Advisor John Agresto will apply for military space-available shipment from CONUS to Iraq. We in principle agreed to help the medical libraries at Mosul University and University of Baghdad; Dr. Hailoo and the two deans of the medical schools need to work out implementation of wiring and purchase of computers. Wathiq and Nadir Hindo (Neareast Resources ), who provided logistical support to the Library of Congress team that visited Baghdad in October 2003, arranged accommodation at the Coral Palace Hotel, provided vehicles, bodyguards, and translators, and accompanied us to meetings. They will provide bids for facilities renovation and installing high speed internet access and computers (sample: see left), and for delivery of print materials arriving from CONUS. We have also solicited competitive bids from other providers. A big question, relevant to all Iraqi university and research libraries, is whether to install integrated library systems now or to start with simple cataloging systems such as WINISIS and later move the data to more a sophisticated ILS. DOS cultural affairs officer John Russell referred us to his colleague, Wishyar Muhammad (now involved in relocating the arson-damaged national library and in conserving of its water-damaged documents), and to Dr. Faiza Adib at the Mustansiriyah University library for advice. Clearly, we should coordinate technical solutions among the several DOS and USAID-funded library initiatives. We recommend a separately-funded (DOS?) workshop that would bring to Iraq Arab library information technology specialists, perhaps from the Gulf States which enjoy a number of highly computerized university and research libraries. Details of meetings and site visits, with first steps to be executed pending final approvals, follow below. 1.1 Museum of Antiquities While the national museum was famously looted, the museum's library director Zainat al-Samakri and her staff managed to save its library collections. The staff is presently unboxing these and, with Department of State funding, the library will soon be wired for computers and Internet connectivity. 1.2 University of Baghdad 1.2.1 College of Arts Assistant Dean Dr. Tomas described the looting that stripped the only graduate humanities library in the country of computers, furniture, and appliances-and the conflagration that reduced to white ash its entire collection of 175,000 volumes and manuscripts. Avidly pro-technology, where possible he has refit some classrooms and common areas, but hopes that USAID will rebuild the main library. He is concerned that all attention is being directed to the smaller archaeology library, but understands that it would be a model for other departments. 1.2.2 Archaeology Department We met with department chair Prof. Ghazi Rejab, director of research Prof. Zuhair, librarian Niran Muhy al-Din, and other faculty and students, who have moved the departmental collection to two rooms on the first floor, are now undertaking a hand-written inventory. Some 4500 (mostly Arabic, and few post-dating 1980) books and journals suffered smoke damage in the April riots, and the entire card catalog was lost. Agreed immediate needs include: 1. Turn the outside corridor into an adjacent reading room. 2. Rehab both spaces with shelves for books and current journals, tables, chairs, a photocopy machine, computers with internet connections and a printer, and air conditioning. We plan to begin wiring in February. 3. Clean, inventory, and properly shelve the collection. 4. Procure printed materials since 1980-books, journals, American dissertations, and maps. Students stressed the need for publications on the entire ancient Near East. Faculty stressed the need to include Islamic-era archaeological materials. We will send materials; the librarian will receive and register them and put them into use. 5. Bind or wrap the paperbound materials, and digitize or bind photocopies of deteriorated books. 6. Computerize the catalog and give the librarian and her students training in basic computer skills and in the specific library software. She will send me a regular report (in Arabic?). 7. Add a departmental computer lab on the second floor. 1.2.3 College of Medicine I met with library head Maryam Abd al-Karim Nazo, in the office of Dean Hikmat Sha'rbaf (not present). The library was badly looted in April, losing the most important part of its book collections (about 8,000 volumes), all of its computers, and its entire computerized catalog, which it will rebuild when it receives computers. The library is one of five Baghdad medical libraries that use WINISIS- UNESCO-sponsored library software that manages monographs-to catalog its books. It requires outside software support and searches only by keyword, but is fairly simple to use and supports both Arabic and Roman script entry and display. The medical library had several important medical indexes on CD, including, Silver Platter's Medline, which, with 25 journals, the library receives free of charge from WHO. Ms. Nazo has taught Medline searching skills for the Ministry of Health and said she would be willing to train Mosul University librarians. Immediate needs are: 1. Redo the wiring in the library and install some computers; 2. Put in a CD tower to manage Silver Platter and other databases on CDs; 3. Order post-1995 environmental health books; 4. Subscribe to a basic set of print or electronic environmental health journals, 5. Establish a document delivery service for environmental health articles found on indexes but not held at the library. 1.3 Mosul University Mosul University has a main library and 24 branches. Like other Iraqi university libraries, it has purchased almost nothing since 1990, adding mostly gifts of journals. The library was looted of all its computers and printers, but its collections are intact. 1.3.1 College of Arts We met with Prof. Muhammad-Basil Al-Azzawi, Dean of the College of Arts (including archaeology, translation, and library science); Prof. Ali Yasin of Archaeology and Cuneiform studies; and university library director Mahmud Jirjis. The library consists of a main library and 24 branch libraries, including the medical library. All told, the main and branch libraries have 140,000 volumes and 3500 journal subscriptions but no current foreign subscriptions. The library escaped serious looting or vandalism in April. Jirjis has a staff of 80 of which 10 have professional skills. The library catalogs new books and keeps track of serial publications on a cardex. One graduate student is good with computers, could learn a computer system and train the others, and Jirjis plans to hire her when she finishes her library science degree at Mosul. We will try to visit the Mosul campus in early 2004. Immediate needs are: 1. Purchase for the library 10 computers and printers, provide the library and the archaeology department with internet connections, and connect the two with wireless. 2. Send books and journals. Jirjis will receive and catalog the materials and send regular reports. Dean Al-Azzawi will give him an email address. 3. Subscribe to Anthropological Literature online, and figure out document delivery later. 1.3.2 College of Medicine Mr. Mahmud Ayyub, head of the medical library, has a technical services staff and is ready to process any materials we can send him. The library seats 100 and has 14,000 books and 150 journals, including some foreign journals, but all come as gifts. There is Internet access in a central university office, but none in the library. Staff at the public health center that Hailoo is establishing at the University of Baghdad will assist with communication and logistics. Immediate needs are: 1. Hailoo (SBU) will contact the Mosul University Medical College dean to get the library wired for computers and Internet access. 2. Once that is in place, we will purchase 10 computers for the library to support all aspects of medical education and research. The dean of the medical college is responsible for their installation and support and for basic computer training. 3. For environmental health subjects only, Ayyub will send ILL requests to SBU. This probably will have to be via email when that is functioning. 4. Once the computers are functioning, Filstrup will arrange for Medline training, probably from the Baghdad U. Medical Librarian. 5. SBU will subscribe to a core set of environmental health journals for the medical library and will begin shipment of environmental health books published in the last five years. SBU arrange transport to Iraq; Hailoo and the dean of the medical college will arrange for transportation from the port of entry to the university. -- -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- Chuck Jones IraqCrisis Moderator https://listhost.uchicago.edu/mailman/listinfo/iraqcrisis cejo@midway.uchicago.edu -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- _______________________________________________ Iraqcrisis mailing list - Iraqcrisis@listhost.uchicago.edu https://listhost.uchicago.edu/mailman/listinfo/iraqcrisisReceived on Thursday, 8 January 2004 13:56:18 UTC
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