Partners in Libraries

By Jennifer Richard, Acadia University, Wolfville, N.S.  and  Sue Adams, St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, N.S.

Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice.
Nelson Mandela¹

There’s no doubt that signs of economic strain are all around us. From coffee break conversations about shrinking pensions to libraries cancelling periodicals, everyone is aware of the recession’s impact on both personal and professional levels. Nationally, CLA is struggling to preserve the much-needed Library Book Rate, while internationally the ICOLC (International Coalition of Library Consortia) has issued a statement on the global economic crisis and its impact on consortial licenses. Everyone is thinking of retrenchment and cutbacks, whether that means deferred retirement plans, potential job losses, or scaled-back library services.

Like most economic stressors, the current recession bears most harshly on those who can least afford it, both in Canada and on the global stage. Our daily decisions have ripple effects throughout the world, and in countries of the Global South their force is magnified. The economy of Ethiopia, for example, is expected to feel the direct impact of reduced foreign demand for coffee (Abiya, 2009). Nepal, one of the poorest countries in Asia, will suffer major economic losses if Western travelers re-think their plans for a Himalayan trekking vacation. Our actions and our fates are intricately linked in a global economic web. As esteemed Canadian philosopher Red Green puts it, “We’re all in this together.”

The Canadian Contribution

This home truth was recognized forty years ago when an international commission headed by former Canadian Prime Minister Lester Pearson issued its landmark report “Partners in Development.” In the commission’s view, “the fullest, most efficient utilization of the Planet’s resources will result from international cooperation, not conflict” (Hulse, 2007, The Pearson Commission, p. 5). Commission members went further, recommending that “developed nations” allocate an amount equal to 0.7% of GNP to Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) annually. Sadly, though repeatedly committing to this modest 1969 goal, Canada has never reached it. Our current level of achievement is an embarrassing 0.30%, well below the average of contributing countries (Tomlinson, 2008, p. 1).

Is this because Canadians are mean-spirited or callous? Not at all – in fact, Canadians make significant donations to charitable organizations each year, but this individual generosity is not necessarily reflected in government budget priorities.

With markets shrinking, tourism declining and foreign assistance never reaching its goal, retrenchment in the Global South can be disastrous. If Canadian libraries are struggling with recession economics, how can those in the world’s poorest countries manage? In Ethiopia, a country of over 76 million people (44% of whom are school age) there are only 249 public libraries (Bothma, 2007, p. 158). How does one cut back on that?

Some Positive Signs

Interestingly, it is in some of the world’s most economically precarious regions that hope and progress persist. The obvious, strong link between education and development has been recognized for decades, and recently enshrined in UNESCO’s Education for All campaign and the Millenium Development Goals. In the last 15 years, the primary school completion rate in Ethiopia has risen from 26% to 46%. Nepal’s figures have increased to 76% completion, and the ratio of Nepali girls to boys in school is now 93% – a remarkable improvement in gender equality in education. These impressive results have been accomplished in societies where the average annual incomes are $780 and $1040 respectively (World Bank, 2008, pp. 352-355). We should stand in awe of such achievements.

Community libraries have a vital part to play in supporting this increased participation in formal education, as well as in adult learning programmes. Without ongoing access to reading material -- print or digital -- any gains realized in education are soon neutralized. Literacy classes verge on pointless if nothing is available in local languages to sustain the learning. Fortunately, organizations throughout the world are working hard to assist with the development of strong, sustainable libraries and resource centres that are grounded in the participation of local communities at every stage of their development.

Working in Partnership

Canadians have, over the years, learned a lot about how to work in partnership with libraries in developing countries. Historically, stories abound of containers of outdated, damaged, inappropriate books donated by well-meaning North Americans arriving.at their destination to the disappointment of local librarians. Early efforts to build libraries overseas frequently overlooked input from the communities in which they were to be located, and this occasionally led to some very creative final uses for the buildings so constructed. Grain storage and animal shelters were sometimes much higher priorities for the communities “blessed” with such new libraries, to the dismay of donors.

Today, responsible development organizations such as CODE (Canadian Organization for Development through Education) and READ (Rural Education and Development) are careful to ensure that the initiative for a community library arises from the local level. CODE links library development with local publishing, teacher and librarian training in countries of Africa and the Caribbean. READ works with local library committees in Nepal to develop libraries that are centres of community development. A powerful feature of their approach is that each community must develop a sustaining project to support their library after the initial phase. Projects range from space rental to providing telephone service, running carpentry shops and operating fish ponds and ambulance services. In organizations like CODE and READ, and in thousands of others around the world, the link between libraries and development is made explicit every day.

As members of the Atlantic Provinces library community, we have a real opportunity to partner with our library colleagues overseas -- to work toward a more just world and Education for All. The first step is simply to become aware and informed about the issues. Then, despite our own strained circumstances, there is much we can accomplish if we choose to work in global solidarity. We really are “all in this together.”

Current Library Partnerships

For various reasons, 2005 seemed to be a pivotal year for the Canadian library community to begin partnering with libraries overseas, particularly in Africa. Inspiration may have come, partly, from the plenary addresses by Stephen Lewis and Craig Keilburger during the 2005 OLA SuperConference and then again by Stephen Lewis’ APLA 2006 Keynote.

The Ontario Library Association’s (OLA) initial response to Lewis and Keilburger’s pleas was the ambitious “Africa Project”. In an 18 month period this fundraising effort has provided Craig Kielburger's Free the Children Foundation with: $13,800 to purchase health and education kits for approximately 700 children and $44,500 towards the building of school/public library centres in two different communities in Kenya. Of the $50,000 needed for the projects, over $22,000 was raised in only 3 days at the 2006 SuperConference. Though the Africa Project has now concluded, the Ontario School Library Association (OSLA) has recently launched a new campaign entitled “Be the Change”. According to their website, this initiative focuses on raising awareness of children’s rights, creating a sense of understanding of world citizenship, empowering youth (K-12) to make a difference and take action. The website provides a blog, teacher resources, fundraising ideas and lesson plans to inspire teachers and students in Canadian schools. The Manitoba Library Association has supported the Osu Children's Library Fund making donations in lieu of speaker gifts at annual conferences as well as making donation in honour of out-going board members. The Manitoba School Library Association has also recently made a donation to this project on the occasion of a recent anniversary celebration.

In the same year (2005), “Libraries Across Borders”, an interest group of the British Columbia Library Association was set up in response to the kind donation of Dr. Yosef Wosk. The aim of this group was to provide grants to deserving library and information science projects in both developing countries and First Nations communities in British Columbia. “Libraries Across Borders” has provided almost $10,000 for First Nations projects in BC and over 65,000 dollars for resources, training and library furniture in 15 countries overseas, including countries in Africa, Southeast Asia and South America. The BC Interest Group should not be confused with the University of Western Ontario’s School of Information Management organization “Librarians Without Borders” also founded in 2005, by a group of library school students inspired by an Angolan colleague. This group is raising funds for Biblioteca Tutangi, a nursing and medical Portuguese language library that will support the learning needs of university and college students in Huambo, Angola.

Though there has been a flurry of activity since 2005, some associations, like the Quebec Library Association/L'Association des bibliothécaires du Québec (ABQLA) and the Special Library Association Eastern Canadian Chapter have been fundraising since 1982. In 1986 the ABQLA and SLA-ECC supported the Kenyan School Library Project and Jamaican Book Project and then in 1994 they began their partnership with the Canadian Organization for Development through Education (CODE), a literacy based NGO, which continues today. In 1999, The Montreal Chapter of the Canadian Library Association was added to the mix. ABQLA/SLAECC/CLA (Montreal) have hosted fun social events like the Holiday Social and raffles to raise money to support CODE’s literacy programmes, raising $1600 in their 2008 event.
 

In 2005/2006 the Atlantic Provinces Library Association and the Nova Scotia Library Association raised over $2500 at their annual conferences. APLA partnered with CODE to provide books, furnishing and staff for the Sebeta Reading Room in Ethiopia, one of 62 libraries in CODE’s Adopt a Library Initiative. Over the 3 day conference and in the subsequent week, APLA raised over $2500 which was matched by the association, providing the African library with $5000. APLA has now adopted the Mojo Library, also in Ethiopia: for more information or to make a donation click on the CODE link on the APLA website.
 

Despite the current global financial situation, we encourage you to continue to dig deep and make a difference by donating online before or online or in person during the 2009 APLA Conference in Halifax. Just like OLA did in 2006 we will be providing stickers for your delegate badge with a minimum $5 donation.

Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Shirley E Giggey, (BCLA) Peggy Thomas, (OLA) Carolyn Minor (MLA), Lisa Milner, Maria Luisa G. Morales and Rosemary Cochrane (ABQLA) , for providing information about their associations’ fundraising activities, and Glenna Quinn (Angus L. Macdonald Library) for her helpful advice.

1.  This rallying was issued in a speech by Nelson Mandela in Trafalgar Square, London, February 3, 2005. Retrieved March 17, 2009, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4232603.stm

2.  You can find inspiring videos of READ’s activities on YouTube at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vazyZiZNV3E http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAH11mW4bbc&NR=1

References
Abiye, Y. (2009, March 6). Ethiopia: IMF sees country's 12 percent economic growth slowing to six percent: IMF says downturn to take toll on country's economy. Daily Monitor (Addis Ababa). Retrieved March 17, 2009, from http://allafrica.com/stories/200903060610.html

BE THE CHANGE: Home. (n.d.). . Retrieved March 23, 2009, from http://www.accessola.com/osla/bethechange/home.html.

Bothma, T. J. D. (Ed.). (2007). Access to libraries and information: Towards a fairer world. The Hague, Netherlands: International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. Retrieved March 18, 2009, from http://www.ifla.org/faife/report/49%20IFLA-FAIFE%202007%20CR%20-20Ethiop...

Hulse, J. H. (2007). From Pearson to Johannesburg, in J. H. Hulse, Sustainable development at risk: Ignoring the past. Ottawa, Canada: IDRC; Delhi, India: Foundation Books. Retrieved March 18, 2009, from http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-114186-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html

Librarians Without Borders (n.d.). . Retrieved March 23, 2009, from http://www.lwb-online.org/

Osu Children's Library Fund. (n.d.). . Retrieved March 23, 2009, from http://osuchildrenslibraryfund.ca/

Tomlinson, B. (2008). Canada. In The reality of aid 2008: An independent review of poverty reduction and development assistance. Retrieved March 18, 2009, from http://www.ccic.ca/e/docs/002_aid_2008-09_roa_canada.pdf

World Bank. (2008). World development report, 2009: Reshaping economic geography. Washington. DC: World Bank Publications.