Those who heard my talk at the MELCOM-UK meeting in Manchester yesterday
may be interested in the following new report of yet another US mission to
Iraq libraries, especially as it contains information on four libraries
which I did not cover: the Colleges of Arts and Medicine libraries in the
Universities of Baghdad and Mosul. There is also an interesting snippet
about the Iraq Museum Library, which says that at least part of the funds
for refurbishment will come from the US State Department, whereas it had
previously been announced (as I reported) that it would be financed by the
British Academy. It is not clear whether this is yet another example of
lack of coordination or determination by the US authorities to exclude
international or non-US bodies from involvement.

Geoffrey Roper
Cambridge

 ---------- Date: Thu, 8 Jan 2004 12:27:48 -0600 To:
[log in to unmask] From: "Charles E. Jones"
<[log in to unmask]> Subject: [Iraqcrisis] Baghdad Libraries
Assessment: Baghdad Visit 17-22 December, 2003

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.