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Dispatch from Amman (July 10 and 11, 2005)

Filed under GSLIS Administrative
Posted by GSLIS, July 12, 2005
View all posts for July 2005

10 July 2005: Dispatch from Amman — from Harvey Varnet

10 July 2005: 3:30 p.m. in Amman

Well, it was my turn to teach this morning. Cynthia Correia and I are jointly responsible for the Reference session, which went very well. We’ve covered the basic principles and included material (mostly by Cynthia) on technology in reference. I “borrowed” material liberally from Patty Durisin Barbera, a former Simmons colleague who teaches reference. We ran the gamut from the reference interview to the invisible Web. Lots of questions regarding databases and access and a keen interest in free resources on the web.

It is energizing to teach, as the Iraqis are keenly interested in everything! Again, teaching via translators is a challenge for us all. We (the instructors) need to focus on what is important and what really matters. Many of the Iraqis understand English quite well and ‘get’ what we say, yet there are often several questions in Arabic via our translators after a point is made – especially if the concept is related to the fine points of technology.

11 July 2005: 10:30 a.m.

Wow, has time flown by. Yesterday afternoon we tried out a session that we called “whatever is of interest — malesh.” The idea was to let the Iraqis tell us what they were interested in learning more about, and also to further explain points made in sessions already taught. Attendance was voluntary and the turnout was excellent. We talked about setting up and using listservs in order to facilitate group communication. We hope to get one set up on Google before we leave, as Google can handle Arabic as a language of communication. And, as they are fond of saying in this part of the world, we “talked about matters of mutual interest” — code for b.s.’ing :) about things in general that relate to their work in Iraq.

As I type this, Cynthia is presenting “digital libraries” to the group. This is her third straight day teaching, and she is doing yeoman’s work while staying “up” physically — no mean feat! One of the challenges for Cynthia is the level of understanding of Basima and Shayee, our American translators. The terms can be fairly technical, and “digital libraries” concepts often have to be explained to ‘us’ before we can relate/translate them to the group. It does work, though, which is a compliment to all involved (the operative word is ‘work’).

As the sessions move along, each day’s experience has made the following day better. I’m thinking of John Dean right now, who had the hardest go at this as he taught preservation on day 1 — tough work for him without the benefit of observing others.

Ian Johnson arrived yesterday from the UK, and Pat Oyler and David Hirsch arrive today. So, we’ll have our full complement of instructors here (John Dean is winging his way to Cuba right now, and Michele will teach preservation in the next session). It will be good to have everyone aboard — we’re eager to share with one another what works, what doesn’t, and how we can do this work better.

By the way, the gender makeup of this group is 8 men and 7 women — there seems to be no issue mixing the genders in our presentations, though we have observed that the post-session socializing among the Iraqis breaks along gender lines, which is quite normal for this part of the world. Eight are from al-Mustansiriyah University (Baghdad), 5 from the Baghdad Foundation of Technical Education, and 4 from al-Mosul University. In the next session, librarians from al-Basra University and from the National Library are expected (along with a complement from the universities represented now).

The formality that existed as we began teaching last week is melting away — our teaching styles are fairly informal and collaborative — and the group is fast becoming cohesive (we and they becoming us). I’m sure Michele is happy about this — it’s one of the unwritten goals that, if successful and replicated by the Iraqis, can have a lasting effect!

I’ll close for now, and as you can see, Michele and I are alternating sending messages along. I’m sure more to follow, and we are also hopeful that you’ll soon be hearing from some of our Iraqi colleagues as well.

To read additional dispatches from Amman, please see http://my.simmons.edu/gslis/resources/publications/index.shtml.

Goodbye – ma’salaama !!