DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 098 961 IR 001 340

AUTHOR Mahood, Molly M., Ed.TITLE overseas Universities: Special Issue on Libraries.

No. 21.INSTITUTION Inter-University Council for Higher Education

Overseas, London (England).PUB DATE Sep 74NOTE 37p.

EDRS PRICE MF-$0.75 HC-$1.85 PLUS POSTAGEDESCRIPTORS Books; Book Thefts; *Developing Nations; Financial

Support; Library Associations; Library Facilities;Library Materials; Library Planning; Merchandising;Periodicals; *University Libraries

IDENTIFIERS *Africa; Fiji; Great Britain; Madritius; Trinidad

ABSTRACTA special issue of Overseas Universities devoted to

university libraries contains 10 articles concerning developingnations, particularly Africa. Articles cover: an architect's surveyof university library problems; planning libraries in the humid ,

tropics, with emphasis on the University of the South Pacific inSuva, Fiji; aid, funding, and technical assistance; the history anddevelopment of the University of Mauritius Library; a description ofTrinidad's university library; security problems and book loss inNigeria university libraries; history and description of the StandingConference of. African University Libraries; the role of the StandingConference on Library Materials on Africa in facilitating acquisitionof African materials; British book aid for overseas universities; anda comparison of university bookselling in Nigeria and the UnitedKingdom. (LS)

Contents

Editorial ...

Contributors

1

University Libraries in the Developing World,by Alick Low ... 3

Planning Libraries in the Humid Tropics,by Harold Holdsworth ... ... 5

Aspects of External and Technical Assistance to Developing Libraries,by Anthony J. Loveday ... 11

The University of Mauritius Library,by Jean de Chantal ... 14

Trinidad's University Library,by Alma Jordan ... 18

Security Problems of University Libraries in Nigeria,by R. C. Nwamefor ... 20

The Standing Conference of African University Libraries,by Rita Pankhurst ...

Material for African Studies: the Contribution of SCOLMA,

... 22

.

by Patricia M. Larby ... ... 26

British Book Aid for Overseas Universities,by D. J. Collihole ... ... 29

University Bookselling in Nigeria: a brief comparison with the United Kingdom,by D. C. Kemp ... 32

Our cover is designed by S.A. Boateng. Its main theme is a symbolic undergraduate striding along and holdingaloft an academic cap. The triangular patterns on the left symbolize the rapid growth of Universities in allcontinents. The design at the centre symbolizes the spread of knowledge (light) into all parts of the world.

Published by the InterUniversity Council for Higher Education Overseas and printed by Direct Design (Bournemouth) Ltd.,12 Rouipelia Lane, Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, England.

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Editorial

Tools of the TradeOn every campus in the developing world, as on thenewer campuses of Europe, the University Library isthe focal point, in time as well as in place. For notonly are books and periodicals the indispensable toolsof every faculty (and even the pure sciences needalmost as much space now for their abstracts as fortheir experiments), but its University Library willhouse the books it now owns long after the campusrevolutions of the present will have passed intohistory. It is of course true. as Mr. Nwameforreminds us in this special Libraries number ofOverseas Universities, that libraries everywhere inNigeria no less than in Britain are subject to thedepredations of human as well as insect pests. Thestudent pilferer is a selfish nuisance, but at least itcan be said for him that he is putting books to theirright use, though not in the nght place.

The only unforgivable crime in the world ofscholarship is to ban or bum a book that scholarsneed. In stressing how minimal censorship has beenin Nigeria, even/during the recent war, the articlecontributed to(this issue by Mr. Kemp reminds usthat the Areopagitka was perhaps as important a giftto the developing world as any of the more recentaid given in the form of library buildings, books, andthe training of librarians. The principle of literaryfreedom is simple and unchanging. The practice ofproviding books and what is even more important inuniversities that are not primarily residential, thebest conditions to read them in, is one that is subjectto continual adjustments in a developing society, sothat architects, librarians and administrators all needto be vigilant to the special social needs of thecommunity in which their University is set. And notonly the current needs. the rate of social change in adeveloping country means that minds as well asbuildings have to be well supplied with extensionjoints. Besides the articles in this issue that deal withthese problems of flexibility we would like to referour readers back to Mr. Lim Huck Tee's excellent and

comprehensive article on planning Penang's UniversityLibrary, which appeared in Overseas Universities 17.

Two important JournalsMany readers of Overseas Universities must be familiarwith educational broadcasting international (well, onedoesn't hear capitals by radio), published now by theBritish Council; its September 1973 issue, in a newformat. has several items of interest to universityteachers, notably an interview with Dr. Walter Perry.ViceChancellor of the Open University. More recentlythere has appeared a new, equally lively quarterly.educational development international, again pub-lished by the British Council, of which the aim is tomirror change and innovation in education aroundthe world. The number that has come to us rangesover many new moves in primary education from theIvory Coast to Malaysia, and should be of specialinterest to Institutes of Education. Enquiries to R.C.Sutton, Peter Peregrinus Ltd., P.O. Box 8, SouthgateHouse, Stevenage, Herts SG I 1 HQ, England.

Cover wantedWe like our present cover very much, though thereare those Poloniuses who can only see it as a chargingrhinoceros. But regretfully we have decided sincechanges in colour are not limitless that we shallsoon have to send down for good Mr. Boateng'sspirited undergraduate flourishing his mortar boardand decorated with charming and meaningful Ghanaianmotifs. A recent appeal. to Schools of Art in theUniversities within the I.U.C.'s purview to supplynew designs has been unproductive. Could any of ourreaders design us a new cover, to be printed in blackand one colour? The Editor looks forward toreceiving designs and, as always, articles intendedfor publication at Rutherford College, Universityof Kent, Canterbury.

Molly M. Mahood.

Contributors REST COPY 11,..

;lick Low is a senior pattn:r in the 111111 of Nornixtand 1).iw ham. who haw 1)ek:ii ait.iiite, is to .1 nunibk,41of At riLan wive sine, as .h to the Rti,

ntyersity of Atka

Harold Holdsworth is a Um% ersity Librarian wholikes planning new libi.oles Ili, guiding hand ean hetra.ed at L ,VI \lona. \lakcicie. l)at es Salaam and.more re,cntly . the imersit) of the South

Anthony LoNeday w as until recently Librarian to theUniversity of Zambia. He is now based at the SchoolofOrient al and At ncan Studies, Unwersny of London.as Seaetar to the Sim ding Conference of Nationaland Unwersit libraries.

Jean de Chantal. who is Canadian. is Library Adviserto the University of Mauritius.

Dr. Alma Jordan is Deputy Librarian of the Universityof the 11 est Indies ni Trinidad

R.C. Nwamefor, who has recently spent a study leave,It the University of Alberta. is Sub.Librarian at theUniversity of Nigeria. Nsukka.

Mrs. Rita Pankhurst is University Librarian at theHaile Scllassie 1 University in Addis Ababa.

Mrs. Patricia Larby is Librarian at the Institute ofCommonwealth Studies, University of London. and isalso Secretary of SCOLMA.

Miss D.J. Collihole is Deputy Controller of the BooksDivision of the British Council.

D.C. Kemp. formerly Manager of the UniversityBookshop at lbadan is now managing the UniversityBookshop at the University of Warwick.

An:In.:L-71VA

The periodical section of Ronda College Library, University of Malawi

2

University Libraries in the Developing WorldAn architect's survey of the problemsAlick Low

An architect's job is to design a budding to a brief insuch a way that its functional efficiency is enhancedby the creation of an environment, both internallyand externally, which is enjoyed by the user.

It might be argued that, providing the items ofthe brief are given their correct priorities, the solutionitself should be a step forward in the generalarchitectural development and that It therefore createsits own aesthetic quality. However, everyone has hisown accumulation of environmental associations,based on experience, either functional or romantic.by which he judges a building, even though thesejudgements are not always supported by reason orgenuine aesthetic pleasure.

Architects are sometimes tempted, or evenencouraged, to assume that through their trainingand experience they arc entitled to prepare a self-satsfying solution. This may have achieved somenotable results in the relatively small world ofmonuments, but in the case of university libraries,particularly those which have come under the influ-ence of the Inter-University Council for HigherEducation Overseas, the range of causes which affectthe design is so extensive that they cannot be forcedinto any preconceived mould.

In the more developed countries the image of auniversity library is established in most people'sminds. The major changes that have taken place inrecent years are those of re-organisation, such as theestablishment of common cataloguing systems, openaccess stacking, and the more efficient use ofmachines for reading and recording, and the exchangeof material. These aspects are common to all libraries.but there have been additional problems in countrieswhere previously there has been little or no highereducation .

One of the first of these problems has been thatthe librarian, some of the university staff, and thearchitect, have often come from other culturalbackgrounds which may or may not have had thewhole-hearted admiration of the country concerned.The design of a new university library has to beapproached with considerable caution and under-standing of the nation's needs and ideals. Theuniversity and its library can become the centre ofnational discussion, rather like a new parliamentbuilding or airport; a visible and permanent ,monu-ment to national pride. The danger of introducingincompatible concepts into these important areas ofnational prestige has to be approached with care.

3

since the impoitation of alien ideas may destroyconfidence in good new methods in the execution ofthe particular project and, probably more important,in those which follow it.

The sources of finance arc often very differentand not governed by such rules as, for example, existin the U.K. with the University Grants Committee. Inone case the resources may be so restricted that theresult is disappointing in scale and appearance,whereas in another its usefulness may be affected bya donor's wish to be remembered by an architecturalgem rather than a simple, spacious and efficientbuilding. However, as one might expect the momen-tum and consciousness of a new national spiritprovides all the inspiration the architect couldassimilate, expatriate or not, and there should be noreason for failure on this account. .

These overall considerations have to be inte-grated with more detailed aspects of the library andthe unusual quantity and variety of briefing itemshas led to the conclusion that the overriding require-ment for any scheme is that of flexibility. Thechanges required by growth; the change of use of anarea of the building. or even perhaps the temporaryuse by other departments; the requirements ofdepartmental libraries; the concentration of nationalresources in the case of printing, special collectionsand national archives, all point to this prime necessity.

The use of a university library can also changeduring the early years of its existence. For exampleundergraduates and staff who may be accommodatedin temporary buildings or not resident on a campus,need an environment for study which is differentfrom the time when the university is well endowedwith commodious study bedrooms and staff housing.The nature of the library will also change if at thestart the university's educational pattern has beenbased simply on manpower requirements, but laterdevelops a high proportion of postgraduate activityand research facilities. 4')

it is this need to accommodte constant changeby which new university libraries can best be judged,and a building which restricts the librarian's freedomto rearrange his stock, or reading or workroom areas,without imposing extensive and costly alterations, orthe proliferation of staff, is a constant source ofirritation, whereas a library environment shouldessentially be one of obvious and calm efficiency.

There are other circumstances which affect thephysical construction of the building. Terms of

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Library building. University of Dar es Salaam.

international assistance often require methods of pro-cedure and procurement which cut across localcustoms and even regulations. It is not generallyrealised that the design of a building is also governedby the indigenous resources and skills and theirmethod of employment, and even perhaps theencouragement of local industries. In the case where a

_building contract is open to public tender the designhas to be within the capacity of the less efficientbuilder's capabilities since restricted tender lists havenot always been popular with national or internationalsources of money.

Finally, a library can be a very expensivebuilding in recurrent expenditure, particularly intropical countries The preservation of its contents,together with the comfort of its users are the firstpriorities, and a poor country which is trying toimprove its standards by the far sighted investment ofhigher education, has sometimes to decide whether it

4

Norman and Dawbam.

can give a few more scholarships or pay an air-conditioning bill.

The problem confronting the architect is there-fore, to try to put all these considerations into apliable structure, probably of a modular design,which is easy to maintain and fits the standards ofequipment, human comfort and building resourcesmost likely to prevail in the years ahead. A universitylibrary and its building can probably only beappreciated by those with some knowledge of theproblems mentioned in this article. The users them-selves may not be aware of them all,'but they willreact Unfavourably to an environment within whichthey are expected to study if any of these considera-tions have been omitted from the brief. On the wholethe results seem to have been well received and inmany cases have made a significant contribution tothe developing architecture of the country.

Planning Libraries in the Humid Tropicswith special Reference to the Library of the University of theSouth Pacific, Suva, Fiji

Harold Huldsworth

The University of the South Pacific campus wasoriginally a Royal New Zealand Air Force base,extensively built upon, with roads and undergroundservices, and covering an area of about 190 acres. Inthe University development plan the existing buildings(mainly wooden) were left to he used for as long aspossible, and at the time of writing they are not onlybeing used but seem likely to survive well into thefuture. Obviously they laid constraints upon theUniversity planners, but a plan was eventually devisedwhich enabled all new teaching buildings to beconcentrated on a central open site, and other newbuildings to he located satisfactorily and withminimum disturbance to existing structures, whichwere to be phased out gradually. The library wasgiven a central site within the teaching area with theother buildings grouped around it, but with sufficientground space to allow extensions to it (two areshown on plan) and to insulate it from noise fromneighbours. Once the central precinct was completedpedestrian access to the library would be alongcovered ways, and a service road would lead to thelibrary's rear entrance and loading bay.

The area earmarked for library use was largeenough for a first stage building and two extensionsto it and for growth beyond that. It was a generousallocation and enabled the architect, Frank Rutter, toplan for the future with more precision. lie was ableto envisage a building in three stages, to plan the firststage in detail and the others in outline, and to definequite clearly what would be temporary and whatwould be permanent in the first stage building andtherefore to ensure that the extensions to it could beadded cheaply and without serious disruption. It wasthought important that the conception of the libraryas a staged development, and of what it might looklike in the end, ought to he made known not onlyfrom the point of view of forward planning but alsobecause staff and readers would then accept tempor-ary measures for what they were and not as short-comings in design. The University was therefore ableto satisfy two of the library's requirements- a centralposition within the University and room to expand.

The development plan assumed that the threestage building would take up about 36,000 sq. ft. ofground and afford about 120,000 sq. ft. of internalfloor space. This was a handsome forecast and wouldensure adequate library provision in relation to theanticipated growth of the University. The first stagewould cover 12,500 sq. ft. of ground and in its three

5

storeys would have a floor area of 38,000 sq. ft. Thesecond stage would cover a further 10,750 sq, ft. ofground and add 43,000 sq. ft. to the floor area. Thethird stage would add 12,500 sq. ft.and 38,000 sq. ft.to the ground and the library floor area respectively.The library would remain a three storey building butwith the second stage having a lower ground floor totake advantage of an undulating site.

The library brief asked for a building with acapacity of ten years of growth (1968 -1977). Thiscapacity was interpreted as 38,000 sq. ft. which repre-sented what we thought was a minimum estimate forbooks, an approximate estimate for readers, and areasonably accurate estimate for all other ingredientsof a library space plan over this period. The figure forhooks and readers taken together we thought wouldbe reasonably accurate although the proportionsmight vary somewhat from those forecast: the booksmight be underestimated, the readers overestimated.At the time of writing, after five and a half years,growth has corresponded closely with the estimates,Approximately 10,000 sq. ft. were -assigned for stock,11,000 sq. ft. for readers, and 17,000 for all otherservices (circulation, issue, catalogues, workrooms,etc.). Since the building was completed and occupiedin mid-1972, four and a half years after the establish.ment of the University d the library, the 38,000sq. ft. allowed for a further five and a half yearsgrowth, to the end of 1977. There was bound to heunoccupied space in mid 1972 which the librarycalculated it would not need until the end of 1974,when it would need the whole building. The Univer-sity accepted the proposal for a ten year librarybuilding on condition that the unoccupied portion beused temporarily for other purposes. Consequentlythree quarters of the top floor (8,000 sq. ft.) were setaside as office space for staff members of the Schoolof Social and Economic Development.

Not infrequently when money and accommoda-tion is scarce librarians will be torn between advocating a building for library use only, and therefore foronly a few years of growth, and at the risk of it beingso small as to prejudice future development, and abuilding larger than would he needed immediately forlibrary purposes but which would be a satisfactorynucleus of a much enlarged building in the future. Ifsuch a choice has to be made we would advocate atenancy agreement which would ensure that the

opportunity was there in future for the properdevelopment of the library. The risk of not getting on

Sat:tittle 111011q, for a library extension on the onehand, or alternall%e at,0111111mtatIoll for the tenant onthe other hand is probably aboqt the same. If fundsare not mailable for the one. they are not likely to heasailable for the other at the particular time when thelibrary becomes short of space

At the L'S1) attention 1A-as first paid to the floutou which MIA might he called 'front line' operationsare carried out. This key or main floor is usually theentrance floor though not necessarily the groundfloor. We thought it should contain the entry/exit.issue. catalogues, reference and bibliography. workareas for cataloguers and for acquisitions, and for thelibrarian and secretary. It is obsiously wise to keeptemporary tenants .1\11) front such a floor. An upper.pieferahl the top flout. is better, providing thetenants can he Oen separate ao,,ess to it withoutdistorting the basic library plan or incurring expensivetemporary measures. This proved to he a usefulexercise because it forced us to think about planningstaircases away from the library area proper. American,tyle, and finally we were able to allocate to themembers of the School of Social and EconomicDeselopment a staircase for their own use whichwould revert to the library staff according to plan atthe end of their tenancy.

Owing to the nature of the site the main flooras expected to he the ground floor. In determining

how big it should be we were subject to a number ofconstraints. The first was the University's capacity topay. While the floor ought to he large enough to takethe front-line services for a ten year period (but forno longer) and to allow the services to spread ifnecessary into the second stage building and yetmaintain their physical relationships, it was plain thatthe height of the building ought not to he lower thanthree storeys, a two storey building would cover toomuch building land, and this imposed a limit to thefloor sue. It was also plain that a building for tenyears of growth would have enough unused space asto he unacceptable to the authorities unless therewas limn occupation. Thus the desire to get the sizeof the main floor 'right' (bearing in mind the abovefactors)and to avoid the separation of Interdependentmain floor services led us to aim for a larger butJointly occupied building. 11.000 sq. ft. was finallyagreed as being the desirable site of the main floor,excluding staircases and lift. 38.000 sq. ft. was theestimate of total floor area including staircases, liftand lavatories. This implied a three storey building.This arrangement was accepted at the planning level.and the main floor therefore would be expected toinclude all the services listed above as well as atemporary loading entrance.

The total floor area of 38,000 sq. ft. was

calculated as follows 11.000 fr 375 readers, being20`7, of the enrolment then expected in 1977, at

6

30 sq. ft. per reader. 10,000 for hooks at IS booksper sq. ft.. for an annual intake of 15,000 volumesover ten years. and 1 7,000 for Inflexible' space for allother facilities and services, In the end rather fewerthan 37,000.sq. ft. were approved, and it was evidentthat it' the estimate of growth and the space calculi-dons proved to be correct the end of 1977 wouldcertainly be the deadline for the addition of thesecond stage building.

The overall design for the library was influencedby the site of the first stage, and the shape of thefirst stage was determined by the overall design ofwhich it was a part. To extend upwards, beyond threestoreys. would have required extra strengthening offoundations, columns, and beams, and possibly stricterearthquake precautions at an extra cost which wouldhave had to he offset by a corresponding reduction inthe site of the library. We were disposed towards asquare or a rectangle as being the most convenientshape, but a square is impossible to maintain in astaged building if extensions are outwards. This leftthe rectangle., If indeed the library were to cover3',750 sq. ft. of ground in its three stages a rectanglewould have to he reasonably wide in order not to beinordinately long. Width would not have been aproblem in an air' conditioned building: but as air-conditioning had been ruled out as too costly thewidth had to be reconciled with the climate.

Airconditioning, of course, virtually eliminatesproblems associated with libraries in the humidtropics by excluding most if not all the enemies ofbooks: the sun, excessive light, rain and humidity,insects, rust, fungus, and dust, and that element mostvexing to readers noise coming from outside,Without it all these have to be taken into account, anda building will almost inevitably materialise as one ofthe many variations on traditional tropical architec-ture. With airconditioning it could be merely a shellbearing no apparent relation either to climate orplace.

The library shape on the growl.. was conceivedas a rectangle in the first stage, a longer rectangle inthe second, and an L. shape in the third. The weatherdetermined the width and the siting of the building,which was orientated to catch the prevailing south-easterly breezes along its length. The short stem ofthe L the third stage was also positioned tocatch them as much as possible. The orientation wasnot ideal in relation to the rising and setting sun.Window overhangs would cut off the sun's rays atabout 20 degrees, but the low sun had to be acceptedwith the consolation that it occurs at times when thelibrary is least busy. Narrow buildings are traditionalin the humid tropics. They encourage cross breezes,but their windows must he protected, usually bysome form of external screening, against direct sunand rain. During the period from 1948 when univer

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sib buildings overseas were being built in earnestmany libraries adopted the 'loom shape. sometimescompensating for the nartow nos b building high ordistributing wings around a entral wort. and so on.But narrowness is not always compatible with nemHe library arrangements to which librarians attach agreat deal of importaime llureuver n.trr011 buildingscan he hot through heat from the wall screening, oruncomfortable through Indit ictlected from it andrelatively expensoe because of the higher proportionof walling and windows to interior space. Quite awide building can in fact be tolerated in the humidtropics provided it is open to cross breeles. Thedifferences in the widths of the following librariesillustrate the gradual appreciator of this tact theUniversity of West Indies Library (first stage. about1952) 32 ft. wide. Makerere University Library (firstand second stages. about 1959 to 1962) 72 ft. wide:Par es Salaam University Library (first and secondstages, about lobs to 1971) 88 ft, wide, and theUniversity of the South Pacific Library (first stage1972) 90 ft. wide. the last three libraries havingexternal screening to add to their oserall structuralwidth.

The internal width finally chosen was 90 ft.This gave floor dimensions of (k) by 120 ft. which inthe second stage would be enlarged to 90 by 240 ft.So that the floors might not he encumbered withfixtures the staircases were placed at the ends of thebuilding in separate blocks. The 30 ft. (on centres)column spacing in each diret ion limited free standingcolumns to six per floor in the first stage and four-teen per floor in the second stage The open floorarea of 10,800 sq. fl. proved to he the maximumuninterrupted area permuted under the local fireregulations. The 30 ft. span. in an earthquakeresistant building, was made possible partly through alightweight wooden roof and lighter than usual floors(twin rib 2 ft. depth precast units with a 2 inchstructural concrete topping) which were neverthelesscapable of hearing loads of up to ISO lbs per squarefoot. It was, of course. the width that was important.90 ft. seemed to guarantee reasonable flexibilityagainst future contingencies. From this point onwardsgreat :mention was paid to flexibility (adaptability tochange) and standardisation in the internal design andarrangements, to afford opportunity for futurechanges both in physical layoto and in the organisa-tion of the library service itself.

Because the South Pacific is a poor area staffingimplications had to be used as a control over designand internal organisation. The fewer staff required,the better. The high cost of staff compared withother library expenditure is obviously a matter ofconcern to a relatively poor institution. It is oftensalutary if staffing estimates are weighed against thelibrary situation in the country as a whole and not

8

merely against the demands from within the Univer-sity itself. During the period since 1948 it must notlia,e been uncommon to find in a developing countrythat the shift' of the university library, particularlyqualified staff, equalled or even outnumbered thecombined staff of all other libraries. Such a com-parison drives one to plan so that a service can herun with the smallest possible number of staffmembers. It is a powerful factor to he taken intoac aunt in assessing future staffing needs, It willaffect one's organisation and therefore design. Everytime one isolates a service within the library, whethera special collection or a subject division, one esta-blishes a new service point which must be maimed.When library opening hours are long, as they usuallyare, it may he a question not of one person perservice point but one and a half or two or more. TheUSP Library is open 831/2 hours per week in term, asagainst the normal working week for an individualfor 371/2 hours, and continuous opening of its onespecial collection does pose a serious staffing pro-blem. Without taking this collection into account thelibrary can be operated in the evenings by a staff offour, and at weekends, when there is a lunch break,with a staff of three, but of :curse without a staffpresence on each floor,

It might be useful to list briefly the measuresthat were taken to produce a flexible plan for theUSP library, all of which must he very familiar tothose who have been engaged in library planning.

In the long term plan library staff have beengrouped around the stairs and lift at the junction ofthe I shaped building. Public areas are spread aroundthem mainly along the sides exposed to the pre-vailing breeie and affording the best views. It is

better if' work areas arc not intersected by publicareas and pains have been taken to avoid this. Thesecondary staircase is planned purely for staff and isinaccessible to readers except in an emergency, Acompact staff grouping on each floor, with verticalinterconnection, and looking outwards towards thereaders in several directions, as it were, offers a variedchoice of positions from which the public can beserved. The public areas should remain uncongested,particularly as the staircases are in separate blocks atthe ends of the library and at the junction of thefirst and second stage sections. When staircases aresealed off the public areas are insulated against thenoise and movement associated with them, and theycart be designed more cheaply since they are not,like central staircases, on public show.

Although it was tempting to include internalcourts or wells they were omitted. They usuallyinvolve extra expense in walling, weather-proofing,and water disposal arrangements: they are definitelyfixtures: one has to walk around them: and they areunused space unless they are essential for ventilation,

They add grace and light, and .ertainly funnel airthrough a building. bin when space is at a premiumand ventilation can be reasonably assured withoutthem it is perhaps wiser to dispense with them. Theyalso cut the width of a building into two narrowsections. and we have regarded narrow sections asinflexible elements.

Lest the University should wish to install anconditioning at a later date a 10 ft. clear space hasbeen left between the false ceiling and the floor.sufficient for exposed ducts.

If stacks and tables have to be moved around ortheir positions interchanged, as might well he requiredfrom time to time. a simple uniform treatment offloors, ceilings. lighting. and stacks offers perhaps thebest assurance that it can be done without affectingstandards. Good standards will be maintained only ifmaterials used are of reasonably good quality anddurable. Economy will be achieved only if thematerials can be maintained cheaply. Interchange ofunits will be easier if a single unit of measurement isfollowed in selecting and designing shelving andfurniture. The utmost flexibility will he possible onlyif everything that is not strictly structural is movable.not fixed. The architects selected for overall flooringribbed rubber tiles because they are permanent. canbe dry cleaned, and are unlikely to suffer damagewhen shelves are moved. When cemented to the floorthe resonance so often associated with tile flooring islost, and the ribs enhance the tiles' acoustic pro.perties. The combination of this kind of rubberflooring and an acoustic the ceiling has in factjustified the use of 7 ft. high removable partitionsinstead of floortoceiling office walls. rder toencourage cross ventilation.

The architects chose genera! --head tluorescent lighting flush with the acoustic tile ceiling. andthe tubes there are nine across the width starting5 ft. in and then spaced at 10 ft. intervals run inone direcnon only. along the length of the buildingthe illumination being sufficient for stack, readingand work areas. The book stacks are ranged uniformlyin the opposite direction across the width of thebuilding, and thus at right angles to the light tubes.The general lighting is fixed but nothing else is fixedin relation to it. and lighting fixtures on movableunits were avoided. It is therefore possible to interchange stack and reading areas. The stack arrangement offered another advantage: the ends of theranges face towards the longer sides of the library.and as the readers tend to he concentrated aroundthe perimeter most of them have direct access to thestack aisles, and conversely can approach their. tablesdirectly through the stacks without disturbing readersin general.

In our anxiety not to obstruct cross ventilationselected members of staff, for whom offices were

9

required. were dieted only semiprivacy their officescreen walls are only 7 ft. high. Elsewhere "work.rooms" are open areas, because so many of thelibrary's working tools are used by staff in common.and there is a good deal of intercommunication. Thesuccess of this arrangement depends of course uponadequate acoustic treatment.

We tried hard to adopt and stick to a standardunit of measurement, and tended to work withmultiples of I' 6" when fixing lengths. The openbracket steel shelving is of course in multiples of3 ft. Tables for readers are 3 ft. by 2 ft. and 6 ft. by4 ft.: and desks are 4' 6" x 2' 6". Gangways andaisles are planned as 3 ft.. 4' 6". or 6 h., or as near aspossible. A 6 ft. gangway is in fact considered by usas wide. Spacing between stack ranges is 4' 6" oncentres of uprights, regardless of shelf widths ofwhich there are only two: 9 inches and 12 inches,doublesided shelves being used for throughshelvingof deep quartos and folios.

Maintenance is a problem for all libraries andparticularly foi an open tropical library. Replacement of worn furnishings. etc. cannot be guaranteed.and we loo;ed for durability when choosing materials.even if the requirements of our library brief were notfully met. Materials that will last and show littledeterioration and can he easily and inexpensivelycleaned will he the most satisfactory in the long run.They will not be the cheapest materials but neitherneed they be the most expensive. It seems neithereconomical nor reasonable that capital money shouldhe spent on buildings so cheap that they soonbecome waning assets because of high maintenancecosts. Conversely a luxury building designed withoutconsideration of upkeep can equally become aburden on the local treasury. Being very conscious ofthe maintenance problems the architects chose whatthe considered durable. easily maintained materialswithin the limits of the grant available. The followingis a list of them. Ribbed rubber floor tiles; vinyl tilesfor the lavatories. formica (matt vellum finish) for thetops of tables. desks, benches, and sink units:polypropylene moulded chairs; vinyl-faced aluminiumframed office partitions. metal (rather than wood)for furniture frames, shelves, cupboards and lockers;synthetic fluorescent light fittings sealed againstinsect penetration. plain concrete stairs in the enclosedstairwells. The same standards were applied tostructural materials: Hain concrete for the buildingand sun shields; generous louvre glazing withaluminium frames; fair laced concrete beams; nointernal plaster and the minimum of paintworkinside and none outside. The only concession washardwood for the framing of window areas and doors.and for the doors themselves.

Maintenance problems arise with technicalservices as well. plumbing. electricity. and telephones,

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Rear of building. facing the sea and southeasterly breezes. Photographs: Gains Jannif Ltd.. Suva.Architect: Frank Rutter. FRIBA

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each of which is likely to need regular attention. Thearchitects made the installations readily accessible sothat repair work could be localised and done withoutdamage around the affected parts. Electnc wiringruns in wall skirtings and in selected columns(between the concrete column and its wooden casing)and above the suspended ceiling. Cisterns are inrooms adjacent to the lavatories and accessible onlyto the plumber. Switch gear is accessible on eachlanding of the secondary stairs, in large shallowcupboards that can hold nothing else, and arcaccessible only to library staff.

When the library was designed it was notknown how certain technical production services,often associated with library service, would develop.There was much discussion about binding, printing,and photography, but at that time the library couldonly foresee a need for quick document copying andlibrary binding. Space for document copying wasincluded in the library plan, but the library itselfadvocated separate development of and separateaccommodation for printing and photography, andbecause a printery would require binding facilitiesalso proposed that library binding be attached to it.A Technical Resources Nire was subsequentlyestablished which incorporates both printing andbinding. There seemed to be\ good reason for thisadvocacy. Control and responsibility could be placedfirmly in technical hands. A building could be tailor-made, probably more cheaply than if it were to beincluded in a library building, and more akin to aworkshop. The library would be a major customeronly of the binding section, but certainly not theonly customer; binding operations would becomediversified as the printery developed. The library

therefore felt itself free to concentrate on a libraryservice in the strict sense, to lay claim to a quietlibrary precinct, and to press for the siting of theTechnical Resources building, when capital becameavailable, as near as possible to the precinct. Again,in the absence of air-conditioning emphasis has beenplaced (perhaps obsessively so) on quiet surroundings,and on the physical separation (near to the librarybut out of earshot) of activities which, although ofgreat interest to the library, are not library activitiesproperly speaking. We would follow the same line ofargument in discussing the location of a bookshop ora coffee bar. Similarly in our anxiety to protectreaders from noise and movement by casual visitors,and because of lack of space, we limited exhibitionspace to provide only for librarymotivated displays.We would, however, recommend a seminar/laboratoryfor instruction of library staff in professional matters,since in-service training at the junior and inter-mediate levels is normally regarded as both essentialand urgent in a 'developing' situation, and it is betterfor it to be done on the premises.

Pressure is often exerted on the libiary to takeover activities for which other places or 'bidderscannot be found, and on these occasions 'library' issubject to very broad interpretation. Acceptance bythe Library might not always be in its own interestor in the best interests of the University. TheUniversity of the South Pacific has been fortunate inbeing encouraged to discuss openly the role of thelibrary and the activities it should undertake, withthe result that there has been a considerable centralisation and consolidation of specialised services,outside the library. which we hope in the long runwill prove to be both efficient and economical.

Aspects of External Aid and TechnicalAssisiauce to Developing LibrariesAnthony J. Loveday

The libraries of recently established universities in thedeveloping countries in nearly every case wouldappear to have benefited from initial injections offunds to establish their basic book stock and toprovide permanent and specially designed buildings.It has been rare for institutions in the Third World tobe in the enviable positiod of being able to providethe very considerable funds necessary for this purpose from their own resources. It is far more commonfor the institution or government to seek the help ofa grantaiding body in providing an initial develop-ment grant for the purpose. This body has usuallybeen a foreign government or international agency,but occasionally a foundation has made the requireddonation. Each of these organisations has rules and

I I

conditions which must be onserved by the recipient,both in regard to the manner in which the applicationis made and also the actual expenditure of the grantitself. Undoubtedly the generous assistance of these

I organisations makes possible a programme of develop-ment that is much appreciated and would .probablynot otherwise be achieved. However, whether thesource of the assistance is a foreign government or aninternational agency, the arrangement can have anumber of effects upon the library's developmentwhich may be undesirable and are perhaps worthy ofcloser examination.

When the funding of the construction of thelibrary has come from an external source there hasin the past been a tendency to relate the standards

upon which the library has been planned with eithertheoretical International' norms or with normsadopted by the assisting country. Undoubtedly ithas been of very considerable help and a guarantee ofinternational acceptahibty to have the local expertisereinforced by the technical advice from areas whereestablished library services emst. Nevertheless there isa very real danger that the norms adopted may beunrelated to the economy and needs of a developingcountry and the real lifestyle of its people It can beargued that drawing upon foreign expertise doesensure that optimum standards are reached and that abuilding so constructed provides a pattern for thefuture development and planning. AJI too frequently.however. the building is constructed in a style and ata level of cost that is inappropriate. Sometimes thebuilding incorporates the use of sophisticated equip-ment which cannot he maintained or kept in anoperating condition because of the lack of adequateresources either with regard to skilled manpoweror the availability of supplies. While it may be truethat in the new institution conservative attitudes areless likely to have an inhibiting effect upon itsdevelopment. the establishing of a new approach orthe implementation of new ideas, there is equally adanger that extravagant and unrealistic schemes maybe imposed by the itinerant expert who will havebecome disassociated with the project long before hecan be called to account for his errors in judgement.

Another area for the application of externalaid for a new library is in the provision of non-recurrent grants for the building up of book collec-tions. The system of non-recurrent grants is a

convenient method of ensuring that considerablesums of money are set aside for this purpose and atthe same time makes possible the spread of thelibrary's hook acquisition over an extended phase ofdevelopment. Nevertheless there are consequent pro.bleins. injections of capital grants from externalsources may result in inadequate recurrent provisionbeing acknowledged and planned by institution orgovernment. This in turn may undermine the con -tinuing development of the library's collections.Government officers concerned with the university'sfinancial provision frequently have only a limitedunderstanding of university problems and an evensmaller knowledge of the characteristics and needs ofits library services. It is important that from theoutset a clear pattern of realistic expenditure on thebook collections he established, and that an awareness exists that this is an expensive and on-goingrequirement which will not cease by the mereacquisition of a certain number of volumes. Further.more the library may well find itself incapable ofspending a large grant over a short developmentperiod quite simply because it does not have staffwith the right expertise or in sufficient numbers to

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process book orders in an efficient manner. Thismay in turn give rise to an impression that thelibrary has received an over-provision of funds, witffa consequent reduction in recurrent funds. Thistends to happen just at the time when the develop-ment grant is nearly exhausted or lapses. It is there-fore important that consideration be given to theappointment of supernumerary staff to deal with theestablishment of the book collections during theearly development stages. Some care must also betaken to ensure a balance is achieved betweenrecurrent local financial resources and external non-recurrent book development grants.

Some agencies prefer not to entrust the expendi-ture of grants for book collections to the institutionbut require the submission of lists by the library tothe grantaiding authority. The authority then vetsthe request before purchase and supply of the booksis made. From its point of view this has the advant-age of enabling it to continue its assessment of thetype of need that exists and of ensuring thatextravagances are eliminated. However the libraryusually experiences very considerable delays before itreceives the books through these channels, and thesemay be urgently required. For this reason it mayhave to purchase items from its limited budget whichit would have preferred to allocate to the development grant. This may also result in aid grants lyingunused because of the difficulty of delaying orders sothat lists can be cumulated to the size required bythe aiding authority. It is not always appreciated bythe authority that local expertise as to requirementsexists and not infrequently a library spends con-siderable time and limited staff resources in preparingfor submission to an agency a list of items which thenis rejected by the agency's own expert on the groundsof unsuitability, based upon an inaccurate assessmentnfthat lihrary's need. Sometimes, too, funds unavoid-ably only become available to a project at ehnrtnotice and must be spent within a very limitedperiod. This can put great stress upon a library in itsearly development when it is struggling with a

limited number of staff to cope with the day to dayoperation of its routines. When money is short this isboth tantalising and frustrating. Generous as agencieshave been, it is sad that the effectiveness of theirgenerosity has been reduced either because of inflexi-ble rules or because of preconceived ideas of need;there have been occasions when the most beneficialarea for assistance has been that specifically excluded.

Associated with the physical development ofthe library is the provision of trained library staff.At the time most university libraries are establishedin the developing countries there is a dearth ofsuitably qualified local personnel. Again the agenciesproviding external assistance have assisted by financ-ing and recruiting staff with considerable experience.

Without this assistance development would certainlyhe slow. But, as with the planning of the buildings,this may result in the establishment of a service thatis alien to local need and unreasonably sophisticated.Tice dilemma facing libraries in this situation is howto reconcile the technical advances in library organisation and management. which are the outcome of anestablished library service, with the characteristics ofa society having a large but unskilled available labourforce. The demands of that society may require theconscious development of a library service based on atraditionally manual operation, but which willbecome rapidly outmoded as developmen t proceeds.Also the university library may be required to under.take roles and activities that would not be required ofit elsewhere. Such factors may not be appreciated orsympathetically acknowledged by the temporaryexpatriate personnel. Another aspect of the sameproblem is the inevitable short term commitment ofsuch staff: no agency is likely to prolong itssponsorship and funding of personnel beyond thecomparatively short term of Its involvement in theproject. Apart from discouraging the effective orientation of the expatriate into the local needs this mayalso not be in the best interests of the library'sdevelopment: stability of library policy and itsconsistent implementation are essential for theestablishment of an effective service. This can onlybe achieved by continuity. It is unfortunate that it isprecisely at a time when continuity is of suchimportance that dependence upon short termappointeei is so great.

Linked with the provision of expatriate pro.fessional staff during the early phases of the library'sdevelopment is the provision by agencies of fundsfor the training of local staff to meet the long termneeds. In the past this has most frequently been doneby making available bursaries to enable locallyrecruited staff to attend courses of training at

established centres outside their own country. Increasingly has conic acceptance of the view that it is

preferable that the basic' training be provided locallyand that opportunities also he provided for advancedstudy outside the country after this. It has beenrecognised that there is likely to be a closer relationship between the training acquired and the ads andoutlook of the particular country if this is themethod adopted. Agencies have shown sympathywith this and have been willing to assist in theprovision of suitably qualified expatriates to operatethe local training centre. But here too there is theconflict between the availability of suitably experi-enced and qualified teaching staff and the desirabilityof having such staff correctly oriented. The produc-tion of locally trained professional staff, capable ofdeveloping and operating the services in a directionthat is totally in terms of the real needs of the

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country and the institution, will only be achievedwhen the alien elements arc diminished and whenthe locally oriented teacher is himself influencing thedirection of the training of the professional staff.

Many of the points raised here are inevitably inconflict and it is difficult to see how the dissidentfactors can best be reconciled The establishment ofthese services with the assistance of external orgamsations and alien personnel is inevitably a compromise.it is important however that it be recognised by allthe parties concerned that there is bound to bewastage of both manpower and finance during thetotal development period. It must also be acknowlodged that included m this development concept isthe emergence and establishment of the locallyoriented system with probable abandonment of theearly alien ideas which were imported as a foundationbase, and without which a start could not have beenmade.

THE SUPPLY OF MICROFILM AND PHOTOCOPIESFOR OVERSEAS LIBRARIESFrom an early stage in its history the IUC providedservices in support of the libraries of its associateduniversities. The Carnegie Corporation of New Yorkinitially helped to make this possible by financingthe appointment of Dr. Richard Offer. EmeritusLibrarian of the University of Leeds. lie institutedarrangements whereby articles required for researchwere located. permission for copying obtained andthe copy despatched promptly by air. With the helpof the University of London Library in particular,many hundreds of microfilms were supplied, thushelping to offset the difficulty often faced byacademic staff in overseas universities through limitedaccess to backruns of periodicals.

In 1971, however, the operation was discon-tinued partly because possible a:%,:tlia;i:u lauv-ments were available and partly because the IUCwished to introduce new services in support oflibrary development, particularly by helping in thetraining of locallyborn library staff front the overseasuniversities.

Negotiations have, however, recently been heldrviti the Lending_ Division of the British Library atBoston Spa. as a result of which arrangements havebeen introduced which will enable the libraries ofIUC associated universities overseas to benefit fromthe unrivalled services of that Library. The cost ofproviding photocopies to the IUC associated univer-sities will be borne by the IUC to an agreed financiallimit annually. In this way it is honed to helpacademic staff overseas in their research while at thesame time avoiding any difficulties over paymentwhich might otherwise arise through the operation ofexchange control regulations.

The University of Mauritius Library:its Development and Evolution

Jean de Chantal

Although the University of Mauritius was created in1965 and effective work started only in July 1968(the UniNersity of Mauritius At was proclaimed in19,1 ). it library can he said to he very much older.in fact. it dates hack to 1925, the year of theinauguration of the old College of Agriculture.around which the present University was to grow andwhich it was eNentually to ah,orb. Its collections inthe lids! of agrkulture are therefore especially rich.In 1962. the libraries of the Department of Agricul-tine. Also located in Reduit.I and of the Collegewere merged. They were to form the nucleus of thepresent University Library.

In 1968 the Library moved a first time into asmall building 12.200 square feet) donated byBarclay's Bank D..O. (as it was then known) tomark the accession of Mauritius to Independence, itwas destined to be used eventually as a studenti'union. Realising the amplitude ()I' the task at hand,the Government of Mauritius appealed to theCanadian International Development Agency forassistance in obtaining the services of a LibraryAdviser to help in the reorganisation of the collec-tions, in developing them in line with the demands tohe made by the three Schools (Administration,Agriculture and Industrial Technology), and to trainthe staff who would take over at the end of his stayin Mauritius. in March 1974. It might he appropriateto mention here a few highlights in the developmentand evolution of this Library.

On taking up his post in July 1970 the LibraryAdviser. without wishing to use the new broom'approach too much. attended to such housekeepingchores as getting the four catalogue drawers to openand close without too much of a physical strain (awood rasp file did the job). removing the signinginregister (an anachronism in a twentieth centurylibrary. the sole purpose of which was to compileyearly statistics on library use), and weeding the'current' periodicals racks of yearold materials.

There were close on 12.500 books, includingbound periodicals, in the Barclay's building and manymore were left behind in the College of Agricultureand in the loft of the Naval Museum in Mahebourg,25 miles away, for lack of space. The School ofAdministration was installed with its own sectionallibrary a few miles away in Rose Hill, while theCentre d'Administration des Entreprises with itscollection of books in French on business administra-tion was ensconced in the former residence of a

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GovernorGeneral's equerry, near Lc Reduit's en-trance. All these sections would eventually have to beweeded and merged into a cohesive whole if thetransformation to a modern university library wereto be achieved.

A new building had to be contemplated. Itsdesign was entrusted to the firm of Norman andDawharn, well known throughout Africa for themany academic buildings which bear their trademark. The building, its shelving and card cataloguecabinets were financed by the Overseas DevelopmentAdministration. Construction was just getting underway in July 1970, when I arrived; it was to be10,200 square feet, nearly five times the size of theBarclays building, enough to accommodate 50,000volumes, and to last (it was hoped) a minimum offive years. Space for 75 readers was provided.

The priority job at hand during constructionwas to try to put some order in the existing collec-tions: the catalogue was not up to the standards of auniversity library, however small it might be; theinventory of periodicals on hand was in a lamentablestate. and so was the order of serials themselves onthe shelves. At a time like this, one reflects on thesimilarity that exists between such a situation andthat of a city planner: how much more pleasurableit would be to work a la Niemeyer in Brasilia, thanto have to demolish in order to reconstruct.

A close examination of the card cataloguerevealed that it would have to be done over again.The Library Committee approved the idea of adopt-ing. in the process, the Library of Congress classification scheme and the dictionary catalogue: two firstsfor Mauritius. In addition to this, and in preparation'for the final move into the new building, theperiodical collection was arranged in strict alphabeticalorder of title, a new inventory on Kardex wasstarted and orders for the purchase of Library ofCongress catalogue cards were placed. Moving alibrary is in itself a sufficiently traumatic experiencefor any librarian: transferring a disorganised collection of books from one building to another wasunthinkable. Hence the impression given that theLibrary Adviser, during his first twelve months or soin Mauritius, was doing nothing but moving bundlesof books from one shelf to another, without accom-plishing very much that was tangible in the process.

During this time. one of the Divisional Librarieswas itself getting ready to move to the campus: theSchool of Administration was occupying its new

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University of Mauritius campus. The library is the nearly square building in the centre of the picture.

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quarters in which a imall room was set aside to beused as a temporary library until the new building inturn was ready for occupancy. As M day approached.it was decided to take the opportunity of the moveto disinfect all the books which were to come into thenew building. This meant organising a move.within-a-move. to a vacuum fumigation chamber which hadbeen graciously placed at our disposal by theTobacco Board of Mauritius. A simple exercise initself. were it not for the fact that the Board'swarehouse was ilve miles distant and the movecoincided with the rainy season. This detour provedeventually to he a blessing in disguise for although thenew building was finished and ready for occupancythe shelving had not arrived from overseas. All thatwas left to do was to empty the old shelves of theircontent and place the books in numbered boxes.dismantle the shelves and set them up again in thenew building during which time the books were beingdisinfected in Port Louis. A wonderful exercise forPERT. but it went off quite smoothly. somehow,And the aroma of tobacco was unmistakable! Libraryservice resumed in the new building after beingsuspended for only ten days. There only remainedthe setting up of the new shelves which finallyarrived a month later.

The availability of textbooks in Mauritiusleaves very much to be desired and the question ofsetting up a university bookshop was studied, withthe collaboration of the British Council, whichinvited the Book Development Council's BooksellerOfficer to visit Mauritius. However, without dismiss-ing entirely this possibility. the University felt itought to devote all its resources at this time to thedeveloping of its Library.

But organising a university library involves alot more than moving books around and installingshelving.. What about the readers, academics andstudents, and their problems, budgetary appropria-tions of a scale never before contemplated, recruit-ment and training of personnel to handle the extraload of work engendered by better library service,developing and completing existing collections?2 Thekey to success in this phase of a library's develop-ment rests squarely with the university's administra-tion: without a thorough understanding 'from above'of the problems at this important stage, no librariancan achieve much. And here. I must pay tribute tothe frank collaboration given by Dr. P.O. Wiehe, whorecently stepped down as ViceChancellor. Withouthis unstinting support. there wouldn't be a universitylibrary in Mauritius today.

After the achievement of a good start byOctober 1971 the two divisional collections wereintegrated with the main one attention could nowbe devoted to other pressing matters. The Librarywas granted United Nations depository status for

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Mauritius and was chosen as a 'selective depository'for the receipt of official publications issued by theGovernment of Canada. It was also designated bylaws to receive on automatic distribution one copyof each publication edited in Mauritius, with theexception of newspapers. serials and official docu-ments which are not covered by the Act. TheUniversity Library thus joins the National Archivesand the Mauritius Institute as one of the three legaldepositories in the Island. (The Act also provides fora copy of the same publications to be deposited inthe British Museum, la Bibliotheque Nationale inParis. and the Library of Congress).

Attention was then turned to the Library staffwith a view to improving their status and obtainingbetter recognition for their performance. A paperseeking academic recognition for professional libra-rians in respect of salary, conditions of service andotlier entitlements has been prepared for the con-sideration of Senate and Council. Job descriptionswere prepared for semiprofessional library tech-nicians, binders, pressmen and microfilm cameraoperators.

During this time, the University's developmentcontinued unabated and at an accelerated rate, tosuch a degree that the Library building which hadbeen thought adequate for a minimum of five yearswas barely able to accommodate all those wishing tomake use of its facilities; requests for lengthening thehours from 9 a.m. to 6 by one hour at each end ofthe day are on the agenda of the next LibraryCommittee meeting. Consideration therefore had tobe given to the question of planning the extensionright away. A request for funding was approved andevery indication points to the European Develop-ment Fund assisting the Government of Mauritius inproviding financial backing for -the new wing, thebrief for which has already been submitted to thearchitects: its total capacity will then become 150,000volumes.

A third problem, although not immediatelyrelated to the University Library, has nonethelessfar-reaching implications for the future: the educationand training of Mauritain librarians, of whom only ahandful in the whole Island can boast of having hadany professional training. The Ministry of Education,concerned at this state of affairs, requested theUniversity to look into the possibility of launching aone-year part-time certificate course for librarytechnicians, and there is a good.. chance of thisproject seeing the light of day in the not too distantfuture. Exciting possibilities exist, due to the English-French bilingual nature of Mauritius, for ,eventuallymaking these facilities available to candidates comingfrom neighbouring Reunion Island and even theSeychelles, both of which are totally lacking inlibrary training facilities.

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HM The Queen, escorted by Mt, Jean de Chantal, Canadian Library Adviser, during a visit to the library on the occasion of theInauguration of the University of Mauritius, 24 Match 1972

In Mauritius, where libraries are few and nottoo well developed or staffed, With some of themeither in their dormant or infant stages, the UniversityLibrary considers it as part of its responsibility andfunction to extend its facilities to those in industry,commerce and government who require specializedmaterials to support their activities. For some time

I'Le RCduie is the name of a nearby beautiful residencesurrounded by magnificent gardens, started by David (1746-1753), the second Governor of Ile deFrance: it wasoriginally destined to be used as a "retreat" for women andchildren in case of an invasion by the English. It continues,to this day, to be used as the Governor General's residence.

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to come, it will be seen that the University Librarywill be called upon to play an increasingly importantrole, not only in supporting local librarians inproviding better services to the community, but incontributing to the economic development of thecountry itself,

2 Most of these topics appeared on the agenda of the secondmeeting of the Standing Conference of African UniversityLibraries, Eastern Area tSCAULEA). which was hosted bythe University of Mauritius in April 1973.

3The Archives (Amendment) Act, 1973. (Act no. 3 of1973).

Trinidad's University Library

Alma Jordan

The University Library at St Augustine has a

comparatively long and unusual history Over 70years ago it began as a special library serving theImperial Department of Agriculture for the WestIndies which was established in Barbados. When thisdepartment was merged voth a new college ofTropical Agriculture in Trinidad in 1921 its librarywas transferred to the College A 40-y ear periodfollowed during which the library developed a tinecollection to meet the needs of the Imperial Collegeof Tropical Agriculture in Trinidad. In 1960 whenthis College in turn was merged with the Universityof the West Indies. the library embarked on a thirdphase in its history. Its emergency as a universitylibrary catering to the teaching and research needs ofa full programme at undergraduate and graduatelevels climaxed in the occupat, m of the new JohnF. Kennedy building is October 1969. The iormalopening of the new library on January 30th. 1970by the Chancellor KRAL Princess Alice, Countess ofAthlone officially marked the beginning of a newera in library service to the university community atSt. Augustine.

The building is one of eight comprising theJohn F. Kennedy college of Arts and Science a

gift of the Trinidad and Tobago Government to theUniversity of the West Indies made possible under theterms of assistance by the U.S. Government towardsmajor projects in Trinidad arranged in the revisionof the Anglo-American Agreement. Planning for thedevelopment of a College of Arts and Science andthe new buildings to accommodate it began in early1961. A full programme statement for the librarywas prepared in July 1962. In November of thatyear the architectural firm of Dellinuth, Obata &Kassabaum Inc. of St. Louis, Missouri was awardedthe design contract by the U.S. Government and thefirst sketches were drawn shortly thereafter. The finalplans were approved late in 1964 and tenders wereinvited. The contract was finally awarded to TomPhilip Construction Company and work on the sitebegan in November 1965. The foundation stone forall the buildings was laid by the Chancellor onJanuary 31st, 1966. Originally scheduled for com-pletion in 1967, construction was delayed for severalmonths when the original contract had to be with-drawn. Work was resumed in 1968 by the firmGeorge Wimpey & Company and the other buildingswere completed by the end of the year.

The library was the last building to be takenforward by the new contractors and it was com-pleted and occupied in September 1969 immediately

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Prior to the beginning of the new academic year. Thelime lapse between early planning and completion ofthe building was such that several new developmentsarose during construction and the Governmentapproved plans for an extension of the first floor toaccommodate sonic of these developments. Thedesign of the master plan for the college buildingscentres on the library as the physical and intellectualheart of the campus. Flanked by the Auditorium onthe west and the Faculty of Arts Building on thecast, the library has an attractive 4-storey exterior.

The building has a total floor area of 47,664square feet on the modular plan with 21,000 linearfeet of shelving and a 150,000 volume capacity.Over 9.000 square feet are devoted to staff workareas mainly on the first floorProvision has beenmade for vertical expansion by the addition of 2storeys. Present holdings are equivalent to over100,000 volumes and annual additions amount tosonic 10,000 volumes. Over 400 seats are provided instudy carrels and informal reading areas. Separaterooms are available for typing and the reading ofmicroform materials. Informal reading areas areemphasized by bright-coloured area rugs and loungechairs. They take full advantage of the views of thenorthern range of mountains and add to the generalfeeling of spaciousness.

The building is equipped with full environ-mental controls to protect the collections. Thesesafeguards include air-conditioning to regulate tem-perature and humidity as well as light control toguard against fading.

The walls are of concrete stock with a naturalgrey finish which contrasts effectively ;:itlz mahoganyframed windows. Dark brown cork panels coverinterior perimeter walls for additional temperatureand humidity control.

The collection is divided into three broadsubject divisions each housed on one of the upperfloors. In this arrangement members of the staff andstudents are able to consult all the material pertinentto their special subjects in one place. A professionallibrarian works on each floor to offer referenceservice.

The University Library is the most importantintellectual resources of the academic community. Itscollection aims at presenting the heritage of scholarlythought in all its richness. The library's major goal isto offer specialized materials and services to theuniversity community of specialists. The new JFKbuilding admirably provides the physical facilities forthis service.

The Library, St. Augustine Campus. University of the West Indies.

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Interior, showing one of the informal reading areas.

Exterior at sunset.

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Security Problems of University Libraries in NigeriaR. C. Nwamefor

Higher education is relatively new in Nigeria, andmost of her universities are under twenty years old.'Because of this tender age and for other historicaland economic reasons, her university libraries are stilla long way from attaining minimum standards ofadequacy in their resources.

The American Library Association recommendsthat a minimum of 51: of an institution's recurrentbudget should be spent on its library and more if thecollection is deficient or if there is a rapid expansionin student population or course offering.2 An actualinvestigation into the expenditure of a large group ofAmerican university libraries for 1958 59 shows thatthe above percentage was in excess of the actualmedian which for this group averaged 3.72. InGreat Britain, it came to 3.2(1, in the six largestuniversities' (excluding Oxford, Cambridge andLondon) and to 4.5(% in the six smallest ones.

Resources available fur university education inNigeria are, of course. greatly limited in comparisonwith those in Great Britain or the United States. It istherefore felt, in some responsible Nigerian universitycircles, that each university library in Nigeria has, ofnecessity, to he reasonably selfsufficient, since oursdoes not possess the library infrastructure of adeveloped country and therefore needs much morethan just 4 or 5 percent of the annual recurrentbudget.' There are no developed public or specialisedlibrary systems to supplement university collections.Instead, it is even expected that Nigerian universitylibraries should take it as part of their responsibilitiesand functions to extend their facilities to those whorequire specialised material in industry and high leveladministration. Nor are these university librariesrichly endowed; for apart from the Henry Carrcollection at lbadan ,4 the Nnamdi Atikiwe collectionat Nsukka and a more recent Joint UniversityCouncil book programme at Nsukka and Benin, thereis scarcely anything in the Nigerian university scenethat is comparable to famous collections donated toBritish and American universities. Most libraryacquisitions in our home universities are, therefore,purchased from the lean library quota in theuniversities' annual budget.

To secure what has been thus painfully acquiredhas not been easy. Indeed, the real anguish in build.ing up library collections in Nigerian universities is thefact that more and inure library materials appear tobe finding their way into students' lockers and bookshelves in their halls of residence. For example, atNsukka which was adversely affected by the civilwar, the number of library books lost during the

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righting is staggering. This has much limited thenumber of hooks available to each undergraduatewho because of indigency cannot afford to buypersonal books in the face of his other innumerablewants. While Nsukka groans under the weight of itsprized war losses, racking its head on how to spanthe arrears of three years of publishing, with foreignexchange control that even affected book purchaseby universities, its undergraduates devise variousingenious means of building up their individualholdings from the already much depleted generalstock. This trend is as true of Nsukka as it is of eventhose universities that did not see the war.

In the early years of higher education in thiscountry, strict security of library stock was notconsidered such an indispensable factor. This wasbecause most librarians would rather help thansupervise those who use their buildings; they have nodesire to act as police officers and are eager to makecontrols as inconspicuous as possible if they cannotbe totally eliminated.s Unfortunately, as studentsgrow increasingly serious and need less supervisionwithin the building, they seem to be tempted moreand more to appropriate library materials extralegally: the problem is particularly serious in the caseof such reserved books as Africana.

The University College, lbadan, which blazedthe trail among Nigerian universities, started onsound English traditions. At Ibadan, library security,in the sense of a gateman to ensure that what booksindividual staff and students took out of the librarywere indeed officially borrowed, was up to 1964considered a vulgarity that should not be associatedwith university gentlemen. But one who knew thesestudents rather intimately during those years wouldeasily testify that in at least this sense of illegalremoval of library books and journals, a goodnumber of U.C.I. undergraduates were culprits. Itused to be a very rewarding library exercise in thosedays to comb students' rooms in the halls of residenceafter the sessional exams, year after year. When theintroduction of regular checking was mooted andreemphasised at lbadan, the idea was greeted withextreme caution and a lot of reluctance; but theincreasing annual losses as borne out by statistics,clearly indicated that a nonimplementation of sucha policy was a mere postponement of an evil day.By now, the seriousness of the problem has eventually forced Ibadan to join in a strict search of readersas they leave the portals of her library, w that whatwas by 1964/65 a courteous spying oo gentlemenhas now matured into a rigid and meticulous search.

A University of Lagos feature, named 'AConscience Exhibition' was recently reported inone of our weeklies.' Its purpose, according to theorganisers, was to display, for general notice, readers'misuse of the university library. Apart from 50 booksand journals defaced, soiled or mutilated by unknownstudents there were also on display a list 489 hooksthat had been stolen from the library. The or-ganisers tried a categorisation of the stolen books inan attempt to indicate degrees of participation bythe various faculties an angle that is not foolproofin a university with the 'Course System'. Also ondisplay was a list of some 25 books stolen or displacedin the exhibition. Two known methods by whichbooks were stolen from the library arc by throwingthem down through the tiny windows (made particularly tiny to prevent this from happening) and bygetting 'pregnant'. Female students allegedly fill uptheir skirts and blouses, wrappers or slacks withstolen books, while male students load up theirtrousers, shirts and 'agbada' dresses with text'aooks.Some sketches put up at the same exhibition showedjust how some of these dodges were organised.According to a statement credited to the LagosUniversity Librarian, about 0.6% of library books getstolen from his library annually, but as he alsoremarked. it' even only one hook is removed dishonestly from the library, yearly, without replace-ment, the library will one day become empty.

The frequency of this drift and more especiallythe quality of what is lost, clearly indicates theseriousness of the situation and appears to necessitatemost of the means that could he adopted as a check.Ibadan prevaricated for long, trying to see how toget the unborrowed library materials from her ladiesand gentlemen without introducing the unpleasantness that obviously goes with searching. This was anexpensive delay, which many of the new universitiesmay not be able to afford. Added to this is the effectof the generation gap on the attitude of theNigerian undergraduate. In the 1970's he has becomeinure Machiavellian, more materialistic. Unlike his1940 compatriot, what matters most to him is whatdegree he takes out of the university; the ethical sideof his education could he thought about later! Thelibrarians at Nsukka decided on early checkingwhich. right away, was both regular and thorough.There is, by now, scarcely any Nigerian universitylibrary that has not followed suit.. And until recently,this has paid a lot of dividends, judging from aperiodic check on the reports of the security men.The Lagos University case file, for example, showsthat three students, from the Political Science department in 1967, the Education department in 1971,and the Humanities in 1972, have so far beenapprehended for stealing library books.

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For quite some time now, it has become sadlyobvious that even with this thorough searching atlibrary entrances, many unborrowed materials havestill found their way into students rooms. Althoughthe effectiveness of the searching has been promotedby limiting the number of exit gates, this 'prisoneffect' must be kept within bounds if only to ensureadequate library ventilation in a tropical climate,At Nsukka, there is the added problem of a slow rateof postwar rehabilitation of the library for over twoyears, which for tong left the openings without theburglarproof netting that could prevent a knownpractice of helping certain books to fly out throughthe windows. There is also, currently, amongNsukka librarians, talk of a clever device employedby a few hardened students to beat the librarysecurity men at the entrance, According to aninformant, all the offending student needs as his clueis to borrow one book through the normal procedure,After this, he can, be detaching the 'date due slip'from this first book and sticking it, one at a time, onto other unborrowed books from the library openstacks, take away as many books as he could beforethe expiry date on the 'date due slip'. These dis-honest students _hatched the plan from' a carefulobservation of the security men, which revealed thatthe security men, by and large, depended on the'date due slip' in deciding between what is properlyborrowed and what is not,

What to do about these lost books had proveda recurring dilemma to Nsukka librarians. An import-ant factor here is that unless some sharp jolt is givento these students, this dangerous drift would continueand may even gain momentum. In order to combatthis drift, it was eventually decided to conduct asurprise search of students' halls of residence forunborrowed library materials, The ideal would havebeen to search all the hostels, but in view of theshortage ,..4 library manpower, the secrecy the opera-tion required and the need to go through the hostelsat the same time if the search was to be effective, itboiled down to a sample search of only three studenthostels randomly selected but still so scattered as toensure that the impact of the exercise was felt byall the students. Each searching team was made up oflibrary staff (these were in the majority) universitysecurity men and a few carpenters. The cooperationof the Hall Counsellors (staff advisers to hall resideng),and student hall leaders, as well as that of key univer-sity officers connected with the plan was obtained.The operation started around 1 p.m., simultaneouslyin the selected Nsukka hostels and in all the halls atEnugu Campus, and lasted, at Nsukka, until around3 p.m. From our observation, most of the studentsare in their rooms by 1 p.m. and there are nolectures, practicals, or games till well after 3 p.m.

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We had to choose such a tune since part of ourstrategy for a successful operation was not to sendany advance notices that would arouse anxiety.

The search went on at the same time in everyfloor of every hostel involved. The effectiveness of theUniversity Librarians's brief to his staff to becourteous during the operation and the impressivecooperation of the student hall leaders were bothborne out by the fact that during the search therewas no ugly incident. When a count of what wererecovered was taken. it was discovered that a total ofnot less than 120 library hooks were so recovered atNsukka. Linugu yielded 33. Of these. twenty.oncshowed clear evidence of theft: forty books althoughillegally removed from the library: were still keptintact by the offending students: over twenty belongto other libraries and thcse have been alreadycontacted: and the rest were long overdue books.Perhaps. more rewarding than the actual volumesrecovered was the effect of the search on the under.graduates. generally. A good number of unborrowedbooks found their way into the bathrooms in thehalls of residence and some were also seen at oddcorners here and there in the campus. These are nowback in the University library. The search alsotriggered off a wave in the return of overdue booksand more prompt attitude to overdue notices.

The 'hawks' among Nsukka librarians are ad.vocating that the scope of this surprise search shouldbe extended to he such that every hall is hit a number

of times over a given period. They do not agree againthat it is any longer in the best interests of theirprofession for their entire time to be concentrated onthe traditional demands of librarianship to the totalexclusion of this serious challenge; instead, they ,

argue. a balance should be struck in the time thatshould go to both of these important though cornpeting demands.

References

i Only the University College, tbadan (University of lbadanfrom 1962) founded in 1948. is in fact up to 20 years old.

=Standards for Collage Libraries, College and ResearchLibraries v.20 no. 4 (July 1959) p.275.

31badan. University. Institute of Librarianship Standards ofpractice for West African Libraries: proceedings of t seminarhild at the Institute. 13-16 April. 1967 ed. by John Dean.lbadan (The Institute( 1969 p.43 (OniOrisan I .

4The University College, lbadan, started with 10,000 volumesinherited from the Yuba Higher College; it acquired another10,000 from the Dyke Collection and 7,000 from theBritish Council. The Henry Carr, Library of 18,000 volumes,especially with its prized Africana, is so far, its greatestsingle endowment.

s Metcalf. Keyes D: Planning academic end research librarybuildings. New York, McGraw-Hill, 1965, p.75.

'Student-looters hit the library, Lagos Weekend. March 3,1972, p.4.

The Standing Conference of African UniversityLibraries -"SCAUL"

Rita Pankhurst

The idea of a permanent association of headlibrarians of African Universities is more than nineyears old. It resulted from the Leverhulme Inter-Universities Conference on the Needs and Problemsof University Librarians in Tropical Africa, held inSalisbury. Rhodesia from September 14 to 25,1969. Representatives of twenty-one universities andcolleges ware able to sit down and talk together forthe first time. An impressive list of resolutions wasdrawn up, dealing with the status and responsibilitiesof the University Library Committee, universitylibrary buildings, the education and training oflibrarians, library statistics arid library cooperation,especially among African universities. The Conferenceappointed a Standing Continuation Committee topublish a Newsletter and to meet at intervals to

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consider matters relating to university library develop-ment in Africa, including wais in which UniversityLibrarians may be kept in touch with one another.

The SCAUL Newsletter appeared more or lessannually until 1971. It provided valuable informationon developments in Africa not only for UniversityLibrarians in Africa, but for interested persons andinstitutions in other continents. Subjects dealt withincluded news; library education and training; librarylegislation; budgets; salaries and status of librarians;technical services; resources and bibliography forAfrican studies; library binderies, printing and photo-graphic units, and personal news about librarians.

The Continuation Committee was not so suc-cessful, however, in finding sponsors for a continent-wide inaugural meeting, let alone for the biannual

meetings envisaged in 1964. The first opportunity fora meeting of SCAUL members was during the Inter-national Conference on African Bibliography held atthe University College of Nairobi in 1967. It wasdecided to elect a new committee and to publish inthe SC4111. Newsletter a questionnaire concerningthe membership, the role and the finances of SCAUL.

Electing a new committee by ballot vote tookten months: to obtain 23 out of a possible 28answers to the questionnaire took a year. Even-tually the new committee was mandated to continueto operate SCAUL as a consultative body of chieflibrarians and to try to extend membership morewidely in Africa. The Committee first met in 1969by courtesy of the Commonwealth Foundationwhich sponsored a conference of librarians fromCommonwealth Universities in Africa at the Univer-sity of Zambia in Lusaka from 25 to 28 August. Thetwo non-Commonwealth SCAUL Committee mem-bers attended the Conference as observers.

The important decision was made to abandonthe ambition of continent-wide meetings and insteadto organise most activities of SCAUL around AreaOrganisations, each with considerable autonomy.Each area was to elect one representative to theCentral Committee, on which would sit in additionex officio, and elected for five year terms, theEditor of the Newsletter and the Secretary/convener

the second part of whose title was an expression ofhope for a prosperous future. The Committee waskept small so that business could be conducted bypost between a few points on the continent: additionalliaison was to be provided by the Newsletter, whoseeditor was to receive Cl per member from areamembership fees. The other pan of such fees was tobe paid directly to the conveners of the next areameetings.

Membership of SCAUL was to be free but toentitle members to no privileges. Area membership onthe other hand was to entail membership fees, to befixed by each area internally. Paid-up area memberswere to receive the Newsletter, and were to beentftisti to attend conferences and receive_copies ofProceedings and information circulars. Another deci-sion opened membership of SCAUL to chieflibrarians of universities eligible for membership ofthe Association of African Universities. It was thuspossible to offer membership to universities north ofthe Sahara.

The aims of SCAUL were defined as:I. To keep members informed of each other's

activities and. wherever possible, to correlatesuch activities in the interest of all, and

2. To support and develop university library servicesin the areas covered by SCAUL.

The structure and aims agreed at Lusaka weresubsequently approved by all eighteen respondents to

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a second postal ballot, which once again took manymonths.

As the seven representatives of universitylibraries in Eastern Africa present at Lusaka hadshown enthusiasm about the idea of area organisa-tions, they took the opportunity to convene' apreliminary meeting of what was later to becomeSCAULEastern Area. The inaugural meeting tookplace in Addis Ababa at Haile Sellassie I Universityfrom 10 to 13 February 1971. In attendance weredelegates representing the University Libraries ofEthiopia, Kenya, Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland,Madagasear, Malawi, Mauritius, Tanzania, Ugandaand Zambia.

The Conference heard and discussed papers onnational and regional bibliography in Eastern Africa,the exchange of publications within the area, theacquisition of African government publications, classification and cataloguing of Africana, and educationfor librarianship in Eastern Africa. Resolutionwereaddressed to Universities and Governments in thearea, as well as to the Organisation of African Unity,A regional constitution was adopted and a chairmanwas elected to serve for the next two meetings and torepresent SCAULEA on the Central SCAUL Com-mittee.

The Proceedings. were published in 1971, withassistance from the Ford Foundation, which alsocontributed towards conference expenses; copieswere distributed free of charge to members and otherinterested parties.

The second meeting of SCAULEA was held atthe University of Mauritius from April I I to 14,1973, with assistance from the Canadian Interna-tional Development Research Center, the Common-wealth Foundation and the French Agence de Co-operation Culturelle et Technique. The Conferencewas again an intimate one with only eleven parti-cipants, seven external observers and four localobservers. It was a disappointment that neitherRwanda nor Burundi, whose university librarianshad expressed a wish to join, were represented. Inother respectshoweverthe com_pact nature of themeeting made discussion both practical and fruitful.

The years between the conferences had seenrapid growth in Eastern African University Libraries,Papers discussed relatively sophisticated library topicssuch as the relationship of documentation services tolibraries, or research in library management andservices. The need for a regional post-graduate schoolof librarianship, first defined at Addis Ababa in1971, was strongly felt and it was decided to seekassistance for the establishment of such a school,

The third meeting is to take place in Dar-es-Salaam in 1975.

Meanwhile, on the western side of the Con-tinent, the Librarian of Lagos University, a SCAUL

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The John F. Kennedy Library. Haile Sellassie I University host to the inaugural conference ofSCAULEA

Central Committee member who had attended theAddis Ababa meeting as an observer: held a postalballot to establish agreement about a western areaorganisation. Ile then convened the inaugural meet-ing of SCAULWA in Lagos. from 4 to 8 April1972, with the assistaiKe of the Federal Governmentof Nigeria. through the UNESCO International Book

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Year Committee, the University of Lagos, theCommonwealth Foundation and the British Council.

The Conference brought together fourteenuniversity librarians from Cameroon, Ghana, Liberia,Nigeria. Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. Papers wereread and resolutions passed on the development ofnational bibliographic control, library cooperation,

organisation of materials for research, and trainingfacilities for library personnel. A forwardlookingposition was taken on the need for an active role forlibrarians in collecting, transcribing and documentingAfrican oral traditions.

In its turn SCAULWA approved an area con-stitution, as well as a draft constitution for the

parent body, which was subsequently approved bypostal ballot by thirty-two universities. The nextmeeting was arranged to take place at the Universityof Dakar, Senegal in April 1974.

So far SCAUL has had only informal :inkswith other institutions and associations, but it hopesto develop formal links in the future. The Associationof African Universities has taken an interest in allSCAUL activities, At meetings here has been regularrepresentation from African library schools and thefollowing bodies, among others, have sent observersto area k.onferences. the International Federation ofLibrary Associations, the InterUniversity Councilfor Higher Education Overseas. the Library of Con-gress, the Organisation of African Unity, the StandingConference of National and University Libraries, theStanding Conference on library Materials on Africa,and the United Nations Economic Commission forAfrica.

The recently approved SCAUL Constitutioninovides for associate membership to be accorded toother university libraries on application to the

Central Committee. One American university libraryhas already applied. To date SCAUL has thirty-seven members in thirty Afncan countries, two ofwhich Egypt and Libya are north of the Sahara.

It may be said that SCAUL is fulfilling its aimsof inter-library communication and cooperation withsome success. Though the writer does not -subscribeto the view that it is only the informal aspects ofconferences which are of any value. Ow fact that ineach area most university librarians know each otheris of great help in eliciting prompt responses torequests for material and information. Exchanges ofpublications have improved but exchanges of staffhave not so- far- been -undertaken-largely_b_e_cause_thetraining is still in process in many of the youngerinstitutions. Many ideas have been exchanged, especi-ally on the role of the library and the librarian inuniversity planning and in the area of budgetstrategy. No single spectacular venture can so fa, beattributed to SCAUL or to its area organisations, butits philosophy has been exemplified by its attitude toAfrican bibliography. Rather than press, at this

stage, for a computerised continent-wide bibliographiccentre, it was felt that firm foundations should firstbe laid in each individual country. The results of suchlocal bibliographic work could then be exchanged,each country contributing activity in its own territorywhere there is easier access and control.

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The difficulties facing SCAUL will be familiarto other organisations attempting to span the Africancontinent. There is the necessary exclusion of import-ant institutions whose parent institutions are for thetime being not eligible for membership of theAssociation of African Universities. There is-the,perhaps equally temporary. communications problemon a continent where surface mail can take sixmonths to a year to cross from East to West, whereeven air mail takes weeks, and where distance dis-courages travel. There are language barriers which arelikely to grow as a greater number of local languagesbecome official in various countries.

Over all looms the financial problem. A news-sheet can be published fairly cheaply and can be paidfor by subscriptions, many of which can be expectedfrom Africanist libraries abroad: postage and theclerical expenses of the organisation's secretary canbe borne in turn by the more prosperous universities;some universities have the funds and the broad-mindedness to pay or supplement the expenses oftheir members attending conferences.

For the newer and poorer institutions this isnot always feasible: a few thousand pounds will beneeded to cover transport and other costs of theseparticipants as well as conference expenses, especiallythe publication of the Proceedings. If only a fewinstitutions are represented, discussions become un-representative and meaningless, and decisions arrivedat may not be generally implemented.

So far funds have been gathered on an ad hocbasis by appealing to various donors. If SCAUL andsimilar associations are to survive they must haveregular sources of funds so that they can meet atintervals of a few years, if not more frequently. Nodoubt the Association of African Universities hasgiven this matter some thought. A percentage levyon all university budgets for professional gatheringsmay be an answer..

For the time being one may say, with apologiesto Polonius, that it is advisable to operate regionally,relying on a continent-wide news-sheet for regularinformationA_vety__small_centraLliaison_ organ,__empowered to make decisions without interminableballot reference to the entire membership, would bemqre effective than a larger, more representative,committee. Small interested groups should meet atregular but infrequent intervals. English-speakinguniversity personnel should be encouraged to learnenough French to be able to understand a Frenchspeaker and vice-versa, thus saving the expense andennui of simultaneous translation.

SCAUL has been lucky in finding funds for itsregional meetings. It remains to be seen whether itsluck will hold. If it will not, only more university self-reliance offers an alternative for SCAUL and otherorganisations of a similar nature.

Materials for African Studies: theContribution of SCOLMA

Patricia M. Lathy

During 1961 the Royal Institute of InternationalAffairs was the scene of a number of meetings bylibrarians and other interested persons concernedwith the problems of supply of research materialsfrom African countries ss Inch were achieving independeuce from colonial rule. Western students werebeginning to slims an increasing interest in develop.nients in ness African ountries and, in consequence,there %%as a rising demand for access to govenunentdmuments and similar materials published in these

mint ries.Indigenous publishing in Africa has never been

large and, apart from South Africa and the newerpublishing industries 6f Nigeria and Kenya. is stilllargely confined to the official publications issuedby government departments and, to a lesser extent,by universities and research organisations. In 1961however, the acquisition of research materials pub.fished in Africa and acquired by British libraries wasso limited as to he a cause for serious concern. Asurvey which had been carried out several monthspreviously by Miss O.M. Berne showed that acquisinon of such material was patchy and in soniccategories, such as newspapers, material was acquiredand often discarded. without reference to holdingselsewhere, Sonic countries' output appeared to beacquired by no library in Britain at all.

This was a disquieting situation for the

librarians who knew that the demand for suchmaterials was increasing and that the difficulties ofacquisition were not easily to be overcome. Govern.mots . in colonial territories which had formerlypresented copies of their official material to certainlibraries began. on independence, to withdraw thesefacilities. and the absence of adequate bibliographiesand bookshops in Africa was a IiiirliiiidgfiriCiatiOn7

In an effort to find a solution to these problemsit was decided to form a small working party whichwould investigate further and suggest ways in whichmeasures could he taken to deal with them. The resultwas the formation. of the Standing Conference onLibrary Materials on Africa in 1962 which began itstask by asking its member libraries to define theiracquisitions policios regarding African materials, seek.ing cooperation in the acquisition of expensive serialpublications. developing arrangements with librariansor individuals in Africa prepared to assist withobtaining materials leading to the production of ajoint_ acquisitions list.

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In 1963, SCOLMA, as the group becameknown. was awarded E2,500 by the LeverhulmeTrust. the first of a number of grants from varioussources, to further work on African bibliography.This money was used to employ a part-time biblio-grapher, Mrs. Miriam Alman, whose first task was toupdate and continue the work of Miss Berne. Mrs.Milian began by compiling a list of African publishedperiodicals and circulating it to libraries asking themto indicate any titles which were held. On the basis ofreplies received it was possible to show the coverageof African journals in Britain, to identify gaps and toask libraries to consider filling the more important,

This was a beginning of SCOLMA's biblio-graphical activity. In 1963 a Directory of librariesand special collections on Africa was compiled byRobert Collison, a work which has proved its valueover the years and which in 1973 was published inits 3rd edition. Another useful compilation was thework which became known as United Kingdompublications and theses on Africa. Originating fromTheses on Africa accepted by universities in theUnited Kingdom published in 1964, U.K. pubs., as itis known among SCOLMA members, has continuedto record current British writing on Africa includingnot only books but also journal articles and referencesto Africa in Hansard.' The latest issue to appearcovers 1967/68 and a further volume covering1969/70 will shortly go to press. At the time ofwriting the future of U.K. pubs. is uncertain and thepreparation of future volumes has been suspendedwhile an assessment- is made of its use.

SCOLMA's journal, Library materials on Africa,began publication in 1962 shortly after the groupwas formed, to act as a link between members and toreport the activities of the Committee. Publishedthree times a year it was a vehicle for reporting oncurrent African bibliography, summarising news itemsfrom journals published in Africa, recording acquisi-tions of African periodicals by member libraries andpublishing articles on the problems of acquisitionand bibliography of African material.

SCOLMA's publications are issued to membersfree of charge and among the more recent areDebates of African legislatures, compiled by MiriamAlman which is a union list of holdings in Britishlibraries, African newspapers on microfilm, compiledby Malcolm KcKee, and John Ndegwa's Printing andpublishing in Kenya, an M.A. dissertation for the

University of London which provides a useful surveyof the growth of the two industries in one Africancountry.

Currently in preparation are two works onAfrican periodicals. The lists of African periodicalscompiled by Mrs. Al Man were issued as supplementsto Library' materials on Africa between 1965 and1970. It has now been decided to update these andamalgamate them into one comprehensive list,arranged according to country, listing so far as

possible all periodicals published, past and present,and giving locations in British libraries. This mammothtask has been undertaken by Carole Travis of theInstitute of Commonwealth Studies and is nownearing completion. It is envisaged that the finishedwork will total more than 14,000 titles.

Also to be published shortly is Victor Parry'sList of African periodicals held in the library of theBritish Museum (Natural History) which will supple-ment the larger work being prepared by Mrs. Travis.

SCOLMA's work has not been entirely in thefield of bibliographical publications however. Itsmajor preoccupation continues to be the problem ofacquisition and this is still as difficult of solution asever even taking into account the growth of com-mercial publishers and bookshops in many Africancountries. Indigenous writing is still not plentiful in-spite of the work in promoting African authorship bysuch organisations as the East African LiteratureBureau and the growth of the so called 'marketliterature' in Onitsha, Nigeria. Government printerscontinue as the largest producers of printed materialin most African countries though in none of them isthe government printer the sole producer of allofficial material. An account of the difficulties whichcan he experienced in acquiring official documentswas given by Hans Lass to the meeting of theStanding Conference of African University Librarians(SCAUL) in Addis Ababa in February 197E' Manybooksellers are unwilling to involve themselves in theexpense and time required to service export ordersand even less to publicise current local publications.NationaTbibliographies do not exist in many countriesand, where they do, they often appear only annuallyor less frequently so that their usefulness as a sourcefor current book selection is negligible. There areexceptions of course, Nigeria's national bibliographyis issued quarterly and so is South Africa's: butMalawi's appears only annually and Tanzania's, aftera good start, has become progressively more andmore behind while Kenya, one of the most pro-sperous of developing African countries has none atall. Librarians are left to rely upon accessions listsfrom African libraries the contents of which areusually more up to date and therefore of moreimmediate value than the national bibliographies.The acquisitions of African materials has never been

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an easy task for the librarian but the situation isshowing faint signs of improvement.

In 1963 SCOLMA embarked on a pilot schemeof cooperative purchase of current materials with theassistance of Mrs. Margaret Amosu, a librarian on thestaff of the Ibadan University Library. As the libraryat that time was responsible for the compilation ofNigerian publications, the national bibliography, andthe University Bookshop was prepared to service theorders, it was felt that the scheme had a strong basefrom which to opciate. The British end was handledby Mrs. Minn who made selection of material onbehalf of participating libraries from lists submittedby Mrs, Amostb Inevitably there were difficulties andby I 966 these had become so great that the schemewas abandoned. High postage rates, service chargesparticularly on gratis or low priced publications,delays in receiving the selection lists and payments toNigeria all contributed to the final decision to

discontinue.But by 1965 SCOLMA was ready to try

another scheme. An analysis of the replies receivedfrom the various surveys of holdings during theprevious few years showed that British libraries weretending to acquire much of the same material andthat some types of material and the output ofcertain countries were not being acquired at all. Inorder to rationalise purchases of African publicationsit was proposed by SCOLMA's Committee thatmember libraries should each accept responsibilityfor one or more African countries and seek toacquire their publications as comprehensively aspossible. This would ensure some coverage of allAfrican countries and would enable each library tobuild up contacts with libraries and booksellers andallow its staff' to specialise to' some extent in thebibliography of the country: Naturally, it was

recognised that some libraries would not be able todevote much time or resources to their specialityand an effort was made to ensure that small librarieswere offered 'small' countnes for their speciality.Advantage was also taken of some libraries whooffered to specialise in certain subjects, e.g, 'Africantrade unions' at Nuffield College, Oxford. By 1969sufficient progress with the cooperative specialisationscheme had been made for SCOLMA to organise aone day conference at the University of Birminghamto discuss the progress of the scheme and the pro-blems which had been encountered. The papers andproceedings of the conference were edited by ValerieBloomfield and were published by Inter Documenta-tion Company later the same year, forming a usefulrecord of acquisitions policies and problems ofAfrican research materials.

SCOLMA has always been interested in thework of other organisations and individuals con-cerned with Afncan acquisitions and bibliography.

It organises regular seminars which provide a meansof discussing relevant problems and the opportunityto hear guest speakers. , In 1967 several of itsmembers attended the International Conference onAfrican Bibliography in Nairobi and from time totime it has been represented at meetings of theStanding Conference of African University LibrariansIn 1967 it participated in discussions on the prepara-tion of a thesaurus of African tribe and languagenames. It also maintains regular links with theAfrican Studies Association Library and ArchivesCommittee of the United States and the AfricanStudies Association of the United Kingdom (ASAUK).In fact cooperation with ASAUK culminated in1973 with the two organisations agreeing to mergetheir two journals into a single title African researchand documentation which. it is hoped, will combinethe best features of Library materials on Africa andthe Bulletin of ASAUK and offer information oncurrent bibliography and documentation to African-ists and keep the librarians up to date on Africanistresearch.

SCOLMA'S current membership i! slightly inexcess, of 100 full and associate members who pay anannual subscription of £5.00 for which they receivethe journal and all publications. Recently a categoryof personal membership has been introduced costinghalf the full membership rate which offers thejournal and attendance at SCOLMA seminars andother meetings. New members, of course, are wel-come and'SCOLMA hopes to continue its work ofproducing bibliographies and other publications with-in its subject field. Suggestions for such works willbe considered by the Committee for future publica-tions programmes. Also, looking to the future,SCOLMA is exploring, with the ASAUK, the possi-

bility of starting a cooperative microfilm project inBritain on the lines of a similar scheme in theUnited States. The aim of such a project would be tomicrofilm scarce or out of print material not easilyavailable in British libraries either directly for sale tomember libraries or for housing in a Centre where itwould be available for consultation or loan. Mean-while SCOLMA continues to hold seminars-whereAfrican bibliographical and acquisitions problems canbe discussed and to publish such works as are of useand importance to those working in the field ofAfrican studies.

ReferenceI Lass, Hans. Acquisition of African government publications,in Standing Conference of African University Librarians.Eastern Area Conference. Proceedings. Addis Ababa, SCAUL,1971.

SCOLMA Publications1. Theses on Africa accepted by universities in the

United Kingdom and Ireland. Frank Cass, 1964.

2. U.K. publications and theses on Africa, 1963,Frank Cass.

U.K. publications and theses on Africa, 1964.Frank Cass.

U.K. publications and theses on Africa, 1965.Frank Cass.

U.K. publications and theses on Africa, 1966.Frank Cass.

U.K. publications and theses on Africa, 1967/68.Frank Cass.

3. Conference on the Acquisition of Material fromAfrica, University of Birmingham, 1969. Pro-ceedings, edited by Valerie Bloomfield. Zug, InterDocumentation Company, 1969.

1UC SECONDMENT SCHEMESThe overseas universities in developing countrieswhich are in association with the Inter-UniversityCouncil for Higher Education Overseas are still mostanxious to secure experienced staff from Britishuniversities-and polytechnics for periods of 2-4years.

In recent years such staff have shown increasingand understandable reluctance to take up appoint-ments overseas if this meant severing their linkswith their employer in Britain. The IUC has forsome time been conscious of this difficulty and hasbeen seeking ways of increasing the flow of experi-enced British staff holding established posts in thiscountry into appointments in overseas universities'associated with the IUC.

The IUC has now announced details of twos'new kinds of arrangements to help in securing

experienced British staff to go overseai.

28

First, it is offering Secondment Grants toBritish universities and polytechnics willing to releasean established member of staff to serve in an IUC-approved post overseas for two academic years ormore, and to re-absorbhim at the end of his overseasservice. For each year of an approved absence, theIUC will make a payment to the home university orpolytechnic.

Secondly, the IUC can now offer Tenure PostSupport Grunts. These are intended to apply where aBritish university (or polytechnic) department is

asked to help in filling a key post overseas in anIUC - associated university and is prepared, in anticipa-tion of a future vacancy, to recruit an extra per-manent staff member. The IUC will make an annualpayment over a four-year period provided that thedepartment concerned releases a staff member ormembers for, IUC approved service in an associateduniversity over the same aggregate period.

British Book Aid for Overseas Universities1

D. J. COlihole

The scholar's need for books is very early as old asscholarship itself and certainly as ti as universities.Chaucer's famous 'Clerk of Oxenford's' collection of'twenty books clad in blak or reed' seems modest bypresentday standards but today's students 'faceexactly the same problem: how to get access to thevast and daily increasing store of human knowledgeand experience recorded in print.

Some students start with advantages. Fromtheir earliest childhood they have had access tobooks in their own homes, in school libraries andthrough a public library service reaching out into thesmallest towns and villages. Once at the universitythey may find in their college and university librariesthe accumulated wealth of hundreds of years ofscholarly book collecting. These are the lucky ones,but they are very much in the minority. What isBritain doing to help the less fortunate in developingcountries who have few or none of these advantages?

The Overseas Development Ministry has a pro.gramme of book aid, of which the following elementsare relevant here: the Public Library DevelopmentScheme: the Book Presentation Programme; theLowPriced Books Scheme and the oddly namedBookseller Officer. All these schemes are administeredfor ODM by the British Council.

At first sight the relevance of a Public LibraryDevelopment Scheme to university book needs maynot be immediately obvious, yet the value of a goodpublic library service to the educational system inany country is incalculable. Without it the base forall other kinds of library provision is lacking. The.oldest example of Britiih aid to public librarydevelopment is to be seen in the Caribbean. In 1948the British Council appointed a Director and for thenext ten years provided funds for the creation of aPublic Library Service, in partnership with the

_ Jamaican, Government. Twentyone years later the

service was entirely self.supporting, with a proles.sional Staff of Jamaican librarians and could boast inits commemorative publication of a stock of 581,406volumes, made available to its membership of 296,485readers through 13 Parish Libraries, 46 BranchLibraries, 139 Book Centres, and 64 Book-mobilestops. In addition it maintained a School LibraryService, circulating 257,694 books to 791 schools.So from small acorns mighty oaks do grow.

Since 1959 the British Council, administeringfunds to assist in the development of librarysystems in developing Commonwealth countries. hashelped to bring to birth national library services inSierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Malawi,

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Botswana and Swaziland; to develop and extendlibrary services in Nigeria and Malaysia; and tointroduce effective library services to Fiji, theSolomon Islands and the Seychelles. Assistance isnow being given to projects in Malta, Swazilandand Zambia, while proposals from other countriesare being actively considered.

All this represents an investment by Britainsince 1959 of just under LI million in public librarydevelopment schemes, most of which are nowentirely under local management and locally financed.This aid can take several forms: the provision offunds for capital expenditure on buildings, equip-ment, mobile libraries and book stock; the provisionof expatriate experts to guide the initial planningand development during the first formative years;and the training of indigenous library staff to carryon when the service is well established. But there isone constant and invariable requirement: the recipi-ent government must undertake to meet the necessaryrecurrent costs of whatever schemes are to besupported,

The Books Presentation Programme was intro-duced in June 1971 and is designed, as its name sug-gests, to make available British books and periodicalsto educational institutions in developing countriesable to establish both their need and their ability toput the material to effective use. All applications forpresentations have to be submitted to the BritishCouncil in London by the appropriate British CouncilRepresentative, British High Commission or Embassy.or the IUC. A Books Coordinating Committee (onwhich are represented the British CounCil. the Depart-ment of Education and Science, for FOreign andCommonwealth Office, the Inter-University Council,the Overseas Development Ministry and the Councilfor Technical Education and Training for OverseasCountries)- guides the operation of-the-programmeand examines proposals. .

While the programme is flexible and has beenable to meet a wide variety of needs, priority isgiven to projects which support educational develop-ment, particularly in universities, technical education,teacher training and curriculum development andother training and research institutions, especially inthose where British experts and advisers are at work.So far universities have had the lion's share of thefunds available (38% during the period January toDecember 1972 during which time 289 projects in61 countries were approved by the Co-ordinatingCommittee to a total value of just under £300,000).

It is difficult from among so many to single outindividual examples to show how the programmeworks. Many of the IUC associated universities ofAfrica have been notable beneficiaries including .

universities in Malawi. Ghana. Nigeria, Sierra Leone,the Sudan, Tanzania, Botswana, Lesotho and Swazi-land. Sonic have been reinforced, with hooks alone,others with books and periodicals. Periodicals pre-sentations can consist of subscriptions to currentissues for a maximum of two years, or back runs oflearned journals, the latter not normally extendingback for longer than ten years, or five years in thecase of medicine.

Not all presentations go to Commonwealthcountries, though in view of their greater use ofbooks in English these have so far predominated.Universities in Brazil, Colombia and other LatinAmerican countries have received presentations andso have others in Francophone Africa, in Indonesia,Nepal and Thailand. In an effort to ensure that allrecipients get the publications they really need, theselction of titles for presentation (within the termsapproved by the Co-ordinating Committee) is leftlargely to the institutions concerned, with biblio-graphical assistance from U.K. advisers if required.The scheme is a continuing one for which ODMmade £375,000 available in 1973/74. Its value isprobably greatest where local lack of sterling preventsthe purchase of British publications or whereurgently needed libraries are being expanded withvery inadequate funds.

Some readers of OVERSEAS UNIVERSITIESmay remember from an article on the British Low-Priced Books Scheme in the July 1969 issue that theinitials ELBS stand for English Language BookSociety. or alternatively now, for Educational Low-Priced Books Series. These initials are well known tostudents in the 74 countries to which the books havebeen made available, since they often make possiblethe purchase of recommended or prescribed textbooks which would otherwise be far too expensivefor them.

That is thevalivvieobject-4 the scheme: tohelp students (mostly at the tertiary level) indeveloping countries to buy their own individualcopies of the British textbooks they need for theirstudies. All books published under the ELBS imprintare complete and unabridged, and include all thediagrams and illustrations of the standard editions,but with the help of a subsidy paid to the publishersthey are sold at approximately one-third of theordinary published price.

Statistics can make dull reading but in thiscase they show the scope and growth of the scheme.Since the first book was published in 1961, 612titles have appeared in ELBS editions and of these459 are now in print. Over 11 million copies have

30

been printed and sales to date exceed 914. million.The latter figure is particularly significant. Studentsthe world over will only buy books if they reallywant them and these books are selling now at therate of 11/4 million copies a year. The Scheme hascost the British government over £2 million so farand the ODM made available £465,000 for it in1973/74.

Recommendations of titles for inclusion in thisscheme are received from many sources, includingoverseas educational authorities and individual academics, ODM and British Council advisers, and pub-Ushers. Assessments on these titles are then obtainedfrom specialists both in Britain and in developingcoun tries.

The selection of titles for publication in ELBSeditions is in the hands of an Advisory Committee ofexperts under the Chairmanship of Sit ArthurNorrington, formerly President of Trinity College,Oxford and before that Secretary to the Delegates ofOxford University Press. In response to demand thebooks cover a wide range of subjects, with particularemphasis on science, engineering, mathematics, medi-cine and on titles which assist in the learning andteaching of the English language. While many longestablished titles are included in the list, and indeedcontinue to be bestsellers, newer titles are being addedall the time and out-of-date titles dropped. TheAdvisory Committee welcomes suggestions fromacademics in developing countries for titles theywould like to see included in the scheme. Since itwas originally launched for the benefit of students inthe Indian SubContinent the Scheme has steadilyincreased its geographical coverage, first into SouthEast Asia, then into Africa and in 1972 and 1973 tothe South Pacific .and the West Indies, In almostevery case these extensions have been made inresponse to specific requests from the countriesthemselves, anxious to secure for their students accessto this range of cheap but at the same time valuabletextbooks.

ELBS editions are produced by their originalpublishers and sold by them through-all-the normaltrade channels, which of course include universitybookshops. Since more and more universities areopening bookshops, and because it is obviouslydesirable that they should operate as efficiently aspossible in order to provide an effective service tothe university (and often to the general public aswell) ODM and the Book Development Councilestablished in 1969 the post of Bookseller Officer,funded jointly in the proportion of 75% to 25%.

In response to requests passed through theBritish Council or the IUC the Bookseller Officer,Mr. Robert Martin, undertakes assignments (usuallyof about three months duration) at campus book-shops, advising on their organisation, financing and

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management. and carrying out onthespot training oftheir personnel 1k can pay brief advisory visits.when these can be conveniently fitted into hisprogramme. to universities contemplating the esta.blishment of new bookshops land 'advice not to openat all can on occasion be as constructive as detailedrecommendations on the capital, accommodationand staff required to start a new bookshop). Inaddition. Mr. Martin runs instructional k,ourses forbooksellers in the private sector in whose hands, in agreat many countries. the main business of bookdistribution hes (These can he undertaken either inconjunction with, or sepaiatel from.. a universityassignment). So far. Mr. Martin has carried outadvisory and training assignments as universities in14 countries in Asia and Africa. For three successiveyears he has run a monthlong series of residentialcourses for booksellers based on the University ofIhadan and has organised evening'courses. again forpublic and private sector booksellers, in KualaLumpur. Singapore, Nairobi. Kisumu, Mombasa. NewDelhi and Bombay. Requests for return visits show

that his services have been warmly appreciated.Mr. Martin was the Deputy Director of the BritishCouncil's Courses for overseas booksellers held inLondon in 1970 and 1972 and will be the Directorof the 1974 course.

Each of these schemes contributes in its ownway to make more books more readily available towould-be readers: by helping to create effectivelibrary services essential to educational developmentat every level and without which literacy campaignsare useless; by presenting books and periodicals tothe libraries of institutions which need and are ableto use them; by subsidising textbooks known to bewidely used in developing countries for sale at aprice students can afford to pay and by helping toimprove the local distribution of indigenous andimported books. Perhaps a small contribution in faceof the overwhelming world hunger for books, butwho can assess the long term result of putting even asingle book into the hands of a gifted teacher,surgeon or research worker?

University Bookselling in Nigeria: a briefcomparison with the United KingdomD. C. Kemp

Whereas Britain has had 700 years to develop itsuniversities to its present state, Nigeria's oldestuniversity, that of Ihadan: celebrated its 25th anni-versary in 1973. (Special postage stamps were issuedby the Nigerian Post Office in November to mark theevent). Until 1962. Ihadan was the only university inNigeria Today universities exist at Benin, Ibadan,lie: Lagos; Nsukka and Zaria, with branch campusesat Calibar. Enugu. Ihadan (IN branch) and Jos. Theswift flowing river of events has speeded Nigeria'sprogres. to becoming a modern and fully developed

--,sate -ot 411etwentieth century, Rapii developmentand fast growth have taken place amongst alleducational institutions, more especially universities,and notwithstanding the fact that nothing like thefunds available in the United Kingdom can be con-jured up by the Nigerian government, the decade hasseen the establishment of several large and flounshinguniversities.

By comparison with the United Kingdom, theuniversities are fortunate in that land, at the moment,is cheap and readily available. This had led to theestablishment of the very large campus and in thecase of the leading University, has produced acampus of city proportions. The University oflbadan covers an area of several square miles and

32

houses within it, not only lecture rooms and ad-ministrative buildings, but also a whole complex ofhalls of residence, hospital, theatre, staff recreationand union buildings together with large housing areasfor.both senior and junior staff. Population statisticsare rather vague but it has been estimated that atleast 25,000 people live on the campus. This patternis repeated on a smaller scale throughout all theuniversities in the Federation.

The effects on the Bookshop of this self-containment arc considerable. Unlike university book-shops in the-United Kingdom,- all-the bookshops in-the universities of Nigeria are owned by the univet-sities themselves. They are part of the establishmenteven though they may be operating as limitedcompanies. They are answerable only to their univer-sity and in the case of the limited companies, theuniversities are the only shareholders. This has

resulted in each bookshop being purpose-built toserve the university concerned. It has meant that anopportunity has arisen for bookshops worthy oftheir universities to be established in proper pre-mises. This is certainly an odd contrast with some ofthe makeshift premises provided in the UnitedKingdom.

The nature of the Nigerian climate has caused

open space pit:nines to be provided for most book.shops. A judicious use 01 natural light has producedspacious and pleasing buildings. Due to importrestrictions, nearly all furniture is now locally made;timber is still fairly cheap and the standard ofcraftsmanship very high. Consequently bookshopfittings are increasingly being tailor -made on site.

Most university bookshops are meeting placesfor the whole community. The bookshop serves as acentre at which people can arrange to meet. passthe time of day and, in passing, perhaps even buy abook! If the bookshop intends to remain an interest-ing focal point. its stocks will have to reflect veryclosely the needs of the community, not only fromthe studen ts' point of view, but for everyone from theprofessor to domestic worker. Consequently, whilstthere is a predominance of educational texts. a spacehas to be found for childrens' books, light-heartedfiction and general reading.

With students' fees running at £200 a year,with very few scholarships being available, moststudents depend on family support to pay their way.The per capita income of the country is less than£40 per annum. Consequently. apart from thosewho conic from the elite homes, most students havea continual struggle whilst they are at university.Vacation work is non.existent and the student isconfronted each term with the most appalling sumsof money to find. This fact alone highlights the greatdifference between the student's purchasing power inNigeria compared with his comparatively wealthybrother in the United Kingdom. Since he representsone out of 40,000 of the population, he is veryfortunate even to have gained a place to university atall. Entry competition is very fierce.

One good thing that results from this fiercecompetition is that the student is, by and large,intensely enthusiastic, He is determined to graduateand his keenness makes him obtain his books themore readily. A survey carried out at Ibadan in 1971showed that the average student spent £26 a year on_his books,__toughly double the average of the Britishstudent.

The Nigerian student is avidly interested inworld affairs and to support this interest, he islikely to buy many books in this field, quite apartfrom those covering the actual discipline that he isstudying. It should not be thought, however, that theNigerian student is all work and no play. He reads asmany of the latest paperback novels as his Britishcounterpart. To cater for his tastes in this direction,the university bookshop must also see that a sectionsimilar to any British 'W.H. Smiths' is found.

The staff of Nigerian universities come frommany nations and, whilst an increasing number arenow indigenous, there is still a fairly large expatriatepopulation on the staff. This results in a greater

33

cross.section of literary tastes than would be foundin Britain. There is no doubt that this mixture hasresulted in a healthy flow of ideas, giving the

Nigerian student a better chance for world under.standing than might be found within the reach of theBritish student. The expatriate staff, in particular,are continually changing, which, whilst it is good forthe bringing in of new ideas, can create problems forthe Bookshop. The buyer is quite likely to havebought 100 copies of a book recommended byMr. 'X' of America, in April, to find that bySeptember, Mr. 'Y' of Ceylon has taken his placeand requires a completely different set of textsanyway.

Universities in Nigeria are often receiving overseas delegations, individuals or parties of people withinterests as far apart, for example, as those ofprofessors of linguistics from German universitiesfrom those of Japanese oil men; from those ofyoung, keen Americans seeking 'Nigerian culture' tothose of afforestation experts. Nearly all of thesevisit the University Bookshop, seeking not onlybooks on their special subject as applicable toNigeria, but also background reading on the countryitself, its anthropology, historx.or botany.

There are very many bookshops in Nigeria butmost of them are of the .proprietor/one assistanttype and they cover the primary education field.Perhaps a dozen other bookshops serving the wholeof the educational field exist and in certain instancesthese have grown up into large organisations, but inthe main the bookshops established on the universitycampus are the only places where the student andstaff of the university can hope fa find the booksneeded. By contrast with the United Kingdom,selling opposition, with more bookshops chasingbusiness than exists, has not yet appeared. Theuniversity bookseller can, with confidence,' gauge hismarket. This enables him not only to purchase therecommended texts but, if he is venturesome, toanticipate or influence people's reading habits. Competition from other forms of recreation is nut sogreat. Television li war -avaltablcinathateds ofNigeria. nor is there the continuous availability offilms and theatres. Much more reading is done andthe book is given a higher place in society than in theUnited Kingdom,

The Booksellers' Association of the UnitedKingdom issues, from time to time, a table showingspeed of deliveries from publishers. These range fromthree days for quick service, with slow publisherstaking 21 days or more. Normally parcels fromEurope to Nigeria come by sea and deliveries takeanything from five to ten weeks. For books from theUnited States, the time can be counted in as manymonths. The Nigerian bookseller has one advantageover his British counterpart; he cannot altogether be

blamed for slow delivery. He is not expected to makefrantic telephone calk and his neighbouring bookshopis not likely to heat him to it. This does not mean,however, that buyers can be diffident; indeed, inorder to keep stocks up to date, they have toanticipate far more than would a bookseller in theUnited Kingdom if their bookshop be of any realuse. Itecionmended and set texts for students have tobe ordered in Ma) for September. Christmas stockhas to be ordered some tune in August, to be surethat it reaches the market in time. It should beremembered that some 90'7( of the books sold inuniversity bookshops in Nigeria come from overseasor are of overseas origin. Of these, possibly 60% comefrom the United Kingdom. There is no doubt that,in the next few years. this situation will be changed.A handful of university books have already originatedfrom within Nigeria and an increasing number willappear within the next decade. Local stockists whonow hold predominantly primary school books areincreasing holdings of tertiary titles.

For its part the Nigerian government has. overthe years. been very cooperative with booksellers ingeneral and university booksellers in particular. Unlike so many countries, even those who are signatoriesto the UNESCO Conventions, books are admittedwithout import duty, nor do any local takes prevail,Even at the height of the Civil War, when theNigerian government was faced with the most chronicforeign exchange problems, members of the govern.nient gave every assistance to ensure that books wereimported and that payments made as speedily asforeign currency reserves allowed.

There are few restrictions on what a booksellermay import. censorship is very limited and onceagain. even during the Civil War, the most contraversial.antitovernment matter was allowed in, almostwithout let or hindrance. This attitude on the part ofthe Nigerian government has meant that the univercity bookseller has been able to place before staffand students of the university many differing pointsof view, without fear. Whilst university booksellers in

Efigiand mightthe case throughout a greater part of the world.

The procurement and training of staff foruniversity bookshops in Nigeria has, for some time,been a problem. Since no university bookshopsexisted 25 years ago and only one until 1962, staffwith experience did not exist, nor was there to befound a properly trained staff with background andexperience in any other form of bookselling. Cowsequently, completely raw and untrained staff have

34

been taken and today there are approximately 100experienced university bookselling staff, These rangefrom the Acting General Manager of a large bookshopthat has a staff of over 70 and several branches, tothe Sales Assistant of, say, one year's experience in asmaller campus bookshop.

Staff have, themselves, proved very willing tolearn and eager to serve, Through correspondencecourses, many have taken booksellers' examinations,quite a few of them obtaining distinctions in theirpapers, More formal training has been given throughaid received from the British Council, Each year ahandful of booksellers visit the United Kingdoni onBritish Council courses which have proved invaluableboth through what they have learned formally andthrough contact they have made with publishers,Since 1971, and in the ensuing years, the BritishCouncil have also held training courses at theUniversity of lbadan and invaluable work has beencarried out by Mr, R. Martin, the Bookseller Officer.These courses have not been restricted to universitybooksellers, but have been utilised by very manygeneral booksellers throughout the country. It is tobe hoped that such ventures, though costly to runeach year, will be continued, as formal training isnot yet easy to come by in the country, Greatreliance has to be placed on correspondence courseswhich have their limitations. There is need for anInstitute of Bookselling to be established in Nigeriaand there can be no doubt on the part of all thosewho run university bookshops that such an institutewould be or tremendous benefit, not only to thebookshops themselves, but as an educational aid inthe growth of the country,

University bookselling is in its infancy inNigeria but the signs are that the growth is in theright direction. The bookshops lack many of thefacilities to be found in the United Kingdom,Telephones are often out of order who would wantto ring a publisher 4,000 miles away at £1 aminute anyway? It is difficult to keep in touch withbranch shops often hundred miles away, Postal

services tend to be rather slow.Loss of items in transit causes months of delay

and much correspondence and such losses run at ahigh rate, Little or no return can be made topublishers. These, however, are really very smallitems when compared with the enthusiasm andvitality to be found amongst university bookshopsand their customers throughout the country, the likeof which is not easily found in the United Kingdom.