IntroductionWith its rich collections in agriculture, the life sciences, human development, nutrition, and many other subject areas, as well as its land-grant mission, Albert R. Mann Library at Cornell University partners with a number of organizations to provide information and services to the developing world through a variety of programs including:

•TEEAL (The Essential Electronic Agricultural Library)

•AGORA (Access to Global On-line Resources in Agriculture)

•Reference, document delivery, and instructional services to two plant breeding Ph.D. programs located in Africa:

• The African Center for Crop Improvement (ACCI) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg; and •the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI), located at the University of Ghana, Legon. 

This presentation will chart the history and growth of these partnerships, examine current services and future directions, and outline the challenges of providing information services and document delivery with international partners.

TEEAL and AGORA

TEEAL, The Essential Electronic Agricultural Library

TEEAL offers agricultural scientists in 100 low-income developing countries low cost, off-line access to full-text articles. Primary clients are universities, national agricultural research organizations and government ministries. The objective is to provide students, faculty, researchers and policymakers the kind of information they need to address important agricultural and rural development challenges in their countries.

Searchable database on networked hard-drive Over 130 agricultural journal titles from 1993-2007Offline tool (no Internet or phone line required) Use on a standalone PC or share on your local area network

AGORA, Access to Global On-line Research in Agriculture

AGORA is an on-line agricultural delivery program sponsored by FAO and Mann Library. TEEAL and AGORA work in tandem to deliver access to information in developing countries. AGORA offers access to over 1,100 journal titles.

TEEAL and AGORA are located at many universities, NGOs, and agricultural research stations throughout Africa.

ACCI & WACCI programsTrain African PhD plant breeders in Africa, working on African crops in African environments to alleviate Africa’s chronic food shortage.

Supported largely by Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), Generation Challenge, University of Ghana, University of KwaZulu-Natal, and Cornell

At both WACCI and ACCI, students complete two years of PhD study. In years 3-5, students set up a breeding program in their home countries. These are not Cornell dual-degree programs

ACCILocated at University of KwaZulu - Natal, Pietermaritz-

burg, South AfricaAdmits eight students per year; program began in 2000Has graduated 47 plant breeders who currently work in Central and East Africa

WACCI Located at the University of Ghana, East Legon, GhanaFirst cohort consists of eight students who began in January 2008Additional cohorts of eight to ten students/year will enroll at WACCI over the next five years (possibly beyond)Cornell will provide support for five years

Jaron Porciello and Camille AndrewsAlbert R. Mann Library, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853

Figure 2. Illustration of important piece of equipment, or perhaps a flow chart summarizing experimental design. Scanned, hand-drawn illustrations are usually preferable to computer-generated ones. Just bribe (cookies, whatever) an artist to help you out.

Jaron Porciello at University of Ghana, Legon

Public services during power cuts and protests

Higher Education, Libraries, & International Partnerships

“Many public research universities have begun to see their public-service missions in global terms.”- Chronicle for Higher Education, 06/29/07 and “A growing number of college leaders say they want arrangements that involve multiple departments and disciplines, square with institutional goals, and even tackle global challenges.”-Chronicle for Higher Education, 02/27/09

The 21st century marks heavy global investment in “knowledge industries worldwide, including higher education and advanced training.”-Altbach and Knight, The Internationalization of Higher Education: Motivations and Realities

Doctorate-granting universities showed clear commitments to internationalization in mission statements, strategic plans, and have full-time personnel coordinating these efforts.

“Libraries around the world will be even more interdependent and intertwined than ever before – not just with each other but with stakeholders, information providers, knowledge creators and users.” Lizabeth Wilson, Dean of University Libraries, University of Washington

Academic institutions are creating partnerships based not on proximity, but on research interests. What will libraries offer to new “partnership” patrons?

The next generation of access to information issues is likely to be centered on global information needs, and is poised to be answered by academic librarians worldwide who develop collaborative programs and services.

PartnershipsCornell provides support for these programs in partnership with a number of organizations. The international services program at Mann Library has been successful because each partner is responsible for a discrete piece. Cornell works closely with:

FAOCornell’s Center for Transnational Learningfunding partners such as the Rockefeller FoundationUniversity of Ghana librarians and IT staffUniversity of KwaZulu-Natal information specialists ITOCA, Information and Training Outreach Center in Africa GAINS, Ghana Agricultural Information Network Systemand others

Services provided

Mann Library provides a number of services to these programs, both at a distance and on site.

For AGORA and TEEAL

For the purposes of this project the main service we provide that we will discuss in detail is:

Instruction support and training (in person and distance) for TEEAL and AGORA

However, Mann also provides:

Production service for TEEAL hard drives (and earlier CD sets)Managerial, grant writing, and administrative support for AGORA and TEEAL

For WACCI and ACCI

The library provides reference services, library instruction, and resource support, including:

Annual on-site instruction on scientific writing and research, including:

TEEAL AGORAInterlibrary Loan registration Citation alert set up EndNoteOne on one consultationsTechnology training on applications like EndNote and PowerPoint

On-line self-guided modules and tutorials Literature searches and general reference assistanceInterlibrary Loan ServicesCitation alert setup and management in Cab Abstracts (agricultural database)TEEAL and AGORA support, including:

Troubleshoot and follow up on equipment or authentication issuesLiterature search reviews and refinementsProvide information about where TEEAL and AGORA might be located in a given country

The Projects

Camille Andrews created an initial set of training materials for the AGORA workshops in March 2004 based on the existing curriculum of the International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP). In 2005, she received a professional development travel award and additional funding to visit the ACCI site in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa and to co-facilitate two three-day AGORA workshop in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

ACCI Site Visit

Objectives: Provide training for the onsite PhD cohortsRaise awareness of Mann Library’s servicesDiscuss the partnership with ACCI staff, faculty and partners and the needs and possibilities for expansion

TrainingCamille provided training for the students on TEEAL, AGORA, and EndNote and created an initial marketing brochure and website for the students. She also toured the facilities, met with librarians at the University of KwaZulu-Natal to ascertain the extent of their resources and to forge connections, and liaised with the staff and faculty at ACCI to determine the existing needs of the program and encourage greater communication and collaboration.

AGORA workshops in Ethiopia Objective: To train and judge the effectiveness of the AGORA curriculum and the skill level of the workshop participants

TrainingThe training was held at the International Livestock Research Institute in Addis Ababa and Camille co-facilitated with ITOCA trainers Gracian Chimwaza, Vimbai Hungwe and Steve Glover.

Day 1: General Internet and electronic resources and open access journalsDay 2: hands-on training in computer labsDay 3: TEEAL, discussion groups on marketing & training, and related topics.

Participants included 35 Ethiopian librarians, researchers, doctors, and information technologists.

AcknowledgmentsWe thank the staff of ACCI and WACCI , Gracian Chimwaza and the staff of ITOCA, and The International Livestock Research Institute for their assistance and generosity in hosting us, and Mann Library for support. Funding for this project was provided by Cornell Transnational Learning, AGRA, the Rockefeller Foundation, and Ari and Ans van Tienhoven.

Module specifics8:00 am to 9:00 am Engaging with sources: Assessing validity9:00 am to 12:30 pm EndNoteLunch2:00 pm to 3:00 pm Writing Essentials, Part I. (with exercises)3:15 pm to 5:00 pm Writing Essentials, Part II. (with exercises)

MetricsHands-on application and in-class exercisesHomework with classroom review Peer revision One to one consultationPowerPoint presentationsThesis draftSurvey evaluations at conclusion of the course

SuccessesStudent’s alacrity for teamwork and engagementModule fluidity between scientific writing and resource/research literacyEach student has successfully requested and received at least one interlibrary loan articleE-mail communication has doubled between students and librarian

Revision and moving forwardOnsite instruction

Conduct evaluation prior to arrival on technology skill-level;Spend additional time with hands-on exercises for TEEAL and AGORA as requested by studentsTry to conduct training prior to end of first semester, also as requested by students (April, not August)

Distance services

Technology workshopsStudents identified areas where they want to receive advanced training--mostly technologyDevelop series of “facilitated workshops” for topics such as statistics and Microsoft Office

Collaboration needs:Necessary commitment from all partners and importance of agreement on missionPersistence, skill and ingenuity in dealing with challengesSupport (financial and philosophical) and sustainable, appropriate, low cost solutionsKnowledge of and sensitivity to local contextsFlexibility in dealing with the unexpected (technical difficulties, logistics, political disturbances)Communication & on-the-ground support for arrangements

Be flexible and expect the unexpected!

On-the-horizon library services from Mann Library

Citation alert delivery via mobile phone text messaging Facilitated distance learning modules on technology topics with Cornell’s Center for Transnational Learning Virtual office hours where students can consult with a librarian using chat technology and Skype

Providing reference, instruction, and document delivery to international programs

Jaron Porciello and Camille AndrewsAlbert R. Mann Library, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853

For further informationPlease contact ca92@cornell.edu or jat264@cornell.edu. More information on this and related projects can be obtained at http://mannlib.cornell.edu/instruction/acci.cfm and a link to an on-line version of the poster is available at http://www.slideshare.net/ca92/public-services-during-power-cuts-and-protests.

Challenges

Reference interview at a distanceDifficult to ascertain students’ exact needs through brief email communication Solution: ACCI reference profiles. Also use of Basecamp as course management system

Licensing and copyrightRestrictive Licensing Agreements for E-resources

Since not a dual-degree program, Cornell electronic resources unavailableSolution: use of TEEAL, AGORA, open access resources, ILLSouth Africa (and therefore ACCI) not AGORA-eligible per licensing agreementsWACCI: AGORA available campus wide but TEEAL available only in Ag Economics dept. as well as at WACCIStudents’ (and staff’s) belief that they are “shut out” from Cornell’s full library collection; different attitudes to copyright

Technical infrastructure for onsite training abroadIn some areas, good computer facilities (WACCI:15 computers with databases with offline access; University of Ghana’s ICT Centre: 3 floors of new computers )Infrastructure problems-Internet connectivity, electricity at remote sitesBandwidth: Low, slow and sporadicExpensive telecom monopolies (e.g. Ethiopia)

Marketing and Communication: Making students aware of resources available (esp. those at distant field sites)Website, brochure, e-mails, presentationsSetting expectations from partners here and at ACCI that these resources will be used

Computer literacyiSkills Resume assessment showed widely varying range of ICT skills (from those with MIS degrees to those who had learned to email in the past year in Ethiopia)Additional training needed

Consideration of language and cultural contextEnglish as a new language (especially for Francophone students)Need for culturally relevant examples and material (awareness of vocabulary and language)Culturally relevant training structure (tea breaks in Ethiopia)Context for training topics (e.g. attitudes toward copyright and licensing restrictions not the same. Also awareness of North-South inequalities)

Hebel, S. (2007) Thinking Locally, Acting Globally. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved Feb. 23, 2008 from http://chronicle.com/weekly/v53/i43/43a03801.htm.

MacMillan, M. (2005) Open résumé: Magic words for assessment. College & Research Libraries News. 66(7). Retrieved March 11, 2008 from http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/publications/crlnews/2005/julyaugust05/openresume.cfm

Wilson, L. (2008) Local to Global: The Emerging Research Library. Journal of Library Administration. 48(2): 130.

Literature cited

Altbach, P.G & Knight, J. (2007) The Internationalization of Higher Education: Motivations and Realities. Journal of Studies in International Education. 11(3/4). Retrieved Feb. 23, 2008 from http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/soe/cihe/pga/pdf/Altbach-Knight_2007.pdf.

Fischer, K. (2009) U.S. Colleges Get Serious with Partners Overseas. Retrieved on Feb. 27, 2009 from http://chronicle.com/weekly/v55/i25/25a00102.htm.

MetricsCamille observed and recorded the hands-on training and administered the ISkills Resume assessment (MacMillan, 2005) to test the participants’ knowledge after the training.

The Projects (continued)

WACCI Training

From August 9-August 23, 2008, Jaron Porciello, now the liaison to ACCI and WACCI, visited the University of Ghana, Legon site with Sarah Davidson, a Cornell doctoral student in scientific communication and researcher, to teach a library resource and technology literacy and scientific writing module.

ObjectiveProvide the first cohort of WACCI with a concrete skill-set on scientific writing, research strategies, and resource competency

TrainingSpecific topics and working sessions included:

Assessing source validityCompiling a doctorate-level literature reviewWriting exercisesTraining with specific applications including, but not limited to, TEEAL and AGORA; Endnote and PowerPoint

Module content Determined with Vern Gracen, associate director for WACCI and Professor of Plant Breeding, and Stefan Einarson, Director of IT for International Programs/College of Agriculture & Life Sciences

At the conclusion of two weeks, each student was expected to:Complete a working draft of the introduction to his or her thesis proposalIdentify several articles for their literature reviewDemonstrate the ability to develop, create and deliver a PowerPoint presentation on his or her thesis topic.

Each day was sectioned into mini-modules where students would focus on resource and research training for half of the day, and on writing and analyzing scientific articles the other half.

Trainer Vimbai Hungwe at the AGORA Workshop