Library-To-Library and Librarian-Academic Partnerships: The University of Malawi, The University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and Michigan State University

Abstract

Introduction University partnerships are a growing focus of African Studies programmes,2 often underpinning much project rhetoric. Yet, the vagaries of funding and administration can render projects ineffective or less effective, projects that in any case often neglect libraries. This can be a fatal flaw in project planning because libraries in the North tend to form one of the, if not the, major nerve centres of a university; never more so than today, when the physical library 'neurons' now comprise not just books and journals but a mass of hardware and software. Some administrators make the mistake of imagining 'the library' only in terms of bricks and mortar, and neglect the crucial role of libraries and librarians in identifying, acquiring, classifying and making accessible a wide range of important information resources and related services. In most African countries, neglect of libraries due to limited resources and sometimes policy has had a baneful impact. Therefore, university development projects or partnerships on Africa that neglect libraries and information services do so at their own peril. The case study experiences that I briefly outline below suggest that closer attention to the detail of partnerships and the building of new alliances, not just between librarians in the North and in Africa, but also between academics and librarians in our respective universities can help to improve the effectiveness of African partnerships. Problems of limited resources and administrative decisions can still limit their effectiveness, but such projects can offer a potentially useful way to help render disinterested assistance to libraries in Africa whilst at the same time improving the knowledge and understanding of African libraries by both librarians and academics in the North. Over the years, there have been some very useful, largely ad hoc contacts with, or assistance to, African libraries and archives. To give just three examples: by the British Library's Endangered Archives Programme, by Nordic material aid in Lusaka and Dar es Salaam, or USAID's construction of Malawi's Bunda College. Nordic grants helped improve library superstructure. Attempts to coordinate efforts over the years by INASP, the Africana Librarians Council (ALC), and Cooperative Africana Microfilm Project (CAMP) have provided some mentoring, limited book donations, useful preservation projects, and successful lobbying of publishers for better access for African libraries. More recently, there have been efforts to improve African universities' information infrastructure, for instance by the Partnership for Higher Education in Africa and UbuntuNet.3 The need for more effective partnerships has never been more urgent than in today's tight global economy that continues to hit African libraries very hard. I argue that the building of partnerships that combine focused, one-to-one links with wider coordination are one effective way modestly to help lay the foundation for improved library capacity building in Africa. The Importance of Partnerships In the early 200Os, I wrote a series of articles for African Research and Documentation and various other librarianship and African Studies journals,4 emphasising how genuine partnerships with African libraries can help improve information access in and about Africa, as well as our relations with Africans. Librarians are increasingly conscious of the need for effective cooperation, whether in organising Web resources, cooperative cataloguing, shared reference, or consortia to reduce costs and challenge the hegemony of big publishers. I wrote then that: universities and librarians increasingly perceived the benefits of eresources and were developing resources and skills, and forging new international partnerships to optimise their use. I concluded that: This trend will be facilitated by international partnerships but these need to be mutually beneficial if Africans are to benefit from sustainable long-term development. …