EDUCATING & TRAINING STUDENTS FROM DEVELOPING COUNTRIES TO USE NEW TECHNOLOGIES: The Simmons Experience

Em Claire Knowles

Graduate School of Library and Information Science
Simmons College
Boston, MA 02115, USA
E-mail: eknowles@simmons.edu

This paper focuses on the various venues in which American library education programs, particularly the Simmons LIS program, provide instruction in the use of information technology to students from developing countries. This paper presents some historical background on Simmons international experience during earlier years of the century. Then, it further discusses how Simmons has offered a tailored made program in training a group of Vietnamese students; and both formal degree work and seminars in the latest developments of technology to visiting scholars, who would return to their homes as library educators. Individual faculty members’ international efforts are also presented.   1. INTRODUCTION

As the new millennium approaches, the evolution of the library and information curricula will have a major effect in facilitating extraordinary innovations in how information is organized and accessed. Creative and advanced methods will provide leading edge curricula for training and educating disparate populations throughout the world.

The world is getting smaller. John Naisbitt refers to telecommunications in Global Paradox as "...the driving force that is simultaneously creating the huge global economy and making its parts smaller and more powerful (Naisbitt, 1994). Furthermore, he discusses the opportunities for the emergence of economic power in parts of Latin America and of Asia. He devotes significant coverage to the successful emergence of China in the information age (Naisbitt, 1994). However, observers note that Naisbitt neglects the discussion of the need for instructing people in how to use the technological future that he envisions (Pourciau, 1996). Thus, there is an important role for schools of library and information studies (LIS) to educate and train international users for the emerging changes in information gathering and handling.

At the turn of the 19th century, American LIS programs had begun to teach students in the basic technical skills of library studies. In turn, their graduates traveled abroad to disseminate, through education and training, technological ways to organize, access, retrieve, and overall, manage information. These efforts have continued ever since. More recently, various LIS programs in the US have been developed. These include both degree programs and intensive training seminars, for information professionals from developing countries.

For example, Pratt Institute, one of the oldest schools of library and information science founded in 1890, has been funded by the United States Information Agency to provide a joint collaborative program in educating and training information professionals from Morocco in the emerging field of electronic resource management since 1992. The Pratt offerings occur a few weeks in duration, and rotate between Morocco and New York. Another program that focuses on information technology curricula for the global information village is the Mortenson Center of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Both of these, however, are non-degree programs. One formal American effort occurs at the Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science for Vietnamese students from developing countries since 1993. This will be elaborated in this paper.

2. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The library and information studies program at Simmons College was founded in 1906. It was the sixth library school founded in the nation. The purpose at that time was to educate and train librarians on the basics of organization, bibliography, and library administration. The curriculum provided training in the latest technical developments to be employed in the workplace. The education provided great impetus to a number of students to make changes in libraries in the state of Massachusetts, the United States, and abroad. On the international scene, three graduates, in particular, among so many others, made significant accomplishments in establishing library studies programs in developing countries. These historical relationships have benefited Simmons College throughout the years. I shall elaborate more on these three graduates:

• Mary Elizabeth Wood graduated from Simmons College in 1919. She traveled to China to visit her missionary brother, and later established the first library school in China in 1920. For thirty years, from 1920 to 1950, the school remained the only professional library school in China, and its graduates made great contributions to Chinese libraries, library education, and to East Asian libraries in the United States. In 1950, this program merged with Wuhan University. In 1978, Wuhan University added a program in information science. Several of their faculty have completed their formal graduate training at Simmons College in the early 80s.

• Another alumna, Dorothy Williams Collings, graduated from, Simmons in 1933. She went on to complete her master’s degree in library science at Columbia University in 1940 and the doctorate at the University of Chicago in 1947. Dr. Collings worked for many years at UNESCO in Paris, and as an adjunct faculty member at both Columbia and Denver Universities. With UNESCO’s assistance, Dr. Collings organized a library school, the Department of Library Studies at the University of West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica in 1971. She served as professor and head of the department until 1974. She continued to play an active role in improving the library education until her death in 1992. Currently, various library associations provide support and collaborate with the LIS program in furthering library education in the Caribbean. British and American consultants, including Simmons faculty members, contributed suggestions for offering training in information technology (University of West Indies, 1997).

• Henrietta Karlovna Abele-Derman, a Russian immigrant, attended and completed her studies in the library school at Simmons in 1917, however, for some unexplained reason she did not formally graduate until 1936. After graduation, she worked at several American libraries such as Harvard University and the Library of Congress. Upon returning to her homeland of Latvia, Mrs. Derman helped modernize the Russian library system, in particular, the circulation procedures, arrangement of catalogs, bibliographic control of all types of resources, and championed the idea of a national library for Russia. Throughout the thirties she spoke at various international library conferences. Due to her anti-revolutionary activities, she was sent into exile and was unable to continue her library work. Nevertheless, after her death, during the 1980’s, during the period of Glasnost, she and her husband were exonerated of previous charges brought against them by the government. (Simmons Review, 1994). Simmons continue to celebrate her contributions in promoting libraries in Russia.
 
 

 These three illustrious librarians received the bachelor’s degree, which was the professional degree available at Simmons prior to the fifties. Afterwards, the master’s degree was offered as the standard degree of accomplishment for the entire profession. During the sixties, there was an information explosion in which the United States government began to support both libraries and library education. This funding helped to train more faculty in innovative ways in handling the proliferation of information. Although there was an economic downturn in the United States occurring in the seventies, strong economies around the world encouraged an increase of international students to attend both formal degree programs and seminars at Simmons and other LIS programs in the United States. Once again, Simmons was positioned in the right place to offer the advanced methods of information technology as they evolved.

During the 80s and 90s, library and information science curricula has stressed the new information technology applications in libraries. New courses such as the automated systems in cataloguing and technical services, electronic data base searching, optical technology, digital technology, and the use and applications of the Internet and World Wide Web have been introduced. Simmons, like other LIS programs in the United States, has offered this kind of training program, and many international students came to Simmons for them.

In addition to formal degree programs, many international students and visiting scholars enrolled in seminars or workshops on these subjects to complement their learning experience. Upon their return to their respective homelands, they are able to use what they learned to contribute to their workplaces.

3. SIMMONS' INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM

Our international population has grown over the years due to economic and political factors throughout the world. For example, following the Tienanmen event in 1989, Simmons as well as other higher education institutions have experienced a remarkable increase of Chinese students. Similarly, the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 prompted an increase of Russian students migrating and enrolling in graduate programs in library and information studies. These trends among others have also been reported as general patterns in other graduate programs (ALISE Statistical Reports, 1987 - 1997). Furthermore, there is additional evidence that a majority of international students have come from the continent of Asia in recent years. In the past, Asia, has "dominated the foreign student population in American LIS Schools (de Oliveira, 1990). But now new requirements for information management capabilities are emanating from the newly industrialized countries of Southeast Asia. In spite of the national debt weighing on some of them, there are dramatic technological prosperity and trade (Dosa, 1993). Simmons has been quite fortunate to receive an influx of students from some of these countries (Appendix 1 offers detailed information on the distribution of international students at Simmons).

By and large, most international students and visiting scholars want to learn more about new information technologies and their applications to library and information work. The following is a sample array of them who came to study at Simmons. Most of them have returned to their own countries, and many have become library educators:

• China, Wuhan University four library educators (1982-1985)

Institute of Science and Technology Information Center, 2 scholars (early '80)

Focused interests: information management; systems analysis,

telecommunications and networking.

• Thailand, three library educators (1989-1998)

Focused interests: the latest technologies to support their respective expertise.

• India, three Fulbright scholars (1990-1997)

Focused interests: systems development, optical technology;

and the latest developments in the use of the Internet and WWW

• Malaysia, two library educators (1993-1995)

Focused interests: Automation of archives and preservation techniques, optical technology and digital imaging.

• Russia, three IREX scholars (1994-1997)

Focused interests: development of electronic systems for public schools; use and applications of the Internet and WWW.

• China, Chinese Academy of Sciences, one visiting scholar (1995-1996)

Focused interest: web application development.

 Simmons has been fortunate to have internationally active leaders as faculty members. For example, the GSLIS Dean Emeritus Robert D. Stueart has had extensive international scholarship and expertise. The former Associate Dean and Professor, Dr. Ching-chih Chen has had over thirty years of international experience and expertise in cutting-edge technology applications. She has been a sought after international consultant by over thirty countries. She has also single-handedly organized, with her own resources, the internationally known International Conferences on New Information Technology (NIT) in almost every part of the world. Since 1987, Dr. Chen has organized ten of this kind of conferences, and we are all benefiting from the 10th NIT (NIT '98) now in Hanoi. It is fair to say that no one individual has conducted a larger-scale effort in bringing librarians and information professionals interested in information technology applications from both developing and developed countries together. The forum provides for dialogue and the inter-change of ideas has been invaluable.

Furthermore, one-third to one-half of the Simmons faculty have had ties in the international arena. In Vietnam, everyone is well aware of Prof. Patricia Oyler's effort. In short, the GSLIS at Simmons College have built and maintained a strong international program for a long time.

4. YENCHING/SIMMONS PROGRAM FOR VIETNAMESE LIBRARY PROFESSIONALS

During 1992-1996, Yenching Institute of Harvard University cooperated with the Simmons Graduate School of Library and Information Science in providing graduate level education to promising Vietnamese library professionals.

The Institute and the School negotiated the costs of educating three groups of six Vietnamese students each year over a three-year period. A primary adviser/instructor, Dr. Patricia G. Oyler, was assigned, and I as the Assistant Dean, Dr. Em Claire Knowles, also served as the School’s International Visa Signatory and the conduit for campus services for the Vietnamese student scholars. The current dean, James M. Matarazzo appointed me to substitute as the adviser during Dr. Oyler’s sabbatical in 1996.

The first group arrived in May 1993, and each subsequent May over three years. Although they had achieved the highest TOEFL scores among the Vietnamese applicants, they were given additional English training by being placed in an intensive English language program for ten weeks. By the beginning of the summer 1994, they matriculated into the LIS program. All Vietnamese scholars were enrolled in twelve semester hours of required coursework -- Organization of Knowledge in Libraries, Reference/Information Services, and Principles of Management. Depending on their specialization, each scholar enrolled in twenty four semester hours of related elective coursework. Many elected courses related to automation and new information technologies.

In addition to formal coursework, the Vietnamese scholars were provided with both curricular and co-curricular support to succeed in their academic programs. These services included additional English language, writing, and course tutoring. Students were also invited to tour public, research, corporate, and academic libraries to observe and discuss the use of various types of technologies. The Vietnamese scholars were assigned individual social contacts to complement their academic studies.

Cooperative meetings with their advisers from Simmons College and Yenching Institute were held to determine what services were needed to support the Vietnamese scholars in their studies. Over the years, discussions among the Vietnamese scholars, the advisers from Simmons College and the administrators from the Yenching Institute determined which services were needed to enhance the support for the program future years. Other discussions focused on ways for the scholars to continue learning upon returning to Vietnam. Suggestions for sustaining contact with each other consisted of setting up an electronic listserv; printing a newsletter, and/or establishing a formal library association. Ideas for further training included pursuing funding to support Western LIS instructors to offer training of new technologies, and pursuing funding to attend international conferences.

After twelve months in the United States and completing all but two academic courses, each group returned to Vietnam. The last two courses, Management and Collection Development, were taught in Vietnam by the primary academic adviser/instructor, Dr. Oyler. The instruction of the last two courses in Vietnam provided an opportunity for their studies to complement their work experiences. Many of the students were able to develop projects to benefit their workplaces.

At the end of three years, eighteen Vietnamese scholars graduated from the Simmons Graduate School of Library and Information Science. Three of the librarians excelled to the point of being invited into the International Library and Information Science Honor, Beta Phi Mu. This accomplishment was a great feat because only 25% of students in American LIS programs are invited to this society.

Currently, the majority of Vietnamese graduates hold prestigious positions utilizing the latest technology as learned in their graduate studies. It is believed that their education will continue to be valued as the need arises.

In short, this program has proven to be a very successful one, and would provide a surge of newly trained library and informational professionals to handle the growing demand for information in Vietnam. All of us at Simmons are proud to have had this involvement.

5 SUMMARY

The evolution of information technology and its applications have had a rapid effect on libraries and information centers. There is an imperative for training and education for library and information professionals to take advantage of the new information technologies for people throughout the world.

The Simmons’ experience in offering education, training, and other opportunities have benefited international students and scholars around the globe. All of these efforts have continued to keep the Simmons connection alive and valued. Positive experiences of our international students will encourage others to consider Simmons in the future. Simmons maintains respect for international scholarship, personal commitment and support, and practical involvement in the leading edge platform for teaching and training.

REFERENCES

Association for Library and Information Science Education. (1997). Library and Information Science Education Statistical Report. Arlington, VA: ALISE. pp. 73, 182-185.

de Olveira, Silas Marques. (1990). "Foreign students in American LIS schools: Historical and statistical survey," Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, 31: 33-48.

Dosa, Marta. (1993, Spring). "Recruitment of international students: Suggestions from Syracuse," Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, 34 (2): 99-112.

University of West Indies. Department of Library and Information Studies. (1997). Record of Tributes to Dr. Dorothy Collings. Mona Campus, University of West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica.

Levin, Julia. (1994). "Henrietta Derman, ‘17: Revolutionary and library pioneer," Simmons Review, p. 2.

Naisbitt, John. (1994). Global Paradox. New York: Avon Books.

Pourciau, Lester J., Ann Viles, and Elizabeth S. Keenan. (1996). "Teaching technology: A collaborative effort between A university library and the Office of Information Systems." In Proceedings of NIT ’96: The 9th International Conference on New Information Technology. Edited by Ching-chih Chen. Newton, MA: MicroUse Information. pp. 199 - 206.

Yanli, Qi. (1995, Spring). "Library and information science education in China," Journal of Education for Library & Information Science, 36 (2): 180.

Yen, Wen-Yu. (1983). "Miss Mary Elizabeth Wood and the Boxer Indemnity Fund," In A Collection of Library Science Essays by Professor Wen-Yu Yen. Taipei: Fu Sen, and Catholic University of Library Science. pp. 247 - 258.

APPENDIX 1. Number of International Students by Semester