International program brings library technology, skills to Iraq

DUBLIN, Ohio, USA,  9 August 2005—A collaborative project between OCLC Online Computer Library Center and the International Human Rights Law Institute of DePaul University College of Law recently brought together 12 Iraqi librarians for a training workshop on cataloging standards and technology in Amman, Jordan.

The project, "Raising the Bar: Legal Education Reform in Iraq," promotes democratic progress and economic recovery in Iraq through the support of legal educational reconstruction and reform.  One focus is on providing technical and administrative support, along with the necessary resources, to repair the damage and neglect to the country's libraries and information technology services.

Librarians from the University of Baghdad, the University of Basra and the University of Sulaimaniya met in May 2005 at the American Center for Oriental Research in Amman for an intensive mix of lecture and hands-on practice in modern cataloging procedures. 

Funded by a grant for the U.S. Agency for International Development, the project combined Iraqi librarians with instructors from the University of Pennsylvania, the American University in Cairo, Zayed University in Dubai, al-Minia University in Egypt and Arabian Advanced Systems in Dubai.

The workshop, conducted entirely in Arabic language, relied on the skills and language expertise of practicing librarians from the OCLC membership community.  The curriculum stressed using state-of-the-art technology via OCLC Connexion cataloging software, WebDewey, Library of Congress Classification Web and Cataloger's Desktop as well as printed Arabic versions of the Dewey Decimal Classification system and AACR2.

In order to maximize the hands-on instruction, the course was limited to 12 students ensuring one person to a workstation.  Arabian Advanced Systems, OCLC's partner in the Middle East, in cooperation with Dynix, supplied an instructor and a full function, Arabic version of Horizon to the project.  The curriculum was organized so that each librarian was able to catalog using standard technology from OCLC and LC and build an OPAC using Horizon.

More than 50 libraries from the Middle East currently participate in the OCLC cooperative using standard cataloging as well as other services such as FirstSearch and NetLibrary.  Several major libraries including the American University of Cairo, Al Akhawayn University in Morocco, the Lebanese American University, Bibliotek Alexandrina and the UAE University are governing members of OCLC contributing their holdings information to OCLC WorldCat.

Another OCLC workshop for Iraqi librarians sponsored by SUNY Stony Brook and the U.S. State Department is scheduled for later in August. 

More information about the International Human Rights Law Institute of DePaul University College of Law can be found at http://www.law.depaul.edu/institutes_centers/ihrli/index.asp.

About 'Raising the Bar: Legal Education Reform in Iraq'
Raising the Bar: Legal Education Reform in Iraq is a collaborative project oriented towards the broad-based reform of the Iraqi legal education system.  Through this project, the International Human Rights Law Institute of DePaul University College of Law provides guidance and support for the curricular, clinical, and structural development of three Iraqi law schools:  the University of Baghdad, the University of Basra, and the University of Sulaimaniya.  The Project is funded by a $3.8 million dollar grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

About OCLC
Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, OCLC Online Computer Library Center is a nonprofit organization that has provided computer-based cataloging, reference, resource sharing and preservation services to 53,000 libraries in 96 countries and territories. For more information, visit www.oclc.org.

Find out more about OCLC

OCLC, Dewey Decimal Classification, Dewey, WebDewey, Connexion, FirstSearch, NetLibrary and WorldCat are trademark/service marks of OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc. Third-party product, service and business names are trademarks of their respective owners.