ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

Trading places: Planning an international job exchange

By David L. McChesney

Reference Librarian University of Connecticut

Key elements in a successful job exchange overseas.

During the 1987/88 academic year, I exchanged my position as reference librarian at the University of Connecticut with Terry Hanson, a social sciences librarian at Portsmouth Polytechnic, England. I offer my personal observations on the experience and job exchanges in general, with an emphasis on the reasons for an exchange and the detailed planning necessary.

Exchanging jobs requires risk-taking by the participants. Questions relating to many issues have to be investigated and resolved. Concerns on the quality of schools for the children, employment availability for spouses, and the responses to having complete strangers use one’s house and personal property come to mind. The effect on library service and collections at the institutions involved, and the willingness of the library administrators to accept some of that risk are also issues that must be addressed.

The success of an exchange depends on careful and detailed planning. Before asking for official sanction, I’d recommend finding a specific librarian interested in an exchange and through correspondence document the commitment to the exchange; then present it to the administration. The planning for our exchange spanned two years and within this time we were able to develop a firm commitment and could resolve the problems that would have otherwise compromised the exchange. Since this was the first time anyone had exchanged in either of our libraries, we both felt committed to succeed so others could follow.

Why exchange?

What most attracted me was the challenge of changing jobs and learning new service and collection development methods. With the stagnant job market and no new members of staff, it was a way to experience the benefits of a new job and working environment. It was a chance to see how effective one could be in a professional situation in another culture. It was a chance to contribute one’s unique skills in a meaningful way to another institution. The cooperating directors helped encourage this by allowing us to contribute in our area of expertise and thereby bring benefits to the host libraries which would not have occurred without the exchange . It was also an opportunity to encourage, by example, other professionals, to exchange and share their experiences with their colleagues.

Finding a partner

It is advisable to locate an individual with a similar professional background in a desirable geographical location. Creating mailing lists from international library directories is one way to solicit interested librarians. The library administrators with whom I corresponded were more than willing to advertise my request in their library newsletter. Contacting your local, state, regional, and national library associations for a list of contacts can yield useful leads. Through the Association of College and Research Libraries, I was able to contact two librarians from Brisbane and Melbourne, Australia, who were interested in an exchange. However, due to reorganization and accommodation problems those contacts did not work out. In the Annual of Library and Book Trade Information, publishedby R.R. Bowker, I found a reference to the Bureau of International Library Staff Exchange (LIBEX), located at the College of Librarianship, Wales, United Kingdom. I submitted an application and was matched with Terry Hanson. LIBEX’s aim is to match British librarians with potential exchange partners from other countries. At this stage, it is best to describe professional qualifications in general terms to maximize the possibility of a match.

Plan to exchange for at least one year. There is a 3-4 month period where energies are spent learning the job and forming the staff relationships necessary to accomplish meaningful contributions in the remaining months of one’s stay. If the choice is for a shorter period, a specific project or task should be carefully planned for completion during the shorter length of stay. This provides exchange closure with a tangible accomplishment for the participant and the host institution.

Investigate any academic visitor programs in place at the institutions involved in the exchange. At the University of Connecticut, through its noncompensated-scholar-from-abroad program, procedures are already in place for visiting academics. Through this program my exchange partner could get his work permit, visa, and university identification arranged prior to arriving in the United States.

In tum, I received similar treatment from the Polytechnic in Portsmouth.

Finances

In recent years the Fulbright Commission, an organization dedicated to the promotion of cultural, educational, and professional exchange between the United States and other countries, has ran a program specifically for academic librarians. The award covers travel expenses (for the exchangee only) and, where appropriate, helps with living expenses. However, there are few awards each year. The Commission requires awell argued justification for the exchange detailing the reasons for doing it, the expected benefits to you and your institution, and specific research projects you intend to pursue.

As far as I know, there are no other sources of financial assistance specifically for librarian exchanges. Contacting local, regional, and national library associations for funding can be productive. For example, I received a Program for Education (PEG) grant from the Connecticut Library Association. One could also check in the Grants Register published by St. Martin’s Press (an annual), and the Annual Register of Grant Support by National Register Publishing to explore sources of funding for exchanges.

As an exchangee, there are tax advantages when one meets certain conditions and stays out of the United States for more than 365 consecutive days. Using Form 2555, Foreign Earned Income, and meeting the requirements of Revenue Ruling 72- 123,1972-2 (Internal Revenue Cumulative Bulletin, page 446), one can exclude a portion of their income earned while working outside the United States. An explanation of this benefit can be found in the Tax Guide for College Teachers and Other Personnel published by the Academic Information Service, Washington, D.C. (an annual). This allowance can be a deciding factor in considering an exchange.

It is easiest for all parties to continue to receive their salary and benefits from their home institution. A money transfer system to provide local currency can be worked out with each participant’s bank. First, each participant opens a new account in each other’s bank. Each month A’s bank automatically transfers an agreed-upon sum from A’s account to B’s new account in the same bank. At the same time, B would have his home bank transfer a sum from his account to A’s new account in the same bank. Besides providing needed currency, this arrangement avoids foreign currency changing fees. It is also best to agree on a fixed exchange rate for the duration of the exchange to avoid changes in buying power with exchange rate fluctuation.

To prevent financial misunderstandings, a letter of agreement should be drawn up. In this document, permission to use personal effects and property, banking arrangements, and use/maintenance cost responsibilities are included and agreed to by both parties. Even though such a document is not legally binding, it provides both parties with the same frame of reference to handle most financial questions that would come up during the year.

Communication

As the dates of an exchange move closer, there is a need for quick and efficient communication. For a reasonable cost to libraries with a DIALOG service contract, the participant can communicate through DIALMAIL on a daily basis. DIALMAIL is an electronic mail service provided by DIALOG, a major electronic information vendor. The service is menu driven for ease of use, and can be accessed through the ERIC database on DIALOG by typing in the command “begin DIALMAIL” of “B MAIL.” Contact your local DIALOG office for details.

This article has concentrated on the general points that are useful to anyone planning an exchange. Careful planning insures the success of the exchange. If you wish to discuss exchanges in more depth, please contact me at: Research and Information Services Department, U-6R, Homer Babbidge Library, University of Connecticut, 369 Fairfield Road, Storrs, CT 06269-1005; (203) 486- 2513.

U.S.-Mexico interlibrary loan initiated

Twenty-one libraries in the Southwest United States andseven in Mexico City are participating in a project to test the feasibility of interlibrary loan service between the U.S. and Mexico. The project will run through February 1990 and is coordinated by the U niversity Library at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), the Library of the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) in Mexico City, and the Benjamin Franklin Library of the U.S. Information Service in Mexico City.

The goals of the project are 1) to promote and enhance academic research by facilitating the exchange of scholarly information, and 2) to strengthen ties between the library and research communities in the United States and Mexico.

Materials in the social sciences, humanities, and business will be made available for exchange. Requests are mailed or sent by fax between Mexico City and the U.S., with the UTEP and ITAM libraries acting as referral centers. To ensure safe, fast delivery, materials are transported between Mexico City and the United States using the U.S. Embassy Courier.

Except for the Benjamin Franklin Library, participating libraries in Mexico City are all associated with privately funded universities: Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México; Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (Mexico City campus); Universidad Iberoamericana; Universidad de las Américas (Puebla); Universidad Intemacional; and the Colegio de México.

U.S. participants are all academic library members of the AMIGOS Bibliographic Council: Abilene Christian University; Arizona State University; Baylor University; Lamar University; Laredo State University; New Mexico State University; Southern Methodist University; Texas A&M University; Texas Southmost College; Texas Tech University; Trinity University; University of Arizona; University of Arkansas; University of Houston; University of New Mexico; University of Texas at Arlington; University of Texas at Austin; UniversityofTexas at Dallas; University ofTexas at El Paso; University ofTexas at San Antonio; University of Tulsa. Other AMIGOS libraries may also join the project in the near future.

For more information, contact Robert A. Seal, University Librarian, University of Texas at El Paso; (915) 747-5683.