Going Home...

My time at NEGST has come, again, to an end. When I visited the first time it was for about 10 days. Then I felt that it was much too short and that three weeks was a much better time frame to consider for future visits. As I finished this visit I find that three weeks is a long time to be away. I think that during my first visit I felt that there was so much to do and that time was needed to accomplish it all. I think that there will always be so much to do and this has nothing to do with the abilities of the people but with the place where they are--just like there would be librarians from other institutions, such as larger research universities that could provide us guidance and direction or could fill in an area in which we are lacking.

My last two days at NEGST were spent teaching the new cohort of PhD students research skills all day on Monday. And, on Tuesday most of the day was spent driving from Nairobi to Machakos (the early British East Africa colonial capital) to view a library software at the top end of the Softlink product (the maker of Alice). The goal was to determine if Liberty was a viable option to move to from Alice, which it wasn't, at least for a graduate school with a doctoral program. Though it was more time away from the library itself and its staff it was necessary in order to provide an informed recommendation.

This all led to a rather anit-climactic departure, though I was able to stop in and say goodbye to those staff that hadn't left on leave--roughly half. I did have some good discussions with those remaining.
Through the work that Mary Sue and I have had a chance to be a part of I think that we've left the library at NEGST, and through the CALA conference other librarians in Kenya, in a better place and with new skills or thought processes/procedures to grow in their librarianship.

Small and beautiful....

As I mentioned in an earlier post, there is much that has been done, but so much more to do in the way of providing opportunities here in Kenya and in many other places. It is about providing a way, not simply in a uni-directional fashion but in a bi-directional, or collaborative, way. Hopefully, this is what is happening during my visit to NEGST. Hopefully I am not simply coming and providing a "service" or a function and then leaving with no lasting results or change. Rather, I hope that my time here has been collaborative and that the library staff and myself have grown in new ways.

One of the ways in which opportunities have been provided here in Nairobi, and in Karen specifically, is through Kazuri Pottery and Beads. Kazuri means small and beautiful in Swahili and it is the name given to an operation that began roughly thirty years ago making handmade beads. Soon it was realized that the business could provide employment to an underserved population most in need of steady work--single mothers. Today Kazuri Pottery employs nearly 80 women.

Nairobi School of Driver's Education

Driving in Kenya, and Nairobi in particular, is a very interesting activity. This evening the Penney's and I went back to Habesha, the Ethopian restaurant. On the way from NEGST to the restaurant there are two interesting features, one is the shortcut through a very dark winding road, and the second is being on-the-lookout for potential bandits, especially as we exit the shortcut and are near the Ngong Forest--a known robbery/hijacking area. As we are beginning to drive down the shortcut, which is pitch black except for the car lights and any lights of oncoming traffic (often brightly shining in your eyes--not good for someone like me with an astygmatism), Don is driving in a manner that even made me uncomfortable, but then I realized that we are racing down this road and past cross-streets and around bends because if we slow down we could compromise our safety. He did not slow down until we reached the "intersection" (a polite word for when two or more roads meet here).
Next we then sped through the Ngong Forest until we reached an area with more traffic, more open spaces, and potentially street lamps if the electric bill was paid recently. Additionally, in daylight or nighttime drivers don't particularly care which side of the road you are on. If someone wants your smoother side of the road they will take expecting that you will back down. This is the Nairobi School of Driving.

And Some Things Stay the Same...

The first morning of the CALA conference as we gathered for breakfast a number of the Kenyan librarians had already gathered at the tables. In the middle of some of them was a small radio that was blaring the buzz of the day (this day it happened to be about the Kenyan Minister of Transportation being banned from flying upon any British airline as his visa had been revoked--quite a buzz). As I listened to the hosts requesting callers and repeatedly asking what people thought of the "crisis of the moment" I was struck, again, on how things are not that dissimilar. There are differences--good ones, mediocre ones, and bad ones--but many things are similar. And, if they are not similar to us in the US they are similar to some other unrelated part of the world. We have the same business on the radio that they do and vice verse. It could be that they are learning from us and if this is the case I don't want to hear the Kenyan version of Rush Limbaugh or Al Franken. Lord, save me!!
Another thing that is not too different, in many ways, is the access that those with resources have to obtain more stuff. Here is one of the shopping malls in Nairobi. It is just around the corner from the dentist the Penney's use. I've been here twice. Charles Nandain, the librarian from NIST used to work here when he moved to Nairobi from his village in 1985. He said that his job was to make duplicates of recently arrived movies from the States. He said he didn't know then the problem with this. He was glad when he got to move to another business in the building.
This is like any mall in the states. It does have a large supermarket which are very new in Nairobi--a supercenter of sorts. I'm sure the influence of the West can be seen in the consumerism, but I'm sure that this is human nature as much as anything. Humanity has wanted more since the days of Eve and Adam. It was the initial temptation--do you know that there is something that you don't have and it may even be being kept from you????? Not a sermon, but a reminder to ask, is it necessary? Is it a need or a want?

Sometimes you just make do…

I've realized in Kenya that sometimes you just do what you have to do. Sometimes there is little else that can be done but the thing that must be done. Though time goes slower and the pace is gentler this doesn't change the fact that life can hard--as hard and as difficult as the roads all about this country. Roads that are so difficult that one can die on them just by travelling and not through any criminal action.
Though the topic has started off seriously, I do hope that you found this image to be quite funny. Mary Sue and I found it to be hilarious, so hilarious we didn't even think of buying on each to bring home! This reminds me so much of the story of Stone Soup. And, I guess that the story relates well to the Kenyan culture. Initially there is some timidity about expressing oneself, or sharing. Eventually individuals open up, especially if you are welcoming to them. As my previous experiences abroad have shown time and time again--there are wonderful warm people all over the world. In many ways much warmer than in the States (though we've got Europe beat by a mile, err, kilometer, on this one).
Back to the make-do element, even the Wazungus (white people) fall prey to scarcity, high costs, or, in some cases, forgetfulness. Here Don Penney, NEGST's IT Director utilizes a spare headphone box, ingeniously squished, paper-clipped, and adjusted to serve as a telephone stand. I do hope one day he can get a real one, not necessarily plastic, but one that is a nicely stained mahogany. I find some great irony in being the IT Director and manager of the campus phone system. Best of luck on that new stand, Don.

One Hundred Shillings at a time...

As I mentioned in an earlier post, cellular telephones abound in Kenya, roughly 5 to 1. Just as the cell phones abound, so too do the little scratch cards that are used to "re-up" the minutes on one's phone.

The financial system under which our cellular companies work is completely different than that which is in operation in Kenya. Here someone purchases a telephone and you pay-as-you-go. And, the pay as you go is in the most minuscule amounts. In the States we usually have to sign a multi-year contract and lock in rates. Another difference is that in Kenya you pay for only the calls you make. As you know, we pay for calls both ways. Kenyans utilize SMS at a significant rate. An average text message costs 5 shillings, or about fifteen cents. Phone calls are about 25 cents per minute, so much less than our pay-as-you-go rates. Additionally, you don't need to purchase large amounts of minutes, which in the states, expire quite quickly. Throughout Kenya you can purchase little scratch cards, even throughout Kibera. You can even purchase them at the cafe at ISAR. These little huts are everywhere. This is a really nice one.

How long will we be willing to settle for second-rate service??? Can you hear me, now?

Cooperation, Collaboration, and Sharing Knowledge...

Librarians have a wonderful "heritage" of sharing resources and knowledge. I am happy that I've been able to continue that practice while here in Kenya.

Last evening I finished up the presentations and lectures that I was giving to the Christian Association of Librarians in Africa (CALA), Kenya chapter. The conference, which is being conducted in the new classroom building on the NEGST campus (it was being built when I was here last) has been scheduled from the 2nd to the 5th of August and is comprised of librarians from institutions of various sizes, locations, and missions. Some are undergraduate, while others are graduate in focus. There were roughly 25 librarians present. I was asked to give a full-day presentation on library's usage of the web and other Internet tools. I also gave a presentation on using the open standard bibliographic mark-up language, BibTex, Tuesday evening. Wednesday during the morning I oversaw a workshop on HTML and then in the evening re-presented a colleague's tutorial (Terry Huttenlock) on how to utilize Google effectively. All in all, my presentation had the broad theme of what are the implications of become a digital library--a concept that is just emerging here in Kenya.
Many of the libraries in the Nairobi area and within Kenya are automating. This may mean anything from they are cataloging their collections in a single machine to they are cataloging to a server on a larger network. Though we've been living with automation in libraries in the States for at least 30-35 years, it is just hitting Africa. Several times during our visit we had visiting professors and leaders for other schools around Kenya (ISAR, where we are staying, is a center for African study) ask us if we could come to their schools and help with their libraries. The need here is great.
One of the individuals assisting schools, like NIST, is Phyllis Masso, who also is a member of the executive leadership of CALA. Phyllis's husband teaches at Daystar after an early retirement from research and development in the area of optics. They've been in Kenya for several years and plan to be here for several more. Daystar, with whom Wheaton had an official relationship when we had a graduate program in communication, has two campuses. One is in downtown Nairobi and the other is along the Athi River about 50 kilometers from town. About six librarians from Daystar were able to come for the conference. Here's an image of their library.

You ate what?

Do you remember all of those glorious animals that Mary Sue and I saw at the preserve on the Melawa River. Well, before Mary Sue left we had dinner at a restaurant in Nairobi called the Carnivore. I don't think that I need to explain much about the fare at such an establishment, needless to say, we ate some of what we saw a few days earlier! I had been there on my previous visit to Nairobi. We have been graciously invited to ride along with a group associated with Steward International that was here from Grand Rapids. They had the vehicle, we had the appetites and away we were.

The menu at the Carnivore is exotic and, in some ways, is similar to a Brazilian Churrascaria where meat is brought around on spits--in this case we were told that they were traditional Masai swords. The evening we went the menu consisted of beef, chicken livers, crocodile, ribs, lamb, chicken, beef sausages, ostrich, zebra, ostrich meatballs, and, finally, camel. The most succulent meat was the camel--it was fabulous. My next favorite was the ostrich meatballs. The food just keeps coming. Once they came around with tiny roasted potatoes. The secret is to take what they offer and place on the sides of your plate, because if you stop taking it they very likely will then ask what you want, bring it once, and never return.

At a Brazilian Churrasco, which costs about $8-15 USD, the meats are brought around continuously and you are provided a little disk, or some other device, that has a red side and a green side. You communicate with the servers by flipping back and forth between the red and the green, telling them stop for now or keep in coming. When visiting the Carnivore you should not have this in mind. At the Carnivore the table, not the individual as above, is provided a single white flag. This is used to show that you are surrendering. Once this is put up all of the plates are removed, in our case rather immediately, whether you were in the middle of something or not--so be very sure you are all under the same agreement and understanding!!!

It seems to center on opportunities....

When I made my first visit to Kenya in the fall of 2002 I was in the midst of completing my Masters of Library Science, despite having worked in an academic library for a little more than a decade (this is for another blog at another time...). While I was at NEGST my visit overlapped with a visit by Ferne Weimer, then director of the Billy Graham Center library. After my visit one of the themes that seemed to come to the fore was that the West was roughly about 10 years ahead of the library at NEGST, and I assumed the libraries in Kenya. I was struck that the staff were functioning well in an analog context but that they being stymied in moving towards becoming a library in a digital context.
After my return Ferne and I talked and a way was found (mainly by Ferne) to attempt to bring some of the librarians at the theological institutions in Nairobi to Wheaton to provide opportunities to view libraries that were functioning in a digital manner. Opportunities seemed to be key. Opportunities, or in other words, experiences, were what could widen the perspective of these librarians. One of the librarians that were able to visit in the summer of 2003 was Charles Nandain, from the Nairobi International School of Theology.
NIST is roughly a 20-25 minute ride from NEGST. It is in a more densely populated area, not like the rural setting that NEGST has in Karen. Whereas NEGST has a 50 acre compound, NIST is situated on less than a handful of acreage. The look and feel are quite different. NEGST feels expansive and NIST seems crowded. NIST was begun under the leadership of Campus Crusade, Africa--unfortunately the receive no real funding from Campus Crusade in the States and the relationship between NIST and the USA group has dwindled since the death of Bill Bright.

In July of 2003, Charles and a librarian from Daystar, another Christian university in Nairobi, came for a month long visit. During that time I worked with Charles to convert the records of his library, which were kept in an MSAccess database, into MARC format--the format that online catalogs use. This was a helpful exercise for me, but it was invaluable for Charles. The data that we converted now serves as the core of their online catalog. Something that can take a Western librarian a week to do could very likely take months, if not years, in Kenya. We've been blessed with opportunities.

1 Million People + 1 Square Mile Equals....

On Saturday, Aaron (a videographer from Grand Rapids who attends Rob Bell's Mars Hill Church) and I were invited by Charles Nandain, the librarian at Nairobi International School of Theology (NIST) to travel around Nairobi to see its variety. He had three themes for us; 1) The wealth of Nairobi, 2) the industry of Nairobi, and 3) the poverty of Nairobi.

The last one is the theme that made the most impression as I am sure you can understand. Charles lives on the edge of Kibera, one of the largest single slums on the planet. There are 1 Million people crammed into 1 Square Mile. There are some places where in order to enter the slum it is necessary to enter through someone else's home. In many areas there are no toilets.

As Charles talked about Kibera he wanted it to be clear that this was not how individuals were meant to live, but that this was how many needed to live, as there was no other way. As for him, a professional librarian, he chose to live on the edge of Kibera, in a "compound of other homes with a area for about 6-8 cars and that has a single gate that is locked at night, so that he could send money to his extended family in his ancestral village many miles north of Nairobi. Often individuals will work in the major cities and retire to the ancestral villages. Charles, and Ephraim from NEGST, live with their families (any where from 4-5 others) in an attached structure about the size of a US two-car garage, which is divided into small separate living spaces. Each of them have a small patch of grass outside their entrances.



It was Aaron and my understanding that we were actually going to go into Kibera, but we didn't. This disappointed Aaron. I was somewhat disappointed, but, in some ways, I was relieved as well. I am a visual learner and with that comes a strong visual memory. There was a part of me that didn't want the memories. There was also a part of me that recognized that these were fellow human beings, who were created in the image of God and for whom Christ was born, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, was dead, and was buried. These individuals are people. Part of me wanted to share, for a brief moment, their experience. It could be that Charles didn't want Kenya--Nairobi--to be generalized solely as the depths of poverty in Kibera. I think this is why he wanted us to experience the other "themes." Kenya--Nairobi--is much more than Kibera.
I have been to Brazil and have visited the slums, called favelas. I have been to a home with a single bulb hanging from the ceiling where an open sewer runs just outside the door. I have also seen these kinds of poverty in the states--in my own town. Each of these situations are vividly deposited in my mind. I will remember them, I believe, until the day I die. My prayer is that these memories will make me more understanding and compassionat--more like Christ.

And I don't even like coffee.....

Sunday we were the guests of George and Mary Huttar (furthest right in the above photo). Both are on the faculty at NEGST and are alumni of Wheaton College. George told of his recollections of going on SMP during the summer of 1961 to Ecuador and how he loves to tell his students that he started studying Greek in 1958. He says that shocks them as many of their parents were not yet born.
After the baptism service we returned to NEGST to pick up Margaret Sim, who, with her husband Ronnie, also teach here. After retrieving her we went to Habesha, an Ethiopian restaurant about 25 minutes away (it is not very far from NEGST it is just that the roads are so bad that it takes longer to get from here to there). Habesha is in it own compound with a security guard at the gate. Everything to make a Westerner feel safe (p.s. as I write this I just finished reading through an alert email sent by the Embassy here in Nairobi--basically the same message--pay attention, there are people that don't like us).
The food was absolutely wonderful. There were five of us and including beverages the cost was about $15 USD. This was the best Ethiopian food I've ever had (third time having had it). You eat with your hands tearing off pieces of a soft spongy sour bread, called injera (it was not as sour as I've had before, thus it was better). You take the bread and wrap it around whatever is on the plate--lentils, potatoes, goat, etc. Again, it was wonderful.
The end of the meal was capped of with Ethiopian coffee, which was very very good. It is not bitter like our coffee. The full coffee service includes a little charcoal "habachi" whereon pieces of incense-coated resin are placed. The resin melts creating a large waft of fragrant smoke. I'm going to do what I can to go back before I leave.

Kwaheri (Guest Entry)

Shortly, I will be saying Kwaheri (goodbye) to Kenya and our friends here at NEGST.

This trip really has been wonderful and I have many good memories. I also have some not-so-good memories, many of them computer related. A case in point was the comedy of errors as I attempted to print a document this afternoon. The notebook computer kindly loaned to me by NEGST has not been functioning correctly, so I was using the rather old computer alloted to me at the library. When I attempted to print this document, I discovered that the computer was not configured for the printer. The library systems person attempted to set things up, and after a while called in someone from campus IT. Shortly, the campus IT person disappeared without resolving the problem. I then came up with the bright idea of saving the document on a disk (there have been a number of times in the past days that I have become the "computer
expert"- those who work with me at the Wheaton College library are now having a hearty chuckle at this concept.) The staff produced several disks, all of which contained other documents and not enough memory. Things were deleted off of these disks, still not enough memory to save my largeish document containing various screen capture images. I then had another brilliant idea about e-mailing my document to someone else to print. Webmail took half an hour to load my attachment, then I sent it, then the person realized that he gave me the wrong e-mail address. I tried again, and after another half hour was able to e-mail my document to the correct address. I then got a message from Webmail stating that my attachment was too large to send. Elapsed time: 2 hours. In the U.S., this would have taken me about 1 minute. Fortunately, David was able to move my document to a location where he can access and print it.

Things I will miss about Kenya and NEGST: Incredibly kind and friendly people, beautiful green countryside that looks like a cross between Southern Calif. and England, scores of amazingly colored birds, seeing plants that I only knew as houseplants flourish (did you know poinsettas grow into small trees?), and marvelous tropical fruit, including bananas, papayas, and mango. Things I will not miss: Computer issues, Alice issues (and don't get me started on that one), having to brush my teeth with bottled water, roads that can be unbelievable and traffic that is worse, and strange shriveled meats served in the dining hall. I actually bent my fork trying to saw up the lamb chop served for dinner tonight; it was gristly, charred but strangely squishy on the inside. Let me just tell you that Kenya is not a good place for vegetarians, of which I usually am not but may become one temporarily in response to eating lots and lots of meat, including more chicken than I usually eat in about 6 months.

Asante sana (thank you very much) to our kind friends here who have been such good hosts. And best of luck to the library staff in their ongoing challenges, of which Alice is not the least! Much effort and care is being given to the NEGST library, and it will continue to facilitate and support the graduate programs here that are preparing future African church leaders.

Mary Sue

Go Ye Therefore....

When my parents told me to do something multiple times, or I tell my daughter many times to do something, it must be important.

It is recorded at the end of Matthew and Mark's Gospels and at the begining of Luke's history of the early church, that Christ tells his followers to "go and make disciples." Now I would assume that this wasn't a mere suggestion, but a command. And to the Church's credit through the empowering of the Holy Spirit she still follows his words.

This past Sunday we worshipped at Karen Community Church. Both Mary Sue and I were expecting an "anglo" church, but were surprised that it was comprised of a vast majority of native Kenyans. What we found was a worship service very much like what one finds in many evangelical churches in the States. The Kenyans were mainly professionals and would fall into what we would call a middle-class. Not at the same economic level, but with some of the same securities, comforts, and abilities.

We sang, what was referred by a guest at ISAR that we met as, "off the wall." I kind of like this phrase as it can be taken so many ways. In this instance it meant that the words were projected on the wall. I guess in other instances it could mean something quite different.....

The church was having a group of individuals baptized after the service. The baptisms were going to happen at a training center for the Kenyan Central Bank down the street from the church because they have what is required for immersion-style baptism--a large container of water, in this case a swimming pool.

Most of those seeking baptism were young people who had been converted as children or more recently. However, one man in his early twenties did not fit this mold. He was convert from Islam from a region north of Nairobi near Somalia. The church had a mission in that region and this man was being baptized in Nairobi for his own safety. His life is likely in danger as his converting from Islam is risky. I have shielded his face for this reason.

For some of you reading this it may seem odd that I've done this or you may wonder why he converted. I think this is one of the things that is difficult for us in the States to understand. We live in a land where our faith does not put us at odds with many folks, and likely if we are at odds it tends to be for our political perspectives that have, at times, been improperly attached to our religious beliefs--as if they were the gospel. Generally, we are not challenged in our Christian faith as so many Christians are around the globe.

If one is interested in understanding more about the persecuted Church abroad, here is a link that highlights several legitimate organizations that have worked for years regarding this issue.
Open Doors

The records of this organization are housed in the Wheaton College Special Collections.

How many librarians does it take to build a fire?

I doubt that anyone will every hear this as the entry line for a comedian at Zanies or the Comedy Club. This is the true expression of a neurotic need to organize. This, coupled with former training as a Boy Scout (to become a Tenderfoot scout you had to build a fire with only one match--Tenderfoot is the first rung and if you couldn't pass this, well, let's just say, there were no other campouts for you!), and you've got a scary situation on your hands. STEP AWAY FROM THE MATCHES......
I hope this image gives you a chuckle, because it gave everyone else one! I guess more than my foot was a little tender......

By the way, the answer is one and the joke isn't that good...

Where's the Old Dandora Pentecostal Church?

Ephraim Mudave is the Acting Librarian at NEGST. When I last visited he was the only full-time professional staff member in library, besides the director. The remainder of the staff in the Technical Services area were volunteers or part-time. In Kenya, and I am sure in much of Africa, the norm for education for a librarian, though not for long, is a Bachelor's in Library Studies or Library Science. This is the education/training that Ephraim has. It is a full bachelor's program of at least 120 hours with the bulk in librarianship.
As I mentioned, this is changing. The Higher Education Commission in Kenya is pressuring institutions to have head librarians with an MLS, however only recently was a program begun in Kenya. Those with the resources have been able to travel outside of the country to obtain their degrees and sometimes in a very short amount of time--these types of programs have little emphasis on the practicalities of managing libraries or programs and focus more upon human resource management. Thus, you can have a head librarian with an MLS, but have little experience working in or managing a library. This is the bind that Ephraim and his peers are finding themselves in.
Ephraim, like so many educated Kenyan Christians, work a full week in conjunction with having a full ministry in the church. Ephraim is the Pastor to Youth (youth can be teens through those in their thirties) at New Dandora Pentecostal Church (When we visited I was prompted to ask, "Where is the Old Dandora Pentecostal Church. I was told there never was one and that the new pastor was working at removing the references to new, but the one of the roof was a little harder to take care of).
Here you can see the interior of the church. Though I have not visited any other smaller urban churches, I am sure that this is quite similar and, actually, may be a bit nicer. Several months ago the tile floor was installed. They didn't have the money for it and asked the vendor if they could pay over time, which he allowed. So, they've been paying it off over the past year and are just about finished.
As I wrap up this entry, the thought has come to my mind if there is any "vocation" confusion here, at least with the individuals that I am encountering in the library. Each has training in librarianship and many are at work many hours a week in the life and activities of the church, not simply in attendance, but in pastoral roles. Do any feel a "calling" to librarianship?

Isak Dinesen (Guest Entry)

I had a farm in Africa, at the foot of the Ngong Hills...


So begins Out of Africa, probably Karen Blixen's (who wrote as Isak Dinesen)best known work. David and I visited her house here in Karen a few days ago; the rest of the farm is unfortunately gone to urban sprawl, and her former coffee plantation is now an exclusive private golf course. There is still a lovely view of the Ngong Hills from the lawn of the house. She writes of viewing buffalo, lion, and other game while driving and riding in these hills. By the way, "ngong" means knuckles in Masai, and the hills really do look a bit like someone's knuckles. The house is attractive but not grand, with three bedrooms and a spacious dining and living room. The most unusual features are a porch that runs the entire length of the front of the house and gorgeous mahogany paneling throughout the house. The last chapters of Out of Africa tell of Karen's sad farewell to her beloved farm after falling coffee prices and poor crops caused her to go bankrupt. I was moved to be standing in the house that she loved, had to leave, and never visited again after returning to Denmark.

I have been re-reading Out of Africa as a pleasant respite from computers and libraries. I highly recommend it (don't just watch the movie!) There is a special magic about reading a book about a place while you are there, and I find that I am able to better appreciate landscape or scenery after reading an author's description of places that they love. My only reservation in this re-reading is Karen Blixen's rather condescending and paternalistic tone in describing her "native" farm tenants. She cared deeply for these people and frequently doctored them and assisted them in other ways, but her choice of words does make one wince. Though she was Danish, her views reflect the British Colonial tone; Kenya never suffered the human rights abuses that occured in other African countries and as a whole the colonizers treated the colonized with decency. However, the legacies of a paternalistic system are unfortunately still evident in many aspects of Kenyan society.

I couldn't close this entry without taking the opportunity to give a plug for authority control. Karen Blixen is an excellent example of the need for a uniform entry for an author. Most of her books were written under the pen name Isak Dinesen, but she also wrote The Angelic Avengers under the pen name Pierre Andrezel. At some point, she also used the name Tania Blixen. So which form of the name should be in a library's catalog? Current cataloging practice is to use the form of an author's name that is most readily associated with their work, so since the majority of her work was written under the name Isak Dinesen, her author entry is thus Dinesen, Isak, 1885-1962. Now imagine how hard it would be to locate all of her works if each one had an entry under the author listed on the title page! Authority control won't save the world, but it does make the library a nicer and happier place to be.

Here's one last image of the estate.

Mary Sue

Masai Market

The Masai have historically been a pastoral people in eastern Africa and now have settled into central Kenya. As mentioned before, cattle are their way of life. They disdain permanent settlements and despite encroachments of modernity, consumerism, and governmental controls, little has changed their customs and traditions. They have shunned most things that Westerners seek and/or prize. Many tourists to Kenya travel north of Nairobi to the Masai Mara to view the Masai way of life, view the wild game nearby, and to purchase Masai hand crafts.
Now, the Masai may have shunned much of what the West holds dear, but they must make a living. So, every Friday at the Village Market, an upscale outdoor mult-level mall, that looks something out of Beverly Hills or some other swanky Southern California enclave, the Masai (or some "pretending" to be Masai--so much so that the Masai where offical ID badges) bring their wares to sell. One may wish to think of this as a flea market or craft show, but they'd be mistaken. In the states when one visits such an event they are going expecting to see clear signage on prices and other such things. At the Masai Market dickering is the name of the game.
When I was in Kenya in 2002 I went to the market with Don Penney. Don grew up in Senegal and had been to Kenya several times, so something like a free-wheeling bazaar was not something new to him. It was for me. When I was quite young my mother taught my brothers and I to swim by taking us to the edge of a large body of water and throwing us in. With Don I was learning to swim again. There were many things that I learned that day, some which I don't wish to revisit. Suffice it to say, I'm the type of person that wants to know what something costs and make a decision based on the information provided.
As you travel through the market vendors are calling out to you "Papa, see these wonderful "X" (insert item name here). Touching is free. Now the one thing that you do not want to do is say anything commital, such as "I'll be back" [...flashback to 2002...]. Do Not! promise anything--they will find you.... Simply say something like "You have nice things" or "I am not ready to purchase yet." Generally, it is good to get an overview of what is for sale, by whom, and what is the quality. Fortunately, on this visit, Don's wife, Patrice was along to negotiate once we found what we were looking for. Phew!!!
The wares at the Masai Market range from small soap stone items, like painted bowls, napkin rings, plates, and even nativity scenes, woven goods, jewelry, beaded items, and much much more. As I walked through the market many individuals wanted to trade things for my watch or anything else that could be viewed on my person. These included the run-of-the-mill disposable ink pen in my satchel to the "Number 1 Dad" key chain hanging off it. For the latter I said that it was a gift from my daughter and I couldn't part with it. For the others, I just wasn't interested in getting into it with someone--I viewed it as the whole "foot in the door" situation. I wasn't interested in giving an inch.
Just like my previous trip to the Market I came away with many items that I was pleased to get and that friends and family will get to enjoy. This time I feel much more comfortable about what I paid--not too little and not too much...just right.

Of chairs and Alice and other hard things... (Guest Entry)

Greetings from the other half of the Wheaton librarians' great Kenyan adventure.
I am writing this while sitting on the hardest of the many hard Kenyan chairs that I have experienced in my week here. At least this one makes no pretense of padding; it is merely a sheet of flat board bolted to the frame of the chair.
The office type chairs I have used in the library have been more of a tease-they look like they should be padded, but then you sit down and all the air foops out of the padding and you are merely sitting on hard wood again. This may not seem like a huge deal to many of you, but one needs some basic comforts (let alone ergenomics, which clearly haven't reached Kenya) in order to deal with Alice for long stretches of time.
Ah, Alice. David has given an introduction to this system, so I will merely share my impressions. In my estimation, Alice is to Voyager (the online catalog that Wheaton uses) as the donkey carts one sees on the roads here are to the rough and ready vehicles that people drive on the terrible, potholey roads. Alice is like the donkey cart in that it has few options, runs sporadically, and often is temperamental. So far, some basic cataloging functions like adding multiple volumes to one bibliographic record appear to be impossible. For those of you who are interested in cataloging, imagine importing the same record for the Encyclopedia Brittanica 20 times (or however many books are in the set), then editing the descriptive information for the individual volumes, all merely because the function that allows you to add copies to a bibliographic record won't permit one to do volumes. We do hope to find a way around this, and many other Alice "issues," in order to leave our Kenyan friends with a more functional and user-friendly online catalog.
Mary Sue

All Creatures Great and Small

The Masai (Kenyan tribal herders) believe that they own all of the cattle in the world and I'm sure that some of the students at NEGST would have something to say about that. The students here run several cooperatives. One of them are the shared gardens that are about the campus and the other are the few cattle that provides milk. Patrice Penney mentioned that in suburban American the poor are encouraged to do everything to keep their cars--it is their lifeline. In Kenya the life line is one's shamba, or garden. For the students at NEGST the cooperative gardens and lifestock help them to divert what monies they have available to them to pay for tuition.
As you may suspect, Kenya, and all of Africa, present many opportunities to see things you've never seen before or to see things much more often than you regularly would. An example of the former is the glorious Banana Slug. The picture that you see simply cannot do it justice. This "little" friend appeared on the way to dinner one evening. "He" (who knows how to tell gender on these things, I'm certainly not going to pick it up!) was roughly 4 inches long, which would make "him" rather young. The last time I was in Kenya I saw one on the ground that was closer to 8 inches and much more colorful. You can likely tell why it is called a banana slug, especially when bananas here are more like chubby thumbs than cucumbers.
Here's another friend that showed up this morning on the way to breakfast. Maybe I should find another way to the cafe (where a bottle of coke is 20 bob, or 20 shillings, about 25 cents).
On another note: This weekend we had the opportunity to accompany the Penney family on a weekend getaway/short vacation, or safari--every journey is a safari in Kenya. We had the opportunity to travel about 2 hours northwest of Nairobi near Lake Naivasha. This lake is one of a string of lakes as one heads towards Tanzania and Lake Victoria. We stayed on the grounds of the Kigio Wildlife Conservancy. This is a private sanctuary for the Rothschild Giraffe, which is an endangered species. We stayed at a banda, called Mapacha, which is a thatched roof hut. So, in short, we actually did stay in a hut.
This preserve is the on the banks of the Malewa River.We were able to see all sorts of game. We were able to see Thompson's gazelles, Impalas, Dik-dik (tiniest deer--about 14" tall), Water Buck, Zebras, Giraffe, Grey Fox, Colobas (monkey), and Warthogs


Here are some more images taken at Malewa.

Go Ask Alice....

Well, we've had a start in getting to know the staff and getting to know the needs of the library. We had a good meeting with the library director, Ephraim Mudave. It is interesting that in our discussions that we all share the same struggles--classroom faculty perceptions of cataloging, relationships on campus, and facutly status. I think that it was reassuring for Ephraim to know that the problems were not his alone, but that we, and other librarians, shared the same struggles.
As I shared earler, one of the things that Mary Sue and I will be working on will be to aid NEGST in honing its online library catalog. A library's catalog is its life blood. If a catalog is not reliable is not worth much. You have to be able trust a catalog to tell you what you have, where it is, and is it available. Additional nice features are to be able to locate related materials and to know how many tables an items has or other physical dimensions.
As you work through this entry you must be aware the for most of the world, access, and especially consistent access, is rather new. This is something new for them and something we take for granted as we surf at broadband speeds on Comcast or SBC, or when we enjoy the corporate connect that connects at 1.5 to 4.5 megabits per second. Three years ago when I was here the campus shared a single 56K dial-up connection that relied on an old copper-based telephone system that probably hadn't been upgraded much since the country gained independence 35-40 years ago. According to the CIA World Fact Book there are 1,590,800 cellphones (mobiles) in use. This is five times the amount of traditional copper "land" lines. Three years ago the number was 2 to 1 in favor of mobiles. This resource also cites that there are more Internet users than telephone lines.
Now, back to Alice. One of the female library staff members, Jane, shared with us that some of the students think that Alice is a person and they come to the library asking for her. Some of them believe that Jane's name is Alice despite her corrections.
Very few libraries stay on their first online system for too long. In some ways it is like someone's first dating experience--you learn more about yourself, at times, than the other person, or you become more focused upon your own needs and neglect the other and you move on. In some ways this is what happens with online catalog systems. You learn more about what your own needs are and the limitations of that system in meeting those needs. So, eventually, the vendor gets a "Dear John" letter and sees you dating other vendors. Sad....but, true.
Again, back to Alice. Above you saw the search interface for the Windows software--pretty straightforward, but somewhat vague for the uninitiated. Here you see the web version. Not much of an improvement, however, the improvements come via the hyperlinks that can occur once a search is done--hyperlinks to other books by a particular author or subject.
One of the key elements that would make Mary Sue or me begin to cast our eyes about for a new library vendor would be some basic issues. Alice is made more for a school market and so it is geared to someone who may have less training or fewer trained staff to manage a library catalog with all that that takes. Therefore, an experienced cataloger is unable to get into the guts of what constitutes the core of a "bibliographic" record--the nitty-gritty detail of a book--essentially what is the book about, who wrote it, who published it, how big is it, and where do I find it. Most of the aforementioned is also how you tell if a book is worth reading. In Alice the access to the real nitty-gritty, the MARC (MAchine Readable Cataloguing) record, is blocked. It is facilitated for you, much like a Microsoft product doing the thinking for you--excuse me I meant to spell that word that way!!

Come On! I know you're wondering, where are the flowers. However, you can hang in with me here, this is a good introduction to library science, or at least, how library catalogs work. You know you'll appreciate it in the end.

A final note about Alice and our work here in Kenya. As I mentioned earlier, Mary Sue will be focusing upon "authority control.As you can see from this screen capture, a search of

Marshall, I Howard

returned several results, some of which are not very similar. Only one can, or should, be the correct (or authoritative) version. If you were using the web search screen you'd only come up with the titles that exactly matched your search term, instead of seeing the list of possibilities, as you can in the Windows version.
As you can probably guess most people are going to use the web version and if this is the case how will they ever know about the other books. This is where authority control comes in. Mary Sue, with a very small smidge of help from me, will be working to develop the methods and procedures for the library staff to tackle the merging of these various forms. This will be a life-long process--just like cobwebs. However, Jane wisely said, "Then we must find the spider..." This is so true. The spider are the procedures and attentiveness of the library staff, or any library staff member for that matter. Authority control is about consistency and diligence. The task has no vacation or you'll end up with 6 entries for I. Howard Marshall again.

 

 

 And you thought librarians went to school just to be ssssh-ers.

Tony Wilmot Memorial Library

The Tony Wilmot Memorial Library at NEGST was named after the first Chairman of the Pan-African Fellowship of Evangelical Students (PAFES). Wilmot graduated from Oxford in 1938 and sought to encourage Christian witness by taking secular posts throughout Africa where churches needed support. He served in the military in Zambia, Somalia, and Ethopia during World War II. After the war he served as Permanent Secretary in the Gold Coast (Ghana) until 1957. While there he had an extensive preaching ministry and helped establish Christian camps and student fellowship groups. After 1957 he was West African Co-ordinator of the Colonial Development Corporation that was based in Nigeria, while there he and his wife made their home in Lagos. Due to his work with students he became concerned about opportunities for Africans to pursue advanced theological education. Together with Byang Kato, a Nigerian theologian and the first African General Secretary of the Association of Evangelicals in Africa and Madagascar (AEAM, now AEA), NEGST was started with Wilmot as the first Principal until a suitable African could fill the post. The first class of four students began their studies in October of 1983, and in July 1986, NEGST granted its first four graduates the Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree. The dream had become a reality.

Since its inception, NEGST has attracted students from public and private undergraduate institutions from all over Africa and beyond. Today NEGST has over 500 graduates from at least 30 countries. Presently the student body is 150 residential and 170 extension students. Graduates consistently take positions of leadership in their countries, churches and Christian organizations. Douglas Carew currently heads the school.

A Penney Here and A Penney There...

When I traveled to NEGST in the fall of 2002 my traveling companion was Don Penney. I was traveling under the generous auspices of Wheaton College's Faculty Missionary Project and Don was using vacation time. Don was helping complete the wiring and networking of the newly built library and I was there to help the beginning stages of library automation and to assist the library in applying the new network to the library setting. Well, a few more vacations later Don and his family are now missionaries at NEGST where Don is the Director of Information Technology. Since 2002 NEGST has built a large library, a classroom building and a building housing faculty offices. The campus technology needs are expanding, especially with the introduction of a doctoral program that will provide a laptop to each student.
The Penney family consists of Don, Patrice, Elaina, and Jordan. Jordan and I have been enjoying each other's company when we are together (Our first night was spent taking over Jordan and Elaina's beds as our rooms were not prepared). My daughter is receiving a nearly 4-week vacation from the pestering that now will be my generous gift to Jordan.
Jordan is a typical 10 year old and I think that I have now stooped to his level. We have been dueling with what various noises we can make with our assorted appendages and whatnot--don't ask. I have my usual routine of a barking dog, dripping water, police siren (which has caused no few individuals to either look in the rear-view mirror or to begin to pull to the side of the road). I have also taught him how to appropriately shoot a rubber band and I think his family will be ready to shoot me before I leave.

Making a living...

On our jaunt off-campus this morning we traveled from Karen to the far side of Nairobi, not far from the new American Embassy. Like many other countries, Kenya has a large working class. Unfortunately, Kenya also has a large unemployed population, which reaches nearly 50%. Rather than being able to afford expensive products sold in upscale malls or shops, individuals express their entrepreneurial spirits and set up shop-often within a coin toss of the side of the road.
One can get just about anything at the side of the road in Nairobi. It is not uncommon for someone to purchase their bedroom suite just feet away from the curb. As we drove through town we saw individuals selling nightstands, beds, dining room furniture, baskets and other woven goods, portable toilets, tires, landscaping plants, and refurbished mufflers, which could be installed with the oxyacetylene torch just feet away. The ramps were planks leaning against a rail that was bolstered by large blocks of wood underneath. This gives new meaning to "Trust the Midas Touch...."

Everywhere I walk...

Everywhere I walk about the campus of NEGST, and on our one journey off "the compound," I see flowers. At Wheaton College the groundscrew does a wonderful job of maintaining the grounds of the campus. Great care and attention are given to flowers in the spring and then to the planting of annuals after the bulbs have blossomed. Spring is usually wonderful at Wheaton.
Here at NEGST they are in the midst of Spring. Nairobi is just south of the equator (no the toilets don't flush in the opposite direction--that's a myth). But, speaking of water, which I did in an earlier entry, things are green, but not just green. There are so many other colors. I am stopping regularly to take a picture, of yet another flower.
As we've driven outside the campus there are numerous roadside landscape businesses and their prices are roughly one-tenth of the cost of items in the States. So, a perennial that may cost $7.50 in Wheaton will cost $0.75. This is why so many places are so jubilant with colors.
Another floral element that has come to my attention is that every office or home that I walk into there are vases of gorgeous long-stemmed roses--explosions of white, yellow, and red. It looks like Valentine's Day was yesterday. A dozen of large roses sell for under $3 USD. Roses are a huge export business and the greenhouses can go as far as the eye can see. Some even express concern that the lakes will run dry from all of the underground water being used to water the roses.

It's as fresh as it gets..

The guests at ISAR, which serves as the guest housing and conference center for NEGST, eat at the NEGST cafeteria that is managed by NEGST staff. On most days, Mary Sue and I will have our three meals there. Generally the Kenyan culinary selection is rather simple. As with many cultures, meals served midday and later can often center around beans and rice, along with chicken. One of our morning meals consisted of "pancakes" and bacon (of a back bacon sort, similar to bacon in England--American bacon is England is called "streaky bacon"). We also had fresh pineapple, which is always good.
A good deal of the produce for the meals comes from a large garden that the staff of ISAR manage. In this photo is "Mama Bear." Mama is the generic name for Kenyan women (and papa is the male name--I will often be called "papa"). The remainder of her name comes from her eldest son, whom she calls Bear, as in teddy bear. Under this scheme, my wife, if she were Kenyan, would be called Mama Katie. Mama Bear helps manage the huts at ISAR. She also helped me get a room that had a wifi connection. Yea Mama Bear. Just right......

We're staying in a hut!

Well, Mary Sue wasn't quite sure what to think when I told her we were staying in huts. However, I knew that they would be good. I hadn't seen them physically, because the last time I was in Kenya they were simply an idea on paper. Well, today at least two of the planned four huts are in place.
Admittedly, huts conjures up thatched roofs and dirt floors, and that is certainly not where we are staying. They are on the grounds of ISAR, which is the Institute for the Study of African Realities. Started by Karl Dortzbach with the vision for reconciliation in Africa, Karl realized that one must understand the particular uniquenesses of Africa before such large and complicated issues can be resolved. Interestingly, these huts are part of his vision and strategy. When completed all four will be in circle with a conference center. Another circle is the one found in the center of each hut where residents may gather and talk to one another, thus learning more about each other's "realities."

This isn't the Africa that you're likely thinking of...

Well, for many of you what you know of Africa is what you've seen in the news. Movies like Black Hawk Down, The Mummy, and many others paint a picture of dry sandy dunes or of ramshackle squalor. However, Africa is so much more, and this is especially true of Kenya.
Kenya is, by and large, an arrid climate. However, it does have its rainy season, which is just ending. And, I am able to enjoy the lush green palms and the numerous flowers. When I left Illinois my grass was as brown and dead as an old grass skirt.

Karibu - A welcome arrival

I realize that for some of you reading this I must take a step back for a moment and describe the reason that I flew for roughly 15 hours in a cramped seat.
Mary Sue Preisler, my colleague from Buswell Library at Wheaton College, have traveled to the Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology (NEGST for short) to help in their library. This is a return visit for me as I was here for nearly two weeks in 2002. It is Mary Sue's first visit to Africa.
NEGST is establishing a doctoral program in Biblical Translation and Linguistics. With such advanced study a research library is needed above and beyond what is in place for Masters-level education. Over the last few years the library has worked towards automating, something libraries in the States have enjoyed for well over a decade.

Mary Sue will primarily be working with the new online catalog, particularly with what is known as "authority control." You really don't want 4 different entries for an author, each spelled differently or in a different state of completeness. This is so that when someone searches for a book by John Q. Public they can be assured they are getting everything possible. Someone has to be concerned with these things--and librarians tend to be those types of persons.
While at NEGST I will be working with the online catalog, along with doing some staff development and training, as well as holding workshops for the Association of Christian Librarians in Africa, and finally, some bibliographic instruction for the incoming group of doctoral students.
We are excited to see what help we may be to NEGST and its mission.

Trying to get there...

Well after struggling with luggage limitations off to the airport we went. The "we" is my colleague, Mary Sue Preisler, and me. Much our trip can be explained as sit and wait. Sit at the airport and wait for the plane. Board the plane and then sit and wait to take off. After take off, sit and wait until the movie starts. As you can see a lot of sitting and waiting. Some of it with anticipation and some with dread. Anticipating getting to where you are going, in this instance Kenya, and dread in thinking about the number of hours in a cramped airplane. The plane was fairly booked and it seemed that there were more people than seats, at least that is what if felt like at times.
I am struck when I've flown internationally at the concept of duty free. Where else could you buy huge boxes of cigarettes? The sense of luxury and forbidden pleasures. If you've not had a chance to purchase before you've gotten on the plane, rest assured your chances are not gone. The fine flight attendants will be happy to sell you something from that cart that keeps hitting you in the knee.
After a six hour flight to London we had a three hour wait in Heathrow airport. Invariably, whenever I have flown from Heathrow I have flown out of terminal 22. Gates 22-25 are in an annex that takes about 15 minutes to walk to. On top of this the British system of air transportation seems to hinge on the fact that they won't tell you what gate you are at until about 30 minutes before your flight leaves. Quite a bother when walking around when your body thinks that it is about 3:30 in the morning and you've still got another flight ahead of you.While at Heathrow I had the "opportunity" to stretch out across five "seats" to catch a quick cat nap. Not too helpful, as I was awakened by a man plopping down in the adjoining seats. Scared me to death. I bought an alarm clock, liter and a half of water and a bag of crisps (cheese and onion--I stayed away from the prawn-flavoured).
Generally, our flight from Heathrow left on time and we weathered a 7 hour flight to Nairobi. Unfortunately, the seats on the Nairobi leg were closer together (front to back) by 1-2 inches than the earlier flight. To say the least I was cramped as my knees dug into the seat in front of me, especially when the seat in front was reclined, which it was the entire trip. OUCH!!! Not everyone is 5' 10'!
Once we arrived in Nairobi we needed to go through the Visa Application line and pay $50 to enter the country, which took about a half-hour. This went very smoothly, thankfully. Next was the wait for luggage. I swear that the last two bags were ours. After the luggage came customs. Once the customs agent heard where we were going we were ushered right through without any hassles! I nice end to a gruelling trip.
Oh yea, those luggage worries; you should have seen what people were hauling aboard! I worried for nothing, though some say they've been on a British Airways flights where they've measured and weighed every piece.

Getting ready to leave

Well, all of the bags are packed and my big worries--the big suitcases--are underweight and my slight concern--my carry-on is overweight, by over two times. Just a little more to squeeze in. Understandably, when folks find out that you are going overseas requests for transporting items come out of the woodwork. Unfortunately, British Airways is rather strict on luggage allowances, probably in light of the "black-market" cartage businesses operated under the guise of tourist travel. I hope that they are not strict tomorrow when I attempt to take my 30 lb carry-on bag onto the plane.
dbm