APSIG newsletter no. 63: March 2007

East Timor faces the future

The UNESCO/Timor-Leste Museum-to- Museum partnership was launched on 11 and 12 December 2006 at a seminar hosted by the University of Melbourne. This program was developed under the UNESCO Programme for the Preservation of Endangered Movable Cultural Properties, and is supported by the University of Melbourne's Centre for Cultural Conservation and the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, although it is also seeking involvement from other Australian cultural institutions.

It aims to support the East Timorese in managing their cultural heritage, particularly by providing skills training and capacity building and opportunities for engagement and exchanges between East Timorese cultural heritage staff and their equivalents in Australia.

As part of this programme, 15 Timorese delegates were in Australia viewing a variety of museums and attending workshops. They included staff of the Ministry of Education and Culture, an historian, and staff and students of the Peace University (UNPAZ) in Dili.

The seminar was intended as an opportunity for them to prepare and present formal papers at a professional level as part of their training. Interestingly, all the papers were presented in Indonesian (with simultaneous translation provided by the University of Melbourne's Asian Studies students) rather than in Tetun or Portuguese, the official languages of East Timor. It seems Indonesian is still the language most Timorese feel most confident using in educational or professional settings.

A brief history of museums in East Timor was given by Mrs. Cecilia Assis, Director of Museums and Culture. A museum may have existed in Portuguese times, housed in the old Portuguese barracks - records are unclear. What is certain is that many items of cultural importance were removed and are now in museums abroad. The Japanese occupation destroyed many historic buildings and also removed items of significance. A museum was established during the Indonesian period, but following the referendum in 1999 and ensuing militia violence the museum was attacked, looted and the building damaged. About 700 items were salvaged but are now kept in very unsatisfactory conditions in the basement of a building belonging to the Ministry of Culture and Education. There is no detailed inventory, nor has conservation or restoration work been done. There is currently debate on whether to restore the old museum building but the preference is to build a completely new museum to international standards if funds are available. There is also the intention to establish several regional museums or cultural centres in the districts.

There are also other challenges apart from the lack of funding, particularly the skills required to maintain a museum, and the absence of any cultural heritage protection legislation. The need to build capacity and skills was echoed by many of the other speakers - the Timorese are very sensibly aware that this must be tackled well before the museum itself is built. The Timorese are also very conscious of the necessity of community involvement and educational outreach programs, as the museum will need a support base to survive. There are other unique challenges as well, as so much of Timorese cultural heritage is intangible. As an example, historian Antonio Vicente Soares gave an entertaining insight into courtship rituals and the secret language of plants employed by lovers. There are also numerous sacred and historical sites. How are these to be represented in a museum? And in order to collect oral histories, there are issues such as the difficulties of travelling to remote locations, the need to make ritual sacrifices and to select auspicious days before interviewing spiritual leaders. And as many sacred objects are kept in ritual houses (uma-lulik) within villages and are still an important part of village life, should the museum acquire these or display only replicas? Should East Timor seek repatriation of articles from international museums?

Three young students from the Peace University also commented very critically on the shortcomings of the educational system in teaching Timorese history and culture. What was most impressive was their obvious deep love of and pride in their country and its traditions and desire to learn more. They saw the establishment of a national museum as an important step toward improving this but would also like support for affiliated resources such as libraries to provide a firm basis for further research and education. They would be very interested in assistance but many had felt constrained contacting overseas institutions because of the language issue as many are not very comfortable using English, and are far more fluent in Indonesian or Portuguese.

The seminar revealed that the Timorese are very realistic about the extent of the challenges facing them in preserving their cultural heritage, yet they remain dedicated and enthusiastic. More information on the Programme and the seminar can be found at: http://www.culturalconservation.unimelb.edu.au/events/museum-to-museum.html

(Anya Dettman, National Library of Australia)

ALIA Executive Director meets with APSIG Committee

Sue Hutley, ALIA Executive Director, was the APSIG Committee's guest at a recent meeting in Canberra on 20 February 2007.

From left: Deveni Temu, APSIG Convenor; Marie Sexton, APSIG Secretary; Sue Hutley, ALIA Executive Director; George Miller, APSIG Committee member.

Sue attended to find out more about APSIG as ALIA has an interest in international library contacts and is, for example, keen to have Australian representatives on all IFLA section committees.

The ALIA International Relations Committee was discussed. Sue noted that the IRC was one of a number of voluntary advisory groups currently working within ALIA. The APSIG Committee took the opportunity to thank ALIA for its continuing support of the APSIG Newsletter by funding postage for a paper copy of the newsletter to be sent to library associations and key contacts in the region. This was a significant means of raising ALIA's profile in the region.

Another topic discussed was how to encourage attendance by librarians from the region at ALIA conferences, which helps promote contacts both ways. Sue suggested that the model of Libs for Africa managed by Sharon Karasmanis as an example of fund-raising for attendance at conferences. Funds are being raised in Australia to pay for African librarians to attend IFLA in Durban this year.

Finally the APSIG Committee took the opportunity to thank ALIA for its continuing support of the APSIG Newsletter by funding postage for a paper copy of the newsletter to be sent to library associations and key contacts in the region, where web connectivity and email may not be as reliable or as accessible.

Appointment to ANU Pacific Research Collection

Karina Taylor from the Alexander Turnbull Library in Wellington, New Zealand has been appointed to the position of Pacific Archivist at the Australian National University (ANU). This is a full time three year position with the aim of establishing a Pacific Research Collection at ANU. It is anticipated that many research papers will be received from former and current scholars at the Research School for Asian and Pacific Studies (RSPAS). Karina has a Bachelors of Arts in History from Otago University and a Masters in Library and Information Studies from Victoria University of Wellington.

Karl Lo, in memoriam

Karl Lo, a well-known figure to the Australian Chinese, Japanese and Korean library community, died in February in San Diego.

Karl did pioneering work at the National Library with Linda Groom and the National CJK Service team in the 1990s on the automated conversion of ABN records with old Wade-Giles Chinese romanisation to the new Pinyin standard.

Karl's professional career was marked by distinction and a unique, pioneering spirit. In the field of East Asian librarianship, his broad interests in technologies and their application to information processing were the hallmarks of his approach to solving the problems of multilingual, multimedia information transfer and storage.

Karl received his Bachelors degree in Chemistry at the Chung Chi College, Hong Kong, in 1958. He received his Masters degree in Library Service at Atlanta University in 1960. After briefly serving as bibliographer, he quickly became head of the East Asia Library at the University of Kansas from 1959-1968. He later served as the head of the East Asia Library at the University of Washington from 1968-1990 where he began his work in Chinese script conversion to Romanization. Karl was appointed as Honorary Professor at Northwest Normal University, Xian, China in 1982, and Consultant at the Academia Sinica, Taiwan, in 1987.

As the director of the IR/PS Library and East Asia Collection at University of California San Diego from 1990 until his retirement in 2002, Karl did his most prolific work in the field of multilingual information processing. He promoted international technical and political cooperation to bring about shared information and materials between the libraries of the Pacific Rim. He won the competitive National Security Education Program grant in 1995 for developing a multilingual computer server to provide ready international access via the Internet to online information in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean scripts. Some of these materials utilized the resources of the San Diego Supercomputer Center. He was a self-taught programmer and developed a Wade-Giles to Pin-yin conversion tool that was used by many institutions and librarians.

His reputation for being a progressive leader in the field of East Asian librarianship made him Acting Chief of the Asian Division of the Library of Congress from March through September 2002.

Karl had various publications in the fields of East Asian collection development, such as the study of Chinese Newspaper collection, library automation, and Internet access to the CJK materials.

(Marie Sexton, Jim Cheng)

PIALA's second Library Advocacy Workshop

A very successful Library Advocacy Workshop was recently held at the Pacific Islands Association of Libraries and Archives (PIALA) 2006 Conference in Koror, Palau on November 14-15, 2006. Supported with grant funding from both IFLA and the American Library Association, 16 participants were invited to attend from throughout Micronesia, Kiribati and Papua New Guinea. The workshop was designed to train library association leaders in the Pacific Islands in library advocacy and policy development.

Sessions were presented by Keith Fiels, Executive Director of the American Library Association and Chair of the IFLA Management of Library Associations Section; and Michael Dowling, Director of the American Library Association International Relations Office, who both travelled to Koror, Palau from Chicago, Illinois. The workshop consisted of lectures and breakout sessions, peppered with personal library advocacy "success stories." Prior to the workshop, the participants were asked to define issues that could be addressed by advocacy action plans. Then, during the workshop these themes surfaced as issues ripe for advocacy action plans:

1. Increased government funding for library materials and technology.
2. Funding and resources for school libraries and librarians.
3. Need for national libraries and archives 4. Extension of services for un-served regions and islands and
4. Increase public awareness of value and benefit of libraries.

During the small group breakout sessions, participants were grouped together by their islands and asked to begin developing an advocacy action plan, directed to a specific group, for one of the issues. Many of the groups picked increasing public awareness of the value and benefit of libraries and began working on their advocacy action plan. Participants all committed to continue work within their islands on implementing their advocacy action plans.

This was the second Library Advocacy Workshop presented at PIALA. In 1997, Tuula Haavisto from the Finnish Library Association presented the first workshop at the PIALA Conference in Pohnpei. But, much has changed in the library and information world since then and thanks to the generosity of the IFLA Action for Development through Library Program (ALP), the IFLA Management of Library Associations Section and the American Library Association, this second workshop was held.

(Arlene Cohen)

Papua New Guinea "virtual" acquisitions project

The National Library of Australia has begun a project to strengthen its already extensive holdings in the social sciences on Papua New Guinea. The project will be trialling the advantages of a "virtual" acquisitions trip to a country that is difficult to visit in person, and will be concentrating on acquiring new titles published in PNG from 2000 onwards, especially those not from the major publishers. After identifying titles not held, by searching the web and databases such as Libraries Australia and catalogues of libraries with strong Pacific collections, sources of supply will be sought with the aim of establishing new contacts within PNG. As well as monographs, serials, newspapers and ephemera, on-line publications for selection will be sought. Anya Dettman, the project officer, would welcome recommendations from other libraries for new titles, or details of publishers, booksellers or potential suppliers, particularly outside the capital Port Moresby. Contact Anya Dettman, at adettman@nla.gov.au or phone (02) 62 621702.

Iraq Diary: Iraq National Library and Archives blog

Read a personal account of events in Iraq and what is happening at the country's national library in a blog by the Director of the Iraq National Library and Archives, Mr Saad Eskandar. Mr Eskandar's account of the daily difficulties he experiences in managing his library gives a harrowing and moving snapshot of life in Iraq for ordinary people, and a penetrating view of the future of his library and his country.

http://www.bl.uk/iraqdiary.html

The blog is hosted by the British Library.

Appointment to ANU Pacific Research Collection

An APT5 Cinema program presented by the Queensland Art Gallery's Australian Cinémathèque from 2 March to 27 May 2007 : Hong Kong, Shanghai: Cinema Cities is an extraordinary opportunity to embark on a thematic and chronological journey through the interconnected film histories of Shanghai and Hong Kong. Screening more than 60 films and presented midway between the centenaries of mainland Chinese cinema in 2005 and Hong Kong cinema in 2009, the program includes the earliest existing film from silent-era Shanghai, Romance of a Fruit Peddler 1922 (dir: Zhang Shichuan), which will screen with live musical accompaniment; a retrospective of the work of actress Ruan Lingyu (known as the 'Shanghai Garbo'), which includes her best known film, Goddess 1934 (dir: Wu Yonggang); and Chinese cinema classics set in city streets and against a backdrop of political turmoil. Other highlights include the cinema stories of celebrated writer Eileen Chang, the genre of tenement films (responses to crowded communal living conditions), and the songstress films of perennial stars Zhou Xuan, Li Lihua and Grace Chang (Ge Lan).Visit http://www.asiapacifictriennial.com/cinema for screening details.

Japan Fantastic: Focus on Tezuka
5 - 13 April 2007

Covering a spectrum of issues and styles, the anime of Osamu Tezuka (1928-1989) consistently combines seemingly cute characters with powerful post-nuclear sentiments. Familiar yet strange, kitsch yet elegant, Tezuka's iconic animated work affords the viewer an insight into the perplexing formal mutations and weird narrative contortions that typify postwar Japanese culture. Curated by Philip Brophy, Australia's leading expert on anime, and presented in conjunction with the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Focus on Tezuka screens throughout the Easter holidays and includes Tezuka Kids' Flicks.

To view complete film notes for Japan Fantastic: Focus on Tezuka see http://www.asiapacifictriennial.com/cinema/focus_on_tezuka

APT5 Filmmakers: until 27 May 2007

The APT5 Cinema programs explore the diversity of cinema practice in the Asia-Pacific region and show case the work of seven APT5 filmmakers: Jackie Chan (Hong Kong), Beck Cole (Warramungu/Luritja people, Australia), Kumar Shahani (India), Sima Urale (Samoa/New Zealand), Vi_t Linh (Vietnam), Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Thailand) and Yang Fudong (China). A display in the Australian Cinémathèque's media gallery celebrates Jackie Chan as director, action choreographer and actor.

(Judy Gunning)

Appointment to ANU Pacific Research Collection

Two significant new free legal databases have become available. The Asian Legal Information Institute is a gateway that allows simultaneous searching of more than 100 databases containing legislation, case-law, law reform reports and legal journals from 27 countries including the Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, Pakistan, Mongolia and East Timor. The address is : http://www.asianlii.orgAnd in a major achievement, the Tonga Legislation Database Online can be found at http://www.tonga-law.to. Legislation is in English and Tongan.

Farewell to Daniel Paraide

APSIG notes with sadness the death at the age of 49 of Mr Daniel Paraide, Director-General of the Papua New Guinea National Library and Archives. Mr Paraide died of a suspected heart attack in December 2006. He held the position of director general of the Office of Libraries and Archives (the National Library) and was the chief adviser to the Office of Libraries and Archives Board. Daniel, well known to the Australian profession, was most recently lead manager in the K7 million Australian government-funded project to renovate the National Library as the 30th Independence anniversary gift to the people of Papua New Guinea.

Daniel came from Pilapila village near Rabaul in East New Britain Province. He was the son of a pastor and missionary. He studied education at the University of Papua New Guinea and taught in high schools before becoming a librarian, rising to the post of Director-General. Daniel was, for years, most concerned about the annual budgetary allocation for the Office of Libraries and Archives. He wanted to do more for the office as well as offer more support to schools and provinces. Continued budgetary constraints prevented him from realising his goals. He always wanted decision makers to realise that without books and libraries, PNG children have little hope for a better future.

Daniel is survived by his wife Patricia, who is a senior research fellow in the education division at the National Research Institute, and children Daniel (Jnr), Stephanie and Martin, and we convey our condolences to them on behalf of the Australian profession.
(Amelia McKenzie)

Forthcoming APSIG events

Wednesday, 28 March APSIG library visit : 12 noon- 1 pm : United Nations Information Centre for Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific, Level 1, 7 National Circuit, Barton. Meet the Director, Mr Abdullah Saleh Mbamba. Refreshments. Queries Toni Smith, Librarian : 62 738200

August-September : APSIG visit to the ANU Centre for Middle Eastern Studies. More details later this year.

Further activities are being planned for later this year. Details will be given in the July 2007 newsletter and in Incite. Announcements will also be made on the APSIG and other listserves.

APSIG Newsletter

Published three times a year : March, July and November. Address : PO Box 51, Lyneham, A.C.T. 2602, Australia. ISSN 1327 1024

Copy deadline for July 2007 is Wednesday 20 June. Contributions very welcome especially from the Asia/Pacific region.

Contact : Marie Sexton, (please remove '.nospam' from address)Editor telephone 02-62 477795.

Issues mounted on the APSIG homepage at http://www.alia.org.au/groups/apsig/