Int. Libr. Rev. (1973) 5, 99-103

I N T A M E L W O R K I N G P A R T Y , I T A L Y , 1972 R E S E A R C H S T U D I E S

(3) Metropolitan Public Library Research in Developing Countries H. C. CAMPBELLJ"

PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH PROGRAM

In 1972 the International Association of Metropolitan City Libraries (INTAMEL) is preparing to embark on an additional 3-year research project in order to investigate the needs of metropolitan public library systems in developing countries. The purpose of this program is to carry forward the work which the Association has been doing since its founda- tion in 1968. During this period INTAMEL has prepared a set of basic standards for Metropolitan City Public Library systems, largely in developed countries, and has secured the publication of an extensive series of reports and studies on various aspects of metropolitan public libraries in Germany, Great Britain, Japan, the U.S.A. and Canada.

In selecting metropolitan cities in these research areas, INTAMEL will be guided by the fact that its member libraries are situated in these countries, and that there has been sufficient interest shown in such countries to establish a long-range program for training public library staffs and developing and extending public library systems. It is expected that the research program carried out in each country may also be of benefit elsewhere since in the case of its previous work INTAMEL has found that the results of the studies have been of value outside the metropolitan area investigated. Similarly, much of the benefits in train- ing staff and developing new work methods will be of value outside of the local library system. A further long-term benefit which is to be expected is the intensified exchange of staff and experience between metropolitan library systems in different countries.

With this in mind, it is suggested that the program should concentrate largely on those countries in which INTAMEL is planning to hold its

President, INTAMEL, Toronto Public Library, 40 St Clair Avenue East, Toronto, 7, Canada.

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own meetings during the next several years. It is expected that this will include India, Nigeria and Ghana, and possibly a country in Latin America.

NATURE OF METROPOLITAN URBAN LIBRARY NEEDS

The public library systems in most of the major metropolitan urban centres of the world are growing in size and complexity along with the growth of the urban population, and in keeping with the growth in the amount of printed and other materials produced by each country. Since the metropolitan urban centre is generally also the centre for media production and use in its country, the increasing production of books and other materials has a direct effect on the demands made on the public library system.

In metropolitan cities where there has been only a brief period of public library services (less than 30 years), every indication points to the extension of existing services by local and national governments, and the building up of a system of public libraries comparable to the systems already existing in older established metropolitan centres.

The reason for this is not hard to find. The problems of production, acquisition, storage and dissemination of printed and published materials to all citizens has been solved in many cities through the development of large metropolitan public library systems. In order to provide for the development of their education systems and industrial growth, many countries have relied on such means of making available the literary, scientific, technical and cultural production of knowledge of the country itself, as well as material from outside of the country.

A further matter which would appear to be of concern is the way in which the financing of such a metropolitan public library system is to be carried out. In some cases, the financing is on a purely local basis, and in other cases it is shared between the local metropolitan municipal government and the next level of government. In other cases it is shared between several levels of government: municipal, provincial and federal.

I t therefore becomes extremely important for responsible public agencies to establish the goals and objectives of a metropolitan public library system, since the funds for its maintenance and upkeep will require annually increasing amounts from various levels of government. It is also important to keep in mind the basic purpose of the library system, which is that its services should be accessible to all sectors of the population, and that no person should be denied access to them because of economic conditions or other limiting factors.

RESEARCH IN D E V E L O P I N G COUNTRIES 101

C H A R A C T E R I S T I C S OF M E T R O P O L I T A N P U B L I G L I B R A R Y SYSTEMS IN D E V E L O P I N G C O U N T R I E S

In many countries national liberation movements have given rise to the need for new systems for education and technical and economic develop- ment. In such instances extended public library systems have often been introduced into the life of metropolitan areas. Such library systems have in many cases been based on existing private or semi-private library services which offered some access to knowledge to certain sectors of the population. In many cases, completely new public library systems have had to be started, based on models adopted from Scandinavian, British, American, Soviet Union, Chinese or other experience.

The work of international agencies, particularly the United Nations and its specialized agencies, including UNESCO, and various national agencies of Great Britain, the U.S.A., Germany, France, the Soviet Union and other countries have stimulated a considerable variety of metropolitan library systems in different countries of the world. Foreign methods have had to be adapted to meet local conditions, and emphasis has had to be placed on setting up local methods and local initiatives to meet the requirements of the metropolitan community.

For this reason, a major portion of any research program carried out under the auspices of INTAMEL will be directed to stimulating re- search and training of the staff within selected metropolitan centres so that new methods may be developed which would be appropriate to meet the needs of the local metropolitan users. This does not mean that some of the methods used in developed countries may not be applicable, but the research will seek the most effective ways of meeting local requirements regardless of those presently being used.

P U B L I C L I B R A R Y STANDARDS FOR D E V E L O P I N G C O U N T R I E S

Over the past four years INTAMEL has established a certain number of guidelines for the development of metropolitan public library standards in developed countries. It would appear useful to conduct an evaluation of these with a view to determining whether or not they are applicable in developing countries. I f it is seen that different standards should be evolved, then these should be tried out and tested in developing metro- politan areas.

The rise of the present public library services in developed countries should not be considered as an answer to the problem even for such countries. In many cases the metropolitan library systems are under constant evolution and change, and it is therefore quite likely that in

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carrying out the research project of developing countries, some insight will be gained into the needs of developed countries as well.

AREAS FOR I N V E S T I G A T I O N

The following areas of investigation are basic to the needs of citizens for library services in metropolitan areas, and would be considered as first priority areas for research projects:

(1) The goals of the metropolitan public library system. (2) Nature of users' needs and requirements in the metropolitan area. (3) Means of access to materials required by public library systems. (4) The social and economic developments in the metropolitan area affecting the

public library system. (5) Growth of the professional and technical staff required for public library

systems.

For each of the above topics, a number of questions can be raised concerning research investigations which are most appropriate for each metropolitan centre. The choice of such research will depend on the local requirements experienced by each city.

N A T U R E OF THE W O R L D ' S M E T R O P O L I T A N AREAS AND L I B R A R Y SERVICES

The growth and development of metropolitan areas in all parts of the world has been uneven, and will continue to be uneven for some time to come.

There are 73 metropolitan centres of over one million population in countries where there is a continuing growth of population and where there is not as yet a highly-developed public library system in each metropolitan area. These centres will receive priority consideration for metropolitan public library research funding.

There are 80 metropolitan areas, each of which contains a public library service of certain proportions, generally with a history of over 30 or 40 years of growth (in some cases, over 100 years). Such public library services are characterized as developed, from the point of view that they have had enough time to make some impact on the general education level of the metropolitan area, and have had certain periods of sustained growth in order to develop particular library methods and services. It is normally expected that in these developed library systems, analysis and investigation is regularly being carried out in order to test the continuing effectiveness of their services.

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PREPARATION OF RESEARCI-I PROPOSALS

It is strongly recommended that the advice and assistance of local research specialists in the field of education, government, political science and the social sciences should be sought in each area where a research project is being considered. 1

1 In December 1979 a meeting of library research teams from metropolitan Lagos and Accra met in Lagos with the financial support of the International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, to study methods for a West African survey of libraries in metropolitan African areas.