Workshop on acquisitions from the Third World: Proceedings

Library Acqu i s i t i ons : Pract ice and T h e o r y , Vol. 1, Pp. 117--133 (1977). Pergamon Press Printed in U.S.A.

WORKSHOP ON ACQUISITIONS FROM

THE THIRD WORLD: PROCEEDINGS

Edited by

JANICE CARROLL

Acquisitions Department Eisenhower Library

Johns Hopkins University

and

JAMES THOMPSON

Assistant Librarian for Technical Services Johns Hopkins University

A B S T R A C T

Article includes transcripts of speeches concerning the book publishing situation and the acquisitions problems in the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America, and also U.S. Government Docu- ments, followed by a summary of the panel discussions which followed each address.

On February 4, 1977, the Library of Congress was host to a workshop on "Acquisitions from the Third World." These proceedings are the record of that workshop, and include the four keynote addresses and commentary on the related discussion.

The workshop was jointly sponsored and arranged by the Library of Congress Order Division (represented by Jennifer V. Magnus, Assistant Chief); the Philadelphia Acquisitions Information Network (James Thompson, Johns Hopkins University, Coordinator); and the A.L.A./R.T.S.D./Council of Regional Groups (Karen Horny, Chairperson). It was decided to limit the scope of the workshop to the three areas which present the greatest acquisitions problems for American libraries: the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. South Asia and the Far East are generally better covered by U.S. area studies programs, NPAC, L.C. field offices, etc. For several reasons an additional session was scheduled dealing with problems in acquiring U.S. government documents, which present many of the same difficulties, and do so for (in many ways) analogous reasons.

Eighty people attended the all-day workshop in the Wilson Room of the main Library.

117

118 J A N I C E C A R R O L L A N D J A M E S T H O M P S O N

Mo~t participants had attended the A.L.A. Midwinter Conference or the preceeding meeting of the Seminar on the Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials.

U.S. GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS

James Thompson opened the workshop and introduced the first speaker, Merwin C. Phelps, Chief, Library Resources Section, Congressional Research Service. Mr. Phelps spoke on U.S. government documents and the problems librarians face in acquiring them.

MERWIN C. PHELPS

I was somewhat surprised and amused to learn that publications of the United States government were to be considered in a workshop dealing with third world acquisitions. However, .thinking back over my long years of attempting to acquire federal government publications, I can see some logic in this. Publications of the government may not be as difficult to obtain as those of, say, Mali or Paraguay, but, in many cases, similar devious methods will have to be used in this process.

I am sure all of you have had experience in acquiring items through the Superintendent of Documents, either because your library is a depository library or because you have submitted purchase orders. The subject of depository libraries is not appropriate here, and I will not go into that can of worms (to coin an expression). The process by which Government Printing Office materials can be purchased is outlined in the introduction to each issue of the Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications. 1 The introduction explains how to set up a deposit account, and this is probably the most satisfactory method of dealing with the GPO. You needn't worry about the unannounced changes in prices, or perhaps I should say price increases. These are of concern if you enclose a check with each order. The GPO will not send an item unless the amount of money submitted covers the complete cost. The National Library of Medicine has issued a brochure explaining, in simple terms, how publications may be ordered from the Superintendent of Documents. The title is NLM Publications, it was issued in November, 1976, and it is available free from the National Library of Medicine. 2

Mr. Morehead comments in his book, Introduction to United States Public Documents, 3

that 55 to 90 percent of the output of the government is not published by the Government Printing Office. The spread of those percentage figures gives some indication of the incomplete knowledge we have as to what is actually issued and available. It becomes increasingly apparent that the "third world" concept is not completely amiss when it comes to U.S. government materials.

Many, if not most, government agencies, and agencies within agencies, and agencies within them, publish lists of materials they have issued. I might say here that an absolutely essential acquisitions tool when it comes to government publications is the latest edition of the U.S. Government Manual. 4 Though it certainly does not cover all government agencies, it will provide information on most of those with which you will be concerned. The first step in acquiring non-GPO materials, or GPO items for that matter, is to obtain copies of these lists from those agencies issuing publications in the subject areas in which you hope to collect. The next step is to follow the directions usually given in these lists for acquiring the titles noted. These directions can often be complicated indeed. As you will note in the Library of Congress' own list, "Library of Congress Publications in Print, ' 's there are ten different sources from which individual titles listed should be secured. I might add a point here. Individual items can

Workshop on Acquisit ions from the Third World: Proceedings t 19

often be obtained free by calling or writing the agency or sub-agency responsible for a title. The new responsiveness of the government to the people emphasized in President Carter's fireside chat may, in fact, be applicable here. Address your letter simply to the Publications Office o f the agency concerned. There may not be an office with that title, but the letter should end up in the right place. My experience has been that government agencies are willing to send single copies, though, I must admit, not as willing as in former years. Again, perhaps the President's attitude will change things. Perhaps the experience in my division is not the best guide, for we have always been able to cite the "needs of Congress" in our requests. Agencies tend to take notice when Congress is mentioned. Even so, I am sure you will be pleasantly surprised at the generosity you will find when it comes to the distribution of an agency's materials. I expect I am not telling you anything new. You are probably already aware of this.

Another means of acquiring needed titles is, of course, to write to your Congressman or Senator. Each Member is allotted a certain minimum quota of GPO items, and he or she has the means of acquiring others. Some of you might consider it demeaning to write your Congressman, but I suggest you swallow hard and try this approach. It often works. Care must be taken not to overdo the process, but for that occasional important and elusive title, give it a try. This ploy should be used particularly when you need to obtain congressional committee prints or other congressional publications. Perhaps for the committee prints, it might be better to approach the committee responsible. The committees are usually given a number of copies of these prints, though the number is limited. It would be wise to write as soon as you hear of a title and trust that the supply is not exhausted.

Mrs. Magnus has mentioned an imaginative friend of hers who has set up an individual and effective mini-exchange program as a means of obtaining publications in his field of interest. This man has gotten in touch with his counterparts in the federal government and has agreed to supply them with his publications if they, in turn, will send him copies of government publications of which they are aware and which concern his subject interests. Jennifer tells me that this has proved, for him, to be a most effective method of acquiring materials. Whether the method is applicable to a library such as yours depends on certain factors. There must be a person on the staff who is publishing and who knows whom to approach in the bureaucracy to obtain items of interest to the library in exchange for his or her writings. Academic librarians are in a position to approach faculty members for the purpose, and, with a little digging, could possibly supply the faculty members with the names of individuals within the government with whom he or she might exchange publications. The success of such a ploy would depend, of course, on the faculty member's interest in the library and on his or her willingness to cooperate. This approach would work best if the Library has a particular and discrete subject area in which it wishes to collect. It probably would be a matter of luck as to whether the interests of the person who publishes match the subject interests of the library concerned.

There are certainly other means of acquiring government publications which the immagina- tive librarian can think up. Middle of the night forays come to mind, but this is not a viable method for those of you who live some distance from the sources of supply. All I can do is leave you with these encouraging words - Happy and, I hope, successful hunting!

FOOTNOTES FOR PHELPS ARTICLE

1 Washington, D.C., Government Printing Office, pp. viii-ix

2 Bethesda, DHEW, Public Health Service, National Institutes o f Health, National Library o f Medicine, 1976. DHEW Pub. No. (NIH) 76-261.

3 Littleton, Colo., Libraries Unlimited, 1975

120 JANICE CARROLL AND JAMES THOMPSON

4Washington, D.C., Office of Federal Register, National Archives and Records Service, General Service Administration, 1977.

SWashington, D.C., Library of Congress, LC 1.12/s:P

Following Phelps' address the participants divided into three discussion groups, led by Pat Johnson (Congressional Information Service) and Susan Harrison (Free Library of Philadelphia); Sandra Patterson (L.C.) and Thompson; and Maurveen Williams (C.R.S.) and Edna Laughrey (University of Michigan). The discussion centered on the Government Printing Office and its services, or lack of them. Most participants emphasized the value of proximity to Washington, of telephone contact and various other forms of personal pressure put on G.P.O. and other issuing agencies. It was suggested that better service could be obtained from G.P.O. by ordering items one at a time rather than in batches. C.I.S. was widely endorsed as a source of documents, with other commercial firms rated poorly, with the exception of Bernan Associates. C.I.S.'s lists of Congressional publications, and G.P.O.'s daily shipping lists, were suggested as useful tools to monitor. For out-of-print documents, the prognosis is poor; but C.I.S. was suggested as a possible source, along with interlibrary resource sharing and requests for photocopies from the original issuing agencies.

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA

The second session dealt with the Middle East including North Africa. The keynote address was delivered by George Atiyeh, Head, Near East Section, Orientalia Division, Library of Congress. Mr. Atiyeh had just returned from a buying trip to the Near East, including Beirut. His address as transcribed below is derived from notes prepared before his trip. However, the publishing and bookselling situation has changed enormously owing to the civil war in Lebanon. Little is published in Beirut and the premier status of that city as a distribution center for Near Eastern publications has disintegrated, with Cairo picking up some of the trade. There are signs of rejuvenation in Beirut, however.

Mr. Atiyeh's description of the current state of things in Lebanon was not recorded because of technical problems, so his speech is presented here as originally composed. The editors feel that his remarks about the Lebanese book trade constitute a valuable historical view of a unique intellectual center which hopefully has not passed away forever:

GEORGE ATIYEH

In any discussion on book production, four elements are to be taken into consideration: authoring, publishing, printing and distribution. Because of the limitation of time, I will limit my remarks to publishing and distribution, including the book trade as part of distribution. I plan to 1) review the state of information on publishing, 2) describe the major centers of publishing, 3) describe the conditions of the book trade in the various parts of the Middle East, and 4) attempt to give an estimate of the number of titles published and their cost.

Workshop on Acquisitions from the Third World: Proceedings 121

Needless to say, the detailed and accurate information on the quantity and quality of the library output of any area in the world is required in order to set up a rational program of acquisitions. Given this fact, we must now examine the possibility of getting this information on book production and on the book trade in the Middle East and North Africa. My response to this dilemma is, in general, pessimistic. However, I must hasten to point out that the beginning of a more systematic approach which can provide, us with the needed knowledge is looming on the horizon. A growing number of national bibliographies are being published, especially in the Arab world, and there is a greater effort being exerted on the part of publishers to prepare "usable" trade lists. To the already well established bibliographies of Turkey, Iran and Egypt, we may now add those of Algeria, Iraq, Syria and Libya. These bibliographies are coming out on a fairly regular basis. The Lebanese national bibliography, unfortunately, ceased publication after only three issues. And the prolonged warfare and its consequences have ended, for the time being, Lebanon's dominant role in Middle Eastern publication and distribution of books and serials.

In addition to the national bibliographies and trade lists, other sources exist such as the Accessions List: Middle East (published monthly by the PL-480 Procurement Office in Cairo), and al-Nashrah al-cArabiyah lil-matbu-c-at (published annually by the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization, ALESCO). This amounts to a national Arab bibliography. The first two issues have been disappointing: not all significant publications have been included and a number of countries did not report their output at all.

Several periodical publications dealing with books and libraries, or periodicals of a general and specialized nature, offer still another source of information. Reference may be made to Rahnama-i kitab (Guide to Books) which lists and reviews current books every month (Teheran, Box 1939), and Barres-i kitab (Book review), published bimonthly by Morvarid publications (Khane-i kitabeh, Shahreza Ave), which reviews significant Iranian publications. As of 1972, the Iranian Union of Publishers and Bookstore Owners began the publication of Fihrist, a trade list including the major works published in Iran in original or translation form. In Turkey, Yeni-Yayinlar (New Publications) is equivalent but not exactly similar to Rahnama-i kitab in that it provides mostly short annotations rather than long book reviews (Box 440, Kizilay, Ankara).

At present, there is no similar publication in the Arab World since the demise of the Arab Book Review (Majallat al-Kitab al-cArabi) in 1971. Al-Maktabah, published by ai-Muthanna Bookstore in Baghdad, has not been appearing regularly. It usually contains information on Iraqi publications, on manuscripts of classical works in Arabic, and anecdotal material on Arab authors and book publishing.

Of general specialized journals, one may safely state that most. if not all, carry bibliographical sections. However, mention should be made of al-Adib in Beirut, The Journal of the Gulf and Arabian Penisula Studies (quarterly, University of Kuwayt), and The Journal of Palestine Studies (quarterly, The Institute of Palestine Studies, Beirut). These three publications are quite informative and regularly list recent books and articles on the history and literature of the Gulf area, and on the Palestine Question.

The book dealers' catalogs in some parts of the Arab World, especially in Lebanon and Egypt, offer another reliable source of information. A number of dealers are beginning to put out catalogs on a regular basis, some of which are quite good. Book dealers in Beirut such as Dar al-Mashreq, Sulaiman's Bookshop, al-Thaqafah Bookshop, Lebanon Bookshop and others have put out trade lists containing their own as well as other commercial publications; unfortunately, most of Lebanon's bibliographic services have ceased since the onset of the civil war. Most of the big Egyptian publishers such as Dar al-Macarif, The Ango-Egyptian Bookshop, Maktabat al-Nahdah, and Halabi Organization for Publishing and Distribution (all in Cairo), offer detailed annual lists of their publications. Furthermore, the General Egyptian Book Organization publishes annually a


catalog of the publications of the participants in the annual International Book Fair (held in January of every year), and, as of 1972, the Organization has begun the publication of an annual Egyptian Books in Print, organized by subject with an author and title index.

Who publishes in the Middle East?

Commercial publishing in the Middle East is done less by organized and well established publishing houses than by bookdealers, the governments, and academic research and political institutions. The government plays an important role in publishing in countries with one party or "authoritarian" regimes. In most of these countries, there is an agency that functions as a publisher, usually located in the Ministry of Culture or the Ministry of Information. Occasion- ally, one will find a government-subsidized or a government-owned publishing house. In Egypt, for example, the Egyptian Book Organization which now combines the old established Dar al-Ta'lif wal-Tarjamah wal-Nashr and Dar al-Kutub al-misriyah (The Egyptian National Library) is an agency of the Ministry of Culture and is responsible for a high percentage of Egypt's publishing. The largest publishing house, Dar al-Macarif, is a nationalized institution, as is the prestigious Dar al-Hilal. In Iraq, the Ministry of Information has become the largest publisher of commercial books.

In Tunisia, La Maison Tunisienne de l'Edition, and La Maison Tunisienne de Diffusion are government owned, as is the Societ6 National d'Edition et Diffusion in Algeria. In other Arab states such as Saudi Arabia, Morocco and Jordan, the role of the government is less obvious. There is little publishing activity, however, and the government, limited to subsidizing those authors whose opinions happen to agree with its policies, purchases a large number of copies for free distribution.

Non-governmental commercial publishing flourished mostly in Istanbul, Beirut, Cairo and Teheran. These four cities are the centers of book production and book trade in the Middle East. One would be able to acquire most of the commercially published output of the Arab World in Beirut or in Cairo, most of the Turkish output in Istanbul, and most of the Iranian in Teheran.

In a recent (1972) survey of book publishing prepared by a marketing institute in Istanbul, PEVA, for the United States Information Service, 39 commercial publishers were found to be located in Istanbul, as opposed to only eight in Ankara; that is to say, an average of 78% of all commercial publishing in Turkey is done in Istanbul.

Istanbul is also the leading intellectual center. Ankara has an important second place due to the presence there of the Turkish Historical Society, the Turkish Linguistic Society, and the Universities of Ankara, Hacteppe and Middle East Technical University. Izmir comes in third place. Commercial publishing is done largely by private publishers, but government institutions, universities, research institutions - both Turkish and foreign - and political parties contribute a substantial amount. A number of banks include small departments that specialize in publishing artistic and cultural works in addition to economic studies, mainly for the purpose of publicity via literary contributions to the general culture.

In Turkey as well as in the rest of the Middle East, many publishers have their own bookshops. Generally, they sell against cash to distributors. The publishers who do "not have bookstores do not sell on a retail basis. The university publications are sold at faculty bookstores, and, on a smaller scale, at a few privately owned bookstores in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. But on the whole, books are sold against cash at faculty bookstores, which makes them difficult to obtain, especially from out of town universities. Istanbul had a number of open-air bookstands where the latest and most colorful editions of translations can be bought, and also the Great Bazaar, a


book market for old and new books unequalled in the Near East. According to topics, Turkish publications concentrate on the social sciences, followed by

literature, history and religion. Publications in the pure sciences are limited in number and, except in a few cases, are confined to textbooks.

The second main center of publication was, until the war, Beirut. Beirut once bragged of having two hundred publishers, but 30 commercial publishers would be closer to the truth. The two hundred figure included textbook publishers and the more than one hundred newspaper and magazine publishers, of which only al-Nahar newspaper published books, and the numerous publishers of news reports, and news summaries, and economic digests, all expensive publications of limited use.

Publishing in Beirut has been a remarkable phenomenon. The absence of censorship attracted many writers from all over the Arab World. During the last decade, modern printing presses and established book distribution companies have helped to propel Beirut into becoming a leading book production and book trade center, its publications covering all possible subjects. Dictionaries were a major item, as were guides of different types. Reprinting of classics and out-of-print books became an increasingly profitable proposition. The increased activity in reprinting, however, has been accompanied by a rise in pirated editions and in the production of "quicky" re-editions of classical works. The famous multi-volume Cocordance et indices de la tradition musulmane published by Brill and sold for approximately $800.00, was excellently reproduced in Beirut in a pirated edition selling for only $100.00. Before the government was able to impound the 600 copies of the pirated edition, 300 had been sold.

All fields of writing are represented in Lebanese publishing. The social sciences, especially politics, are perhaps the most numerous, followed by literature and history.

In addition to commercial publishing, Beirut's institutes of higher learning publish the more scholarly works. The American University of Beirut and the University of St. Joseph currently lead in the quantity of publications, but the Lebanese University and the Arab University of Beirut have recently expanded their output in an attempt to produce as much as their peers.

The book trade in Beirut is, perhaps, the most advanced in the Middle East. The bi~g Lebanese bookshops are stocked with Western language as well as Arabic language works. American, English and French publications dealing with the Middle East are readily available there, as are Arabic books published in Egypt, North Africa, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Libya and in Iran. Many of the Lebanese book dealers export books to Europe, the United States and the rest of the Arab World on a large scale. Their expertise in this field is unequalled in the Middle East. Beirut's new book center, an eight-story building in the heart of the city, is a kind of book supermarket. It will house the major Beiruti publishers and will include an outlet to sell trade publications on the premises.

The third major center is Cairo. The status of book production in Cairo is different from that of either Istanbul or Beirut. The largest four publishers belong the the public sector and produce approximately 40 percent of all significant publications in Egypt. Of the 76 publishers listed in a recent Guide to Arab Publishers (1974), only 13 put out more than 50 titles per year. The rest are small private organizations that deal with texbooks or are affiliated with religious institutions.

In addition to the public and private sectors, there are a large number of institutions that publish books; most are government sponsored, the universities included. However, unlike Istanbul, the works of these institutions are readily available in the market and may be found in all major bookstores.

Egyptian books are exported in relatively large quantities to all parts of the Arab World. Cairo, until recently, was the leading book producer and distributor in the Arab World. Many


of the great scholars and writers of the Arabic language once flourished there, though Beirut has now usurped this distinction. There are, however, indications that, at present, some of the glitter of Cairo's time-honored tradition in book production is returning again.

Like the rest of the Middle East, Egyptian literary production leans towards the social sciences and literature. History is in third place, followed by religion. Editions of the classics has been and remains the Egyptian forte.

The fourth most important center of publishing in the Middle East is Teheran. A list of publishers in Teheran prepared for internal use by the Iran Documentation Center, cites 46 private publishers. However, the great majority are small and have limited operations. Among the most important of these are Amir-e Kabir, Eghbal, The Islamic Bookshop, Ashrafi Publish- ing House, Buny~d Firhang-e Iran, The Atai Press, Ibn-i Sina and Franklin Book Company. Franklin publishes mainly translations, but lately has also been publishing textbooks. The government owns or subsidizes five publishing enterprises which concentrate on technical and scientific works needed for its modernization drive. The most important of these is the Iran Culture Foundation which is primarily concerned with the publication of dictionaries, research material and books on Iranian culture.

Naturally, the more scholarly works come out of the University presses. The University of Teheran is the major publisher in this field, producing about 120 works per year. It is followed by the Universities of Tabriz and Meshed. There are other universities in Iran: Isfahan, Jundi-Shapur, Pahlavi and the National University, but they are all relatively new and their publication programs are rather limited.

In Teheran, as well as in Beirut, and Baghdad, the reprinting of classical Arabic or Persian works is becoming a major and a profitable aspect of publishing. Out-of-print classics on Islamic history and culture are being made available to a larger community of students and scholars. Eminent in this field is the Islamic Bookshop owned by Shayk Muhammad ad-Akhwandi. According to Iran Almanac, 20 percent of all books published in 1970-71 were reprints.

By talking in positive terms about the major book production and trade centers of the Middle East, I might have given the impression that book publishing and book trade are in an ordered state. This is really only one side of the picture. The other side is much less methodical and in some cases chaotic. In most regions of the Middle East countries, including the major centers, publishing is still in a primitive condition. There is often no distinction between publishing, printing and distribution. Most publishers, who are usually bookshop owners, perform the three functions together, thereby reducing their effectiveness. A few of them are qualified or willing to export books, but many do not have either the patience or the desire to keep records of their sales and of their clients' requests.

From this bird's eye view of the Middle East publishing and book trade situation, we pass to the final part of these remarks, namely, to try to give an estimate of the number of titles published, the number of collectable books and serials, and the number of dollars that should be alloted to their acquisition.

Last October, I prepared for the Library of Congress a set of book production statistics in the Middle East, which included Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan and 18 Arab states. My statistics covered only the year 1972 and were based on a variety of sources, including available national bibliographies, book trade catalogs, special studies in library journals and UNESCO Statistical Yearbook. I hope to publish this statistical study in the future but for now, I will give only the conclusions I have arrived at.

The total production amounted to 16,130 titles including first editions, reprints, translations, pamphlets and government publications. I also estimated that, out of this output, the Library of Congress should acquire 6,860 titles or 40 percent. I realize that these figures are


high, but they reflect the requirements of the Library of Congress for a wider and more comprehensive coverage than is normally required by an academically oriented research library. Yet LC's acquisitions from the Middle East amounted to only 5,307 titles in 1973 and 3,971 in 1974. This represents 77 percent of what I estimate to be the collectable material for 1973 and 58 percent for 1974.

The first figure (1973) includes a high number of retrospective material due to the fact that, during that fiscal year, I took a trip to several countries of the Middle East and purchased more than 800 titles of retrospective material.

To summarize, the collectable material from the Middle East countries for one year is estimated at 6,800 titles, of which 5,000 may be easily acquired through purchases and exchange in a single year. Based on the prices paid by the Library of Congress in 1974, the average cost per unit is $5.00, calling for an allotment of $25,000. For the participants of the PL-480 program, a savings of $5,000 is possible, making a total of $20,000 for monographs.

Up to this point, I have dealt with monographic material only. Thequestion of serials is more complicated because there is no subscription service similar to Stechert-Macmillan nor is there any cooperative plan in the United States to acquire and preserve serials. It is relatively easy to subscribe to important newspapers and journals such as al-Ahram and al-Nahar in the Arab World; Cumhuriyet in Turkey, and Ittilit'at in Iran. These papers have the facilities to assure continuous delivery anywhere in the world. However, the great majority of serials are hard to get, simply because the distribution systems do not function properly when the delivery is destined to a country outside the place of publication.

Serials are extremely important, as you are all aware, regardless of the controversy that surrounds the newspapers as research tools. Any serious research library will have to acquire representative papers in terms of geography and orientation. In the case of the Middle East, newspapers are more often than not the organ of political parties, groups and governments.

The number of serials published in the Middle East is rather high, if we include the government publications and the provincial serials. A recent guide (1974) to Arab periodicals lists 1,039 serials in Arabic and 269 in Western languages. The Guide to Turkish Serials (Tiirkiyede Stireli Yayinlar) lists 1,384 newspapers, magazines and periodicals (1967); the directories of Iranian newspaper and periodicals (1969) lists 356 serials. The list of new serial titles is relatively high for the Middle East, since a great number of titles cease publication every year and are constantly replaced.

Of a total of approximately 2,700 serial titles, I estimate that 700 titles should be acquired, including government publications. This figure represents only 25 percent of all serials published, and this is obviously less than the 40 percent I indicated for monographs. This is because the great majority of these titles represent provincial publications. Unless one is interested in a certain province, there is no need to acquire such serials.

In terms of funding, perhaps one hundred titles may be acquired through exchange, and the rest through subscriptions. The average subscription rate is $20.00 which means a total of $12,000 would be required for a fairly comprehensive coverage of Middle East serials.

Following Atiyeh's address the participants expressed a preference for a discussion format using a panel of area and acquisitions experts for question-and-answer dialogue, rather than divided discussion groups. The panel for the Middle East consisted of David Partington (Harvard University), Christian Filstrup (N.Y.P.L.), Alan R. Taylor (Johns Hopkins University), Sara Heitshu (University of Michigan), Scott Bullard (Duke University), and Atiyeh. The difficulties discussed in this session, and the points made concerning possible solutions, were similar to those arising from the subsequent discussions of African and Latin American acquisitions. These will be summarized below.


AFRICA

After lunch, Hans Panofsky, Curator of Africana, Northwestern University spoke on African acquisitions:

HANS E. PANOFSKY

Presentation by Hans Panofsky, Curator of Africana, Mellville J. Herskovitz Library of Africana, Northwestern University. Mr. Panofsky is the first full-time librarian whose work is devoted exclusively to Africana, and the collection he maintains, begun in 1959, is the oldest one of its kind in the United States.

Very much of what George Atiyeh said earlier applies to Africa, and, I expect, also to Latin America. The questions one deals with in acquiring Africana are 1) what is published in Africa and about Africa?, 2) is it of research significance?, and 3) how do I acquire it at the least cost?

A point which I cannot stress too much is that collecting material from Africa is a labor-intensive activity. Unfortunately, one cannot report that we are able to acquire a significantly higher proportion of African publications today than we could a decade ago. With the publication of Periodicals from Africa: A Bibliography and Union List of Periodicals Published in Africa (edited by Carole Travis, compiled by Carole Travis and Miriam Alman, Boston, G. K. Hall, 1977), which is due later this year, we wilt be able to add numerous titles of periodicals published in Africa and I suspect no one in North America currently holds. In the meantime, we must still do a lot of groping around.

I must begin by getting slightly historical. In June, 1962, the Acquisition Section of the Resource and Technical Division of the American Library Association held a session in Miami on "Acquisition of Library Materials from Newly Developing Areas of the World." The proceedings of this meeting were published in Library Resources and Technical Services (Volume 7, NO. 1, Winter 1963, pp. 38-46.) I 'm not sure whether we have learned a great deal since or whether the great many studies - and I've made an effort to go through the many post-1963 studies - have taken us a great deal further. I would, however, like to point out one fairly recent piece which I think has done a good job. This is Acquisitions from the Third World (edited by D. A. Clarke, London, Mansell, 1975.) The paper by Ernst Kohl in this volume is particularly good.

How much is published in Africa? I looked at the latest UNESCO handbook (Kohl has earlier figures), in which it was estimated that, in 1955, 3000 book titles were published in

Africa, which is approXimately 1 percent of world production, and that in 1973 (the most recent data available), 10,000 titles were published in Africa, which is approximately 1.7 percent of world production. Although the proportion has increased, Africa's actual book production still represents only a tiny fraction of world publication.

What is the significance of this from a North American point of view? I think it is a great deal more than the African book production statistics would seem to indicate. Africa is a part of the Old World, the ancestral home of some 20 percent of the U.S. population. It is also a part of the New World (Roots).

How does one obtain publications from Africa? They have no equivalent of our Publisher's


Weekly nor an African Bookseller. They do have, however, the African Book Publishing Record, which was begun in 1975. It is a quarterly and I would urge you all to subscribe. It is published, of all places, in Oxford, England, by Hans Zell (P.O. Box 56, Oxford.) It is really a very useful tool, listing African publications and including an analysis of the book trade in Africa.

While there is a PL 480 Center in Cairo, as George mentioned earlier this morning, and an NPAC center in Nairobi, we desperately need another NPAC center for West and Central Africa. Exactly where to put it is a problem; I think many of us feel that Accra would be the logical place. But there is no question that we do need a center somewhere. The acquisition of publications of the Library of Congress from West and Central Africa is insufficient and the only way to stress this enough is to set up an NPAC center in West Africa. This is extremely important, from the viewpoint of others besides the Library of Congress. The Accession Lists of East Africa put out by the Nairobi office are modern and very useful. We acquire, and tend to acquire, the same pieces. Much of this seems to have been missed by the Library of Congress as emphemera, children's literature, etc.; maybe - and this is taking the long-term outlook - much of this material will be quite useful in the year 2000 or thereabouts. Not everything emanating from Africa may be within the scope of your collection. Most material is similar to Africana appearing in the Americas, in Europe and elsewhere.

Much of Africana from Africa exists only in manuscript form, or in very small, low-volume publications. So what can we rely on? National libraries are generally not very helpful; national bibliographies are slow and incomplete. For example, the president of the Nigerian Publishing Association estimated that 80 percent of Nigerian publications are not reflected in their national bibliographies. (This, incidentally, was cited in Nigerian Libraries, 1974, which is a very good journal indeed.) I think it is an overestimate but nonetheless is an indication of the irreliability of national bibliographies.

We pay a great deal of attention to Library of Congress proof flips and to the current press. We spend a great deal of time reading the New York Times or occasionally even better, AF press clips. Useful in the absence of a center in West Africa serving the Library of Congress, is the weekly West Africa, published in London and using reporters in Africa.

The following are what I consider to be the nine most important acquisition tools presently available to us: 1) Eastern Africa Accession List (Nairobi) 1968- Bi-monthly 2) International African Bibliography (London) 1971- Quarterly 3) African Books Publishing Record (Oxford) 1975- Quarterly 4) Joint Acquisitions List ofAfricana (JALA) (Evanston) 1962- Bi-monthly 5) Current Bibliography on African Affairs (Washington) 1962- Quarterly 6) Africana Journal (New York) 1970- Quarterly 7) African Studies Newsletter (Santa Cruz) 1968- Bi-monthly 8) Africa Today (Denver) 1954- Quarterly 9) Foreign Acquisitions Newsletter (Washington) 1970- Semi-annual

Selecting Africana is more of an art than a science; we try everything and anything. The methods are legion; we don't steal but that is about all we don't do.

Before sitting down, I'd like to mention some general, practical recommendations. Payment prior to receipt of publications is a good idea. You cannot merely pay what you think is the equivalent amount in dollars. One must add bank charges - and be generous. Occasionally, the item ordered will not be received, through no fault of the supplier. Your check (in dollars) may be returned because of the usual habit in these countries of transcribing the date with the day first, followed by the month and the year. North Americans, on the other hand, cite the month


first, then- the day and the year, thus causing the Africans to regard our checks as out of date. Letters should therefore accompany payment and should be written in the language of the country, at least in French, if not in Arabic.

Acquisition trips cannot be taken on a regular basis by most of us so we rely on the trips of colleagues. I would particularly like to stress the usefulness of the acquisition trips of members of the Library of Congress Africana section. The model for these is Julian Witherell's trip to Nigeria, South America and Europe in 1972, published by the Library of Congress in 1973. Many of the write-ups of such expeditions, and other types of helpful bits and pieces are reported in the African Library Newsletter, which has been issued irregularly since 1975 by the African Studies Library of Boston University. Jim Armstrong, who will be taking charge of the NPAC center of the Library of Congress in Nairobi, started the newsletter. It is a useful publication and we do hope that Boston University or some other institution will continue it.

Also noteworthy is the UNESCO Bulletin for Libraries (Paris, Vol. 1, April, 1947), and, maybe even more important for bits and pieces as well as formal publications, the Bibliography Documentation Terminology (Paris, UNESCO, Vol. 14, NO. 1, Jan., 1974). The International Library Review (New York, Academic Press, Vol. 1, Jan., 1969) is certainly worth looking at, too.

Turning now to the book trade, Siegfried Taubert's African Book Trade Directory (New York, Bowker, 1971) is a pioneering piece. It is far too embrasive, though, and we find it now has little usefulness. Much more useful is the much skimpier Directory of Government Printers and Prominent Bookshops in the African Region, issued in 1970 by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. We are all eagerly awaiting the African Book World and Press, a directory which is due later this year from Oxford, England, for a modest $40.00 and which will be produced by Hans Zell, the man who is responsible for the African Book Publishing Record.

Going back to housekeeping items, we find that multiple forms are not the kind that can be efficiently interpreted by all of our suppliers. We simply find that an order form with small print on either one or both sides cannot be effectively used by the bulk of our suppliers. I should add that I am talking largely about tropical Africa here, not South Africa. A heavy book trade, comparable to the European, is present only in South Africa. On the whole, you may do better by purchasing directly from African Imprint Library Services in Bedford, New York, rather than try to establish direct contact with African sources of supply.

This is our best source. It is hard to estimate what proportion of imprints from Africa come through them; I suspect it is somewhere in the region of one third. I also suspect that a great many institutions with African acquisition programs smaller than our own would have a much larger proportion of imprints supplied from them. And I think it is a good thing that this happens.

There are national bibliographies. They do exist; but, to be honest, we collect them like rare emphemera, not as acquisition tools. They are fascinating things to have, and they are available for the following countries: Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Maiagasy Re- public, Malawi, Mauritius, Nigeria, Rhodesia, Senegal, Sierra Leone and South Africa including Namibia. However, these bibliographies are of limited use, except for the one for South Africa, which is fairly helpful.

Now there have been two regional bibliographies: 1) the Accessions List Eastern Africa, covering Ethiopia, Kenya, Malagasy Republic, Malawi, Mauritius, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia; and 2) Bibliographie Nationale Courante des Pays d'Afrique d'Expression Francaise d'Apr6s la Production Nationaie Imprim6e ou Multigraphi u Pendant l'Ann6e, published by the library school in Dakar. The library school has only produced one issue of this bibliography for


publication in Francophonic Africa. It was sort of a class project, done largely by librarians on leave. They have produced what amounts to an attempt to replace a national bibliography.

At this point, Dr. Panosfsky distributed a list of booksellers in Africa considered to be the most reliable by his library. This list was a primary source for the list of Third World bookdealers compiled by Jennifer Magnus and published as Third World Bookdealers: A Selected List (Chicago, American Library Association, RSTD, 1975).

The discussion panel for Africa included Alan R. Taylor, Elizabeth Widenmann (Columbia University), Julian Witherell (L.C.), Colin Darch (University of Dares Salaam), Susan Harrison, and Fred Lynden (Stanford University).

LATIN AMERICA

The final address was devoted to Latin American acquisitions, the address being delivered by John H6bert, Assistant to the Chief, Latin American, Portuguese & Spanish Division, Library of Congress:

JOHN HEBERT

Latin America is an area of great diversity in economic development, cultural practices, and political stability. There is a vast gap between a near first class developed power such as Brazil and the developmentally deficient nations like Haiti, Paraguay, or any of a number of Central American states. Spanish and Portuguese predominate in the region, although French, Dutch and English are also national languages. There are also significant surviving Amerindian languages such an Nahu.atl in Mexico, Guarani in Paraguay, or Quechua in Bolivia and Peru. In addition, later immigrants to the region brought additional languages and cultural practices; large numbers of Blacks, Germans, Japanese, and Italians can be found in various portions of the region. Latin America is also an area with a long tradition of scholarship and learning.

In spite of its diversity and culture - an area inviting to serious scholarship, investigation and travel - and in spite of its tradition for learning, its publishing industry, which we are meeting here to consider, is not uniformly organized. In addition to national variations in publishing, there are some general evaluations that apply. There are great publishing houses, with imprints of international intellectual significance, such as the Fondo de Cultural Eco- n6mica of M6xico. Yet, along side the great houses, is a substantial amount of small scale printing and publishing by authors who publish their own works and give most copies away. There is also a great reliance on mimeographed and other forms of near print publications whose circulation is restricted and arbitrary. Dr. Nettle Lee Benson, former head of the Latin American collections at the University of Texas, estimated in 1960 that more than 75 percent of the books published in Ecuador and Bolivia were not distributed by the publisher.

Any attempt to survey quantitatively the output of Latin American publishing is unlikely to be successful, for it is like an iceberg, an iceberg of indeterminate size. Bernard Naylor, in an article in Acquisitions from the Third World (Mansell 1975), estimated, with the corroboration of various figures, that the level of book production in the area was somewhere between 10,000


and 20,000 items per year. Of that number, a smaller amount would constitute material worthy of acquisition by research, institutional, and university libraries. For example, the Library of Congress has added approximately 7000 cards for items from Latin American countries to its catalog each year. Records of current purchases of Latin American published materials indicate that the Library of Congress acquired approximately 4500 monographic titles annually over a three year period; substantial additions of monographic and serial titles are acquired through exchanges between the Library's Exchange and Gift Division and Latin American governmental and semi-governmental agencies, private institutions, and universities.

The intention of all of these figures is to impress upon the participants that there is substantial publishing in Latin America. The question is then how to acquire that which is needed to complement the collections we are developing. Obviously not all of us here have the same purposes and goals in acquiring Latin American materials. Perhaps some of us are interested in strictly current economic information, or current literary production, or seek to develop comprehensive collections in a particular discipline (history, political science, geography, etc.). We may seek publications from a particular section of the r~ion-the Caribbean, Brazil, La Plata or Cuba. We may seek material of a particular format such as current serials, prints, or maps and atlases. Regardless of our particular acquisition programs, knowledge of the publishing and book selling industry in general in Latin America is needed.

For those who seek help in assembling a Latin American collection or who wish to further develop their own, there are helpful guides to Latin American materials that have been and are published. For new or developing collections, Hensley Woodbridge's A Basic List of Latin American Materials in Spanish, Portuguese and French (published by the Seminar on the Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials - SALALM - in 1975) and the Consortium of Latin American Studies Program (CLASP) publication 7, Latin America: An Acquisition Guide for Colleges and Public Libraries (LASA 1975) are valuable. The annual Handbook of Latin American Studies is useful for its appraisal of current publications in a broad spectrum of Latin American fields. The publication contains annotated listings of articles and monographs from over 18 disciplines published in full range of western languages. The publications, compiled in the Latin American, Portuguese and Spanish Division of the Library of Congress is divided into two volumes appearing in alternate years; one year is devoted to the Humanities and the following year to the Social Sciences. Publications regarding particular materials, such as Earl Pariseau's edited work Cuban Acquisitions and Bibliography (Library of Congress 1970) also exist. Generally, these publications are extremely helpful in evaluating material and instructive as to their need in a Latin American collection.

In addition to the publications, there is an organization devoted to sharing knowledge on Latin American acquisitions. That body, the Seminar on the Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials (SALALM), is composed of members from the United States, Europe, and Latin America who represent research and university libraries, or are book dealers and publishers. SALALM's annual meeting brings together this wide range of acquisitions and publication specialists. The program this year is illustrative; sessions devoted to Caribbean and Central American publishing and politics and publishing in Argentina, Uruguay and Chile are examples. Furthermore, the organization considers the preparation of various acquisition aids such as a listings of Latin American book dealers and scholarly publishers, in which the category of materials offered by a dealer, the availability of subscription and blanket order services or a listing of other services would appear. Currently SALALM is compiling a list of gift and exchange sources in Latin America by country, with a listing of titles offered. I believe these examples of activities of the organization are indications of the benefits to be gained by participation in the group.

Workshop on Acquisitions from the Third World: Proceedings 13 1

Now to the subject at hand. What are the characteristics of the book trade in Latin America and its future prospects?

Undoubtedly, one problem in acquiring materials from Latin America stems from the absence of current national bibliographies and the absence of effective and current bibliographical control. Where national bibliographies are compiled their appearance may be four or more years after the publication dates of the work cited, thus making acquisition of the items listed difficult. In the absence Of these fundamental tools of acquisition, booksellers' catalogs, newspapers, periodicals, conversations, and periodic acquisition trips have to be substituted.

In the larger countries of the area, there exist a number of fine book dealers who can provide some of the material you desire; Jennifer Magnus's publication, Third World Book- dealers (ALA 1975), provides a listing of some of the dealers in our region, many of whom have served various libraries well. However, not all book dealers, regardless of their quality, can provide publications from areas outside their capital or major city locations. This problem needs no explanation in Brazil or Colombia where regional publishing is a fact.

In addition to commercially produced publications, governmental and semi-governmental publications are invaluable. Over 25 percent of the total national output may come from these sources. In some areas, as in Central America, even a higher percentage are government publications and, combined with university and bank publications, dominate the publishing industry. Many of these publications may be available only by gift or exchange. Current information on the addresses of particular government agencies, university publishers and faculties is necessary to insure proper requests for publications. Some bookdealers are willing to acquire government publications and in some countries - Uruguay, Bolivia, Peru - may be the most reliable way to acquire the material.

Lest I give the impression that there is a vast array of book dealers clamoring for your orders in Latin America, let me point out that there is rarely a wide choice of efficient book sellers in any country and none in some. It is usually not very economical for bookdealers to export individual items to overseas libraries when they can import larger quantities of textbooks from overseas at a greater profit from local trade. Governments place obstacles in their way (for good reasons); restrictions are applied that inhibit the actual export of books as well as illegal currency transactions. In Colombia, a bookseller must register as an exporter with the relevant ministry and deposit with it a sum equal to the value of the material he exports. This money is returned to him when his invoice is settled in Colombia which is after he is paid by his customer. Colombia serves only as an example in this case and is not singled out as unique.

For an understanding of the movement of political opinion in Latin America and to stay abreast of new trends in the humanities and the development sciences, it is important to acquire periodicals. Xerox Corporation is currently publishing a series entitled Latin American Serial Documents which lists official serials from Latin America; the first six volumes covered between 7000 and 10,000 periodicals. With this large number of serials in just one category, one can see their importance. However, they are difficult to acquire; their content may make them vulnerable to the ebb and flow of political and economic changes as journals on Peronism (in Argentina) or Allende and Socialism (in Chile) demonstrate. The tenure of a periodical is an indication of political and economic pressure on publishing. The countries of Latin America have allowed politics to curtail publishing; recently the important Chilean publication Ercilla has been closed; Mexican publishers can be forced to stop just by the cutting off of paper supplies; scholarly publications from universities cease or are delayed with the closure of an institution; a major earthquake can halt production; a bombing of the editorial's plant is a less than subtle way to stop the presses. Various forms of dictatorship tend to curtail publishing, or at least to censor it. In addition, in most countries even government reports and memorias,


etc., have limited printings (as in Uruguay or Costa Rica) thus making even more difficult their acquisition by libraries.

With all of these obstacles, however, a fruitful acquisition program in Latin American materials is possible. There are dealers in the United States who are capable of acquiring Latin American materials to satisfy some of your needs. One is now testing the possibility of acquiring materials from the Caribbean for libraries and we await with interest a report on his progress. In the past there have been cooperative acquisition programs such as LACAP which survived until 1973. And, as I mentioned before, there is SALALM which exchanges information among its membership regarding new dealers, tested dealers, new publications, and programs from the region. At this point or any point it would be difficult to assess the future of the book trade in the region. In countries where economic development occurs book production, librarianship, and trade increase, as in Brazil, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Colombia; when political changes interrupt normal activities, as in Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay, the quality and the quantity of material is reduced. However, as was mentioned earlier, the knowledge that we possess on Latin American production is likened to the tip of an iceberg; and knowledge of the rest of the mass will be gained through the use of as many guides and travel experiences as can be acquired.

This very general overview does present some questions to ponder. What conditions would encourage blanket order arrangements or acquisitions trips? What cooperative arrangements exist for Latin American purchases? What items are generally available through exchange? What do the Latin American agencies involved in exchange usually want in return? What affect do higher postage rates have upon exchange agreements? What is the alternative to purchasing material from a particular country if no dealer can be found to provide the items requested or when governmental policy prohibits exchange of materials (e.g., Cuba)? What are common problems that we all share in acquiring materials from Latin America regardless of the library's particular policy?

My presentation was not meant to be a gloomy appraisal of Latin American acquisitions, but rather a stimulus for thought, and discussion. In view of our proximity to parts of the region, the long tradition of the United States' relations with Latin America, the interest of scholars and students in the region, the large Hispanic speaking group in our country, and the intense interest in political and natural occurrences in the region, our libraries, in many cases, are compelled to establish workable acquisition programs for Latin American materials.

The panel for Latin America included Mark Kahler, Berta Grossman, and Emma Mont- gomery (all of L.C.), Asa Pieratt (University of Delaware), Bullard, and Karen Horny.

PANEL DISCUSSIONS

During the panel discussions following the addresses on the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America, many of the same problems and attempted solutions were presented, with surprisingly small variation among the three diverse regions. The lack of national bibliographies, the absence of well-organized internal or foreign distribution systems, and small and short-lived print-runs are problems afflicting U.S. buyers of materials from all three areas. The keynote speeches presented above give detailed analyses of the state of national bibliography in the Third World, but it is not good and the outlook for the future is hardly better. It is essential for anyone collecting from a Third Wodd country to keep up with newspaper and periodical publishing in that country, as a partial substitute for complete and timely national bibliography.

Individual national booksellers and subscription agents are preferable to U.S. or European


jobbers as sources for Third Wodd publications, even for libraries collecting in small amounts. Jennifer Magnus' THIRD WORLD BOOKDEALERS: A SELECTED LIST (Chicago, A.L.A./R.T.S.D., 1975; currently in revision) is an essential source of information on local booksellers. One may also contact the bibliographers and area specialists of universities with major collections from the area under consideration, and ask their advice and recommendations. These experts are generally quite willing to share their knowledge, and they keep in close contact with each other. The activities and publications of groups like SALALM should be monitored and, where possible, their meetings attended.

Buying trips are the best source of books and bibliographical information but their expense is putting such trips out of the reach of all but the largest libraries. It is still possible, however, to take advantage of scholarly trips and even vacations taken by library staff and faculty members.

Exchange agreements with Third World publishers, universities, and bookstores can be valuable sources of supply. NPAC is an invaluable source of materials, though the surplus currency which funds the program may be drying up. None-the-less, the program is expected to continue and, hopefully, to expand. With so few libraries able to maintain adequate funding for area specialization, and with NAPC the remaining major (not comprehensive) source for materials, we will have to depend increasingly upon a few large libraries (including L.C.) for resource-sharing purposes.

Prepayment, including shipping charges and taxes, is a useful way to speed delivery. Orders should be placed as soon as the need for the item is known, since Third World books tend to go out of print rapidly. Payment should be made in the local currency, or by UNESCO coupons, and should be mailed in opaque envelopes, or, as requested, to the home or post office box address of the company owner, rather than to the company itself.