First Project Period

A week before the University opened, the Library finally acquired its first bookshelves - Nov 2000

Three months before the National University of Timor Lorosae opened on the 27^th of November 2000 there was no library, no library staff and no resources. There were a few boxes of English language books from university students in Melbourne and another 17 palettes of unknown resources from the dismantled UNSW St George campus library, that had been sitting under tarpaulins for six months in the CNRT compound car park on the other side of town.

The then Minister of Education, Father Filomeno Jacob and the Rector of the University, Dr Armindo Maia (now the Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports), made a request for urgent assistance to the Dili Office of Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA.

Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA, the ACTU’s humanitarian aid agency, has been supporting development projects in East Timor since before the ballot in 1999. Its major focus of activity has been in health, education and vocational education, reconstruction, media and labour development sectors. The UNTL Library Project was established by Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA in partnership with the IEU (the Independent Education Union), also very active in East Timor supporting the rebuilding of the education system.

The UNTL Library Project started in September 2000 with a volunteer working in Dili for an initial 3-month period. Judy Blood, then Head Librarian at the ABC, started work in the main University building while it was still being rebuilt. With considerable support at many levels from Jim Mellor at the Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA Office in Dili, Judy worked with a team of 4 East Timorese librarians to establish basic library services for the new teaching staff. She provided training and support for the library staff and developed strategic plans and recommendations for the future University Library.

With 6 cartons of donated stationery and library supplies, 3 borrowed ex-Interfet 486 computers, donated Athena library software and some tables and chairs left behind by UNICEF, the small team started work in an empty classroom to the sound of hammers, drills and saws.

Gai Smith, a library technician from the UNSW Library and funded by UNSW, worked with the project for 4 weeks providing more detailed cataloguing training and other assistance.

The Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA Office in Dili has continued to provide short periods of IT support and training, with assistance from the Australian government aid agency, AusAID.

Achievements of the initial 3-month UNTL Library Project period and subsequent work in Australia:

Planning

• Developed building specifications, floor plan and a funding proposal to USAID for the refurbishment of a former gymnasium as the new library building
  
• Outlined detailed lists of needed information resources, equipment, furnishings and operational materials as the basis for appeal efforts
  
• Wrote an extensive report for the University to provide a framework for ongoing discussion and planning for the Library - coverage included library policy, structure & management, services, collection development, information technology, staffing, training & support, building development, equipment & furnishings, and appeals management

Library Collection and Services

• Established a temporary project office for the early stages of library and collection development and training, enabling very basic loans services to teaching staff and final year students
  
• Salvaged appropriate collection resources, shelving and other furnishings from what was left of the old university campus and the former public library
  
• Established a secure storage space for sorting and weeding incoming collection resources and heavily weeded a quarter of the 17 UNSW palettes and provided assistance in managing and transporting the donation of further books from Australia

Training & Support

• Provided basic training including introductory IT skills, the Athena online cataloguing, circulation and systems management. Translated essential Athena screens into Indonesian
  
• Arranged English language courses for library staff through the NGO Forum, a local organisation supporting and representing the many Timorese and international NGOs working in East Timor
  
• Assessed and outlined the ongoing training needs of East Timorese library staff

Appeals for Funds and Resources

• Patrick Lee of the IEU and Victorian Minister Mary Delahunty, arranged the donation from the Victorian Education Department of a large consignment of new servers, PCs and printers
  
• Arranged the donation of Athena library software, cataloguing tools, basic library and office supplies and purchased a bubblejet printer and other basic resources needed by the project
  
• Arranged free access to Kinetica (the National Library of Australia national bibliographic database) and to a number of online databases – none are accessible until the Internet is available
  
• Established a Friends of the UNTL Library Group in Australia to assist in co-ordinating Australian appeal efforts for funds and resources and produced promotional material

Assesssment

The project was put together in a very short space of time to provide a quick response to an emergency situation. It faced a number of problems due to the emerging nature of most structures and services, and the confronting nature of logistical conditions in East Timor at the time.

The University was a newly established institution with almost no infrastructure or resources. While only a very rudimentary beginning, the foundations had now been laid for further assistance to build on.

It will require the coordination of efforts and funds from a wide range of sources to be able to provide for the long-term sustainability of the UNTL Library.