Prepared by Nicole Prawl, and Maha Abbas

1. Conversations in the International Librarian
Networking Program: Jamaica and Egypt
Nicole Prawl, National Library of Jamaica
Maha Abbas, Bibliotheca Alexandrina
Nicole Prawl
National Library of Jamaica
Email: nicole.prawl@nlj.gov.jm
Contacts
Our conversations lead us to many interesting discoveries not
only about different ways to accomplish library work, but also
about our own cultural lenses. On my side, I learned from
Nicole several things related to Jamaica as a country as well as
to the field of preservation and conservation and the
applications that can be used in such field. I had also the
chance to know several associations and institutions
specialized in this field like the Society of American Archivist
(SAA) and the International Institute for Conservation of
Historic and Artistic Works (IIC). I was impressed when we
exchanged about the pandemic, and she shared with me that
one of the disadvantage of this period is that homeless
population of users at the National Library were heavily
impacted by this because the library used to be a place of
refuge for them, this was a new dimension for the role that can
be played by the library.
It was indeed a pleasure to speak and share with Maha about
our different institutions and culture. I am impressed that
Maha speaks three languages which are French ( which I have
a passion for, but I am not fluent in), Arabic and English. We
shared about some of the challenges that pandemic has
brought on, and I explained to her that we are a library that
was usually open to the public but since the advent of the
pandemic this has changed even though we are now opening
to the public, but on an appointment basis. I am also
impressed by the services that I learned that Maha oversees
and that these services are offered to Africans who might be at
a disadvantage. The offering of services to the disadvantaged
in a community is very important. This is a commendable
initiative by Bibliotheca.
The National Library of Jamaica provides access to various collection of Jamaican literature, maps, films, newspapers,
photographs, and more. The primary concern of the library is with the collection and preservation, organization and
provision of access to all publications relating to Jamaica. The NLJ does not allow for the borrowing of its items for
home use, because the collection is mostly for research and study purposes, however, they do provide reading rooms,
databases, and photocopying of selected material.
The Program Participant, Nicole Prawl, works as the Manager of the Preservation and Conservation Branch. This
department is responsible for the preservation and conservation of the paper- based materials of the library. In her
field she tends to rely on list servs such as ConDistList which is now called Global Conservation Forum, and the
American Institute for Conservation(AIC) Connecting to Collections Care Network which she finds very helpful for
advice and networking for both conservation & archives.
National Library of Jamaica
Jamaica Perspective:
In comparing our two libraries, there are simarilities
and a few differences. The National Library of
Jamaica is committed to preserving the cultural
heritage of Jamaica in the different formats such as
film, books, and maps, to name a few, however,
similar to Maha’s library giving access to our
community especially those who would not have
access otherwise is very important. We are open to
anyone seeking information on Jamaica, similar to
Maha’s library which ensures that Africans who may
be at a disadvantage are afforded the opportunity
to have access and the needed resources this access
will require.
Marketing and accessibility are two big similarties
that our libraries share. Another similarity is that
both libraries contain information that is of a great
historical context, I would more say Maha’s library
more so than mine, which contains information
even before the whole idea of libraries came into
being.
Another similarity we found, though it may be
minor is that both our institutions are located near
the sea, Maha’s library is near the historical
Mediterranean Sea, while mine is a little distance
from the Caribbean Sea, Kingston Harbour Jamaica,
the seventh largest harbour in the world, unlike
Maha’s library which is beautifully designed and
built to withstand or accomodate a climate and
environmentally friendly environment, our library
does not have this , and has outgrown its space as it
relates to storage and is not a purpose built
building.
Egypt Perspective:
In comparing our two libraries, library experiences,
and our cultural contexts, I realized that we are two
types of librarians who are performing different
types of work, but in some ways complements the
other or are similar in functions,as I work mainly in
providing online services and my partner from
Jamaica is working in the preservation of the paper-
based materials and talking about librarianship
online and paper-based materials are the two sides
of the same coin.
On a personal level, our librarianship experience
reflects also two sides of the same coin; Nicole, my
partner from Jamaica received academic education
besides her deep professional experience in the
field of ILS, however, my experience is mainly a
practical experience, and I gained some knowledge
from trainings and visits to other libraries and our
discussion proves that both ways are effective to
gain knowledge and perform well our job.
Program Format
The new Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA), is dedicated to recapturing the spirit of openness and scholarship of the
original Bibliotheca Alexandrina. It is much more than a library. It comprises the following: the Main Library (which
can hold up to millions of books); Six specialized libraries; four museums; The Planetarium Science Center (PSC);
Twelve academic research centers; The Conference Center and other services, exhibitions and art galleries.
The Program Participant, Maha Abbas, works as head of BAIFA unit. BAIFA stands for Bibliotheca Alexandrina
Information for Africa. Her work is about providing different information services freely to African researchers and
librarians who are suffering from lack of resources or their high cost. Provided entirely online, BAIFA services offers a
wide range of services including open access resources, E-learning service, Programs & activities and free access to
some paid databases for African researchers who meet certain eligibility criteria.
Bibliotheca Alexandrina
What We Learned
Participating in this program provided us with
new ways of looking at our work and gave us the
opportunity to exchange in different topics
whether related to our job or to our life. The
program has been a learning experience for both
of us. For me, Nicole, I got the opportunity to
meet a bright and enthusiastic individual in the
form of Maha, an Egyptian Librarian who works at
one of the oldest and most revered libraries in
the world the Bibliotheca Alexandria, and it was
an absolute honor. And for me, Maha, I was glad
and honored by getting the chance to know
Nicole, a dedicated Jamaican librarian who is very
knowledgeable and I learned a lot from her.
We shared about the different aspects of our job,
and I learned from Maha that there is a collection
on Jamaica residing at her library which I will have
to find out more about. There are some
documents in French in the National Library’s
collection, and I would love to collaborate with
Maha as to how we can have them transcribed
being that she is a translator who is versed in
French. So, we plan to continue our
communication and are considering possible joint
projects.
Final Takeaways
As a part of the American Library Association
International Relations Round Table’s
International Librarian Networking Program, we
exchanged weekly over the course of 3 months
via email and then we switched to WhatsApp
group and finally we gathered our discussion’s
output in a Google form. Our conversations were
structured around the program prompts which
included themes of: our individual backgrounds,
what we do in our job and what are the areas
that need improvement, how the pandemic
impacted our work and how can we cooperate in
the future.
Library Comparisons
Maha Abbas
Bibliotheca Alexandrina
Email: maha.abbas@bibalex.org
Bibliotheca Alexandrina
National Library of Jamaica