Alliances, Partnerships and an Ethiopian Journey: the Story of Mekelle’S Children’S Library

Collaborative Librarianship

Volume 3 Issue 1 Article 4

2011

Alliances, Partnerships and an Ethiopian Journey: The Story of Mekelle’s Children’s Library

Janet Lee Regis University Library, [email protected]

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Recommended Citation Lee, Janet (2011) "Alliances, Partnerships and an Ethiopian Journey: The Story of Mekelle’s Children’s Library," Collaborative Librarianship: Vol. 3 : Iss. 1 , Article 4. DOI: https://doi.org/10.29087/2011.3.1.02 Available at: https://digitalcommons.du.edu/collaborativelibrarianship/vol3/iss1/4

This From the Field is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ DU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Collaborative Librarianship by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ DU. For more information, please contact [email protected],[email protected]. Lee: Alliances, Partnerships and an Ethiopian Journey

Alliances, Partnerships and an Ethiopian Journey: The Story of Mekelle’s Children’s Library

Janet Lee ([email protected]) Associate Professor, Regis University Library

Abstract

Janet Lee, Technical Services Librarian and Associate Professor, Regis University, devoted her sabbatical leave for joining Yohannes Gebregeorgis, 2008 CNN Hero, and establishing the Sege- nat Children and Youth Library in Mekelle, Ethiopia. Lee discusses successes and challenges in setting up a library in a developing country.

Keywords: Ethiopia; children’s libraries; Segenat Children and Youth Library; Yohannes Gebre- georgis; Mekelle; KOHA; Regis University

Introduction were supported by so many people, espe- cially librarians and educators in Colorado “Everything in war is simple, but the sim- and across the world. plest thing is difficult.”1 Throughout my five months in Mekelle, Ethiopia in 2010, I The Journey Unfolds frequently found myself substituting the word “war” with the word “Ethiopia.” Eve- This journey, and it most aptly can be de- rything in Ethiopia is simple, but the simplest scribed as a journey, began more than 35 thing is very difficult. Ethiopia, despite all its years ago when I first went to Ethiopia as a beauty and optimism, is a very difficult Peace Corps Volunteer. I was idealistic, country in which to work and in which to naïve, and assigned to a small village in the live. In an August 2010 article written south where I taught seventh grade English, about the dedication of the Segenat Children the medium of instruction for upper grades and Youth Library, Leonard Kniffel de- and the third language for all of my stu- scribed the “grinding poverty” in the city of dents. Years later I tell others that not a day Mekelle.2 Mekelle is a growing city with a has gone by that I have not thought about somewhat reliable electrical grid and a Ethiopia, such was the impact of the country somewhat stable water supply and is mod- and people on my life. ern by any measure in comparison to the villages and hamlets in the region. Fast forward thirty years and I had an opportunity to meet Yohannes Gebregeorgis, a Sharing a cup of tea is simple—once a char- native of Ethiopia who fled his native land coal fire is lit and if one had the foresight to as a political refugee, took asylum in the collect water from the standpipe during the U.S., and completed an undergraduate de- brief interludes when the water was flow- gree in English at the State University of ing. The same can be said with setting up New York (SUNY) Buffalo and then a Mas- the Segenat Children and Youth Library in ters in Library Science at the University of the city of Mekelle, Tigray Region, Ethiopia. Texas at Austin. Throughout his career, Yo- (Photo 1) It was very simple, but oh so very hannes has overseen the development of difficult. Never once though did I feel that over 45 school library partnerships across it was hopeless. Every day I experienced a Ethiopia, three public children’s libraries, people that were very hopeful and searching seven Donkey Mobile Libraries (Photo 2) for ways to better themselves and their and a number of portable libraries. (Photo 3) families. And every day I knew that we Yohannes has achieved international fame

Collaborative Librarianship 3(1):28-45 (2011) 28 Lee: Alliances, Partnerships and an Ethiopian Journey for these endeavors including a 2008 Top 10 ters of understanding and the physical CNN Hero award, a Presidential Citation transfer of the property for the use of the for International Innovation by the Ameri- library. Together, Yohannes and I worked can Library Association (ALA) in 2008, deli- on fundraising and public awareness. He vered the President’s Keynote Address at enlisted the support of the Volunteers for the American Library Association Mid- the needed manpower to unpack boxes of Winter conference in Boston in January books and plan for the configuration of the 2010, and was awarded an Honorary Docto- collection and services. Libraries and libra- rate for his achievements by Regis Universi- rians across the State of Colorado donated ty in Denver, Colorado in May 2010. At the over 10,000 books and volunteers from Re- 2001 ALA annual conference in New Or- gis University helped me sort, cull, and in- leans this summer, he will be awarded Ho- ventory the final 8,000 books that were norary Membership to ALA, the highest shipped. The Regis volunteers contributed award bestowed on an individual by ALA. at least 200 hours of time during their lunch hours, Saturdays, and “Mission leave” made While in Denver to serve as a keynote available by the University. Yohannes con- speaker at the Colorado Association of Li- tracted a gifted carpenter to build and set up braries conference in Denver in November shelving, tables and chairs, and at my specif- 2008, he graciously agreed to a number of ic request, a reading nook with tiered seat- presentations at Regis University; the most ing to be used for story hours and other ac- significant proved to be a Regis University tivities. (Photo 6) Radio interview with Dr. Thomas Hooy- man, a professor of Medical Ethics. Tragi- New Technology cally, Dr. Hooyman was killed in a motor vehicle accident a week later and Yohannes I also investigated the feasibility of an online vowed to build a library in his memory. In public access catalog. I conducted a litera- less than a year, we raised the funds to es- ture search and spoke with a number of col- tablish a school library in his name and I leagues about possible open source software was invited to participate in the training of products. It needed to be inexpensive library assistants, the organization of the (hopefully free), easy to manage, and be ca- library, and the dedication. (Photo 4) pable of multiple scripts including Amharic and Tigrigna. All indicators pointed me to During this visit in August 2009, I made a KOHA. I contacted the Director of Libraries point to connect with current Peace Corps at Addis Ababa University (AAU), with Volunteers in Mekelle and they would whom I had been in correspondence for prove to be instrumental in the development several years about the open source product of the new library project, soon to be named that AAU was using. When he mentioned the “Segenat Children and Youth Library”.3 KOHA, that sealed the deal. In further ex- (Photo 5) It was at that time that the City of ploration, I discovered that a number of Mekelle offered to Yohannes the use, lease small libraries in Colorado had imple- free, of a large, free-standing building to mented KOHA as well. I made contact with house a children’s library. The offer was too the Fremont County Library in Florence, good to refuse and quickly we all set in mo- Colorado and the Dacono Public Library in tion elements of the project that best Dacono. Although other libraries in Colo- matched our talents and abilities. The three rado also used KOHA, they had an inter- Volunteers proceeded to draft and then soli- mediary firm manage the software, an op- cit funding for a Peace Corps Partnership tion that would be impractical for us in Grant. I applied for and was granted a sab- Ethiopia and beyond our budget. Both Kie- batical leave from Regis University in Den- ran Hixon at Fremont, Amy Bruno at Daco- ver to focus on training, organizing, and no, and John Twigg from Regis University’s managing the library staff and the collec- IT department were very knowledgeable, tion. Yohannes worked with the city on let- helped with software, and gave practical

Collaborative Librarianship 3(1):28-45 (2011) 29 Lee: Alliances, Partnerships and an Ethiopian Journey tips about basic needs. They downloaded many of the titles were withdrawn from and configured the KOHA software on a other libraries, they were already classified donated laptop, walked me through the ba- and had spine labels. Despite the fact that sic functions, and I was on my way. the students and the library assistants were working primarily in a third language and Sabbatical Opportunity had little to no library experience, they took to this task with great enthusiasm. As they I returned to Ethiopia in July 2010 to begin clustered together in pairs or threes, I could my sabbatical stay and was overwhelmed hear them call out loud, “B, B, B” and I by the progress achieved by Yohannes, his waited expectantly for someone to call out, staff, and the Volunteers since I was there in “Bingo.” In addition to having an orga- 2009. The extensive floor plan was carefully nized collection for users, this gave the as- divided into reading and study areas by sistants an opportunity to slowly become strategic placement of shelving separating familiar with the collection itself, to distin- the preschool and early grades from the guish between juvenile fiction and picture more studious needs of high school stu- stories, between fiction and non-fiction, and dents. (Photo 7) The reading nook faced an between general materials and reference. alcove that supplied ample lighting as well as a semi-enclosed space for story hours, Once the collection was sufficiently orga- arts and crafts, and other activities. It later nized, it was time to classify the remainder proved to be one of the more popular spaces of the titles, which was extensive. This in the library. would prove challenging because of the lim- its of third language capabilities and be- We quickly made introductions as I tried to cause of the unfamiliarity of western sur- associate names with faces and positions: names. The library also lacked electricity for Birhan, Bisrat, Adom, Enda, Enzesh, Mehe- the first six weeks of the training, and ret, Selam. The library assistants had at least needed basic supplies were almost nonexis- a tenth grade education and one had an ad- tent. Although I cannot read Amharic, we ditional two years at a technical college. spoke primarily in Amharic because I speak Each earned around 600 Birr, the equivalent no Tigrigna and they were reluctant to of $37.50 U.S., per month with the others speak English once they learned we could earning much less. Yohannes also hired communicate in Amharic. three student assistants who were scheduled for ten hours per week, but enjoyed being The majority of the books came from one together so much that they often were there public library in the United States, thus pre- considerably longer. It is a rarity that stu- determined the basic classification scheme. dents are hired in such jobs, but with these We used “JPS” and the author’s surname for opportunities they gain very valuable expe- the picture books, “JF” and the author’s sur- rience and hopefully will continue on in the name for chapter books, and “J” and the library profession. One of the students lives appropriate Dewey classification number in Debri, a two-hour walk from the library. for the non-fiction. We did not have a De- This worked well during the summer, but wey classification manual until much later was more difficult once school started. For- in the process so we worked from an outline tunately, Yohannes also had a library at the I found online and a comparison of existing school in Debri which allowed the student classified books on the shelves, essentially to work at that school library during the using the shelves as a shelflist. But even this week and at the Segenat on Saturdays. proved challenging as the schedules were in English, and at times a very technical Eng- Mechanics of Library Set-Up lish. There were definitions that even I needed to verify in a dictionary on occasion. The first major step was organizing the books on the shelves. (Photo 8) Because

Collaborative Librarianship 3(1):28-45 (2011) 30 Lee: Alliances, Partnerships and an Ethiopian Journey

It didn’t take long for the assistants to diffe- turn to the U.S. The labels were trimmed rentiate between the picture books and and adhered with the aforementioned chapter books, but western surnames was a cheap, plastic tape. The students became concept that gave them headaches, and me quite skilled at spotting typographical errors as well. Ethiopians use a given name when that were then redone. I had brought two naming a child, usually one that reflects a very good pairs of scissors with me and dis- circumstance: Genet (Heaven), Tirunesh covered that soon, the gardener was using (You are good), Gebremariam (the Servant them as well. I put a stop to that and pur- of Mary). The child takes the father’s given chased a cheaper pair for his use alone. name as well as the grandfather’s given Property is communal with everyone shar- name for further identification. Thus a fe- ing pens, a ruler, a calculator, or a pair of male child would be called Regat (given scissors. I had the only flash drive in the name) Yohannes (father’s given name) Ge- building and it was difficult to refuse to bresellasie (grandfather’s given name). Her share it when payroll was on the line. Until brother might be called Girmay (given we were able to secure electricity to the name) Yohannes (father’s given name) Ge- building, my laptop was the only computer bresellasie (grandfather’s given name). It available for any number of projects. wasn’t sufficient to state that they should always use the last name as the surname Approaching Dedication because that did not take into account hy- phenated surnames, or names that began In the meantime, others were working on with “von” or “van” or “el” or “la.” There getting power and water to the building, was also great confusion between authors planting trees, providing signage in English and illustrators; size of the font was not nec- and Tigrigna, moving a massive amount of essarily an indicator of authorship. Occa- rubble, constructing a Donkey Mobile Li- sionally, I would find a publisher confused brary, purchasing books in Amharic and as an author. Even more confusion oc- Tigrigna, framing photos and artwork, pre- curred if a full name was in the title as in paring for the dedication, and planning “Ramona Quimby” by Beverly Cleary. But children’s book week. Computers were with patience none of this proved insur- purchased with the Peace Corps Partnership mountable. Grant, but not installed until electricity was run to the building, which was shortly be- The next step was to print labels. Although fore the dedication. Time would tell wheth- stationery stores were everywhere, they er we would be able to network the comput- lacked many common supplies, let alone ers and determine the feasibility of the KO- library-specific materials. The quality of HA online catalog. many of the supplies was also suspect: tape that stuck to itself but not much of anything Prior to the dedication, two librarians and else, scissors that were not sharp, and mark- an educator from the U.S., Erin Meyer, Stu- ers that dried out within days of purchase. I dent Outreach Librarian and Research Cen- had brought my laptop with me and fortu- ter Coordinator at the University of Denver; nately it had a good working battery, all the Dr. Maria Briones, English Faculty at the more essential since there was no electricity Sharjah Higher College of Technology, Du- in the building. I was able to create a tem- bai, UAE; Athena Michael, Academic Li- plate for label production in Word and the brary representative at John Wiley & Sons, students enjoyed inputting the data, trans- Inc., joined Yohannes, Tewolde Tesfay, ferring it to a flash drive, and then walking Head of the Science Library at Mekelle Uni- it over to a business center with electricity versity, and me in a three-day training ses- for printing on sheets of paper. Computer sion for the Segenat Children and Youth viruses were rampant, and with all the file Library staff as well as library assistants at sharing, I was fortunate not to have my lap- three nearby school libraries, Myliham, De- top implode until two days prior to my re- bri, and Fre Se-wat. Tewolde Tesfay pro-

Collaborative Librarianship 3(1):28-45 (2011) 31 Lee: Alliances, Partnerships and an Ethiopian Journey vided detailed training in cataloging and rado. (Photo 10) We received great press classification. He also translated the presen- including Leonard Kniffel from American tations by the international librarians into Libraries and Girmay Gebru from the Voice Tigrigna. Erin Meyer provided in depth of America, as well as coverage by Ethiopian coverage of various reference tools and user TV. services. The trainees learned the difference between directional questions, quick refer- The Segenat Library Becomes Operational ence, and more extensive reference questions. Erin also spoke about child develop- The children came to the library in droves, a ment and how to use different children’s welcomed sign reflecting the need for the books for each of the various stages of de- library. All new children registered upon velopment. Athena Michael, a former child- entering to the library by presenting their ren’s librarian, kept trainees engaged with given name, father’s given name, their grade storytelling, puppet making, flannel boards, in school, and the name of their school, since and a variety of arts and crafts. After a no one had a specific street address. (Photo hands-on session in which they made pup- 11) Later we started collecting the name of pets, each group read and acted out the cha- their Kebelle (neighborhood) since some racters and roles while reading a story students did not go to school near their aloud. homes. This information will be instrumental in selecting the locations of further The Dedication branch libraries in the future. Returning students merely checked in and confirmed The Segenat Children and Youth Library their information, which was recorded on a officially opened on August 20th, 2010 to an general tally as well as on a specific user audience of more than 400 well-wishers, card. Since there was no detection system, including dignitaries such as Rwandan Am- book bags were left at the registration desk, bassador to Ethiopia, Professor Joseph although students could retain a single exer- Nsengimana; Abraha Kiros, Special Educa- cise book and a writing device. All students tion Advisor to the President of the Regional were physically searched before they left the Government of Tigray; Dr. Solomon Inqui, library by either a female employee or a retired statesman and author; and Ato Tek- male guard. They all seemed to take this in lawoyni, representing the City of Mekelle. stride, most likely because everyone is There was a ribbon cutting, formal speeches, searched before going into a public or go- a coffee ceremony, and since it was sche- vernmental building such as a post office, duled to occur during the Ashenda Festival, bank, or office. spontaneous dancing. The Ashenda Festival is a girl’s holiday that celebrates the end of The toilets presented a unique set of prob- the rainy season and the coming of the New lems because they were probably the only Year. (Photo 9) In addition to the dignita- public toilets in the city. For whatever rea- ries, the previously mentioned trainers were son, when the water was supplied to the in attendance, as well as a large contingent building, it only went as far as a standpipe of Peace Corps Volunteers from the north- near the building. The cleaners or guards ern region and from the Peace Corps Ad- needed to bring water into the building by ministration in Addis Ababa. Over 3,000 bucket and pour the water into large barrels copies of Yohannes’ book, Tirhas Celebrates outside of the individual stalls. Water Ashenda: An Ethiopian Girl’s Festival, were pitchers were provided to flush the western distributed to attendees, and later to Ashen- style toilets. Toilet paper was not supplied, da girls who visited the library in the days but if carried individually and used, it was following the dedication. Tirhas Celebrates deposited in a trash container in the stall. Ashenda was dedicated to the memory of Dr. Periodically the city would turn off water to Thomas Hooyman and was funded by the an entire Kebelle for days at a time, and if Cherry Creek Rotary Club in Denver, Colo- staff had not filled the barrels, no one would

Collaborative Librarianship 3(1):28-45 (2011) 32 Lee: Alliances, Partnerships and an Ethiopian Journey have access to water and therefore to the a week with us in Mekelle. He completely toilets. We soon discovered that some of the reformatted all of the PCs, added two rou- boys were using the water for bathing and ters, installed virus protection software, shampooing their hair, consuming the little enabled wireless access through modifying precious water that we had. Despite the a transmitter, and configured the software obvious need to perform such personal for Internet access. He also needed to add functions, this was not one of the services additional electrical outlets, crimp cabling to that the library could provide at that time run between the PCs, and he reinforced the and so the toilets were locked, but could be power strips for greater stability. The online used with permission. catalog would now become a reality. (Pho- to 12) We also had many of the same problems that librarians have the world over: child- It is no surprise to those in the library pro- ren mis-shelving their own books, noise le- fession that catalogs are labor intensive. I vels, or the occasional writing on tables. determined the minimum amount of data While the bad news was that the shelved that would need to be entered into the books were out of order, the good news was records and drafted a set of procedures. I that students were really using the books. first had the Peace Corps Volunteers test These issues were somewhat resolved by drive my instructions to see if they were careful placement of signs in the local lan- logical and understandable, made some guage, by monitoring the area, and with changes, and then trained the Ethiopia staff. periodic shelf reading. It was very gratify- I debated about the worthiness of including ing to see the library assistants working as a collation information (pagination, illustra- team and solving problems as they arose. tions, and dimensions) when I discovered But most of all it was gratifying to see the that the entire staff was sharing one lone children really using the library as a place to ruler. After combing a number of stationery study, read, and do research. stores, I was able to purchase an additional ruler and decided that after all that effort we Online Catalog Development were definitely adding dimensions. (Photo 13) Following the dedication, the next major challenge was automating the library now The KOHA software is easy to configure that the library had electricity. It was time and I was able to set up templates for both to take a deep breath and then determine bibliographic records and for item records. the feasibility of implementing an online This included setting up material types and catalog. Although my desire to have com- shelving locations. Since books would not puters in libraries in Ethiopia had been circulate and since patron information was scoffed at, I wanted to prove my skeptics kept in the local language, the circulation wrong. I was comfortable with the KOHA module did not need to be configured at this software, but knew that having it on a point. As noted earlier, KOHA is capable of stand-alone laptop would have severe limi- using both Amharic and Tigrigna script, but tations. One of the Peace Corps Volunteers the limited personnel resources just did not was able to network a single computer allow us to take advantage of this feature of workstation to the laptop, but he also recog- the software. nized his limitations when it came to net- working. It was at that point that we de- There were two staff members who unders- cided to call in the Marines … or, to be more tood written English and also had keyboard- specific, a single Marine-turned-Peace Corps ing skills. We carefully worked through the Volunteer who was assigned to Hawassa. I procedures together. While the KOHA had been told that Richard Gelicame was software has the capability of downloading the “go to” person when it came to network- cataloging records from online sources, we ing. Rich gladly accepted the call and spent didn’t have access to the Internet. All cata-

Collaborative Librarianship 3(1):28-45 (2011) 33 Lee: Alliances, Partnerships and an Ethiopian Journey loging would be original but with somewhat barcodes were not available, so following up brief records. The fields that I felt important on the recommendation of my colleagues were ISBN, call number, author, title, colla- from Colorado, we wrote a simple number tion, and subject. Most of the books had CIP in the upper left hand corner of the front and we used the Sears subject headings if endpaper in a black permanent marker. they were available. If not, we would rely This number was sequentially generated by on keyword searching or finding the books the KOHA software. Simple and efficient. by browsing the shelves. Since both the keyboarding and language skills of the staff The need for an online catalog became ap- were limited, I did not want inventive parent as students began asking more and headings. (Photo 14) more sophisticated reference questions: “What is the big bang theory?” “Can you Once again, the issues of surnames became a help me identify different trees of the challenge. Capitalization was also some- world?” Not surprisingly, maps and atlases thing very foreign to them. Words are simp- were also frequently requested items as the ly not capitalized in either Tigrigna or Am- students explored the depths of the oceans, haric. Names were frequently entered in country flags, major languages or popula- lower case and other words in upper case. tion statistics. With this type of question in Many children’s books have elaborate fonts mind, we began our cataloging project for and flourishes which gave way to some cre- both reference and the non-fiction sections. ative spelling. An uppercase “I” (eye) and A reference log was kept so that all library lower case “l” (el) were frequently switch- assistants could learn from each other as to ed. Similar words such as “plants” and the type of questions being asked and how “planets” were often confused. Correcting questions could best be answered. These every single error would have been demora- entries to the log were kept in any language lizing to our workers, so I focused on those in which the assistant felt comfortable. errors that affected searching. I would work Records were also kept of requests for spe- with each library assistant individually so cific types of materials for later purchase, that each could identify her own errors and such as obtaining a copy of the Ethiopian make corrections. I then asked them to constitution or additional copies of high-use check each other’s work. Not perfect, but materials. definitely good enough. Besides providing access to the local hold- The KOHA software has a professional ings, an online catalog will also prepare stu- looking web interface. It was easy to teach dents for libraries at the university level. all the library assistants how to search the Addis Ababa University, as has been men- catalog and students quickly picked up tioned, uses the KOHA open source soft- searching techniques as well. I placed one ware and has had an aggressive retrospec- computer at the reference desk and a second tive conversion project operating for the at the registration desk. These also became past few years. The University of Mekelle the two primary computers for inputting uses ABCD, a software suite for the automa- cataloging records. The KOHA server was tion of libraries and documentation centers. also placed at the registration desk in order A professional catalog and other strides to limit access to staff only. Access to the made in automation will now enable the online catalog came primarily through the Segenat to apply for future technology use of computers in the PC lab. grants.

Each of the Peace Corps Volunteers took The greatest change that I witnessed in turns entering data as well. At the time I left Ethiopia from my first visit to these subse- in November, we had entered bibliographic quent visits was the high use of cell phone data for 3,000 items and “barcoded” 4,500 of and mobile technology. I purchased a the 20,000 volumes in the collection. Actual CDMA, a mobile device that connected me

Collaborative Librarianship 3(1):28-45 (2011) 34 Lee: Alliances, Partnerships and an Ethiopian Journey to the Internet and connected me to the grams: a Science Club mentored by a retired world. It was very expensive to purchase school teacher of 30 years; an art club men- ($200.00 U.S.) and relatively expensive to tored by a local artist; and a homework club maintain on Ethiopian salaries. A 100 Birr monitored by older students. Signup sheets mobile card ($6.50 U.S.) would last about 12 and waiting lists filled quickly. Two Ethio- to 15 hours with careful use. But it gave me pian-American authors, Dinaw Mengestu great flexibility by allowing access to the and Maaza Mengiste, donated copies of Internet and email from home, office, or an- their books, The Beautiful Things that Heaven ywhere that I travelled. With the intent that Bears and Beneath the Lion’s Gaze for the Book I would donate the CDMA to the library Club. Local authors donated copies of their when I left, we configured the library net- books for the Book Club as well. (Photo 17) work to utilize the CDMA. I trained an assistant on email so that she could forward to New and returning users were tracked daily me needed statistics for future fundraising. with the male/female ratio almost two to The IT manager included Internet in the In- one. This is not surprising since girls had troduction to Computers course and the Se- much more responsibility at home. Atten- genat is determining the best way to frugal- dance on Saturday was also high, due in ly use the minutes for Internet applications. part to the showing of free videos on Satur- day morning. But the video program only Programming accounted for about twenty to thirty percent of the overall attendance on Saturday. With books on the shelves, a highly auto- Many of the schools did not have Saturday mated environment, and a multitude of stu- classes and students heavily used the library dent visits, it was time to focus on a range of for studying. An Ethiopian Television re- library programs for children. The reading porter was advised by her son, a frequent nook was popular with the preschoolers library user, to report on the new library. who attended story hours and puppet show Two fifteen minute sessions were aired na- presentations, made more professional tionally on ETV and the next Saturday, the through the intensive training prior to the Segenat had a record number of 765 atten- library opening. (Photo 15) Jigsaw puzzles dees with 1015 attendees the following Sat- presented an interesting challenge since the urday. This upsurge in attendance led to library assistants had never put together this some creative thinking about crowd control. type of puzzle before, but the children The staff brought out folding chairs and li- picked up the skill with ease with a simple mited entrance to the library based on avail- demonstration. Other activities included the able seating. use of local materials, such as corn husks and eggshells. Corn husks were in great The Next Journey supply and used for corn husk dolls, much to the delight of both boys and girls. The What does the future bring for the library? price of eggs rose fifty percent during the Fund raising is a high priority since the li- time that I was there and although seeming- brary is privately supported. There will be ly plentiful, they became too expensive for great efforts made in Ethiopia, the United everyday activities. Still, the children en- States, and Sweden (which has a large joyed decorating and displaying their fi- Ethiopian population), to raise the necessary nished artwork of all types. (Photo 16) funds. The city of Mekelle has offered the Library three additional sites for future Once the computer lab became networked, branches. Based on fundraising and demo- the Segenat was able to offer “Introduction graphics, a site will be chosen that best to Computer” classes. Two separate ses- meets the needs of the children in Mekelle sions were conducted, one taught by a vo- and relieves some of the demand on the Se- lunteer from the Mekelle Youth Center. In genat library. We suspect, however, that addition, the Segenat offered other pro- more branch libraries will likely just in-

Collaborative Librarianship 3(1):28-45 (2011) 35 Lee: Alliances, Partnerships and an Ethiopian Journey crease the overall attendance. Sunday hours the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Dem- are under consideration, should additional ocratic Front (EPRDF), and, together with funds become available. Extending daytime the EPLF, administered defeats on a demo- hours beyond the six o’clock closure is un- ralized Ethiopian army that led to the col- likely because of concerns for the safety of lapse of the Derg in May 1991.” those staff members who travel great dis- http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Ethi tances in the dark. In Mekelle, there are few opia.pdf. When I first met Yohannes, it did streetlights, side roads are tricky during the not take long to discover that we were both rainy season, public transportation is lion Churchill Blvd. in Addis Ababa, the day mited, and hyenas do present a real threat. that Emperor Haile Sellasie was overth- (Photo 18) Challenges such as these call for rown; he a student revolutionary and I a creative solutions, compelling vision, and neophyte Peace Corps Volunteer. Each day the collaboration of many around the world. that I was in Mekelle I met men who were Leonard Kniffel described the Segenat this involved in the revolution in one way or way: “New Youth Library Makes Impossible another. Dream Reality.” With passion, dedication, and hard work we can make the impossible possible, and the extraordinary ordinary.

Endnotes

1 Carl von Clausewitz, “On War” (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007), p. 65.

2 Lenoard Kniffel, “New Youth Library in Ethiopia Makes Impossible Dream Reality.” American Libraries, August 23, 2010. http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/new s/08232010/new-youth-library-ethiopia- makes-impossible-dream-reality

3 I do not want to overstate the war analogy, but remnants of war surrounded me each day. The “Segenat” were “the children of the revolution, the Segenat (“Greens”), between seven and thirteen years of age…they served mainly as couriers and supply carri- ers behind the front lines.” Gebru Tareke. The Ethiopian Revolution: War in the Horn of Africa. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009), p. 106. The “revolution” of which Gebru Tareke refers is the overthrow of the Derg, the Military Government which overth-rew Emperor Haile Sellasie on Sept. 12, 1974. The people of Tigray were instrumental in this defeat as described in the Li- brary of Congress’ Ethiopia: A Country Study, “In Ti-gre, the Tigray People’s Libe- ration Front (TPLF) sought regional auton- omy and the overthrow of the Derg. In the late 1980s, the TPLF and other Ethiopian ethnically based resistance groups formed

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Photo 1. Sign on a crossroad near The Segenat Children and Youth Library stenciled in both Tigrigna and English.

Photo 2. This Donkey Mobile Library was stationed at The Segenat during the dedication and attracted much attention.

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Photo 3. Portable Libraries, containing approximately two hundred books in English and local languages in a carrying case, serve the needs of small rural schools that have few classrooms.

Photo 4. Barbara Hooyman Baker, sister of the late Dr. Thomas Hooyman, unveils the plaque at the Dr. Thomas Hooman Memorial Library and Media Center at Fre Se-wat Elementary School in Mekelle in August 2009 (Nahase 2001 in the Ethiopian calendar).

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Photo 5. The Segenat Children and Youth Library is a free standing building that houses 20,000 books, a computer/media lab, small classrooms, and ample study space.

Photo 6. Library Assistant Birhan Mehari reads from Yohannes’ book, “Silly Mamo” in the Reading Nook.

Collaborative Librarianship 3(1):28-45 (2011) 39 Lee: Alliances, Partnerships and an Ethiopian Journey

Photo 7. Units of shelving separated the youth section from the picture stories and the reading nook, allowing for both quiet and privacy for studying and research.

Photo 8. Meheret and Enda sort the non-fiction titles prior to the opening. As library assistants, they make 600 Birr per month, about $37.50 U.S. and typically work a six-day week.

Collaborative Librarianship 3(1):28-45 (2011) 40 Lee: Alliances, Partnerships and an Ethiopian Journey

Photo 9. A group of Ashenda Girls (and boys) walked in from the town of Debri to participate in the Ashenda festivities. This group won first place in a dancing/singing completition.

Photo 10. Two young girls sit outside the Segenat Library with a copy of Yohannes’ book, “Tirhas Celebrates Ashenda.” It is written in both Tigrigna and English and is probably the first book that either has owned.

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Photo 11. Three boys wait their turn to sign in to use the library. Initial registration includes their name, school, and age. Children walked to the library from all parts of the city and beyond.

Photo 12. A screen shot from the KOHA public access catalog. The displays are clean, colorful, and professional looking.

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Photo 13. Each cataloging record provides author, title, physical dimensions, and location in an easy to read and easy to search format.

Photo 14. Enda Mehari enters data into a MARC record format on the reference desk computer, a wireless computer that is on the network. A numerical “barcode” is written on the front endpaper of each book.

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Photo 15. The alcove of the reading nook was the site of many arts and crafts activities. Locally made cowhide stools added additional seating and functionality. Two quilted wall hangings of Yohannes’ books, Tirhas Celebrates Ashenda and Silly Mamo added whimsy to the décor.

Photo 16. Regat, Lula, and Azeb were library regulars and very good students. Because they were “Janet’s girls,” they were granted special privledges to come to the library before it was officially opened. Regat and Lula participated in the library dedication by reading Tirhas Celebrates Ashenda in Tigrigna and English to an audience of 400.

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Photo 17. Yohannes Gebregeorgis, Maaza Mengiste (author of Beneath the Lion’s Gaze), and Janet Lee at Addis Ababa University, where Yohannes and Maaza were speakers at the Calaloo conference. The conference entitled (Black) Movements: Poetics and Praxis Praxis was sponsored by Callaloo: A Journal of African Diaspora Arts and Letters, the leading journal publishing art, literature, interviews, and criticism by, or focusing on, people and cultures of the African Diaspora.

Photo 18. The library staff on the front steps of the Segenat Children and Youth Library. This group includes three assistants, three students, and two cleaners.

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