For the April 9th class, let us try to convene 15 minutes early at 9:15 instead of 9:30 so that we have sufficient time to do the simulation and yet still be able to end the class in time for several of you to get comfortably to your next class. PAMOJA, an interactive game about information sharing across cultures, means "together" in Swahili. Pamoja is a fun and engaging activity that demonstrates how culture affects the way countries develop and share information. Participants work together in teams to create countries with their own culture and information resources. Then they negotiate with other countries in a fast-paced effort to improve their resources. As in real life, some countries start out with more resources than others and cultural characteristics can facilitate or block negotiations. Participants who play Pamoja use it to explore various issues and to develop skills, such as team building, policy development, negotiation, cultural sensitivity, and to appreciate the value of information. They experience the difficulties a country faces in building information resource centers. Constant negotiation and compromise are at work as "country ambassadors" attempt to forge alliances and strike up bargains with others. In past simulations, players have commented on how realistic the process is.

Pamoja was created by folks at the World Library Partnership. This organization was started by Laura Wendell, a former Peace Corps volunteer who is not a librarian (she was actually trained to help Togo villagers create fish ladders) but decided libraries were more important to these rural villages than any other form of assistance. Laura wrote a book called Libraries for All; How to Start and Run a Basic Library that has been published by UNESCO and translated into French and Spanish. It serves as a guide for laypeople to create libraries. When Laura returned to this country she determined to create an organization that would, as she says, "connect people around the globe and bring renewed hope and enthusiasm to struggling libraries. Through them, communities discover the challenges, rewards and wisdom of other traditions." WLP's mission statement is as follows:

The World Library Partnership (WLP) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to building global understanding by promoting literacy, learning and access to information. WLP believes that libraries empower individuals and enrich communities. WLP advocates for sustainable, community-based libraries in developing areas of the world to mobilize the power of information to make the world a better place for all.

One of WLP's programs is a book certificate program that provides libraries in developing countries with the opportunity to select and purchase NEW materials. WLP believes that donated books are often out-of-date, in poor condition, and not responsive to the community's needs. Also, many developing countries have few or no books in their local languages. The Book Certification Program allows people to donate money that is then given to developing countries' libraries in the form of book certificates that can be redeemed for books in the local languages. This program is an innovative alternative to traditional book donation that supports indigenous book sellers and publishers.

Another program of the WLP is called Inform the World. This program provides practical, hands-on assistance and training to librarians in communities with a high need for information. It works through library volunteers (professional librarians and students) who travel to a developing country and spend four weeks there providing personal assistance to individual libraries.

One suggested reading highly recommended by Maggie to help you prepare for this session is as follows:

Mchombu, K.J. (1982), "On the Librarianship of Poverty," Libri, 32(3): 241-250. (copy to be placed in 204 pam box)

Revised 3/24/2001.