Working in a Foreign Land:
Librarian Experiences in a Cross Cultural Project

by Diane Clark

Editor's note: Diane Clark and I attended library school together at the University of Alberta (an ALA-accredited program in Canada). I asked her to write this article to expose you to some ideas for collaborative projects and to examples of international librarianship. 

In 1999 we began a collaborative project to develop a virtual library in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Who are we you ask? We are a trio of librarians, Pat Waterton, Liz Pegoraro, and myself, Diane Clark, who work for the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Our partners for this project were the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the Instituto Argentino del Petroleo y del Gas (IAPG), Argentina’s national association for petroleum engineers. 

As to why and how we began this partnership, NAIT's International Education department seeks partnering possibilities with other institutions, and when an opportunity arrives, funding is needed. As Argentina would be considered an emerging nation by CIDA's definition, a proposal was written and submitted to CIDA. IAPG was interested in working with a larger academic institute that had expertise in the oil and gas industry and in curriculum development in the area of health, safety, and environment. NAIT, situated in Alberta, a province with a huge oil industry, has both.

My colleague (Pat Waterton) and I arrived in Buenos Aires for our first visit to the IAPG library in the fall of 1999, although it was their spring. We met our colleagues and were able to assess their needs and develop a work plan. The major objectives of the work plan included the following: system installation; data conversion; document digitization; access to electronic information resources via online catalogue; Web access to the online catalogue; promotion and user education; and, lastly, system management by IAPG. 

Library at IAPG (Instituto Argentina del Petroleo y del Gas) at the beginning of our project.

In December 2001, the IAPG virtual library was officially launched and is capable of providing a range of virtual library capacities including an online catalogue which uses the Web to access safety, environmental, and other information relevant to the Argentine petroleum industry. At the same time IAPG made a strong commitment to its future library service by establishing a library commission (Comision Amigos de la Biblioteca IAPG – A.A. Bulgheroni) to guide future development of the library. Corporate and personal members of IAPG and representatives of educational and professional organizations serve on the Comision which will play a lead role in advising IAPG about library resources and services required from the library.

One of the most challenging aspects of working across cultures is that of perception. What were the perceptions our Argentine colleagues had of us? What were our perceptions of them? We were acting in the role of consultants to achieve the goals and objectives stated in the previous paragraph. Our Argentine colleagues believed, in the beginning, that we would make radical changes without considering local environment (economical, political, and cultural) and their own lived experiences. How did we create new perceptions? Through establishing personal relationships with our counter-parts. Relationships are the key to success in Argentina.

The virtual library project was completed in 2002 and, due to our success, we were asked to write an extension proposal. The focus of the second phase was developing instruction and, due to my experience in instructional design and the previous project, I was asked to participate. This time I was responsible for developing and then teaching a course, “Designing and Facilitating Web-Based Courses”. My students would be engineers who taught classes in health, safety, and environment at IAPG. Basically, I would be doing a kind of “train-the-trainer” session. 

IAPG Library at the completion of the Virtual Library Project.

Having worked in Argentina before I was aware of our cultural differences. Any course I developed in Canada would only be successful from the learner’s (engineers) point of view if it reflected their values, norms, beliefs, and attitudes. I had to put aside my pedagogical dispositions and learn new ones based on an Argentine’s experience. What worked in Canada would not necessarily work in Argentina.

What did I consider were the most important or significant issues in regards to cultural differences and instructional design? There were really two that stood out: time orientation and a sense of belonging to a learning community or inclusivity. 

Time orientation is a society’s use and view of time (past, present and future), and Argentines have a very different attitude towards time than most Canadians. Specifically, they do not place as much emphasis on future time as we do. How does this translate to designing online courses? More time would be required to complete an online course. In addition, students were not accustomed to taking timed exams in their traditional classes, so requiring them to do so online was not recommended. Online facilitators must be prepared to encourage and remind their learners to submit assignments and to provide a high level of facilitator-student interaction to keep students engaged and aware of time management. 

Belonging to a learning community was the second largest difference for course development consideration. In Canada students display more individualistic characteristics than collaborative learning. However, Argentines are more concerned with the collective and their role in it. In a virtual learning environment it was important to teach how to create and encourage virtual teams. Another important factor was the contribution of group discussion, either peer-to-peer, facilitator-learner, or facilitator-class. Including many opportunities for discussion plays an important role in learners' feelings of inclusivity and, as a result, they will be much more likely to complete the course. 

My experiences in Argentina were at times challenging yet rewarding. I know that our project has made a significant difference in the professional lives of people working at IAPG. I know that the online courses that are being implemented will allow engineers and technicians to participate in courses they were previously unable to attend due to economics and personal conflicts. Working with other cultures is a rewarding experience and I recommend it anyone. 

Diane Clark is the Supervisor, Information Literacy Instruction Technology and Curriculum Innovation, Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, Edmonton, Alberta.

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