More To Learn Than To Teach

by John Berry III -- Library Journal, 7/1/1997

'As Much To Learn As To Teach' was the title of a landmark LJ article by Lester Asheim(November 15, 1964, p. 4465-68) about the activities and purposesof the International Relations Office of the American LibraryAssociation (ALA). That was near the end of the long period ofALA's greatest international impact. Coming home afterparticipating in a seminar on The Global Information Village inRabat, Morocco, this spring, I couldn't help remembering Asheim'spaper.

The seminar, supported by the U.S.Information Agency, was a result of the partnership between theSchool of Information and Library Science at Pratt Institute inBrooklyn and Morocco's Ecole des Sciences de L'Information(ESI). It was held at ESI in Rabat. The U.S. participants touredthat capital city and much more, getting a short glimpse of themodern and ancient culture and society of Morocco. For example,they visited the magnificent library of the Fondation du RoiAbdul-Aziz Al Saoud pour les Etudes Islamiques et les SciencesHumaines. Even that short experience proved the compellingaccuracy of Asheim's title and views. But if I were to edit thepaper today, as I did in 1964, I would suggest changing thattitle to 'More To Learn Than To Teach.'

Barbara Ford, as part of her year as thenew ALA president, is planning a number of exciting internationalinitiatives under the theme 'Global Reach, LocalTouch.' Intended or not, I hear echoes of the Asheimattitude in Ford's slogan. I fervently hope we librarians usewhatever support we get for new international interactions tostrengthen Asheim's enlightened view. With that outlook we couldhelp our country's representatives abroad change the widely heldview of the United States as a superpower interested only intrade, markets, and the export of our ideology. We might evenshow an almost un-American willingness to learn and use thelanguages of other nations. Language is a crucial issue, and inRabat we discussed whether the world must learn English (it istaught at ESI) or if the world's new networks and systems mustaccommodate French and/or Arabic.

If the Moroccans I met are any indication,we have not made it clear that many Americans, particularly thosewho, like librarians, work with ideas, are not just seekingmarkets or influence in a geopolitical struggle. We must make itclear that we are also consumed with deep interest in their moreancient cultures and civilizations, their traditions, theirstruggles, and the special information and educational needs oftheir deeply rooted societies. We must make it clear that we wantto understand their views and share information and knowledgewith them, not just deliver the American message.

Deep in the medina of Marrakech I learnedfrom an 'unofficial' guide, a hustling con man who wasa match for any on the streets of New York, that every peddlerand merchant, every beggar and errand boy has deep knowledge ofhis nation's history and ancient culture and enthusiasticallytries to share it with visitors from everywhere. There in thosesuks, where a nearly pure laissez faire, free enterpriseflourishes, that guide told me about the French exploitation ofMorocco and the deep anti-colonial resentments that remain. Healso told me something I never learned in American historyclasses: the first nation to recognize the infant democracy ofthe United States at its birth was Morocco.

I have never supported ALA's internationalefforts, partly because only a small clique, a tiny elite, everparticipates in them. More important, our archives contain onlyreports of U.S. contributions to the rest of the world. While Ibelieve it is vital that we make those contributions, I'd stilllike to hear from our library and information ambassadors muchmore about what they learned from and about those far away placesand what that might contribute to our understanding of the'global information village.'

What I found in Morocco was that Asheim wasright: we have 'as much' or more to learn than we haveto teach. I hope our 'global reach' and 'localtouch' will demonstrate that side of Americans--authenticinterest in other cultures, and the professional and intellectualdesire and need to learn all we can, including other languages,in order to share the world's information even more deeply andusefully.