CARIBBEAN - International Encyclopedia of Information and Library Science

Although the term Caribbean in its geographical context can be said to describe all the lands washed by the Caribbean Sea, traditionally it has come to be applied to the Antillean island chain that stretches from latitude 23.508 to 108 north and between longitude 858 and 598 west. These Caribbean islands include many territories with historical, political, linguistic and cultural affilia- tions that are as varied as their past, which has been greatly influenced by the relationships of the pre- and post-colonial era. English, French, Dutch and Spanish are the main languages but local languages such as Papiamento (in the Dutch Islands) and Creole (in the French Islands) are also spoken.

However, the English-speaking Caribbean, a cohesive subregion, is the area of concern, and here the term Caribbean refers to those island territories comprising Anguilla, Antigua/Barbuda, Barbados, the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, St Kitts/Nevis, St Lucia, Montserrat, St Vincent and the Grena- dines, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Turks and Caicos Islands, as well as the mainland territories of Belize and Guyana. These former colonies of Britain have now become independent states or have some form of limited self-government as Associated States of Britain. The independent territories have formed themselves into an economic grouping known as the Caribbean Com- munity (CARICOM) but the shared historical experience has resulted in many cultural and economic similarities, and their people share a

common bond and participate in many co-operative activities at both governmental and non- governmental levels.

Generally speaking, the libraries of the Car- ibbean promote the use of international standards by subscribing to the principles of Universal Bibliographic Control (UBC), and the use of anglo-american cataloguing rules (AACR2) and International Standard Biblio- graphic Description (ISBD) for different cate- gories of information materials is the norm in libraries that are staffed by trained professionals.

Public libraries

public libraries, introduced by the British from as early as the mid-nineteenth century, exhibit varying stages of development. These range from comprehensive island coverage incorporating mo- bile and static units that offer service in both urban and rural areas, in Jamaica, to a single unit in the island of Anguilla. These government- supported libraries provide free services and many are housed in well-designed buildings, offering reference and lending services to the population at large as well as special services to some institutionalized groups in their commu- nities. Many serve as centres for legal deposit where such legislation is in force and these also maintain collections of the national imprints, although the arrangements are far from perfect and there are some serious problems (Peltier- Davies 1997).

National libraries

Although the term national library (seenational libraries) is incorporated in the names of many Caribbean library systems, the traditional national library as defined by Humphreys (1966) exists only in Jamaica. There the National Library of Jamaica, established in 1979 and based on the collections and staff of the former West India Reference Library, houses an impress- ive collection of Caribbean material and serves as the national bibliographic centre, while perform- ing most of the functions associated with traditional national libraries (Ferguson 1996).

Special libraries

Earlyspecial librariesdate back to the turn of the century, which saw the growth particularly of medical, agricultural and legal libraries. Gener-

ally speaking, however, development of other types of special libraries in the Caribbean really began in the 1960s and can be attributed to the emphasis placed on the diversification of the economies from primary products to service and manufacturing industries with the advent of political independence in that decade. These libraries, although commonly associated with government ministries and departments, are also to be found in many semi-government entities, such as statutory bodies and public sector cor- porations, as well as in private-sector organizations involved in business, manufacturing, mining and service industries. Special libraries led the way in library automation in the region (Renwick 1996).

Academic libraries

academic libraries exist at the University College of Belize, at the University of Guyana and on the three campus territories of the regional University of the West Indies (UWI).

The UWI libraries use OCLC for cataloguing support and are located at Mona in Jamaica, Cava Hill in Barbados and St Augustine in Trinidad and Tobago. Academic libraries are also to be found in professional schools such as those associated with law in Jamaica and in Trinidad and Tobago or in theological seminaries. A few US offshore university installations also operate academic libraries in some islands such as Anti- gua and St Vincent. Depending on the curricula in each institution, these libraries carry signifi- cant holdings either in the arts and humanities, the social sciences or the natural sciences. The Medical Branch of the University of the West Indies Library on the Mona Campus is the centre for a Caribbean Medical Literature Indexing Project (MEDCARIB), while the law library on the Cave Hill Campus, which is well known for its collection of Caribbean and other English materials, is the centre for the West Indian Case Laws Indexing Project (WICLIP). All these academic libraries support resource-sharing both nationally and regionally.

College libraries

These serve other tertiary institutions such as teachers’ colleges and special institutions such as the College of the Bahamas, the Sir Arthur Lewis College in St Lucia and the College of Arts, Science and Technology in Jamaica. Their devel- 56CARIBBEAN

opment is uneven, ranging from well-staffed libraries in functional buildings with comprehensive collections designed to meet the needs of faculty and students, to small collections housed in makeshift accommodation and operated by paraprofessionals. Recently, however, the degree- granting and university-associated status achieved or desired by some colleges has stimu- lated the development of the better libraries, some of which now approximate to international academic standards.

School libraries

school libraries are unevenly developed and varied in their administration. In some territories a basic service is provided by the Ministry of Education, either independently or through the public library. In others, however, the school library service can only be described as rudimen- tary, based on the initiatives of the school with support from community groups such as parent–

teacher associations. The tendency is for a national service at the primary-school level with the secondary schools developing their libraries individually.

Library associations

Active library associations have existed for several decades, uniting people with an interest in library work and serving the library and information profession in the larger territories of Barba- dos, Jamaica, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago, but their fortunes have waxed and waned in the smaller territories. Worthy of note, however, is the regional Association of Caribbean University, Research and Institutional Libraries (ACURIL), which was established in 1969 and in which most of the territories are actively involved. This association links not only all the English-speaking territories of the Caribbean but also the Dutch-, French- and Spanish-speaking territories as well. ACURIL has held an annual conference each year since its inception and plays an important role in continuing education and co- operative activities for library and information professionals of the region.

Education and training

Prior to 1971 librarians gained professional qualifications either by sitting external examina- tions of the library association in Britain or

by attending library schools in that country or in North America. The education and training of librarians (see library education) is now carried out by the regional school, which is the Department of Library Studies of the University of the West Indies and is located at the Mona Campus in Jamaica. This school, which was established in 1971, offers, at the undergraduate level, a three-year programme leading to the Bachelor of Arts Degree (Library Studies major).

From 1973 to 1989 it offered a twelve-month Postgraduate Diploma programme. Since then, however, the postgraduate programme has been upgraded to a fifteen-month programme that incorporates ten semester courses and a research paper leading to the Master of Library Studies (MLS). Three months of compulsory fieldwork is an integral part of all three programmes. An MA in Library and Information Studies for those holding a BA in the subject was introduced in 1998. An MPhil, obtained by research and thesis, has existed since 1996. The department sees itself as having a regional as well as a national role. Special short continuing-education courses for information professionals in the field, as well as basic training for support staff, have also been organized as part of the school’s outreach programme. A few people still continue to qualify or to upgrade their professional knowledge overseas. Expertise in the Caribbean has been developed on a broad basis as a result of this influence and also through involvement in international activities. For details of the school, see http://dlis_pde.uwimona.edu.jm/.

Information networks

A relatively recent development in the region has been the growth of specialized information networks that serve a variety of sectoral interests.

Examples of these include the Caribbean Energy Information System (CEIS), with its focal point in Jamaica, the Caribbean Information System for Planners (CARISPLAN), with its focal point at the subregional Secretariat of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Carib- bean (ECLAC), which is based in Trinidad and Tobago. These information networks are charac- terized by co-operatively built automated databases with the emphasis on documents and other information material produced in the region.

Online access is possible to some regional databases such as the CARISPLAN database, and CARIBBEAN 57

also to international databases such as dialog, from the larger territories. The introduction of the interneton the Mona Campus of the UWI and the emergence of network servers such as AMBIONET, in Trinidad, and CARIBBEAN ONLINE, in Barbados, initiated networking in the region in the early 1990s. Services developed significantly in the second half of the decade, and there are examples of regionally based Internet Service Bureaux and other infrastructural support (Miles and Bromberg 2000).

Information technology

Computer application is gradually being introduced in the region’s libraries, where the CDS/

ISIS software developed by unesco for micro- computers is emerging as the standard, mainly because it is available free of charge to developing countries. It is used primarily by the national documentation centres and special libraries that serve public sector institutions and organizations.

Other software for integrated library applications has been introduced in some libraries, largely in the special library sector.

International links and relationships International links are maintained by librarians and information professionals in the region through membership and active participation in international professional associations such as ifla,fidand the Commonwealth Library Asso- ciation (COMLA), which, except for a brief period, has had its headquarters in Jamaica since it was established in 1972.

References

Ferguson, S. (1996) ‘Defining a role of a new national library in a developing country: The National Li- brary of Jamaica 1980–1990’,Alexandria8: 65–74.

Humphreys, K.W. (1996) ‘National library functions’, UNESCO Bulletin for Libraries20(4): 158–69.

Miles, K. and Bromberg, S. (2000) ‘Filling an information gap for the Caribbean’, Business Information Alert12: 1–3.

Peltier-Davies, C. (1997) ‘Public libraries as national libraries – the Caribbean experience’,Alexandria9:

213–38.

Renwick, S. (1996) ‘Access to information in the English-speaking Caribbean’,Third World Libraries 6: 20–8.