Last Fall, Patricia Thurston, Catalog Librarian and Slavic and East European Team Leader, was invited to participate in the Partnership for Higher Education in Africa as part of a training team put together by the Mortenson Center for International Library Programs. Her part in the project included presentations in basic MARC and cataloging workflows at two university libraries in Nigeria: The University of Jos in the North, and Obafemi Awolowo University in the South.

The Partnership for Higher Education in Africa began its work in 2000, supported by four of the largest U.S. foundations: the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Ford Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation. In Fall 2005, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation joined the partnership. Together, these six foundations have pledged more than 200 million dollars over the next five years to support higher education in six African countries: Ghana, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. The overall project, scheduled to complete its work by the end of 2007, was developed to assist librarians from seven Carnegie grantee institutions in Africa to move to an automated catalog environment, thus providing better research service to faculty and students.

The mission of the Mortenson Center for International Library Programs is “to strengthen international ties among libraries and librarians worldwide for the promotion of international education.” Founded in 1991, the Center has participated in a wide range of international library projects worldwide, giving them the depth and experience needed to attain the goals outlined by the Partnership.

During her visit, Patricia learned about the wealth of information and material located in Nigerian university libraries. Much of this material remains inaccessible to all but a handful of local scholars. This project will ultimately provide the means for allowing a greater number of local and international scholars to learn about Nigeria’s social and economic history, as well as its rich culture.