REPORT ON A COLLECTING TRIP TO MELANESIA, SUMMER 2002
Kathryn Creely,This report summarizes the results of a collecting trip in July 2002 to Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia on behalf of the libraries of the University of Hawai’i at Manoa (UHM) and the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). The primary purpose of the trip was to obtain materials which were unavailable through normal acquisitions channels, including missing issues of serials to which either or both institutions had subscriptions. The majority of the items sought were government publications, but missing issues of newspapers and other serial publications, commercially-published monographs, and music CDs were sought as well. In the course of the trip many previously unknown items were also identified and acquired.
As with a similar trip taken in 1999, extensive preparations were made before leaving. Lists of needed publications were generated for both universities and missing issues of serial titles were noted. To avoid purchasing duplicates, lists of recently-purchased monographs were compiled. I worked closely with UHM librarians, Karen Peacock and Lynette Furuhashi, on this project, consulting in Honolulu before and after the trip. I also received valuable assistance from UCSD library assistants, Stacy Nelson and Jean de Pauw, who generated the UCSD lists.
Funding for the trip came from several sources. Travel funds were provided by the UH’s Center for Pacific Islands Studies (CPIS), out of a grant from the National Resource Centers Program of the U.S. Department of Education. CPIS is the only National Resource Center in the U.S. that focuses on the islands of the Pacific. Salary and other personnel costs were provided by UCSD.
One fact of collecting in the Pacific is that most materials are published by the governments. Although there may be an official government publications office or printery, there are not central repositories of stocks for purchase. The reality is that collecting government publications necessitates visiting (and usually re-visiting) individual departments. Some departments are very well-staffed, with information officers, librarians, and extensive stocks of publications on hand, which makes the job of the collecting librarian much easier. Unfortunately, many departments lack adequate staffing and/or facilities, with the result being that publications may be scattered or no longer available. In these cases, it was not always possible to even ascertain what documents a department had published in recent years, let alone obtain a copy or two.
In Papua New Guinea it’s possible to conduct business in English, which most people speak as a second language. In Vanuatu, it’s helpful to know some French, although English is almost universally understood. In New Caledonia, a good knowledge of French is essential outside the tourist areas.
In Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu, there are very few commercial publications of interest to the UCSD collection. Although there are bookstores, they stock primarily imports, local curriculum materials, and/or religious publications. By contrast, New Caledonia has a number of bookstores and a vibrant publishing industry.
None of the government offices where I made purchases could accept payment by credit card, which was a problem. I had a UCSD “Express” card but was only able to use it in a few retail stores. Another problem is that the Express card is a MasterCard, rather than the much more widely-accepted Visa card. Nearly all purchases and postage (totaling several thousand dollars) had to be paid from personal funds, to be reimbursed when the materials arrive in the U.S. several months later. The delay in receipt of materials is due to the weight: the materials are too heavy to be economically sent by airmail. As of late November, we have received all but a few boxes sent from Papua New Guinea.
In addition to visiting organizations and obtaining library materials, I compiled box lists of all titles purchased, packed the materials myself, and took them to the post offices. All materials were insured, registered, and shipped by sea.
During the trip I had discussions with staff members of many institutions in the region, to find out about publications programs, and seek possibilities for further cooperation. Both UCSD and UHM have cultivated reciprocal relationships with libraries in the Pacific region, establishing exchanges of publications, providing gift copies of books and journals and collaborating on joint projects. These longstanding professional connections have created ties that have proved of great value in the assistance and advice given to UCSD and UHM librarians on acquisitions travel.
ITINERARY
| June 25 |
Travel to Honolulu, Hawai’i |
| June 26 |
Consultations with University of Hawai’i librarians |
| June 27-30 |
Travel to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea (via Australia) |
| July 1-8 |
In Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea |
| July 9 |
Travel to Port Vila, Vanuatu (via Australia) |
| July 10-16 |
In Port Vila, Vanuatu |
| July 17 |
Travel to Nouméa, New Caledonia |
| July 18-30 |
In Nouméa, New Caledonia |
| July 31-August 1 |
Travel to Honolulu, Hawai’i (via Australia) |
| August 2 & 5 |
Consultations with University of Hawai’i librarians |
SUMMARY OF MATERIALS OBTAINED FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
| COUNTRY |
BOXES SENT |
SERIAL ISSUES / TITLES |
MONOGRAPHS (VOLUMES) |
CDs |
| PAPUA NEW GUINEA |
5 |
51 ISSUES / 10 SERIAL TITLES |
114 |
5 |
| VANUATU |
5 |
92 ISSUES / 9 SERIAL TITLES |
10 |
7 |
| NEW CALEDONIA |
6 |
55 ISSUES / 12 SERIAL TITLES |
112 |
7 |
| TOTAL |
16 |
198 ISSUES / 31 SERIAL TITLES |
236 |
19 |
SUMMARY OF MATERIALS OBTAINED FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI’I AT MANOA
| COUNTRY |
BOXES SENT |
SERIAL ISSUES / TITLES |
MONOGRAPHS (VOLUMES) |
CDs |
| PAPUA NEW GUINEA |
8 |
516 ISSUES / 8 SERIAL TITLES |
103 |
3 |
| VANUATU |
7 |
143 ISSUES / 10 SERIAL TITLES |
15 |
6 |
| NEW CALEDONIA |
4 |
89 ISSUES / 30 SERIAL TITLES |
53 |
4 |
| TOTAL |
19 |
748 ISSUES / 48 SERIAL TITLES |
171 |
9 |
PORT MORESBY, PAPUA NEW GUINEA, JUNE 30 TO JULY 8
Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea, is very spread out geographically with government offices in several different neighborhoods. It’s not a safe place to work, due to the high rate of violent crime (particularly robberies), and the prevalence of drug-resistant malaria. Because Papua New Guinea is so close to the equator, days are short (almost exactly twelve hours of daylight) and night falls quickly. After dark (which arrives at about 6 p.m.) the streets are deserted, public buses don’t run, and taxis are scarce. An additional factor during my stay was that national elections were taking place (with many incidents of violence in the rural areas outside of Port Moresby). During the day, large crowds of people were often in the streets around the government buildings, demonstrating or awaiting news.
Arriving on a Sunday and leaving on a Tuesday, I had eight days (including the weekend when most places are closed) to get work done. Even with this much time, there were a number of government offices that I wasn’t able to visit and items that were not obtained.
For most of the offices, it was necessary to make an initial telephone call, a visit in person, and then a follow up visit (and sometimes several follow up visits). This was particularly true in the government departments there was no information officer, librarian on staff, or centralized distribution point for publications. In some cases there was not even a list of publications available.
For efficiency and safety, I hired a car and driver for my entire stay. This was very helpful, as the driver was able to secure materials in the vehicle, while I worked. The driver was also a great help in getting the numerous large and heavy boxes of materials to the post office. Contacts in Port Moresby from my previous visit in 1999 were also of great help.
Items of particular importance acquired in Port Moresby were the complete set of 80 reports from the 1999 census, and extensive back runs of several newspapers which UCSD and UHM have been microfilming.
Copies of election training materials, recent election laws, and other publications were given to me by members of the Australian Electoral Commission. They had been in the country for a number of months, training Papua New Guinea elections officials and observing the national elections.
I had interesting discussions with staff members at the Institute of Papua New Guinea Studies, the National Research Institute, and the National Library and Archives. There are some good possibilities for cooperative projects with both of these organizations, particularly with regard to co-publishing. For example, the National Research Institute has compiled many years of an index to the major national newspapers—but has no money to publish it; we discussed the possibility of putting this resource up on the internet. The National Archives staff is also eager to continue to build on our previous cooperative efforts in microfilming the patrol reports.
Organizations visited in Papua New Guinea:
PORT VILA, VANUATU, JULY 9-16
Compared with the difficulties and dangers of Port Moresby, Port Vila is a much easier place to work. The town itself is small and public transportation is safe and economical. As with Papua New Guinea, however, it was necessary to visit government offices at least twice.
Organizations visited in Vanuatu:
NOUMEA, NEW CALEDONIA, JULY 17-31
New Caledonia has a well-developed commercial publishing scene and correspondingly well-developed bookshops. There is even a new bookstore, Caledo Livres, which specializes in publications about the Pacific, particularly New Caledonia. It has an extensive selection of both new and old books and journals. I believe that this bookstore may be helpful to our Acquisitions Department, as we have had difficulty obtaining New Caledonian publications through our usual French vendor.
While in Nouméa I was invited to meet with Dr. Paul de Deckker, president of the Université de la Nouvelle-Calédonie, and several of his faculty members. We met to discuss his institution’s plans to establish a Melanesian Studies Center. Dr. de Deckker informally invited me to revisit the University once this Center is established, perhaps to teach a short course on library research and resources for Melanesian studies. Needless to say, this is an intriguing opportunity which I would like to pursue.
I also met with several other local scholars and was given some interesting library materials. At the Territorial Archives I met with the director, Ismet Kurtovitch, who gave me a tour of the building and an overview of their collections. He donated CDs of three of their photograph collections—materials which I would not have known about otherwise and which are a great addition to our collection. Other people that I met with included: Max Shekleton (collector of early postcards from the Pacific Islands), Dr. Jean Guiart (prominent anthropologist and former head of the Musée de l’Homme in Paris), Liliane Tauru (librarian at the Tjibaou Cultural Centre); and Frederic Angleviel (chair of the local historical society and professor). For all of these contacts, I have been following up on the issues raised.
Organizations visited in New Caledonia: