Joanne Tarpley

Chief Tano Jess Rivera invoked the spirit of the ancestors when he welcomed attendees to the fourth annual conference of the Pacific Islands Association of Libraries and Archives (PIALA). Held on Guam from November 2–4,1994, the conference occurred during the month of sumongsong in the ancient Chamoru calendar. Chief Rivera described sumongsong as a time “to repair or to plug leaks,” and drew an analogy to the work of librarians and archivists, who help to repair holes in the truth.

Keynote speaker Dr. John Salas, President of the University of Guam, provided insight into the changing roles of information centers by employing an analogy of pickled papaya, an island delicacy. Care must be taken in the preparation of pickled papaya to assure that the dish is neither too sweet nor too sour, so that it is most able to complement a meal’s varied menu. Likewise, a library or information center must know the information needs of its community and thus serve as a complement to that community. Just as the gift of pickled papaya should not overwhelm the meal — but rather complement it — information centers must respond to their communities, not dictate to them.

Information resources serving the Pacific were discussed by Hui–lan Huang, Assistant Director of the Pacific Neighborhood Consortium, and in a paper submitted by Jayshree Mamtora of the Pacific Information Centre at the University of the South Pacific in Suva, Fiji. The Pacific Neighborhood Consortium is a multinational group of institutions of higher education and national libraries working together to develop agreements for effective information exchange and educational improvement. The group’s goal is development of information exchange capacity that will allow member institutions to participate in a virtual neighborhood. The Pacific Information Centre (PIC) is a regional information network. Its primary function is to collect and preserve all materials relating to the South Pacific—particularly those originating from within the region—and to provide for documentation of this material. Additionally, PIC produces publications such as the South Pacific Bibliography and South Pacific Research Register, and special bibliographies such as Kava: a Bibliography.

This year’s conference covered a variety of topics and areas of librarianship. The value of read–aloud programs, activities to stimulate interest in reading, and the use of culturally relevant or indigenous literature in the classroom was discussed in separate sessions by Marilyn Jackson from the University of Guam, Marilyn Salas of the Multicultural Education Resource Center at the University of Guam, and Katharyn Tuten–Puckett from the Public School System of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Herbert Del Rosario, Archivist, and Martin Gerbens, Pacific Collection Curator, both with Northern Marianas College, presented ideas for managing special collections and described ongoing oral history projects in the Marianas.

Librarians from Yap Public Library, Finegayan Elementary School (Guam), and the Community College of Micronesia (Pohnpei) discussed their mutual fears, frustrations, and successes in automating small library collections.

At additional sessions, discussions included the link between literacy and delinquency; school library censorship; consumer health resources; and the impact of e–mail on cultural exchange and literacy.

Proceedings from PIALA ’94 are expected to be published in mid–1995. Proceedings from PIALA ’93 are now available for US$10.00. Please send your requests to:

Joanne Tarpley
RFK Library
University of Guam Mangilao, 96923

 About the Author

Joanne Tarpley is a reference librarian at the University of Guam.

© 1995 Joanne Tarpley.

Citation

Tarpley, Joanne. “Conference Report: Pacific Islands Association of Libraries and Archives (PIALA) 1994 Meeting, Tamuning, Guam, November 2–4, 1994,” Third World Libraries, Volume 5, Number 2 (Spring 1995).