Looking for ‘Mission-minded’ Librarians

The Christian Reformed Church, in conjunction with the Reformed Church in America, is seeking mission-minded, volunteer librarians to work in evangelical Christian colleges and other institutions in developing countries.

Called “Strengthening Christian Libraries Internationally,” the program currently has openings for librarians in Nigeria and eventually hopes to work or has already worked in Mexico, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, India, and Uganda.

In Nigeria, professional librarians or library technicians are needed at three seminaries and a Bible school to help them develop their libraries.

“There is an enormous need. There are lots of places we could work,” says Albert Hamstra, director of special projects for Christian Reformed World Missions.

The countries where they can work are many if they can find the volunteers. “We could probably tailor this to the volunteers if there is a country in which they would want to work for a few weeks,” says Hamstra.

This venture began in 2007 as a joint project of CRWM and the RCA. The denominations undertook the effort because no one else seemed to be filling the need to re-vision “what access to information means to learning in an institution” in a developing country and then providing the means to make that vision reality, says Hamstra.

A significant element of the program is to link libraries and students to the Internet, which in turn allows them access to libraries and other sources of data around the world.

“Our vision is that our partner educational institutions receive the assistance and support of a network of Christian professional librarians and services so that their libraries are accessible, organized, and an information-based component of their educational program,” says Ray Bouma, who helps coordinate the program with his wife, Barbara.

The Boumas live in Chicago, but travel the world assessing the needs of libraries in evangelical Christian institutions and helping serve as mentors to librarians. They have also held seminars as well as worked with individual libraries.

As they travel, Ray Bouma says they see that Christian institutions are beginning “to more fully understand the necessity of having excellent information age library/information centers to support and enhance the education provided by their institutions.”

Potential volunteers must fulfill a few qualifications:

• Mature Christians committed to Christ and respectful of other cultures.
• Flexible, adaptable, and able to view life with a sense of humor.
• Professional librarian or library technician.

The actual job is fluid and is based on the volunteer’s availability and on the specific opportunity. There is flexibility for the time of year and length of time that a person can serve in one of these roles. The specific qualifications necessary for these volunteer opportunities will vary by assignment. Although the guidelines are flexible, says Hamstra, “we are finding challenges in finding the highly skilled volunteers that we need.”

In 2003, during a visit to Asia, CRWM’s Director Gary Bekker and then Asia Regional Director Hamstra realized that many of World Mission’s Bible school/seminary partner libraries were under-resourced and underutilized. Some of the challenges that these libraries faced then and still face today include the need for:

• Developing a book collection that is of sufficient quantity and quality to support the curriculum as well as the interests of the students, staff, and accreditation agency.
• Developing selection policy guidelines.
• Suggesting reference materials that are generally understandable to students and staff who speak English as a second language.
• Implementing a computerized cataloging/circulation system for the library holdings.
• Establishing a non-book collection, including CD-ROMs, DVDs, video cassettes, audio cassettes, etc.
• Making arrangements for in-depth, on-site training by a professional librarian.

For more information on the program, visit www.crcna.org/pages/crwm_libraries.cfm and check out the links on the right-hand side for current volunteer opportunities and for Ray and Barbara Bouma’s blog. Or contact Lorraine Woodward at [email protected].