Fred and I spent a wonderful and productive first day at the Muhimbili Medical Library. We are within walking distance of the University but Rehema Chande-Mallya, the library's director insisted on driving us this morning.First on the agenda was meet with Rehema and her senior staff as well as Professor M.J. Temu, Chairperson of the Senate Library Committee to discuss Rehema's proposed two-week agenda and specifics on workshops. It was amazing to walk into someone else's library half way around the world with possible word meaning and language obstacles and hammer out a schedule in less than an hour with individuals I had not previously met or in Fred's case, had not seen in two years. Fred and I wanted to meet with as many library and academic staff as possible in the first week, in order to capture enough information to help drive the content of the biomedical literature searching and customer service workshops.
We were able to meet immediately with Dr. Mhina Chambuso, Director of ICT (Information and Communications Technology) at Muhimbili to discuss the digital publication of the University's Research Bulletin, which contains citations and abstracts of research at Muhimbili. We were able to secure three years worth of word files for a future demonstration/pilot project. Fred and I also met with Sydney Msonde, assistant librarian for ICT as well as a wider staff meeting to garner as much information as possible in order to organize meaningful workshops. The wider meeting was attended by staff from Periodicals & Documentation Dept. (Silas Maganga -- Head, Abeda Kalovya and Julius Magessa); Technical Services Dept. (Salum Saidy -- Head, K.K. Kitwana, C. Mwambungu, Eneah Kamwela); Library Schools/Institutes Dept. (Mary Matary -- Head).
The first wing of the library was built in 1968, the second in 1977 and the third in 2006. Offices are air conditioned but the other parts including stacks and service areas are not and barred windows are open. The bars were installed to eliminate theft of library materials as there is no security system. Outside temperature today in Dar is 93 degrees F and 46% humidity. The forecast for the rest of the week is high 80's and 60% humidity.
The new wing is most impressive with two large rooms to support an information/learning commons and a 24-hour study area. The two areas combined have a capacity to support 250 computers. Unfortunately, the fully air-conditioned space with new lighting and furniture is currently idle because it is not connected to electric power. The time frame for power connection is not known. The current bid price from the electric company is considered too high by the Muhimbili University administration.
The absence of a theft detection system places a strong premium on the "check point" desk, which represents the entrance/exit of the library. No bags are allowed inside the library. Staff rotates in and out during the day to manage that desk, which prevents the full implementation of a nearby information desk.
The MUHAS campus consists of five schools (Medicine, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Nursing and Public Health & Social Sciences) and two institutes (Allied Health Sciences and Traditional Medicine) with an academic staff of 300. It is the only public University for health sciences education in Tanzania. Enrollment is approximately 2,500 students, of which 160 are post-graduates.
