USAID/El Salvador library and information services analysis

The TDY team conducted interviews, performed site visits to several in-country libraries, reviewed documentation, and analyzed the Mission"s library collection. The team"s basic finding was that current efforts to develop a USAID/ES library are worthwhile, although the library"s full benefit will not be realized without sustained commitment from the Mission. The space allotted the library is adequate, although the layout should be modified somewhat so that the facility can be locked when no supervision can be provided. The work being done to reorganize the library collection will greatly improve the facility"s usefulness to the Mission. A major concern of the TDY team was how the library will fair in the future, with proposed staffing seen as particularly troublesome; plans to hire a part-time employee will hinder proactive development of the facility. The team also found that the Mission can do more to benefit from other information resources available through USAID and from external sources; the report recommends ways that the Mission can make better use of the Agency"s institutional memory administered by CDIE (available through the Internet/intranet and on CD-ROM) and from other international development resources. An integrated approach to building a Mission library and information center should be followed, one which utilizes both onsite resources and those available within the Agency and elsewhere. USAID/ES has a unique opportunity to build a library and information center that can make fundamental contributions to the overall success of the Mission in realizing its development objectives. (Author abstract)