SUMMARY REPORT OF ACQUISITIONS FIELD TRIP OCTOBER 9, 1957

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP68-00069A000100160039-9
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 10, 2000
• Sequence Number: 39
• Publication Date: February 12, 1959
• Content Type: SUMMARY

ApprorAelmM9RTOEMi CMpf'68-00069A000100160039-9
PROCIB-D-9
12 February 1959
SUMMARY REPORT OF ACQUISiliOnS FULD TRIP
ROBERT F. OGDEN
OCTOBER 9, 1957
The field trip of the Head of the Near East Section of the
Orientalia Division, Robert F. Ogden, began on January 31, 1957 and ended
on August 22,e1957. In that time the following countries and political
entities were visited: Spain, Morocco, Algeria, TUniiiia, Libya, Egypt;
the Sudan, BaUdi Arabia, Yemen, Baerain, Pakistan, 'Afghanistan? Iran,
Iraq., Kuwait, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Italy and France, twenty in all.
In spite of the almost exclusive use of the airplane, there was not
enough time to include Jordan, or the centers of oriental study in OnmanY
as had been, planned. Cyprus vas omitted because of the acute political
troUbles there. In addition, the amount of time spent in the countries
from Iraq on was radically curtailed in an effort to cover the entire
field of the Near East Section. Within these political divisions, visits
were paid not only to the capitals but to cities important for sources
of publications or library centers, amounting to 33 places in all.
However, it was necessary to omit important centers in Egypt, the Arabian
peninsula, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Turkey. Of the
twenty countries visited, fourteen had not been covered for nine years,
if at all.. Of the six visited six years ago, Turkey, Lebanon, Syria,
Iraq, Iran and Egypt, all have suffered political change or have under-
gone such cultural change that a thorough going review of procurement
and publication production was found to be necessary.
The idea of the trip at the outset was to visit the entire
area covered by the Near East Section, as far as political conditions
would permit. Special attention was given North Africa and Afghanistan,
not visited previously. Although the amount of time budgeted for the
countries of special interest was large, it was found necessary to increase
further the time spent in all of them. As a result of the knowledge gained
in North Africa, it was necessary to lengthen the stay in Egypt and the
Sudan. An unusual opportunity to visit the Yemen further lengthened the
time spent in the Arabian peninsula. Az a result, after Iraq only the
bare necessities could be covered, 'government publications, the commercial
output currently appearing and the state of the press. The necessity of
covering the itinerary from Iraq on during the summer or vacation months
made it impossible to realize completely the projected alma for these
countries. However, the general atm of the trip was carried out in all
of the countries listed above.
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3.2 February 1959
It vas impossible to prescribe the kiud of treatment to be given
any country before actually visiting the country itself. In plarneng the
itivarary, it was presumed that the countries visited previously would
require only a checking of the machinery of acqeisitioms set up on erevioua
visits. After the experience withEgysee such a procedure could no longer
be taken for granted. In ypt, the effects of the new political align-
ments had to be taken into consideration for every step of the procedurea
to be eveaved. What started out to be a cheCking over of exesting procedures
in order to be certain that all sources were covered/ turned out to be a
complete review of the procurement for the entire country, practically as
if no visit bad previouely been made. One was continually facing the
vestion? "Can the person. contr?cting to perform ervice be expected
to be free to fulfill that contract?" In the end it vas necessary to
realsigi both exchange and purchasing proeedures to cope with the new
situation. For different reasons, something of the same procedure V48
necessary in Iran, Iraq, Syria,, Lebanon and Turkey. In Turkey it vaa expected
that s changea would have to be made in the acqesisition methods. However/
just before the visit to TUtkey? the Director of. the National Library in
Ankara was change, a change which made it necessary to recast all of the
plena for revising acqpisitions proeedurea for Turkey. .
With countries visited for the first time by the writer,
different sort of prOblem was presented, that of finding sources of pudica
-
tions some of whichhardly existed one year ago. It was difficult not to
get the impression that some of the officials responsible for publications
in some of the new government felt that they bad been given an unimportant
task. It seaned 'bob* a general idea that there veremany projects for a
new government more important than setting up a program of publications
geared to the needs of a new nation such as theirs. Under such circumstances
ascertaining just vhat agencies of the gavernment of Morocco were the proper
sources Of government prealications wee quite a research job. For example,
the Ministry of Eduestiaa was certain that the tional or General Library
was the proper source, while the Geueral Library felt that they were sending
everything necessary to LC vben they were not eveu providing the Official
Gazette, the most basic document of the new state. It seemed that for a
short time duriag the early pert of my stay in Rabat, the capital of Morocco/
that every government office interviewed provided e publication connected
with some operation of the new government. Under those circumstances nothing
else could be done but to fird. the ageneies or the officials, as fey in
nuMber as possible, who could commaud access to this maze of publications.
Even when that solution was reached there was no certainty that a new re-
organization would not shift sources of publication out of range of the key
controls set up previously. The beat that could be done in Mbrocco vas to
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get aequainted with the present organisational plan of the government as a,
basis of lumping this control through the key sources. In two others of
the new countries, Timis end Libya, this prOblem was solved by the discavery
of a, recently constituted Co, Press, where the output could be
tgpped at the source.?
Commercial publicatious in those new countries presented=
entirely different sort of prelates. First of all, were there bookstores
or distributors of sufficient standing to command the respect and co-
operation of authors presses and the public alike? In considering this
possibilitye political affilistioas had to be scrutinised. The decision
made in a13. three of the new countries of Worth Africa was that there was
no dealer who fulfilled those reqpirements and could therefore serve the
Library of Congress in the capacity of a blanket order dealer. But to reach
this decision, small purchases bed to be made to test out the dealer. Innis
comes as near as any of the three to having such a dealer.
Commercial dealers in the countries already visited were for the
meat part keeping abreast of the changing times, except in Egypt where
political conditions forced over-cautious treatment or any business program.
In all cases the opportunity of checking over with the dealer a body of
publications indicatteg what publications should be sent, achieved results
which could hardly have been accomplished in any othermey. Only one change
in, method of acquiring commereial publications was recommended, that of
shifting from la, priced exchange in Turkey to purchase in Istanbul through
Robert college.
Visits to libraries and to collectors, editors end. authors proved
to be &most useful and necessary Part of the field trip. BeYond the mere
backstopping of the actual operation of purchase, contacts with the libraries
and personalities in the literary field were most valuable in assessing
publication trends. Although reference shelves in oriental langeages and
in Islanic material presented a certain sameness, there was enoesh variety
to justify visits to libraries on that score alone.
Libraries were of three classes. (1)' Te were the national or
general libraries usually a part of e system heading up in a central library
in the capital. In Morocco the central library was called the general
Library endues supposed to be thehead of the whole vistas.. The usual
terminology for such central libraries was national library as was the case
in Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, /ran, Lebanon and, Turkey. Branches of such
libraries in the provincial cities as in Isfahan and Shlres often proved to
be very lepertent centers of information on any bock production and col-
lections in that vicinity. (2) University libraries in places where the
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universities were not recently established had been of great assistance an
the former trip. Visits to the universities seen previously in Cairo,
Asshdade Ankara sad Danascus and to the American universities in the area,
at Beirut, Cairo, and Istanbul demonstrated that it is to these libraries
that we must look for progress in library science and for better tools
sUch as national bibliographies. Upon some of the universities in the
newer countries, Mbrocco, Libya, the Sudan and Afghanistan will certainly
devolve the responsibility of initiating any aflames in library science
that can be expected in the near future. (3) Libraries in religious
institutions that charitable gifts flow asking possible the purchase of
additional treasures. In recent years some of the funds have been expended
on improving service facilities. Library Microfilming
facilities were generally availablWereptesenting a
great advance over six years ago. It Is usually necessary to Obtain the
microfilm through soma agency or office in the capital city, but there was
a general knowledge of the value of mierofilming and a willingness to
cooperate in microfilming projects. All of the centers have this service
except Asbul and the Arabian peninsula, where only private commereial
facilities are amenable.
Little progress was noted in the production of national or general
biblioeraphies. Turkey has resumed the printing of its Turkiee Bibliografyasi.
'ewe In .Egypt the American University was keeping alive the project proposed
several years ago but the position of the government, without whose. co-
operation it would be impossible to proceed, was not clear.
In Iran there was a plan to issue a bibliogrephy, of works in
English similar to that produced for French language materials. The produc-
tion of a national bibliography will have to wait until the confused
relationships between the libraries of government agencies.and the libraries
of the university faculties can be cleared up.
The idea of establishing vacs catalogs of the holdiage in
/ovulation centers where there were several libraries or agencies using
libraries, or for entire countries aroused much more interest than on the
previous visit. The fact that such catalogs would be of great value in
producing national bibliographies was recognized and contributed to the
favorable reception of the idea.
oubrax conclusions. Certain general conclusions can be drawn which seply
to the entrip-in addition to the specific recommendations tacleded in
the detailed reports submitted for each country. . These conclusions are based
on the experience of field trips and the seven years experience in the
Section. (1) Yield tripe are vital to maintenance of the working relation-
ships between the Seetion and the wee it serves. Abt only in acquiring
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facilitate the acquisition of water/al from this area if such *ttttne
could be in In ex far publications. Theae countriqs throuch their
libraries look to LC for leadership In the hind and quality or bibliographical
aids needed for the arca. Viara production of national bibliographies so
long needed ia this arca could be wqterially aided if LC through its
Neer Nast Section had the resources to exteud Its interest a advice to
those faeiug bibliographical prehl it. the field.
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