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Stories

UW Libraries Reopening Plans: A Message from the Dean

July 29, 2020

To our UW Community,

Libraries are essential to research, teaching and learning at UW. We acknowledge how challenging the ambiguity of this time is, and the desire to confirm plans and expectations for Fall quarter and beyond. Our planning teams have been working hard to develop a phased reopening approach, aligned with public health requirements and UW Safe Start guidance. The Libraries is operating under its Phase 2 prevention plans. The Libraries Phased Reopening Chart provides clarity around what to expect, based on current plans. With 16 libraries, a wide variety of physical spaces, 350 staff, and extensive physical collections, there are many considerations that factor into planning efforts, including the UW Libraries HathiTrust partnership. First and foremost, is the health and safety of employees, students, faculty and our users. The goal of this message is to provide insight into our approach as we move into Phase 2 and look ahead to Phase 3. While we do not know how the current public health situation will evolve in our community, a transition from one phase to the next is dependent on significant changes to public health status and the development of new prevention plans at each stage to ensure the health and safety of all.

Assessment and preparation is required to open spaces and services on site. In Phase 2, a very limited number of staff are returning to work on site for the first time in five months. Their priority is to get circulation systems and other critical functions into working order. At the same time, we are testing Phase 2 operational models to assess and inform facility and policy changes that will ensure the health and safety of our employees and users. During this preparatory and assessment phase, the Libraries buildings will not be open to the public.

Providing safe spaces to study are top-of-mind. We understand that students need safe spaces to study, and that the Libraries are a home-away-from-home for many—whether you live on campus or not. To fill this critical need, we are evaluating operational models that could potentially allow designated Libraries spaces to safely open for individual study in a limited capacity. This planning is highly informed by the work we are doing now in Phase 2, and also by our experience opening up limited spaces at the onset of COVID-19 in March, when social distance guidelines were not as well understood or observed in our spaces. Students’ commitment and willingness to protect each other will be essential to the Libraries’ ability to open and maintain study areas. When that time comes, we know our UW community will support each other in helping to maintain a healthy community.

Access to physical materials is a priority. We know that access to physical materials is important for student and faculty success, especially for certain disciplines that rely on physical collections. As we assess feasibility of services in each phase, availability of certain materials may be expanded, however, access to special collections, government publications, maps, microforms and other branch materials is not anticipated through Phase 4 at this time. Our priority in Phase 2 is to enable access to available physical materials by implementing a curbside pick-up system.  Because this is a new service, we cannot estimate a start date until we have more time on site to assess feasibility. As soon as we have a better sense of timing for the launch of this new service, we will share plans publicly on our Libraries COVID Update page, social media and through centralized UW communication channels.

We are designed for online services and support.  UW Libraries has offered online teaching and learning support for many years. Our staff continue to provide a full range of online support from consultations for writing and research, to interactive learning events, and 24/7 services. At the onset of COVID, our staff worked quickly to bolster electronic resources across disciplines and continue to help faculty navigate course selection in a complex publishing environment. Interlibrary loan continues to facilitate resource sharing from other locations. The Libraries’ liaisons and digital scholarship team are dedicated to helping UW scholars find, create, share, and use research in new ways online. For new students who are entering UW for the first time, our Undergraduate Student Success team has great virtual orientations and other outreach activities planned for the Fall.

Offering high-quality online services is part of what we do. It’s not a substitute for studying in the great Suzzallo reading room, but our dedicated staff have shown us that the Libraries are much more than a beautiful, iconic space. Our Libraries are a center of knowledge and scholarship—no matter what Phase our community is in.

We share your concerns and understand your desire to open the Libraries’ physical spaces.  Once Phase 2 is further underway, and we have the data needed to confirm services like curbside pick-up, open book returns and Phase 3 operations, we will share dates and plans accordingly. Updates to our operations are always posted and shared on our COVID-19 Update page and social media channels as soon as changes are made.  As always, Libraries 24/7 service is here to answer your questions.

We appreciate your input during this unprecedented time. Thank you for continuing to provide us with your feedback and for the opportunity to collaborate with you as we continue to refine our operational approach.

Sincerely,

Lizabeth (Betsy) Wilson

Vice Provost for Digital Initiatives and Dean of University Libraries

 

 

 

 

 

Stories

Faculty Guidance for Fall Quarter: UPDATE

July 29, 2020

UPDATED 10/7/2020

This post is intended to help answer the most common questions from faculty and to highlight  available resources to help prepare for Fall quarter. When in doubt, ASK US.

Teaching Support: 
Besides textbooks/course reserves, the Libraries provides additional teaching support including online DIY modules and videos covering information concepts and assessment you can imbed; collaborative workshops tailored to your course; and connections to campus teaching & learning partners focused on pedagogy and teaching technology.

Re-opening and access to physical materials:

  • No Contact Pick-Up Service is available. Request items online, and pick-up at any UW campus Library!
  • The Libraries buildings will not be open to the public in Phase 2.  
  • The Libraries Phased Reopening Chart provides clarity on what to expect in each Phase.
  • For the health and safety of our users and staff:
    • Opening Libraries spaces will happen on a very limited scale in Phase 3. We are in the process of identifying potential limited locations for individual study in coordination with UW partners, but those spaces not confirmed.
    • Our partnership with HathiTrust Emergency Temporary Access Service is a key consideration in plans for reopening in order to maintain optimal access to millions of materials in a hybrid environment designed for remote learning. This blog post explains more.
    • No public access to Special Collections, government publications, maps, microfilm/form and other branch libraries through Phase 4 at this time.
    • No browsing or check-out of physical materials on site through Phase 4.
  • Interlibrary Loan continues to fill requests for articles and book chapters. Any requests that cannot be filled with electronic resources will be requested from other libraries – this includes scans, but not physical materials at this time.  

Textbooks/Course Reserves: 

  • Plan for the unknown. Because of the uncertainty and inability to predict when UW Libraries buildings will reopen,  we advise instructors to plan for online course readings and materials to the greatest extent possible for all of the reasons listed below. 
  • What is available now? This online resource for course materials outlines key considerations to help you choose the best resources available right now. Whenever possible, please use existing UW collections, including e-books, journal articles, streaming media, and open educational resources/open textbooks. 
  • When online isn’t possible: there is not an online equivalent for all physical items; and, when equivalents do exist, licensing them will take additional time, so they may not be available for course use immediately. In addition, accessing electronic resources for all academic disciplines is a challenge compounded by a publishing landscape that doesn’t support a fully online environment.  

Please consider the following reasons for choosing alternatives to physical course materials:

1) Ease of use. Existing e-resources are immediately available and avoid potential delays (sometimes of several weeks!) that may occur in trying to source and license new electronic materials for courses. 

2) More equitable access. In accordance with existing UW guidance, all classes (online or in-person) this fall should “ensure that all students can complete their coursework, even if they are unable to attend in-person classes due to illness or higher risk of health complications from the coronavirus.” The same consideration should be given to students who are not able to visit the Libraries for similar reasons. 

3) Less strain on limited resources. Using existing alternatives limits additional expenditures from collections budgets and allows Libraries staff to support a broader number of courses and researchers. 

NOTE: It is important to consider that not all e-resources are accessible for all needs. Please see the following guidance to help select accessible course materials:  

Subject Librarians:

Your subject librarian can assist you with Libraries collections needs for your research and teaching and provide tailored information workshops and consultation for students.

Links to UW Libraries Materials in UW Libraries Search: UW Libraries Search underwent maintenance on July 27, 2020. The permalinks (the short and persistent URL for individual items in UW Libraries Search) may break after the maintenance period. We ask that you check all of your course links to UW Libraries Search items to ensure they are still working properly and linking to the right items. If you need assistance with your links please contact your Libraries Liaison for assistance. 

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Stories

Commercial Textbooks in a Virtual Environment: Challenges Explained

July 29, 2020

Thank you to our colleagues at University of Guelph Libraries for sharing their language documenting these challenges. We have adapted it with permission.

As we approach the fall 2020 quarter, library staff are working hard to provide alternative access to our traditional print course reserves collection. A significant portion of the books on reserve are print copies of required textbooks, and students cannot access them without coming into the library. To support instructors and students over the next several months, we are developing new approaches to how we acquire course textbooks, to ensure that students have access, even in a primarily-online, alternative-delivery environment.

However, this work is hampered by textbook publishers who do not provide electronic purchasing options for libraries. Many existing course textbooks are simply unavailable to libraries in any other format than print.

Many existing course textbooks are simply unavailable to libraries in any other format than print.

Textbook publishers have built their profit models around selling e-textbooks directly to students. Despite this, we also know that the cost of textbooks and other course materials represent a major financial hurdle for students at the University of Washington*. 

Many textbook publishers will not allow libraries to purchase e-textbook versions of their publications. This means that in courses that adopt textbooks by these publishers, students who do not purchase the textbook will not have any alternative access to the textbook content. One of our core values at UW Libraries is to ensure equitable access for all, and as such, we encourage faculty to consider equity when making their course material selections. 

UW Subject Librarians can work with faculty to help find textbook alternatives and solutions including resources within existing e-book collections, open resources and more. This post outlines these options and provides additional guidance. Efforts are being made to secure online materials that are free from Digital Rights Management (DRM) restrictions in order to ensure unfettered student access. DRM includes limits on the number of users that can access a resource at any one time, as well as limits on copying, printing and downloading.

The publishing landscape is complex and is not ideal for a primary online learning environment for major research institutions. This is a challenge we are working to address – both in the short term, and beyond, and as UW Libraries, we are here to help you navigate the best choices for you and your students in the Fall.

Learn More:

 

*Source: 2019 UW Student Experience at the Research University (SERU) data, section on financial concerns of students: 84% of undergraduate student respondents reported that they bought fewer books, bought cheaper/used books, read books on reserve (p. 60 of the report).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stories

When Will Libraries Offer A Book Pick-Up Option?

June 19, 2020

As the community continues to move toward Phase 2 re-opening efforts, you may start to see some local public libraries offering solutions for curb-side pick-up of books. Many of our users are wondering when this type of service will be available for UW Libraries.

While UW Libraries planning teams are actively discussing the implementation of curb-side pick-up service, we will not be able to offer it immediately upon UW moving into Phase 2.

While UW Libraries planning teams are actively discussing the implementation of curb-side pick-up service, we will not be able to offer it immediately upon UW moving into Phase 2

The size and scale of rolling this type of service out for the UW Libraries is much more complex than a typical public library. Planning and implementing this type of service requires a large number of staff entering the building and an equally robust operational plan factoring in the health and safety of employees.

When the proper protocols are in place to provide a safe environment for staff to facilitate such a service, curb-side pick-up is the first public-facing service that we anticipate adding as part of re-opening.

When the proper protocols are in place to provide a safe environment for staff to facilitate such a service, curb-side pick-up is the first public-facing service that we anticipate adding as part of re-opening.

We cannot accurately predict when this service will be available other than to say it will not launch with the onset of UW Phase 2. When Libraries staff are able to enter the building, the first priorities will be to address the backlog of returned materials and to update the catalog to ensure compliance with the Emergency Temporary Access Services. These preparations will take time to complete in order to start public-facing services.

We are aware that this is a hardship for those disciplines that are grounded in physical materials. Finding solutions to safely and effectively deploy curb-side check out as soon as possible is our priority, while still providing online materials to those who cannot come to campus.

Additional guidance regarding summer and fall planning are outlined in the blog Preparing for Summer and Fall Quarter: What You Need to Know Now. Other resources include the Remote Services and COVID-19 Updates sections of our website. As soon as we can provide a more detailed timeline for rolling-out this new service, we will update these resources accordingly and share out broadly through social media, departmental Liaisons and campus news outlets.

If you have questions about Libraries services, please reach out to your subject Librarian or Libraries Libraries AskUs email and 24/7 chat Service.

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Stories

Our Top 3 Digital Scholarship Tools

June 19, 2020

Whether you are planning courses for summer or fall quarters or beginning to take a deep dive into your research this summer, the Libraries stands ready to help! The UW Libraries is in year one of a three-year pilot exploring new digital scholarship tools. Use these tools to help teach new knowledge creation skills in your classes and to share your scholarship openly with a broader audience. 

screenshot of online exhibit
Omeka image: Omeka site for Experimental Beijing by Dr. Sasha Welland

Here are our top 3 digital scholarship tools and tips:

1) Create a virtual exhibit with Omeka: Collect, describe, and share research images and artifacts in this easy-to-use platform; it’s like your very own virtual museum!

2)  Create a custom web site with WordPress :

    • Present and share your research and scholarship in new ways. 
    • Create an online forum for community engagement, events and partnerships 
    • WordPress makes it easy to organize a wide range of content including oral histories, video and more.
    • Because it’s free and open access, your research is more widely available than platforms that are limited by paywalls.
      screenshot of WA Prison Project
      WordPress site for UW Bothell’s Washington Prison History Project
Student-created critical edition of The Mill on the Floss

3)   Create a digital book that incorporates images, media, and interactive visualizations with Manifold: 

From ideation to project completion, get help and learn how digital scholarship can support your research and teaching goals. Contact your digital scholarship team at [email protected].  We look forward to working with you!

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Stories

Responding to the Call: George Floyd, Black Lives Matter and Systemic Change

June 5, 2020

Dear UW Community:

Thank you to our UW leadership across all three campuses,  President Ana Mari Cauce and Laura Cañate, UW MBA ’18, for your powerful words. We recognize the clarity of this moment and share a commitment to anti-racist work across the UW Libraries.

Speaking on behalf of UW Libraries to all individuals and communities of color— including our UW employees, users and partners—we mourn with you and support the calls throughout our region and across the nation for justice, accountability and equality. We care about you. We see you. Black Lives Matter.

The brutal killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tacoma resident Manuel Ellis and the many other victims of racist violence who suffered before them, reveal the long, persistent history of racism in our country and within our local communities. The protests in response call us to urgently recognize and change the broken system that has enabled and sustained racist violence and oppression. It is a call that we heed, while at the same time working to live through and manage a global pandemic and economic crisis that continues to challenge all facets of our lives, disproportionately impacting communities of color.

As I reflect on this unprecedented time in our history, I recognize my own privilege and advantage as a white woman and a leader for the UW Libraries. Libraries have a central role to play in building a more equitable society, and yet we bear the responsibility to investigate and dismantle our policies, practices and cultures that perpetuate the inequities. We have a long way to go.

Libraries are inherently designed for and dedicated to the public good. They are built on the promise of knowledge, community and openness, but this promise is broken by the pervasiveness of racism and systemic bias that exist within our communities and specifically within libraries themselves—obvious, unconscious and indifferent.  We acknowledge that the legacy of embedded racism and brutality is not isolated to places or periods of time. It is right here. It is right now. As institutions who have long been working to take steps to address these issues—we must challenge ourselves to do more. Our worthy and well-intentioned goals and strategic plans are guideposts, not end-games; it’s time to revisit and understand where and how we can do better.

As UW Libraries, we actively support the University in sustaining diversity, creating inclusive experiences for the UW community, and confronting institutional bias and structural racism. It is one of our core values. This moment in time asks us—both as individuals and as institutions, to do more. The Libraries can provide resources for learning and self-education; however, we acknowledge that a list of resources is not the answer, it is one potential tool out of many to support our collective work to self-educate. How we invest our time moving forward—our actions—will define the change we see in the future.

To our UW community, I pledge to work alongside our employees, formal and informal committees and groups, and campus leadership to revisit and rethink how equity, diversity and inclusion truly show up at UW Libraries. This work is already deeply embedded in our mission and values; it is not new, but it requires a renewed focus and calibration. It requires a seismic shift in the way we work, to examine our current plans, policies and procedures through the lens of equity and anti-racism. Our Libraries leadership team is fully committed to this promise and we intend to share our progress publicly.

I extend an open invitation to my fellow libraries staff and leaders to share your work, to engage and collaborate as we respond to the call for urgency and action—to fulfill the promise of knowledge, community and openness that our public and academic Libraries are built on.  May we each do the hard work to find the pathway to true change, a path guided by caring, compassion and love for each other.

 

Lizabeth (Betsy) Wilson

Vice Provost and Dean of University Libraries

University of Washington

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Stories

Preparing for Summer and Fall Quarter: What You Need to Know Now

June 2, 2020

This post was updated on 7/6/2020

We know our UW community is eager for information to help plan for summer quarter and beyond. The UW Libraries is working in close partnership with University leadership and community partners to assess and plan for return-to-work/return-to-school following the new UW Safe Start protocols. Our decisions will be guided by our shared values and mission of providing access and excellence while ensuring the maximum health and safety for Libraries’ staff and our users.  We have convened dedicated working teams to focus specifically on developing future operational plans. These plans will be based on forthcoming updated guidelines from the State and University, in line with the state’s phased reopening approach.

While there is no way to predict when exactly new guidelines will be available to inform potential operational changes, there is some information and guidance specific to the Libraries that can help faculty and staff plan under such uncertain conditions:

1)  Summer Quarter- Plan to utilize online/electronic materials: Summer quarter course reserves will remain 100% online/e-resources. This UW Libraries blog post is a great resource for navigating available online resources and Libraries support.

 2)  Access to physical materials and curb-side pick up:  Curbside pick-up will not commence immediately upon Libraries entering Phase 2, but it is a service we hope to provide as soon as it’s feasible – see this blog for more information. In accordance with state public health and safety guidelines, Libraries’ buildings remain closed, and staff are not working on-site to facilitate any type of access to physical materials. Our back-to-work/back-to-school planning teams are evaluating a number of scenarios to potentially enable some access to physical collections (based on future changes to state/University guidelines), but access at this time is not feasible under existing protocols and we do not expect a change in status until a Phase 3 scenario at this time.

3)  Fall quarter- Plan to utilize online/electronic materials: Because we do not know how access to campus and the Libraries will change come fall quarter, we advise instructors who are teaching in fall 2020 to plan for online course readings and materials to the greatest extent possible: existing UW collections, including e-books, journal articles, streaming media,  and open educational resources/open textbooks.  There are many reasons to support an “online only” model, and more detailed guidance and information can be found in the post “Faculty Guidance for Choosing Online Materials”. Please also consider the potential that some students will continue classes online only, perhaps in another state or country, and may not have access to physical collections.

4)  Now is the best time to engage with Libraries’ staff: While future operational plans are unknown at this time, planning now for fall quarter allows adequate time for Libraries’ staff to assist in identifying alternate options for e-resources and other alternatives that may not have been possible in spring quarter due to the short window of time between UW/Libraries’ building closures and the start of spring quarter. Take advantage of the time we have now and our Librarians subject expertise while it is most accessible. 

5)  The importance of HathiTrust to Libraries re-opening strategy: As we consider multiple options for re-opening, any approach for a gradual re-opening will be balanced with the importance of the Universities’ HathiTrust partnership that currently provides electronic access to more than 1.7 million books in our print collection that are not physically accessible while the Libraries’ buildings are closed. Please note that this access is a temporary benefit for UW members during this emergency situation. Once the UW Libraries restores access to our physical collections, this temporary online access will be shut off and will not be available to students who continue learning remotely (out-of-state, or internationally). For this reason, we advise faculty to work with subject Librarians to identify course materials that will be consistently available regardless of Libraries’ operations and access to physical materials.

We will continue to share new information and updates to our operations as they evolve on our COVID-19 Update webpage and through our Libraries’ communications channels. As always, our Libraries’ staff are here to answer your questions anytime. We understand that not having access to the Libraries’ buildings is a frustrating situation for our entire UW community, and we thank you for your patience and understanding as we work through the next phase of operational changes, guided by our commitment to the health and safety of our employees and all UW Libraries’ users.

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Stories

Faculty Guidance for Choosing Online Materials

June 2, 2020

Why choose online alternatives to standard textbooks or physical course readings? 

 1) Ease of use. These existing resources are immediately available and avoid potential delays (sometimes of several weeks!) that may occur in trying to source and license new electronic materials for courses. 

2) More equitable access. In accordance with existing UW guidance, all classes (online or in-person) this fall should “ensure that all students can complete their coursework, even if they are unable to attend in-person classes due to illness or higher risk of health complications from the coronavirus.” The same consideration should be given to students who are not able to access the Libraries for similar reasons. In particular, open textbooks provide students with more equitable access to content in many subjects–they are available right away; are free online; and students can have copies printed locally at low cost.

NOTE: It is important to consider that not all e-resources are accessible for all needs. Please see the following guidance to help select accessible course materials:  

3) Less strain on limited resources. Using these existing alternatives limits additional expenditures from collections budgets and allows Libraries staff to support a broader number of courses and researchers. 

Where can I find out more information or get assistance?  

  • Check out the many resources listed on the  Libraries Remote Resources and Services  page under  “Online Resources for Teaching” and “Streaming Video”. 
  • Read through the Libraries Faculty and Student Remote Service FAQs 
  • Don’t forget about Interlibrary Loan (ILL): ILL continues to fill requests for articles and book chapters. Any requests that cannot be filled with electronic resources will be requested from other libraries.

 

We are here to help. Reach out now to your subject librarians, who can partner with you to identify online e-book/streaming resources that are already available.  Finding and orchestrating e-resources can be a complex process, and we are here to help you navigate the system to find what you need. Reaching out now–far in advance of autumn quarter–allows for adequate time to identify materials that will be the best fit, and to help achieve your course objectives. 

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Stories

UW Libraries Awarded Recordings at Risk Award from CLIR

May 29, 2020

CLIR logoThe Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) recently announced that UW Libraries, Special Collections has been awarded the CLIR ‘Recordings at Risk’ Award.* The award provides a grant of over $30,000 to help with the digitization of recordings – ‘at risk’ due to their fragility, lack of equipment to play them, as well as environmental factors.

Image: From Special Collections WTO Collection

The award recognizes projects involving underrepresented communities, and will fund the project: Digitizing the Independent Media Center World Trade Organization Videotape Collection to digitize, preserve, and make accessible for the first time videotape footage shot by filmmakers and activists during the 1999 protests against the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Seattle, Washington.

The 338 videotapes in the collection come from the Independent Media Center (IMC), an international network of journalists publishing ‘indie’ news reports, founded in Seattle. The IMC documented rallies, marches and other events from the viewpoint of grassroots activists themselves – labor leaders, environmentalists, farmers, anarchists and artists whose voices are underrepresented, particularly in existing public footage of the WTO protests.

The project is headed by Hannah Palin, the Moving Image Curator for Special Collections.

“It’s opening up a huge cache of primary source information for researchers—the ability to compare different perspectives on the same event, and to see how it relates to present day—that is going to be really interesting for the academic community studying these events and their impact,” Palin says.

Jill Freidberg, co-founder of the IMC and a Lecturer in the UW Bothell School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences, gifted over 300 hours of footage from the protests to UW Libraries, which she inherited, collected and previously stored in her home for the past 20 years.

The collection of Betacam SP, DV, Hi8 and VHS videotapes is inherently at risk of being lost for good without digitization due to what is known as the “magnetic media crisis.”

Palin explains, “Videotape in particular is extremely fragile as a medium, and deteriorating quickly, worse than film, actually.  The machines used for playback are breaking down. There are no parts to replace them. The people who actually understand how to repair and maintain the machines are retiring out of the business.”

Digitizing this collection of videotapes is a process that takes months of work with special equipment and properly designating historical metadata for each clip. The CLIR Award funds the utilization of outside vendors to help with preservation efforts, and in this case, the project is teaming up with locally based Moving Image Preservation of Puget Sound (MIPOPS).

In the UW community, this collection provides an exceptional resource for studies in History, Cinema and Media Studies, Communication, Social Movements, and more. Graduate students will have the ability to work on videotape preservation, accessing techniques that are crucial towards preserving other collections in the future.

Palin estimates that the collection will be available to the public in around a year and a half, and will be found on the UW Libraries Digital Collections site and the WTO Seattle Collection. Film screenings will also occur through the Northwest Film Forum and in UW’s Allen Auditorium.

* The grant program is made possible by funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stories

Going the distance: An Acquisitions Trip to SE Asia at a Time of Pandemic

May 29, 2020
Buying Mon books in the market in Mawlamyine

In early February, before travel restrictions were implemented, and the true nature of the global pandemic was fully understood, I made an acquisitions trip to Southeast Asia to purchase materials for the UW Libraries SE Asia collection. While adhering to all of the CDC and UW guidelines for travel, it was still an anxious time to be traveling in Asia; but for me, it was a familiar itinerary.  Visiting small publishers, government offices, museums and archives, and other sources of library materials that are not easily found in bookshops.

My trip began in Cambodia, then Myanmar. By the time I reached my final destination, Southern Viet Nam, life was far from normal.  Despite restrictions, I was able to visit book shops, research institutions and some government agencies in most of my destinations, and achieved my major objectives, one of which relates to a proposed project the SE Asia Center is planning in collaboration with the UW Libraries, the Bophana Audiovisual Resource Center in Phnom Penh, the Center for Khmer Studies in Siem Reap, and the Yangon Film School in Myanmar.  It would focus on the work of Cambodian filmmaker Rithy Panh, the founder of the Bophana Center, particularly his use of archives in film and other memory projects to assist national recovery after trauma. My other major objective in Myanmar was to continue the collection of electronic journals and newspapers which I began when the press opened up under the democracy movement. My visit to the Yangon Film School resulted in the purchase of some 60 documentary films, all with a focus on contemporary social issues, including ethnic and religious divisions in Myanmar. My visit to Myanmar coincided with that of the LC Field Office representative from Jakarta, Carol Mitchell, and she invited me to join her for a talk at the American Embassy on US research libraries, an event attended by over 100 librarians and which engendered very useful discussions of open access and copyright.  Carol and I also took a 300 Km weekend trip to Mawlamyine in Mon State, and Hpa-an in Karen State to purchase local language materials.

My next stop was to be Hanoi, where I knew that a COVID outbreak had occurred in the northern suburbs.  I constantly monitored the US CDC travel advisories, and was receiving updates from the UW’s Travel Security Office before I did decide to proceed. From my base in Hanoi, I  made a daytrip to Hải Phòng, a Seattle Sister Cities whose local literary journal I have been collecting for many years.  As a result of assistance from a poet friend in Hanoi, the head of the Hải Phòng Writer’s Union, which publishes the journal, donated to me all our missing journal issues as well as some 40 titles of rare literary works by Hải Phòng writers.  As I flew to the central city of Huế, the government announced a second outbreak of COVID-19. Despite new restrictions, I was able to acquire materials from the main bookshop there, as well as from many local research organizations.

Book Street in Saigon

By the time I reached Saigon all government offices and libraries were closed, but bookshops were open and I had a valuable conversations about available ebooks.  Then a friend called to say that her uncle, the Saigon writer Lê Văn Nghĩa, was offering to donate his collection of some 30 boxes of books to UW. Concern over shipping costs forced me to select enough for only one box, but amongst the rarer titles I selected was one about former UW Vietnamese foreign student Nguyen Thai Binh, who was killed by security forces at the Saigon airport in 1972.  Binh, who was involved in the anti-war movement on campus, was forced to return to Saigon by the US government.  Fearing for his life, he attempted to hijack the plane back to Viet Nam, hoping to force it to land in Hanoi.  Binh became a hero of the anti-war movement and a memorial collection in his name  was donated to Special Collections.  The book, which shows no OCLC holdings, will be a great addition. The next day I left for a very long, tense trip back to Seattle, via Tokyo and Denver, just as the U.S. too was beginning to lockdown against the virus.