The Pacific Islands Association of Libraries and Archives (PIALA) is the newest regional association of librarians and archivists to be formed in the Pacific area. The association was formed to address the needs of Pacific Islands librarians and archivists, with a special focus on Micronesia.

 

Meaning tiny islands, Micronesia comprises some 2,200 little volcanic and coral islands spread throughout 4,500,000 square miles of Pacific Ocean. Lying west of Hawaii, east of the Philippines, south of Japan and north of Australia, the total land mass of all these tropical islands is less than 1,200 square miles with a total population base estimated at no more than 300,000. The task of organizing a regional association, given this vast geographic setting and the lack of fast, reliable and inexpensive communication makes for many challenges.

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The most pressing areas of concern within the region focus on the development of resource sharing tools and networks among the libraries, archives, museums, and related institutions of the Pacific Islands, development of continuing education programmes and experiences, and promoting technology and telecommunications applications throughout the region.

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The seeds for PIALA were planted during the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Governor's Conference for Libraries and Information Services, held in Saipan in October, 1990. At the conference, several participants and observers met informally to discuss the formation of a regional association.

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Thereafter, at another informal meeting held November, 1990 at the Guam Governor's Conference for Libraries and Information Services, plans for an organizational meeting were developed. An organizational meeting was then held at the University of Guam in February, 1991 at which two participants each from the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands and the Territory of Guam attended.

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At that meeting, a set of By-laws was adopted, an executive board was elected, committees were established, and Palau was selected as the site of the first conference. To allow for representation from each island entity in Micronesia, the By-laws state that:

 

"The executive board shall consist of the officers, shall represent all locations, and have no fewer than five members. Locations not represented by officers shall elect a representative ... and there cannot be more than two officers from any one location."

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The officers elected at the organizational meeting in Guam were Dakio Syne, President (Federated States of Micronesia), Michael Hamerly, VicePresident (Territory of Guam), Arlene Cohen, Executive Secretary (Territory of Guam), Elizabeth Barron, Recording Secretary (Republic of the Marshall Islands), Linda Anastacio, Treasurer (Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas), and Fermina Salvador, Representative from Republic of Palau.

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Since the inception of PIALA, the membership has grown to over 75 individuals and 35 institutions representing countries including Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Japan, Tonga, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and the United Kingdom. PIALA '91, the first conference held in Palau, drew over 40 participants from throughout Micronesia, Fiji, Hawaii and the continental United States. With the theme "Preserving Knowledge for Tomorrow", presentations on various topics were made, including preservation techniques for the tropics, serials and government documents, resource sharing, continuing education and electronic telecommunications. At the meeting, an experimental electronic mail system between libraries in Palau and the University of Guam was demonstrated and has become a permanent link between the two islands. The second conference took place in November, 1992 on the island of Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia. The theme of PIALA '92, "Meeting Information and Conservation Needs Today and Tomorrow", was be carried out in a variety of workshops and presentations. Some areas covered were resource sharing, health science resources, managing small collections, and library services for children.

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Two critical projects that PIALA is undertaking is a creation of a directory of libraries, archives and museums in Micronesia, and a Union List of Serials for libraries in Micronesia. Work has already been started on both of these projects. PIALA also issues a quarterly Newsletter to keep the membership informed.

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PIALA membership is open to all individuals, institutions, and corporations interested in supporting its goals. Dues are US$20.00 per year for individual membership and US$50.00 for institutional or corporate membership.

 

An article by Arlene Cohen, published by:
FID News Bulletin - Volume 42(1992) - Issue 12 (December) - page 285-286.

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Arlene Cohen was the Systems Librarian, then became the Circulation Librarian at the University of Guam RFK Library. She holds a Masters of Librarianship degree from the University of Washington in Seattle, and also has a background in computing, database design and technical writing. Before coming to Micronesia, she worked as a library systems specialist, systems analyst, bibliographer and educator in Seattle. Her work in Micronesia has focused on the areas of library automation, the development of resource sharing networks and telecommunications.

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Originally posted 12 October 1996 by Joanne T. Crotts