Swiss-U.S. Librarian Exchange Opportunity

The Swiss Library Association (BBS) and the ALA International Relations Office (IRO) have agreed to work together to help facilitate exchanges between librarians in the two countries. This program was begun after the Swiss Library Association participated in the 1999 ALA Annual Conference.

There are a number of exchange opportunities listed below. If you are interested in doing a library exchange in Switzerland please contact the IRO at
intl@ala.org

TYPES OF EXCHANGES POSSIBLE BETWEEN


AMERICAN AND SWISS LIBRARIES AND LIBRARIANS

1. - Professional visits

The object of these visits is to give American and Swiss librarians an idea of library science practices in the country they are visiting.

USA -> SWITZERLAND

These visits are organized by the unit dealing with international relations of the BBS (abbreviated to RIBBS in the rest of the text) at the request IRO.

The RIBBS unit


- contacts the Swiss libraries which have an interest the American librarian(s) wishing to visit Switzerland


- organizes the work schedule of the visit by reaching an agreement on the expectations of both sides (types of library, specific fields of library science) in providing for from one half to a full day's visit in each institution depending on its size and on the interests of the visitor(s).


- help if necessary to reserve hotels and arrange transportation - the librarian will supply a short report back to the IRO on the exchange.

SWITZERLAND -> USA

These visits are organized by IRO at the request or of the Swiss librarian(s) informed of the program.

The IRO


- contacts the American libraries which interest the Swiss librarian(s) wishing to visit the United States


- organizes the work schedule of the visit by reaching an agreement on the expectations of both sides (type of library, specific fields of library science) in providing for from one-half to a full day's visit in each institution depending on its size and on the interest of the visitor(s).


- help if necessary, to reserve hotels and transportation


- The librarian will supply a short report back to RIBBS.

Language


For the Swiss, some basic notions of English are necessary even if, in certain cases, they can obtain visits in French or in German. For the Americans, some basic notions of French and/or German are necessary even if, in certain cases, they can obtain visits in English.

Costs


The costs of the visit are at the expense of the participant(s) or of his their library depending on whether the latter considers these visits as a form of continuing education. It would be desirable that the participating institution considers these visits, at the very least, as work days.

2. - Professional training periods

These training periods are intended to allow the American or Swiss librarian to improve their knowledge in the other country in one or two specific fields of library science.

These periods of training are of a length of one to three months. They do not involve complicated administrative steps. The librarian remains dependent on his mother institution. And his stay does not exceed the length of the permits accorded without taking special steps in the two countries. The librarian can thus be considered as a tourist.

USA -> SWITZERLAND

The first contact is established through the IRO by the American librarian interested in doing an exchange.

The RIBBS has the responsibility - of finding out the field(s) in which the American librarian wishes to undertake a training period


- of contacting the Swiss libraries able to offer this possibility


- of informing the American candidate of the result of its inquiries

Once he/she has come to a decision, the American candidate should contact directly the library which interests him and personally settle the various formalities with the institution.

The Swiss host library takes charge


- of organizing in its institution the formation of the trainee


- of helping the candidate to find lodging (rented or in the home of a colleague ready to welcome a foreigner for one to three months)


- of requesting from the candidate the financial guarantees necessary for his stay in Switzerland :


- the regular arrival of the part of his salary paid by his American employer necessary for his daily life in Switzerland (including the opening of a bank account in Switzerland where this money will be paid to him)


- the basic and the complementary insurances (covering health and professional and non-professional accidents)


- of enrolling, if necessary, the candidate for a linguistic aids course (French or German according to the region).

The American participating library


- guarantees the trainee his usual salary during the entire length of his stay in Switzerland


- ensures his transportation costs (including plane and train tickets, public transportation in Switzerland to travel from his domicile to his workplace) if the the library agrees. Otherwise these costs are at the personal expense of the trainee


- guarantees the welcome of the Swiss librarian on the same terms.

On the spot, the American trainee covers his current expenses (lodging, food, medical costs, leisure activities).

At the end of the training period, the library and the trainee must send an assessment of the latter's progress to the RIBBS and to IRO.

SWITZERLAND -> USA

The first contact is established through the RIBBS which supplies the Swiss library with the list of American libraries offering training periods through the IRO to which the Swiss librarian can make inquiries.

The RIBBS and/or IRO has the responsibility


- of finding out in which field(s) the Swiss librarian wishes to undertake a training period


- of contacting the American libraries able to offer this possibility


- of informing the Swiss librarian of the result of these inquiries.

Once he has come to a decision, the Swiss candidate should contact directly the library which interests him and settle the formalities personally with this institution.

The American host library takes charge of


- organizing in its institution the formation of the trainee


- helping the candidate to find lodgings (rented or in the home of a colleague ready to welcome a foreigner for one to three months


- requesting from the candidate the financial guarantees necessary for his stay in the United States


- the regular arrival of the part of his salary paid by his Swiss employer to cover everyday expenses in the United States (including the opening of a bank account in the U.S. where this money can be deposited)


- proving information on the basic and the complementary insurances (covering health, professional and non-professional accidents)


- helping enroll, if necessary, the candidate for a linguistic aids course.

The Swiss participating library


- guarantees the trainee his usual salary (including social and pension plan benefits) during the entire length of his stay in the United States


- ensures his transportation costs (including plane and train tickets, transportation in the United States between his home and the workplace : in others words, according to the area, renting a car) if the library administration agrees. Otherwise these costs are at the private expense of the Swiss trainee


- ensures the costs of the complementary insurance to the extent that the budget and the policy of the mother institution permit


- guarantees the welcome of the American librarian on the same terms.

On the spot, the Swiss librarian covers his current expenses (accommodation, food, medical costs, leisure activities).

At the end of the training period, the librarian and the trainee must send an assessment of the latter's progress to the RIBBS and to the international division of the ALA.

Prerequisite Conditions

The American candidate must have taken a basic course in French and/or in German and the Swiss candidate should have taken a course which gives him the basic skills in written and spoken English.

3. - Professional Immersion

Professional immersion for a period of six months to one year is intended to allow the seasoned librarian (with a minimum of five year's experience) to practise his professional special field in a new environment by participating, as an ordinary employee, directly in the life of the library which welcomes him.

On his return, the librarian will tackle the problems and the daily management of his work with a fresh outlook and perspective which will should allow him to find solutions based on his experiences elsewhere. With his renewed stock of knowledge, he will bring back different procedures which should allow his library to adapt and improve its services even more

Limits of the Exchange


An exchange is only possible between librarians performing similar duties in a similar type of library (university library -> university library, public services -> public services, etc.)

Conditions


Before his departure, the candidate must spend at least 15 days on the spot with the colleague whom he will replace. The departure for the immersion must have taken place a maximum of one month after this basic training.

Administrative Formalities


As it involve a stay exceeding the limit of a tourist visa, the associations (ALA and BBS) will handle the administrative steps at the federal level. The host libraries will take care of the administrative steps at the cantonal (U.S. state) and local levels.

Procedure

USA->SWITZERLAND

The first contact is established through the RIBBS or through the IRO by the librarian informed of the program.

The RIBBS is in charge


- of finding out the specialization of the American librarian - of contacting the Swiss libraries able to offer this facility - of informing the American candidate of the result of its inquiries

Once he has come to a decision the American candidate make direct contact with the library in which he is interested and settle the formalities personally with this institution.

The Swiss host library takes charge of


- asking the librarian who will make the exchange to spend 2 weeks training his replacement


- organizing in its library the work of the foreign librarian


- asking the Swiss partner of the American candidate if he is also prepared to exchange his car and his domicile for a period between 6 months to one year. In this case, the details should be settled directly between the two librarians


- helping, if the complete exchange is not possible, the candidate to find a lodging (rented or at the home of a colleague willing to welcome a foreigner for between six months to one year)


- asking the candidate for the financial guarantees necessary for his stay in Switzerland


- the regular arrival of the part of his salary paid by his American employer to cover everyday expenses in Switzerland (including the opening of a bank account in Switzerland where this money can be paid to him)


- basic and complementary insurances (covering health, professional and non-professional accidents)


- enrolling, if necessary, the candidate for a linguistic aids course (French or German according to the region)


- having taken all the administrative steps so that the American librarian does not have any problems during his stay in Switzerland.

The American participating library


- guarantees the American trainee his usual salary during the entire length of his stay in Switzerland


- ensures his transportation costs (including plane and train tickets, public transportation in Switzerland between his home and the work place) if the library administration agrees. Otherwise these costs are at the private expense of the American librarian


- guarantees the welcome of the Swiss librarian on the same terms.


On the spot, the American librarian covers his current expenses (accommodation, food, medical expenses, leisure activities).


At the end of the exchange, the librarian and the trainee must send an assessment of the latter's progress to the RIBBS and to the international division of the ALA.


SWITZERLAND -> USA

The first contact is established through the RIBBS, which provides the Swiss librarian with a list of American libraries offering possibilities of professional immersion, through the international division of the ALA which the Swiss librarian can contact.

The RIBBS and/or the international relation division of the ALA are in charge


- of finding out the specialization of the Swiss librarian


- of contacting the American libraries able to offer this particular service


- of informing the Swiss candidate of the result of their inquiries

Once he has come to a decision, the Swiss candidate make direct contact with the library in which he is interested and settle personally the formalities with this institution.

The American host library take charge of


- asking its librarian who will make the exchange to spend 2 weeks training his replacement


- organizing in its library the work of the foreign librarian


- asking the American partner of the Swiss candidate if he is also ready to exchange his car and his domicile for between six months to one year. In this case, the details should be settled directly between the two librarians


- helping, if the complete exchange is not possible, the candidate to find accommodation (rented or at the home of a colleague ready to welcome a foreigner for between six months to one year)


- requesting the candidate to provide the necessary guarantees for his stay in the United States :


- the regular arrival of the part of his salary paid by his Swiss employer to cover everyday expenses in the United States (including the opening of a bank account in the U.S. where this money can be paid to him)


- information on the basic and complementary insurances (covering health, professional and non-professional accidents )


- enrolling, if necessary, the candidate in a linguistic aids course


- having taken all the administrative steps so that the Swiss librarian does not have any problems during his stay in the United States.

The Swiss participating library


- guarantees the Swiss librarian his usual salary (including social and retirement benefits) during his entire stay in the U.S.


- ensures his transportation costs (including plane and train tickets, transportation in the United States between his home and the work place; in other words, according to the area, renting a car) if the library administration agrees. Otherwise these costs are at the private expense of the Swiss librarian


- ensures the coverage of the costs of complementary insurances in as much as the budget and the policies of the mother institution permit


- guarantees the welcome of the American librarian on the same terms.

On the spot, the Swiss librarian covers his current expenses (lodging, accommodation, food, medical expenses, leisure activities).

At the end of the exchange, the librarian and the trainee must send an assessment of the progress to the RIBBS and to the international division of the ALA.

ROLE OF THE IRO

The IRO responsible in the U.S. for helping facilitating exchanges. It offers its support to those U.s. libraries and librarians who are its members in order to help them with the administrative aspects of the exchange with their Swiss colleagues.

ROLE OF THE RIBBS

The international relations unit of the BBS is responsible at the Swiss level for facilitating exchanges. It offers its support to those Swiss libraries and librarians who are its members in order to help them with the administrative aspects of the exchange with their American colleagues.