The University & Polytechnic Libraries

A student thesis rescued from the ashes of the Agriculture College in Hera

When despairing at the lack of resources after a month of rebuilding a library service for the new university, a senior member of the university staff said that they started with less in 1985.

The UNTIM Libraries

The current UNTL Library collection and facilities are already superior to those of UNTIM (Universitas Timor Timur) under the Indonesians.

The UNTIM Library collection of 7,000 books was housed in a large closed access room with an attached reading room.

There were three small branch libraries – Politics and Education in Dili, and Agriculture in Hera (for the practical years of the course). Each had a collection of approximately 400 books.

Polytechnic Library

The Polytechnic library in Hera was considerable with 20,000 books.

It provided resources for the Engineering School (mechanical, civil & electrical) and for Accountancy and Business Administration. The relative wealth of the Polytechnic and its library was due to international aid from Germany, Australia & Japan.

Destruction

In June 1999, some months before the violence erupted, a large collection of UNTIM Library books was removed by an Indonesian academic and has reputedly been incorporated into the Protestant Library in Kupang. This included the valuable English collection. Details remain sketchy, although there have been some unsuccessful attempts at negotiating their return.

Some books and battered wooden bookshelves survived the destruction of the main campus as the result of student efforts to protect UNTIM Library resources. They were jammed into a small barricaded room along with some sports trophies and graduation gowns, sashes and mortar boards.

About 45 boxes of largely dated books and student theses survived. Some books were charred or melted around the edges. There were bullet holes in a couple of bookshelves.

All the small specialist libraries in Dili and Hera were completely destroyed.

The Polytechnic and Agriculture College in Hera (a small village just outside Dili) were both gutted. The Polytechnic library was completely destroyed.

Library Staff

The UNTL Library has only 9 staff members (4 librarians, 4 assistants and 1 security officer). The former UNTIM and Polytechnic Libraries had a total of 14 library staff. The small UNTL Library team is building a new, much larger and more complex library service than previously available at either institution.

The UNTIM Library had 5 staff members. As UNTIM was independent, all library staff were East Timorese.

Continuing staff at the new University (UNTL) includes:

Venceslao Do Rego – Head Librarian, 8 years experience, University graduate 1994, Public Administration, Political Science Faculty, UNTIM; 6 months library training in Indonesia

Anibal de Andrade – Circulation Librarian, 6 years experience

Adelino Mau Meta – Cataloguing & Classification, 3 years experience

Two other former UNTIM library staff (John Batista and Jose dos Santos) are both working for the university in other capacities (University Administration and the Education Faculty)

The Polytechnic Library in Hera had 9 staff. Library staff included the Head Librarian, 2 cataloguers, 3 circulation staff, 1 for training people in the use of the computer catalogue, 1 in Inventory and 1 security officer. One of the two Indonesians on staff (the Head Librarian and a general staff member) went to Australia for 6 months training.

The only continuing librarian at the new University (UNTL) is:

Jose Francisco Mendes – Cataloguing & Classification, 8 years experience