Eventual return to Ouaga

The work in the library went smoothly. I wasn't prepared for the amount of dust, as there was no air-conditioning in the room, except for the small room being prepared to be used as a children's library. Red dust came in the perpetually open window, particularly during this breezy season of the harmattan. As a result, every volume had to be wiped off before I could scan the barcodes to take an inventory. I finally had two helpers to assist me with this process, dusting the shelves as they went, and I finished the process with time to spare.

The inventory served two purposes.  Those books whose data had been lost in a software upgrade showed up as "not in the system," and those which had been checked out but, for whatever reason, not returned properly, were returned. I estimated that the data for about 3 percent of the titles had been lost, and set about adding them back into the collection. Most books in the library were single copies, so new records had to be created, but at least the call numbers had already been assigned. This proved a good thing, because there was no hard copy of the Dewey Decimal Schedules for me to use, and the Internet connection was absolutely pathetic. It made the connection in Ouagadougou seem downright speedy!

My ten days went by very quickly.  I trained one of the SIL literacy consultants on some of the library software functions and added a pamphlet box full of the most resent Soninké publications to the database, but didn't really have the time to add the other local language materials.  This will have to wait for another day... or another year.

Upon my return, I am going to write up my findings in a report to the director, which I hope will be useful to them...

Here's a photo of me with Dan Brubaker

My trip was extended an extra day, though, when my return flight was cancelled.  It turns out that all the Saturday flights of Air Burkina have been cancelled for the time being.   I made the best of the situation and spent Saturday afternoon at Mali's National Zoo, located next to the Parc National.  It is quite lovely and appears to be a reasonably recent addition, with an aviary, snake and reptile area, and aquarium of local fish. Most of the mammals seemed to be napping, perhaps because they had recently eaten, or because it was becoming increasingly hot. The crocodiles [Bamako means "tail of the crocodile] seemed to be absent, as were the hippos [Mali means "hippopotamus" in Bambara], but it was a pleasant way to spend the afternoon.  The aviary, though quite small, was very well done.  Even thought the place was over-run with school-age children on a field-trip, with a little careful planning it was possible to avoid crowds and lines, and lunch in the outdoor café was both enjoyable and not that expensive.

some of the many children visiting the zoo

 

all the animals seemed to be taking an afternoon siesta

this bluish snake resembled a rope

Café menu