Week 3 Reflection: Because what is known must be shared…

Jun 5th:

We started our week by heading to Springfield. The Abraham Lincoln Library was really exceptional in collecting everything about Illinois history, along Lincoln’s materials that is being digitized. His materials (writings, slavery 13th act, etc.) are kept in a vault that is highly secured. Because it is a library that preserves very old scripts, there has to be a conservation lab. We had a profound look at how some items are preserved. It was really an amazing experience to go back into history and get to know some facts about the life of such great president and his family tree, and to get to see some of the artworks about him that is preserved also in his library.

Our next stop was Illinois State Library, we had a tour of the library and a presentation about a very controversial issue; ‘Banning books’. The slides were very informative; but I didn’t quite like Ryan’s talk. I felt she was very biased and talking form a personal point-of-view. I would have preferred if the talking wasn’t that biased towards anti-banning books.

Lincoln house was a very good stop later; a historical one as if travelling into history.

Jun 6th:

Anne Craig introduced us to CARLI network (dedicated for Illinois libraries only). I like the idea of libraries in the same state/country collaborating together for the common interest, saving money, time and effort.

One of the best sessions I had during the whole program was the ‘Grant Writing’ session by Anne Craig as well. Having a specialized professional teaching us everything, starting from the announcement of the grant till receiving it was really amazing.

The ‘Scholary Publishing’ session by Mandi Goodsett was really inspiring. Asking what we need her to talk about and tackling bits and pieces of different topics (like copyright, creative commons, Open Access, different ways of scholarly publishing, open education etc.) was really informative and interesting to know more of each topic. Indeed, as she said, ‘Information has value – and cost!’.

Jun 7th:

The session that most appealed to me today was ‘Foresight Strategies and Techniques’. Lisa Hinchliffe is really great at instruction. Thinking about the future of your library 5/10 years ahead is essential for taking the right decisions now. Indeed imagining scenarios of the future and getting prepared for it and studying the positive impacts and developing them via working on a ‘Future Wheel Process’ would lead to the desirable, rather than the undesirable, future. I believe it is something that every library board should start working on. Thank you, Lisa, for the great session!

Jun 8th: OCLC @Dublin, Ohio!

A great reputable institution to visit! At OCLC, we were introduced to a new model library, how the librarians reacted during the pandemic, etc. What astonished me was the ‘Community Center’. It is great to have librarians at different libraries across the globe interact, share thoughts, find solutions, attend online events, post on discussion forums, all in one platform, applying their slogan “Because what is known must be shared”.

We also visited the ‘Data Center’ that is inaccessible to anyone and that is managed by the ‘Service Operations Center’. I was amazed that it is as if 2 data centers in one, because everything is backed up, even the power outlets! The temperature, cooling system under the floor, everything is securely maintained.

We then visited the OCLC Library. It is a small library, mostly an OCLC archive and a museum.

Jun 9th:

It was such a beautiful day visiting two amazing libraries; Ohio State University Library (OSU), Westerville Public Library and the Ohio University Research Commons.
What strikes me at OSU are two issues: the glass walls that give the impression of a more spacious library and the various seating designs available for patrons; from sofas and rocking chairs to treadmill and bike desks. Just an amazing building. There is a quote said by our guide: “We’re here to do what they need”. This is definitely an important message to take back home.

The next stop was the Ohio University Research Commons; a building dedicated only for anyone involved in research, faculty staff, students, etc. It is amazing to find such place dedicated only for researchers and fully equipped with all their needs, despite the huge number of libraries all around.

Westerville Public Library; the second fruit of the day…

A modern well-designed library for all patrons with plenty of services for all categories; babies, kids, teens, adults and seniors. What really amazed me are the ‘Home Delivery’ service for seniors at homes/hospitals and the ‘Borrow a Librarian’ service. Librarians at the Westerville Library are just trying to provide services for everyone whether in-person or reaching them outside the library premises.

That’s how interesting the Ohio trip was…

To more achievements and trips in the following weeks 🙂

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