17-22 June 2024
With the takeaways of the past week, we started the new week of the Associates Program by traveling to Dublin, Ohio to visit the OCLC campus, Ohio State University Libraries and the Westerville Public Library.
Visiting the OCLC Campus and Headquarters was an inspiring experience. The state-of-the-art facilities and collaborative workspaces reflect OCLC’s commitment to innovation and excellence in library and information services. The warm and knowledgeable staff further highlighted the organization’s dedication to supporting libraries worldwide.
Tour coordinator Nancy Lensenmayer, the Program Director of Education and Professional Development and Karen Hinton, the Program Director of Global Council at OCLC introduced general information about its history and organizational structure, current activities and services, reports and publications and other related details.
Later we had an opportunity to visit OCLC’s key offices, as well as take tours to Data & Service Operations Center and OCLC Library, Archive and Museum.
Second day of the Ohio trip encompassed two visits – tour to Ohio State University Libraries and the visit to the Westerville Public Library.
Ohio State University Libraries provide extensive resources and services to support academic research and learning. The Research Commons at Ohio State offers specialized spaces, technology, and expert consultation to assist with data management, digital scholarship, and interdisciplinary research collaboration. Together, they foster an environment conducive to innovation and academic excellence.




















Westerville Public Library in Ohio offers a wide range of services and resources for the community, including a vast collection of books, digital media, and educational programs. It provides spaces for learning, creativity, and community engagement, fostering a love for reading and lifelong learning. The library also offers special events and workshops to cater to all ages and interests.

















With full of impressions of the Ohio trip we returned back to UICU campus to continue to the third week program, which was rich with professional sessions and workshops.
Professional sessions, such as Information Literacy Instruction by Dr. Peggy Nzomo, Digital Humanities by Mary Ton, GREAT Service by Zoe Revell, Library Assessment by Jen Chien-Yu & Belinda Bolivar, Digital Strategies by Chris Prom, Preservation/Digitization Services by UICU Library staff Will Schlaack, Angela Waarala, Shelby Strommer & Cristina Kuhn provided insights into different aspects of the field of modern library theory and practice.
Also Dr. Clara Chu introduced us the Strengthening Innovative Library Leaders (SILL) program, which has been designed to cultivate leadership skills among library professionals. It provides participants with practical tools and strategies to enhance their ability to lead and innovate within their communities, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and collaboration.
Also tour to University of Illinois iSchool and meeting with professors Emily Knox, Emily Maemura & Travis Wagner impressed us greatly.
The third week was finalized with a trip to Arthur, IL, which covered tours to Atwood Hammond Public Library & Amish Shop, presentation on Amish Living, trying Amish cuisine and visiting the Allerton Park.
Looking forward to the final week of the Associates Program we returned back to UICU campus with lots of memories.