Sunday

Are you a super introvert like me? Don’t worry—you can start having a great time from the moment you arrive. You might meet your fellow colleagues at the airport or train/bus station without any trouble, and the Welcome Dinner will be full of warmth and wonderful people who are ready to welcome you with open arms!

Monday

Maybe the jet lag makes it a bit hard to wake up, but you will be fine—the Mortenson Center is just a short walk from your dorm (Newman Hall). A five-minute walk will bring you to the classroom, where a warm breakfast and coffee await you. (Just for this special day! ^_^)
On the first day of the program, I had a theme discussion with the other Associates in the morning on “Libraries Unbound: Open, Inclusive, and Engaged,” and attended a lecture in the afternoon titled “GREAT,” which focused on customer service.
It may have been just a warm-up session, since it was the first day, but I was deeply inspired by the conversation.
Library services shouldn’t be delivered the same way they always have been—they need to evolve and help lead change in the world.
If I had simply stayed at my desk, doing the same tasks in my usual role, I don’t think I would have come to this realization.

Tuesday

In Korea, MBTI is very popular. People don’t really treat it as a psychological test—they treat it almost like astrology. ^_^;
DiSC isn’t exactly the same as MBTI, but it does show you what kind of person you are. If you’re Korean, you’ll probably love this! But honestly, who wouldn’t be curious to learn more about themselves?
DiSC helps you understand what motivates you, what stresses you out, and why connecting with some people feels natural—while with others, it doesn’t. You not only learn about yourself, but also gain insight into how to work more effectively with people who have different styles.
The most valuable advice I received was:
“Resist the urge to give in to demands just to regain harmony.”
That really stuck with me.
DiSC is a practical and powerful tool for improving your workplace efficiency—because it helps eliminate the guessing and misunderstandings that can lead to uncomfortable situations.
I just hope someone (who I won’t name here! @_@) takes this course one day…

Wednesday

The third day was full of exciting activities!
Let me start with the first course of the day: the Change Management Workshop.
Change is not something I welcome easily (and I know I’m not alone in this ;-)), but we all know that everything changes—and we have to adapt in order to grow in life, relationships, and work.
Sometimes, though, change feels unfair. It can seem like I’m the only one being asked to change, with all the burden falling on me.
This workshop, led by Shirley, helped me realize that what I was really struggling with wasn’t change itself, but the transition—the chaos and discomfort that come with processing change. By acknowledging my feelings, I found a way to move through it and take a step forward.
Next came Library Buddy Lunch, where we had the opportunity to meet librarians from the University of Illinois. Jiwon (another librarian from Korea) and I were thrilled to meet Korean library buddies!
It was a great pleasure—and a real honor—to speak with them and receive their advice. I had thought my career path was already set and unchangeable, but I realized there are still so many areas I haven’t explored. (And the lunch was absolutely delicious!)
In the afternoon, Lisa gave a lecture on Strategic Foresight, sharing her insights on how we think about the future and how libraries can respond to change.
I learned about the Futures Wheel—a tool that helps us analyze, anticipate, and respond to future developments. It was a powerful and practical approach to strategic thinking, and I’m quite sure it will become one of my personal tools for tackling complex challenges.
After that, we attended the Subject Librarian Panel of SSHEL (Social Sciences, Health, and Education Library), where the panelists shared their knowledge about user-centered services and user engagement.
I’m currently part of the PR team at the National Library of Korea, so I don’t often provide direct reference services. But it was incredibly meaningful to meet librarians who are so confident, passionate, and knowledgeable in their field.
Sometimes, I get frustrated—especially after dealing with people who don’t treat librarians as professionals. (I’ll spare you the blockbuster stories from my library. ^_^;)
But this day reminded me that, as a librarian, I have the power to help others expand their perspective—and maybe even change their lives for the better.
Before the third day ended, Sarah gave us a tour of the Main Library. I had already looked around briefly on the first day, but it was a real pleasure to learn how to use the facilities properly and to find out exactly where to go when I need information or physical resources.
I’m actually writing this post now in the Orange Room—one of the spaces she kindly introduced to me during the tour.

Thursday

What comes to your mind when you think of OCLC?
For me, it’s cataloging—a subject that grilled me well-done when I took it in university…
Despite the merciless difficulty of cataloging, if you’re a librarian, you’ll understand how exciting and thrilling it is to visit the OCLC campus.
I felt so proud to be recognized as a librarian from the National Library of Korea, especially since NLK collaborates with OCLC by contributing bibliographic records of Korean information resources to WorldCat.
Nancy and Karen gave us a wonderful introduction to how precisely and systematically OCLC is organized.
We had the great honor of touring the OCLC Library, Archive and Museum, the Data Center, and the Service Operations Center. We even got to step inside the Server Room!
I was overwhelmed by the aesthetics and grandeur of the facilities—and I have to say, the cafeteria at OCLC looked like something straight out of a movie set.

Friday

It took us over 10 hours to travel to and from Ohio, but it was totally worth it.
We visited The Ohio State University to tour the OSU Thompson Library and the OSU Research Commons. I was deeply impressed by the stunning architecture of the library and the vast scale and value of its collections.
But what impressed me most was the generosity of the patrons—mostly students—toward us as tour visitors.
As someone who leads library tours myself, I often face challenges related to noise and disruption. However, the students there were very understanding and respectful, showing great patience throughout our visit.
I was also surprised by their openness in sharing resources with the public. Generosity—something often expected but difficult to realize in Korea—seemed so natural in this environment.
Our final stop in Ohio was the Westerville Public Library.
Frankly speaking, as a librarian who may never have the opportunity to work in a public library, I wasn’t very interested at first. But Jen and all the staff at Westerville Public Library completely changed my mind.
I couldn’t believe that one library could accomplish so much—it almost made me worry for them! Their enthusiasm and dedication to serving children, teens, and the general public were truly inspiring, and the idea of a Drive-Thru service was especially brilliant.
In fact, I don’t think I had fully understood the difference between an “inclusive” library and an “engaging” library until that day.
Now I can say with confidence: it is the exceptional effort of librarians that transforms a library into the center of people’s lives—not just a place to read books.