The first week of the Mortenson Center Associates Program was inspiring, filled with emotion, new encounters, knowledge, and that special feeling that emerges when a professional experience gradually becomes a personal story.

When the Beginning Feels Like Coming Home

It all began with the welcome dinner – one of those moments when the formal opening of an international program very quickly turns into a sense of community. From the very beginning, we felt the warmth of our hosts, who opened their home to us, the attention to every detail, and that distinctly American spirit of openness, hospitality, and genuine warmth.

For me, this was the first sign that the program is built not only around lectures, visits, and institutions, but above all around people – their stories, experiences, cultures, and professional dreams. In a group of 13 participants from 9 different countries, from the very first conversations there was a sense that, despite our differences, we share a common mission: to make libraries more open, more meaningful, more accessible, and more impactful.

Library Buddies: A Small Gesture with Great Meaning

One of the most valuable elements of the program is its carefully created supportive environment. Each participant has a Library Buddy – a library friend who accompanies and supports them during their stay. This is a small but deeply human gesture that transforms international training not only into a professional experience, but also into a space of trust, closeness, and shared care.

Looking at the Library – and at Yourself

Alongside the visits, the first week also immersed us in a series of learning experiences that made me look both at libraries and at myself as a professional and as a leader. The DiSC Assessment was a valuable opportunity to recognize our own styles of communication, action, and interaction with others. Based on my profile, my leading style is DI – a style that combines orientation toward action, results, energy, and enthusiasm. This helped me understand even more clearly what my strengths are as a leader, but also how important it is to create space for different voices within a team.

The sessions on Change Management reminded us that every change in a library begins not only with a new strategy, technology, or service, but with the people who need to understand it, accept it, and make it their own. The topics of Blogging Assessment and Assessment in Information Literacy Instruction added another important layer: how to tell the story, measure, and demonstrate the impact of what we do.

And the tour of the Main Library and the University of Illinois Archives was a true encounter with academic memory – the kind of space in which the past is not closed away in boxes and on shelves, but continues to speak to the present.

OCLC: The Global Power of Shared Knowledge

During the first week, we had the opportunity to visit institutions that represent different faces of the contemporary library. The visit to OCLC was impressive in its scale and in the strong sense it conveyed of global library collaboration.

Our special host for the visit was Nancy Lensenmayer, Program Lead, Education and Engagement, who welcomed us with exceptional warmth and introduced us to the mission, activities, and role of OCLC as one of the most influential organizations in the global library community.

For me, OCLC is a symbol of how libraries can be connected beyond geographical, linguistic, and institutional boundaries. It became very clear there that sharing knowledge, resources, metadata, and technological solutions is one of the most powerful forms of professional partnership.

The Academic Library as a Partner in Research

At The Ohio State University Libraries and in the Research Commons, we saw another extremely important aspect of the development of academic libraries – their role as active partners in the research process. The library is no longer only a place where resources are preserved and provided. It is an environment for consultation, research data management, scholarly communication, interdisciplinary collaboration, and support for the academic community.

This was especially important to me as the director of a university library, because it raises a very essential question: how can academic libraries become even more visible, even more useful, and even more strategically engaged in the development of the university?

When Bulgaria Is Waiting for You in Ohio

One of the most moving moments for me as a Bulgarian was the encounter with a copy connected to Slavonic-Bulgarian History, preserved in the collection of Ohio State University. It was a deeply emotional experience – to come into contact with a piece of Bulgarian memory carried across the ocean and preserved with respect as cultural heritage.

At that moment, the library ceased to be simply an institution. It became a bridge between continents, times, and identities. I saw how Bulgarian spirituality, literary culture, and historical memory can have their own life and recognition far from the homeland.

I was particularly impressed by the attitude of the team at Thompson Library Special Collections, and especially by Mary-Allen “Pasha” Johnson from the Hilandar Research Library, who, as soon as she learned that we were from Bulgaria, came especially to meet us and tell us more about this valuable copy. The encounter became even more moving when we learned that she had not only been to Bulgaria, but also speaks Bulgarian. In that moment, the professional conversation became an encounter of respect and human closeness.

Westerville Public Library: A Library From, For, and Of the People

I was also deeply impressed by Westerville Public Library – a public library that lives in an exceptionally active relationship with its community. Kristin Michel, Assistant Director of the library, presented the initiatives, programs, and ongoing work with different user groups, all of which show how important a library can be in people’s everyday lives.

There, the library is a place for learning, gathering, creativity, support, and belonging. It does not wait for the community to come to it – it continuously creates occasions, formats, and opportunities through which it can remain close to people.

And the initiative that undoubtedly won my heart is the so-called Drive-Thru service, which operates 24/7. Not only can you receive service without getting out of your car, but your pet also receives personal attention – complimentary dog treats. Because, as it turns out, in Ohio every dog has a person. And that is a Person with a capital P.

The Common Leitmotif: Libraries with Impact

The common leitmotif of all these visits was impact. Everywhere, we saw libraries that think strategically, use data, listen to their users, and build services around the real needs of their communities. But we also saw that behind every successful library practice stand dedicated, capable, and knowledgeable people – professionals who believe in the meaning of their work and are ready to share experience, ideas, and support.

Mortenson Center: A Program Built with Vision and Heart

Through all these initiatives, meetings, training sessions, and professional visits, the enormous role of the Mortenson Center at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and of the incredible team behind the program – Clara M. Chu, PhD, Vuyo Jamieson, and Gladys Kemboi – stands out very clearly.

Thanks to their dedication, attention to detail, and sincere care for each participant, the program becomes something much more than professional training. It is a space for sharing, inspiration, and the building of an international community of library leaders. Every meeting, every visit, and every conversation is part of a larger picture that shows us how libraries can transform people, institutions, and communities.

After the First Week: More Knowledge, More Perspective

This first week gave me a great deal of knowledge, but even more than that – perspective. It showed me that libraries around the world are changing, but their deepest mission remains the same: to connect people with knowledge, to preserve memory, to support education, and to build communities.

As a representative of ULSIT, I receive this experience with gratitude and with the clear awareness that every good practice, every encounter, and every idea can find its continuation at home as well – in Bulgaria.