Hello Everyone, My name is Unika Omowale. I am from the beautiful island of Trinidad and Tobago. I am the Collections Librarian at the Faculty of Medical Sciences Library, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, Trinidad and Tobago. I have worked at the St. Campus for over 30 years and I am delighted to be a part of the Mortenson Center for International Library Program 2025, “Libraries Unbound: Open, Inclusive and Engaged”.

Before arriving at the Mortenson Center Associates Program, I was apprehensive about what to expect and the expectations of me. The first week of the program was nothing short of tremendous. It was well organized, purposefully and designed to fully impact each associate enrolled in the programs. I arrived in Champaign, Illinois on Saturday 31st May 2025. I was the second associate to arrive for the program and I had the privilege of being welcomed by Clara. I was taken to the Newman Hall and given a tour of Champaign and an explanation about the boundaries between Champaign and Urbana. At Newman Hall, I had my first introduction to dorm life. Further, I had the opportunity to welcome other associates to the Hall later that afternoon.

At the welcome session, we had the opportunity to meet with other associates and persons involved in the Mortenson Center Associates Program. It set the stage for what was an exciting week of activities. And excited I was in anticipation of what is to come during the week and even during the weeks ahead. The first activity was the associate’s presentation. It was an opportunity to be introduced to each associate and about the institutions represented.

Trying to write about one or two sessions that impacted me is difficult. I learnt from each session and there was something that I can implement in my organization from each session or from discussion with my colleagues. The discussion of the theme for this year’s program “Libraries Unbound: Open, Inclusive and Engaged” was the opening of all the activities for the week. Throughout the week, the focus was on information professionals and libraries meeting persons in all types of information organizations whether academic, private or public libraries or research centers at the point where they are at to provide GREAT (exceptional) Customer Service.

In this week, the session on “Transforming the workplace: enhancing your style at work” has affected me personally and professionally. It has allowed me not only to view me about also to think about my interactions with other persons in the workplace. I was forced to think not only about my approach but about how this can affect the result. The DISC style was all about the what, the who, the what and why and the how in the workplace.  The session on change and transition, questioned the notion about “What am I afraid of?, and I was forced to think about the impact of change in the workplace and what can we do for change to occur.  As information professionals, the concept of futures thinking was addressed in one of the sessions, it focused on what were likely to happen or not happened in libraries in the future. But I cannot forget the interaction and meeting with my two library buddies. The career advice and knowledge shared by these individuals were tremendous.

The visits to OCLC, Ohio State University Library and Westerville Public Library reinforced the theme of the program of the year. These visits were examples of libraries open, inclusive, and engaged. In all the institutions, the products and services offered were about meeting individuals at the stage of their need.

I look forward to the next 3 weeks of this program.