Happy Holidays from the Mortenson Center for International Library Programs! https://www.library.illinois.edu/mortenson/
May the work of your library bring Hope, Peace, and Joy to you and your communities in 2026!
Center News AND Alumni Updates
Meet Your Neighbors: A Human Library Event
The Mortenson Center, in collaboration with the New American Welcome Center, and Illinois International- Global Relations will have a Human Library Event as part of the events featured during 2025 National Welcoming week. The event will feature immigrants and international students living in Champaign-Urbana as human books. Each human “book” will be available during the event to interact with “readers” and talk to them about their native country. Topics covered in the conversations include among others geographic location, cuisine, languages spoken and culture. Snacks, arts & crafts will be offered as part of the event. Open to all ages!
When: Sunday September 21 at 3:30-5:30pm.
Where: Champaign Public Library, 200 W Green St, Champaign, IL 61801
Twelve countries will be featured: Brazil, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Kenya, Philippines, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Syria, Turkey. . In keeping with the mission of the Mortenson Center, the event aims to introduce the concept of “internationalization @ home to the University of Illinois community and to foster intercultural competency and global understanding as well as welcome newcomers to the community while embracing diversity and fostering a sense of belonging. This event is part of our ongoing work on Project Welcome, a project that was previously funded by IMLS.
This year, as the event coincides with the International Peace Day, we will use it as an opportunity to commemorate the day and our director Prof Clara Chu will share some remarks on what we can do as individuals to promote peace through actions for peace, and highlight our Libraries for Peace Project. We will also be asking attendees to contribute to the discussion on our website on: What is Peace?
35th Annual Mortenson Distinguished Lecture
The 35th Annual Mortenson Distinguished Lecture will feature Amanda Rubin, documentary filmmaker and journalist. Her lecture focuses on The Third Reich of Dreams, a long-overlooked classic book about Charlotte Beradt’s incredible untold story and legacy of courage as a woman, journalist, and refugee. The lecture will focus on the power of the irrepressible imagination and the potent symbolism of books, writing and archiving as “witnesses to history”.
Book Description:
Set in Berlin, 1933. shortly after Hitler is elected Chancellor, Journalist Charlotte Beradt (1906-1968) begins to experience vivid, disturbing nightmares. Realizing she’s not alone, she embarks on a quiet mission to record the dream life of her Jewish and non-Jewish friends, colleagues, and neighbors in Berlin. She compiles an extraordinary document of the slow colonization of the unconscious as the Third Reich’s persecutions and propaganda seep into the last refuge of the private self. The resulting book: The Third Reich of Dreams
Date: September 4, 2025
Time: 3:30- 5:30pm CDT
Location: School of Information Sciences building, Room 126, 501 E. Daniel St., Champaign and Livestreamed
Register: Online & In-Person Registration
Sponsors:Mortenson Center for International Library Programs | The Program in Jewish Culture & Society | School of Information Sciences | UNESCO Center for Global Citizenship | University of Illinois Library Urbana-Champaign.
Congratulations 2025 Mortenson Center Graduates!
Congratulations to the 2025 Mortenson Center Graduates!
The Mortenson Center celebrates the remarkable achievements of our 2025 Mortenson Center Associates. Their dedication, hard work, and passion for their libraries and the library and information science field have been truly inspiring. As they move forward in their careers, we are confident that they will continue to make a significant impact in their communities and beyond. We acknowledge and thank all our collaborators for sharing their knowledge/ expertise and/or for providing tours of their libraries.
Congratulations Fernando Bravo Arenas, Donus Buadi, Maria Mercedez Haz, Jiwon Kim, Beatriz Martínez Calle, Pauline Nicholas, Unika Omowale, Kandis Roberts, Ikhlas Ahmed, Ahmad Samsudin, Takashi Shimada, Fabiola Soto, Hien Tran (Josiah), Veliswa Tshetsha, Rina Wahyuni, Yunhye Yi.
World Refugee Day Webinar
The Mortenson Centre in collaboration with the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) and the American Library Association (ALA)’s International Relations Committee (IRC) and the Services to Refugees, Immigrants, and Displaced Persons (SRIDP) Sub-Committee ) organized a webinar commemorating World Refugee Day 2025 (June 20). The webinar was held on May 27, 2025, and highlighted the recently published IFLA Guidelines for Libraries Supporting Displaced Persons: Refugees, Migrants, Immigrants, Asylum seekers (December 2024), complemented by presentations on international experiences and/or research on providing library and information services to refugees and other displaced persons, with commentary on how the Guidelines may inform their work.
Speakers:
Despina Gerasimidou, Community Mobilisation and Capacity Building Consultant, IFLA –From Shelves to Shelter: Libraries Making Room for Displaced Communities – IFLA Guidelines
Magdalena Gomulka, Curator, Silesian Library in Katowice, Polish Librarians Association –Ukrainians in Poland: How Did Libraries Help Refugees?
Lisa Hussey, Ph. D., Professor, School of Library and Information Science, Simmons University –School of Leadership Afghanistan (SOLA) Library: Working with Afghan girls in Rwanda
Ana Ndumu, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, College of Information, University of Maryland College Park – Partnerships and power: Reflections on the ILPI Project amid hardline anti-immigrant policies
For the Webinar recording and more information on libraries commemorating World Refugee Day see: https://publish.illinois.edu/projectwelcome/world-refugee-day/world-refugee-day-2025/
Mid Term Post Program Review – January 15, 2025
The 2024 Mortenson Center Associates had a mid-term post program review meeting on Zoom with the Mortenson Center Team. The associates each had a chance to share their PDP (Professional Development Plans) from the program and provided an update on the implementation, including challenges and opportunities they had encountered in implementing the projects. Some of the challenges included a lack of funding, issues related to time management due to new roles while some of the opportunities mentioned included buy-in from administration and thus securing funding for the projects, and opportunities for presentations, grants. The associates also shared future plans or projects they hope to be engaged in and expressed a desire to stay connected and also agreed to share their presentations on their actions plans update on a shared folder on Box. The projects the associates are working on are varied and are listed below:
Yunjin Choi (Republic of Korea) – Development of Academic Research Support Services to enhance AI Literacy
Prince Dwomoh (Ghana) – User satisfaction evaluation and onboarding training using GREAT Customer Service Card- University of Ghana- a
Dr. Elizabeth Malabanan (Philippines) – Establishing a digital learning commons (DLC) at University of Perpetual Help System, Laguna
Vafa Mammadova (Azerbaijan) – ADA University Library’s contribution to the achievement of UN sustainable Development Goals (SDGS) in Azerbaijan
Jessica Lewis Marshall (Jamaica) – New Leadership role- Acting campus Librarian
Dr. Muhammad Sajid Mirza (Pakistan) – Development of an Online information literacy course in Urdu Language
Khadija Mohsin (United Arab Emirates) – Involved with Fulbright scholar hosting at the Mohammad Rashid Library
Dr. Chintan Pandya (India) – various including Puzzles & Gamification in the Library, Digital Citizenship presentations, User satisfaction evaluation using GREAT Customer Service Card., Information Literacy sessions.
2024 – 2025 Season’s Greetings
Season’s Greetings from the Mortenson Center for International Library Programs!
May the current International Day of Peace theme “Cultivating a Culture of Peace” guide your library and information practice in 2025.
34th Annual Mortenson Distinguished Lecture- September 19 3:30pm
34th Annual Mortenson Distinguished Lecture | 19 Sept 2024
“Reading as Belonging: Implications for Library and Information Practice,” by Nadia Caidi, Professor and Director of International Student Experience, Faculty of Information, University of Toronto
Thursday, 19 September 2024 | 3:30-5:00 pm CT Lecture :: 5:00-5:45 pm CT Reception in person to follow (Check for local time here: https://www.worldtimebuddy.com/)HYBRID: In person (School of Information Sciences building, Room 126, 501 E. Daniel St., Champaign) AND online
Register for the Lecture.
Meet Your Neighbors: A Human Library Event- September 14, 2024
The Mortenson Center, in collaboration with the New American Welcome Center, The Urbana Free Library and Illinois International- Global Relations will have a Human Library Event as part of the events featured during 2024 National Welcoming week. The event will feature immigrants and international students living in Champaign-Urbana as human books. Each human “book” will be available during the event to interact with “readers” and talk to them about their native country. Topics covered in the conversations include among others geographic location, cuisine, languages spoken and culture. Snacks, arts & crafts will be offered as part of the event. Open to all ages!
When: Saturday September 14 at 3:30-5:30pm.
Where: The Urbana Free Library, 210 W Green St, Urbana, IL 61801
Eleven countries will be featured : Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, Congo, Guatemala, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Russia, South Africa, South Korea and Yemen. In keeping with the mission of the Mortenson Center, the event aims to introduce the concept of “internationalization @ home to the University of Illinois community and to foster intercultural competency and global understanding as well as welcome newcomers to the community while embracing diversity and fostering a sense of belonging.
SILL Training Workshop offered by Bibliotheca Alexandrina at AlMaadi Public Library, Cairo, Egypt
Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria, Egypt provided a second SILL (Strengthening Innovative Library Leaders) workshop on August 21-22 at AlMaadi Public Library, Cairo, Egypt. The training was offered in person, and in both Arabic and English. Thank you Samia Abouhany, Sara Elgabalawy and Heba Eldeek for facilitating the workshop.
