UPCOMING EVENTS
Please mark your calendars to join us for a reception for the Russian University Administrators on Wednesday, May 7 from 4:00-5:30 in Illini Union, Room 314A.
RUSSIAN UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATORS
Twelve university administrators including librarians, information technologists and campus administrators from Russian Universities will be at the Mortenson Center from May 3 to 17. The visitors are here to learn more about management of library resources at universities. This project is funded by the World Bank and administered by the American Councils for International Education. The Mortenson Center received funding to offer this program. In addition to the varied sessions at UIUC the group will spend time at Illinois Wesleyan University, the Center for Research Libraries, the Illinois State Library, the American Library Association, and UIC. We are pleased to be working for the first time with the American Councils for International Education.
SOUTH AFRICA LIBRARY LEADERSHIP PROJECT
The second group of participants in the Mellon Foundation funded project with the Library and Information Association of South Africa (LIASA) will arrive June 5 and be at the Mortenson Center until July 19. Seven middle managers from academic and public libraries will be in the group. In early July Robert Moropa, president of LIASA and deputy director of the University of Pretoria Library, will arrive to spend time with the group and on the campus. Let us know if you are interested in working with the South African group.
MORTENSON ASSOCIATES
Tatiana Rassokhina from Tula State University, Russia, and Maira Tungatarova from National Youth Library, Kazakhstan who have been with us for nine months will leave in May. They are Muskie Fellows funded by a U. S. government program. Tatiana and Maira have made many acquaintances throughout the state from the presentations they have done at a variety of meetings and conferences. Mortenson friend to Tatiana is Lisa Hinchliffe, and Maira’s Mortenson friend is Mitzi Williams.
Olena Bashun, Vice Director of the Donetsk Regional General Scientific Library, Ukraine, will also be leaving following several month at the Center concentrating on fund raising. Stefan Seibert, Head of User Services, University Library Rostock, Germany departed in early April. Stefan is the most recent in a series of librarians from the former East Germany who have spent time in the Center and worked with librarians from the Modern Languages and Linguistics Library. Thanks to Tom Kilton who hosted Stefan.
UIUC LIBRARY INTERNATIONAL STRATEGY
The International Strategy document developed for the Library at UIUC was approved following a number of revisions. Watch for the document on the Library’s website.
OUTREACH
February 4 Susan presented a grant-writing session to a GSLIS Administration class.
February 12 Susan and Barbara made a presentation about the Mortenson Center to Terry Weech’s GSLIS Global Issues class.
March 17 Tatiana, Maira and Barbara spoke about the Mortenson Center and libraries in Russia and Kazakhstan at the “On the Front Lines” conference sponsored by the Illinois State Library in Springfield.
A brown bag luncheon program for library staff was presented on March 20 by Mortentson Associates Maira, Olena, Stefan, Tatiana.
From April 6 to 8, Susan facilitated an Open Society Institute meeting in Prague. The meeting brought together library professionals from nine countries of the former Soviet Union to discuss the place of libraries in civil society.
On April 11, International Special Librarians Day, Associates Maira and Tatiana and graduate assistant Emily Knox made a presentation to the GSLIS SLA student chapter.
April 17 Barbara spoke to the GSLIS ALA student chapter about her experiences in international librarianship.
April 21 Barbara talked to a GSLIS class about ALA and international library advocacy.
Barbara served on the campus planning committee for the series of campus programs on “The Nation and International Conflict: Impacts on the Community, World, Country and Individual” and librarians developed useful guides to information sources to support the campus forums.
On June 23 at ALA in Toronto two poster sessions will be presented about Mortenson Center programs. They are “Connecting Librarians Around the World” and “South Africa Library Leadership Project” On October 16 Susan and Barbara will speak about the Mortenson Center at the Illinois Library Association annual conference in Springfield.
OPPORTUNITIES TO GET INVOLVED
We always need people who are interested in serving as Mortenson friends to work with Associates and help them get oriented to the library and community. If you would like more information or are interested in getting involved in any Mortenson Center activities, please let us know.