ANNOUNCEMENT

11.30.17

Dear Readers,

The time has come for me to say goodbye to both you and this blog, at least for now.  As many of you know this has been a completely volunteer effort with the goal being to encourage librarians from everywhere to travel and work beyond their borders.  I spent fourteen years of my life doing just that and it enriched and expanded me both personally and professionally. While I still completely believe in this mission, it is time for me to focus on other goals in my life, although I am not yet clear exactly what will be next…

This blog will continue to be hosted and available as searching the archives can be useful when researching potential positions. I will also continue to update my book: How to Become a Traveling Librarian as well as the Book Resources page.

I wish everyone, as always, safe travels.

Kind regards, Sarah P.

 

Conference: Sharjah Library Conference

 10.11.17:

The two-day main conference is November 8-9

Register now! – you can pay now, or pay on-site! Join the hundreds of other librarians for great programs and great presenters! Your registration includes an invitation letter after you register; access to allconference programs in English and Arabic (simultaneous translation), posters, the Librarian’s Lounge, library exhibits, and the Sharjah International Book Fair; session recordings after the conference; certificate of participation after in-person attendance; lunches and coffee breaks.

 Attend the Optional full-day Workshop, November 7

You can also register for the ACRL Workshop – “Assessment in Action: Demonstrating and Communicating Library Contributions to Student Learning and Success.” In this daylong workshop on strategic and sustainable assessment, participants will identify institutional priorities and campus partners, design an assessment project grounded in action research, and prepare a plan for communicating the project results. This workshop is based on the highly successful Association of College and Research Libraries Assessment in Action program curriculum.

And Make Sure to Join Facebook Event

We invite you to join the 2017 SIBF-ALA Library Conference Facebook Event page or track the tag #SIBFALA17 on social media for updates.

Conferences: Global Collaboration Day

GLOBAL COLLABORATION DAY IS SEPTEMBER 15TH

The Global Education Conference Network Launches Its Second Annual Celebration

 

Students, teachers, and organizations will join together online to celebrate and demonstrate global collaboration on September 15, 2016. On Global Collaboration Day, educators and professionals from around the world will host connective projects and events and invite public participation. This event is brought to you by VIF International Education, Google for Education, iEARN-USA and Edmodo.

The primary goals of this 24-hour, worldwide event are to:

• demonstrate the power of global connectivity in classrooms, schools, institutions of informal learning and universities around the world
• introduce others to the collaborative tools, resources and projects that are available to educators today
• to focus attention on the need for developing globally competent students and teachers throughout the world

Global Collaboration Day will take place on September 15 in participant time zones. Classrooms, schools, and organizations will design and host engaging online activities for others to join. Events will range from mystery location calls to professional development events to interviews with experts. All events will be collated in an online calendar viewable in participants’ individual time zones. Participants will be connected on Twitter via the hashtag #globaled16.

An optional new activity this year will be the Great Global Project Challenge. Between now and October 1, 2016, global educators will design collaborative projects using a variety of platforms in which other students and teachers may participate during the course of the 2016-2017 school year. The objective is to create and present as many globally connective projects for students and educators as possible. The final deadline for submissions into our project directory is October 1, but participants are also encouraged to do an introductory activity for their project on Global Collaboration Day as well.

Global Collaboration Day is a project of the Global Education Conference Network, a free online virtual conference that takes place every November during International Education Week. GCD, along with Global Education Day at ISTE and Global Leadership Week, are events designed to connect educators and keep global conversations going year round.

For more information about Global Collaboration Day, please visit our main web site. A digital flyer is also available for distribution.

Follow us on social media:

• Site: http://bit.ly/2016GCD
• Digital Flyer: https://www.smore.com/km4hj
• Hashtag: #globaled16
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/GlobalEdCon
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/globaledcon/
• Google+: https://plus.google.com/communities/113486387602008324050
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/globaledcon
• LinkedIn: http://goo.gl/2Lnl7
• Paper.li: http://paper.li/elemenous/global-education
• Diigo: https://groups.diigo.com/group/globaleducation

Help us spread the word. Here are some sample Tweets:

• Join us for Global Collaboration Day! Details here: http://bit.ly/2016GCD #globaled16
• YOUR ORG’S TWITTER HANDLE is pleased to partner with @GlobalEdCon and educators around the globe for Global Collaboration Day: http://bit.ly/2016GCD
• Are you an education leader? Inspire global collaboration on Global Collaboration Day 9/15. http://bit.ly/2016GCD #globaled16
• Learn more about participating in the Global Collaboration Day celebration: http://bit.ly/2016GCD #globaled16
• Project hosts are sought for Global Collaboration Day. Details here: http://bit.ly/2016GCD #globaled16

Logos and Badges for Participants, Hosts, Partners and Sponsors are located here: http://bit.ly/gcdimages

Interested in serving as an outreach partner?

Send an email to Lucy Gray (lucy@globaledevents.com) indicating your interest. Include information on how you can help us get the word out to networks with 5000 members or more.

Interested in serving as a sponsor? 

Contact Steve Hargadon (steve@hargadon.com) for information on opportunities to connect authentically with highly connected global educators. We can feature your organization and let our network of 23K+ members know about your globally oriented products and services.

Conference: The ALA Library Conference at the Sharjah International Book Fair

7.27.16 –  The ALA Library Conference at the Sharjah International Book Fair
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

(Taken from the American Libraries article by Patricia Wand, 7.14.16)

Plans are under way for the third American Library Association (ALA) Library Conference at the 35th Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF), to be held November 8–10, 2016, at the Expo Center in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. The conference will offer programs, in-depth preconference institutes, and a poster session on a wide range of topics for librarians from academic, public, school, government, and special libraries.

The roster of keynote speakers includes ALA President Julie B. Todaro, who will focus on “The Expert in the Library,” and Center for the Future of Libraries Director Miguel Figueroa, who will discuss societal trends and managing change in libraries.

But what happens when you transplant an ALA conference into an Arabic country? The answer: Conversations about reading, technology, children’s services, faculty research, user services, and library architecture become enriched by multinational perspectives. Diverse, lively exchanges are the best way to describe the ambiance of this event.

SIBF is emerging as the largest book fair in the Gulf. Sharjah Book Authority Chairman Ahmed Al Ameri is eager to provide professional development opportunities to library workers in the region and raise the visibility of libraries. He rightfully envisions the event as an innovative complement to the ever-growing book fair. “Our ongoing collaboration with ALA is helping us in our efforts to be an international leader among regional book fairs and allows us to promote our shared commitment to the love of the written word and its creation,” Al Ameri said in his welcome to conference attendees.

Registration is now open for the 2016 ALA Conference in Sharjah, and there is still time to submit a proposal for a poster session (the deadline is September 22). If you go, be sure to take advantage of the Librarians’ Lounge, a relaxing space to meet colleagues, hold small meetings, and take a break. ALA members will need their ALA ID numbers to register and get the member discount. If you are not an ALA member, email Delin Guerra at dguerra@ala.org to get a special number. Include your first name, last name, email address, and street address in the email.

Conference: Library 2.016 Virtual Worldwide Conference

9/30/15 –  Conference: Library 2.016: Library as Classroom

Sarah P’s comments: When I began my  international career in 1996 there were no organizations like this (the internet was in its infancy).  It’s really great to see the library schools promoting more international cooperation and reaching across borders.  I truly believe, having lived overseas for so long, that librarians are the diplomats of democracy and that the work of open information sharing is important for the development and equality of all.

The second of our three free Library 2.016 online mini-conferences: “Library as Classroom,” is coming up soon! Register now to join us on June 15th, 2016, from 12:00 – 3:00pm US-Pacific Time (click for your own time zone), or to be able to watch the recordings at your convenience. There will be an hour-long opening keynote panel, three half-hour blocks with multiple choices of practitioner presentations, and then a half-hour closing keynote (see below).

In A New Culture of Learning, authors Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown write, “Where imaginations play, learning happens.” This could and should define our services for now and in the future. The library as creative classroom means we approach the learning opportunities we create with thought, user-directed planning, and insights from research. This classroom may include physical spaces for instruction and discovery as well as online, multiscale platforms aimed at social learning and participation.

Libraries of all kinds serve as formal and informal creative classrooms, supporting learners by employing emerging strategies in learning and engagement. These include: play, collaborative exploration of ideas and technologies, and other innovations. There are notable examples of academic, public, and K-12 library spaces that have become creative classrooms. These feature community learning spaces to help learners achieve, game-focused initiatives that make the library a laboratory for exploration, creation zones with requisite digital and 3-D hardware for building things, and potentially endless opportunities to connect virtually with people worldwide.

The library as classroom requires inspired and insightful management that can do those things and more. The library as classroom also requires well-trained, user-focused staff who understand how people of all ages can learn socially. Art programs, DIY tinkering, locally sourced expert forums, and LOOCs (local open online courses) are all part of this ­curriculum.

This is a free event, being held online. Please register HERE to attend live or to receive the recording links.

Please also join this Library 2.0 network to be kept updated on this and future events.

Participants are encouraged to use #library2016 on their social media posts leading up to and during the event.

CALL FOR PROPOSALS:
We are still accepting proposals for a limited number of slots for presenter sessions. http://www.library20.com/page/call-for-proposals.

Program: International Sharing Opp @ ALA

5.18.16 –  Sharing International Perspectives & Experience…

Sarah P’s comments: Another sharing opportunity for those attending this year’s annual ALA Conference in Orlando. This year’s theme seems to be ‘international’ which I think is both great and long overdue.

 

Do you have an international program at your library you’d like to discuss? Have you had an opportunity to integrate your library into your campus’ international agenda and you’d like to share your experiences? Are there issues or practices that you’ve found informed by work happening abroad?

If you have something to share with your colleagues on these, or any other internationally related topics, AND you’ll be physically attending ALA Annual in Orlando, please either email me directly or share with the list by Friday, May 20th.  You will be notified by May 25th if your proposal has been accepted.

Friday, June 24th 10 – 11:30am

Location TBA

Thanks, I look forward to hearing from you.

Evviva – ACRL IPDG Convener

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Evviva Weinraub
Associate University Librarian for Digital Strategies
Northwestern University Library
Northwestern University
www.library.northwestern.edu
evviva.weinraub@northwestern.edu
Phone: 847.467.6178

 

 

Spotlight: Meet International Librarian Sam Crawford

5.10.15 –  In the upcoming weeks I am going to be spotlighting librarians with international experience who are planning on attending ALA 2016 and the Leaning Internatonal IRRT Program.  We are creating a list so we can all learn a little about each other and to help connect before, during, and after the program. However this information is for all librarians everywhere so feel free to connect via the blog or write me an e-mail.

Sam Crawford, MLIS
Academic Librarian at Northern Marianas College (NMC)
Saipan Island, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)

Since January, I’ve been working as the Academic Librarian at Northern Marianas College (NMC) on the island of Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI).  I’m still learning “how things work” on the island and within the College itself, but I’m continuing to dig into this opportunity, full force, and I am thrilled beyond measure to be here. 

Broadly, I would describe myself as a musician and self-proclaimed “library nerd” with a bent towards the creative.  I earned degrees in music from East Tennessee State University (B.M., Vocal Music Education, ’09) and New York University (M.M., Music Composition and Theory, ’11).  More recently, I completed a Master’s in library and information science at the University of Tennessee’s School of Information Sciences, where my studies focused on academic librarianship (specifically related to music and the humanities), archives and records management, and digital curation.  

I have provided information services for a variety of both federal and academic institutions, including the Library of Congress, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the University of Tennessee.  Before coming to NMC, I served as the interim K-12 Instructional Librarian at the University School of Nashville, in Nashville, Tennessee.”

I have very high hopes of attending this year’s ALA meeting in Orlando.  For me, the chance to personally meet you and others involved with the IRRT would be a tremendous opportunity to share and discuss alternative views of information work, connect with some like-minded professionals, and expand and strengthen myriad professional networks in the spirit of simply sharing information and learning / growing together.”

Conference Program: Leaning International

5.7.16 – Leaning International: Stories from the Field-IRRT International Connections
ALA Conference 2016, Orlando, FL, USA

Sarah P’s comments:  Last year I was asked to be a panelist for a similar program however I was traveling.  I heard that it was so popular that they decided to offer it this year in Orlando.  Again, I was asked but due to work commitments couldn’t commit to going until recently.  However, Jennifer Nardine, the program coordinator, has lined up some other great panelists.  I have been in on this discussion and so many experienced folks have come forward that we decided to create a list of who is attending to help facilitate  conversations before and after the program. Jennifer also had the great idea of having me spotlight these librarians, which I am glad to do as one of the goals of this blog is to help create liaisons and conversations about international librarianship.  So, if you are an international librarian, or have had an international experience you are willing to share, and are attending ALA this year, please let me know!

Here is a program description:

Are you an MLS student/recent graduate interested in working internationally, or a seasoned information professional looking for a new experience? This annual program hosted by IRRT’s International Connections Committee features American librarians speaking about their own unique international experiences.

Presentations and extensive Q&A sessions have included such diverse topics as:

• Where to start looking—good resources for finding international job opportunities, long and short term
• Leveraging networks—how people in the US can help you find work abroad
• Pre-departure preparation—language and etiquette training, evaluating the political landscape and how it will affect you
• Working abroad –the practicalities of taxes, job benefits, retirement and more, marketing your skill sets for promotion
• Cultural awareness—adapting your new surroundings instead of expecting them to adapt to you, including regional library standards, daily life sometimes means soup for breakfast
• Experiences – stories shared by and for librarians working in an international setting
• Returning home—adjusting to life back in the USA

Panelists:

Elana Grayson
Middle School Library Media Specialist
Korea International School, Jeju Campus

Meggan Houlihan
First-Year Experience and Instruction Librarian
New York University Abu Dhabi , United Arab Emirates

Joan Petit
Communications and Outreach Librarian
Portland State University, STATES

Raymond Pun (my Spotlight blogpost about Ray)
First-Year Student Success Librarian
California State University, Fresno
Fresno, California

Conference: ALA 2016

5.5.16 –  ALA Annual Conference
June 23-28, 2016: Orlando, FL, USA

Sarah P’s comments: The ALA Conference is always an interesting event. For anyone with international interests, there are several IRRT (International Relations Round Table) and internationally-related programs planned. ALA can be expensive however if you are a member, there are several registration choices including: One Day ($165), Exhibits Only ($65), and Single Session. (To find out specific session costs you will need to go through the registration process). FYI: some of the IRRT sessions are missing which I reported to an IRRT member who has asked for the problem to be corrected. If you have problems you will need to contact alaregistration@compusystems.com)

In a following post I am going to talk about the Leading International session which I have been involved in helping organize (Jennifer Nardine is the Coordinator).

Here is the list of internationally focused sessions:

6/24:  8:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Internationalizing Your Library: Strategies for All Types of Librarians: Public/School/Academic/National/Government-IRRT Preconference
Mary Givins – Pima County Public Library; John Hickok – California State University Fullerton; Joan Weeks – Library of Congress; Elizabeth Cramer – Appalachian State University

6/24: 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM
International Perspectives on Academic and Research Libraries Discussion Group

6/24: 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM
International Librarians Orientation

6/25: 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM
Borderless Libraries: Pushing Boundaries for Innovation and Leadership-IRRT International Paper Session & Projects

6/25: 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM
Leaning International: Stories from the Field-IRRT International Connections
Elana Grayson – Korea International School, Jeju Campus; Meggan Houlihan – New York University Abu Dhabi ; Joan Petit – Portland State University; Raymond Pun – California State University, Fresno

6/27: 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM
Collaborating for Sustainable Libraries: Examples from International Developing Economies (ISLD program)
Connie Champlin – Cultural Adventures and Peace Corps/Korea; Pat A. Wand – American University and Peace Corps / Colombia; Janet Lee – Regis University and Peace Corps/Ethiopia; Jane Mirandette – Hester J. Hodgdon Libraries for All Program and San Juan del Sur Biblioteca Movil, Nicaragua/Nicaragua

6/27: 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM
Best Practices of Internationalizing Libraries: Public, School, & Academic-IRRT Chair’s Program

6/27: 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
International Librarians Reception

 

Conference: IFLA Annual

5.4.16 –  The IFLA 82nd World Library and Information Congress
Columbus, Ohio, USA

It’s almost here!  Join the world library community in Columbus this August 13-19, 2016!

Don’t miss out on the chance to attend the premier international library event  so close to home [if you are North American].

“Connections. Collaboration. Community” – Network with librarians from over 110 countries.

Full program information is now available.

Early registration deadline is May 17!  ALA members and members of ALA Chapters and Affiliates
can register at the discounted IFLA member rate using ALA’s IFLA membership code US-0002.

Questions?  IFLA2016@ala.org