By Caroline King, Research Assistant, LASPAU
University librarians worldwide have a pivotal role to play in the new “knowledge economy.” Increasingly, academic libraries represent the critical space where knowledge is generated and disseminated. Librarians strive to foster a spirit of innovation towards gathering and using information, thus strengthening the general efforts of the institution. However, many higher education systems in Latin America and the Caribbean lack the degree or professional development programs needed to support librarians as they take on this expanded role. LASPAU believes this challenge can be met, in part, through educational exchanges.
In May 2002, LASPAU implemented the Leadership Program for Chilean Librarians, a component of the Chilean Ministry of Education’s Programa para el Mejoramiento de la Calidad y la Equidad en la Educación Superior (MECESUP). Funded by the World Bank, MECESUP contributes significantly to Chile’s national and regional development by supporting excellence and innovation in higher education. Librarians in Chile face many challenges while seeking to advance these goals, including the absence of graduate-level library science programs in their country. MECESUP’s Competitive Fund, through which universities can submit proposals for institutional development, offered the librarians a valuable source of potential support.
In November and December of 2000, the MECESUP Library Projects Advisory Committee convened and established five priority areas for professional development for Chilean librarians: 1) reference services, 2) digitalization of documents, 3) web page design and use, 4) inter-library cooperation and activities, and 5) library architecture. These priorities were later articulated in a proposal that was approved by MECESUP, which then solicited LASPAU’s expertise to design and implement the program.
LASPAU developed the Leadership Program for Chilean Librarians in collaboration with the directors of the MECESUP Library Projects and library science experts from Harvard University. Commented MECESUP’s general coordinator, Ricardo Reich, “In the field of library science and knowledge generation, we see a clear trend and need to move away from simply reacting to the needs of academic and external users and towards a proactive attitude that encourages up-to-date skills, a mastery of information technologies, an understanding of virtual media, and the dynamic capacity to teach, train, and resolve the growing challenges of new information.”
The program consisted of two phases: a one-week internship in a U.S. or Canadian university library and a three-day seminar at Harvard University. During the internship phase, LASPAU placed 16 participants in small groups at seven universities: New York University, Tulane University, Duke University, North Carolina University, University of Pittsburgh, University of Texas at Austin, and New Mexico State University. MECESUP placed an additional 11 participants at the University of Toronto. The Chilean librarians toured the host university’s library facilities, exchanged ideas and built institutional alliances with North American counterparts, and observed different approaches to shared professional challenges.
The 27 participants then met at Harvard University for a three-day symposium led by Dan Hazen, the librarian for Latin America, Spain, and Portugal at Harvard’s Widener Library. During the symposium, which was also attended by two MECESUP officials, the participants shared their internship experiences, explored professional development issues with experts from the Harvard University library system, and integrated their learnings with their individual and institutional goals.
Evelyn Didier Carrasco, a program participant and the director of library systems for the Universidad Católica de Maule in Talca, Chile, described the benefits of the Leadership Program for Chilean Librarians: “As graduate programs for librarians do not exist in Chile, we lacked professional upgrading. The experience helped me to validate and crystallize my own ideas. At the same time, I realized that in order to improve the quality of our university libraries in Chile, we need to focus on the user and the generation of academic knowledge, and we cannot only think individually or institutionally, but we must think collectively and cooperatively so that everyone can benefit.”
Dan Hazen highlighted the value of cross-cultural collaboration to address common institutional challenges: “The academic libraries in Chile, and the universities themselves, offer a dynamic panorama and uniformly exhibit high levels of knowledge and professionalism. However, they vary significantly in terms of capabilities and resources. For the Harvard library system community, it has been a tremendous opportunity to share our experiences with these colleagues. By making possible multiple interactions and exchanges among participants and presenters alike, the Leadership Program for Chilean Librarians has been mutually beneficial and fruitful.”
Caroline King assisted with the organization and implementation of the Leadership Program for Chilean Librarians.
If you are interested in further information about this or any of LASPAU's other seminars, workshops, or related services, please contact Angelica Natera, LASPAU's development and program specialist at angelica_natera@harvard.edu or 617- 495 -0488.
|
