Back
to MemoirsHere are some
impressions collected after session one, Wednesday afternoon.
These are very early, after only 4 presentations (on library education).
Dr. Judith Broady-Preston (Univ of
Wales), Ms. Susan Hornby (Manchester Metropolitan Univ., England), and Ms.
Melinda Mosley (Marshall Center, Germany): All three women felt that the
conference had kicked off very well, and were looking forward to the rest of it.
Dr. Broady-Preston noted that the presenters in the first session had
discussed very similar things, and she saw an amazing commonality among all the
topics of the papers to be presented. Ms.
Mosley chimed in and agreed, noting that everything tied together well.
Dr. Broady-Preston also had the impression that a common debate was being
reinforced, which she found reassuring since it made her feel that everyone was
in the loop of current thought.
Eva Graffman (German
LIS student): She often feels that she has to explain and defend her decision to
study library and information management. The word “library” does not
accurately describe the work many information professionals have the opportunity
to do. She feels that perhaps there in no longer one profession called
“librarian”, but a number of professions in which information professionals
use their skills to deal with information in different ways.
Mr Ioannis
Trohopoulos (Veria Public Library, Greece): He said it was interesting to hear
about trends in preparing librarians, but would have liked to have heard more of
an Eastern European perspective because he feels the preparation is different.
He noted that library education in Greece does not respond quickly to
changes in the library field. He
thought the trend for more students in library studies was interesting because
in Greece the trend is to cut workers in the public sector, and some places are
contracting out services. Private
companies need high quality staff to provide high quality services - this is
where LIS education is important.
-Rebecca Miller