IRRT Programs & Meeting at ALA Annual in Anaheim, Calif., June 26-July 2, 2008

(In chronological order)
IRRT Pre-Conference - Collaboration and Resource Sharing in the Digital Age
Friday, June 27, 2008 9:00 am - 1:00 pm Location: Marriott Anaheim-Room Platinum 9
Description: Welcome to Anaheim and the 2008 International Relations Round Table Pre-Conference! Please join us for a pre-conference to be held on Friday, June 27, 2008, focusing on resource sharing for international libraries. We will provide materials and a lunch for attendees. Our speakers are experienced global librarians who work to provide resources to libraries large and small around the world. Learn how to become part of the worldwide information network of libraries.

Cost: Advance tickets: $75. The pre-conference begins at 9:00 am. Lunch will take place after the preconference at a restaurant. Registration for this event is $75 which includes the materials and lunch. Registration is through the ALA Annual Conference registration at http://www.ala.org/ala/eventsandconferencesb/annual/2008a/registration.cfm
Speakers: HINARI (Health InterNetwork Access to Research Initiative) – OARE (Online Access to Research in the Environment) – AGORA (Access to Global Online Research in Agriculture) are sister programs set up to assist developing countries in gaining access to current scientific information. Three of our speakers will explain how their programs help provide access to current scientific journals for developing countries. The fourth presenter will speak about eIFL.net, electronic information for libraries in over 50 countries.Mary Ochs, Head of Information Services and Collections, Cornell University, will speak about AGORA.Kimberly Parker, HINARI Programme Manager, World Health Organization will speak about HINARI.Evviva Weinraub, Technology Librarian, Tufts University, will speak about OARES.Rima Kupryte, Managing Director, eIFL.net, will speak about eIFL.net.
Please visit the committee's page for a more detailed description.

International Librarian's Orientation
Friday, June 27, 20084:30 pm-6:30 pmLocation: Marriott Anaheim-Marquis South
Description: This orientation features an introduction to the ALA Conference and the city of Anaheim for international librarians and other attendees from abroad. ALA members provided an overview of the conference, including recommended programs and social activities. Attendees are able to learn about conference transportation, the ALA's Exhibit Hall and the meanings of the ALA's many acronyms. They also meet mentors and representatives from ALA's many divisions and round tables who help international librarians get the most from the conference experience. (For international librarians outside the U.S.)

IRC/IRRT All Committee Meeting
IRRT Chairs Meeting/IRRT Subcommittee Meetings/IRC Subcommittee Meetings
Saturday, June 28, 2008Time: 8:00 am - 9:00 am IRRT Chairs Meeting; 9:00 am - 11:00 am IRRT Subcommittee Meetings; 9:00 am - 11:00 am IRC Subcommittee MeetingsLocation: Marriott Anaheim-Room Platinum 5
Description: The IRRT's All Committee Meeting in the morning provides one location, date and time for all committees to meet during ALA Annual so that members can easily network and make connections. Details TBA.

The Lubuto Library Project
Saturday, June 28, 20088:00 am - 10:00 amLocation: Anaheim Convention Center-Room 213 C
Description: The Lubuto Library Project grew from librarian Jane Kinney Meyers’ work with street children in Zambia, Africa, where a library housed in a shipping container dramatically changed the lives of its users. Now Lubuto, with the help of many prominent and talented professionals and support from Brodart and other organizations, builds beautiful indigenously-designed libraries that offer an array of enriching services to Africa’s orphans and vulnerable children, along with carefully selected book collections organized by a specially-developed classification system. Learn about these groundbreaking efforts from a panel of some of the many colleagues who guide and contribute to them.

Speakers: Jane Kinney Meyers, President and founder, Lubuto Library Project, Inc., Washington, D.C.Dr. Denise E. Agosto, Associate Professor, College of Information Science and Technology, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PATatum Preston, Librarian, Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, ALDr. Laurie Bonnici, Assistant Professor, Univ. of Alabama, School of Library and Information Studies, Tuscaloosa, AL

International Paper Session - Re-Assess, Reassign, and Reinvent: Collection Building Without Global Borders
Saturday, June 28, 2008 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm Location: Anaheim Convention Center-Room 211 B
Description: The 2008 International Papers Program theme is "Re-Assess, Reassign, and Reinvent: Collection Building Without Global Borders." Librarians have long been interested in resource-sharing and collection enhancement on a worldwide basis. Political turmoil, economic restraints, and lack of professional personnel impede on collection development efforts of many libraries. This program explores global efforts to improve distribution of publications to library collections. The focus is on successful initiatives, and will provide helpful advise on assuring that library surplus materials reach their destinations on a timely, cost-effective manner.

IRRT Executive Committee Meeting
Sunday, June 29, 2008 Time: 8:00 am - 11:00 amLocation: Hilton Anaheim-Ventura Room
Description: The IRRT's Executive Board will meet to discuss current business and items raised during the IRRT All Subcommittee Meeting the day before.

International Poster Session
Sunday, June 29, 2008 Time: 11:00 am - 12:30 pm Location: Anaheim Convention Center - Exhibit Floor
Description: This forum for librarians from around the world provides an opportunity to highlight their libraries and to share their successful ideas with colleagues by presenting a research study, a practical problem-solving effort or an innovative library program. Details of posters TBA.

ALA IRRT Sister Libraries Committee - How to Find an International Partner
Sunday, June 29, 20081:30 pm - 3:30 pmLocation: Anaheim Convention Center-Room 208 A
Description: The IRRT Sister Libraries Program helps link libraries around the world. Sister Libraries promote the exchange of information, cultural understanding, programs and resources where possible. Speakers from existing Sister Libraries, State Department American Corner Libraries, and Sister Cities will discuss how their partnerships were formed and what made them successful. A Sister Libraries Wiki will be demonstrated to show how to get a Sister Library for your library.
Speakers: Nancy Bolt, Nancy Bolt & Associates, OverviewHolly Murten, Information Resource Officer, U.S. State Department, American Corners Project, “Finding an International Partner through American Corners”Jozef Fabrici, American Corner at the State Scientific Public Library in Kosice, Slovakia, “The Reality of an American Corners Partnership”Karen Jessee, Senior Librarian, Jacksonville Public Library, Jacksonville, FL, “Finding an International Partner through the Sister Cities Program”Patrick Sullivan, Business Librarian, Library and Information Access, San Diego State University, “Experiences of a Partner Library”Meghan O’Connor, Fellow for International Initiatives, Simmons College, Boston, MA, “Finding an International Partner through the Sister Libraries Wiki”

CALA 2008 Annual Program: Global Outreach: A U.S.-China Experience.Sponsored by AFL CALA; ALA IRC/IRRT.
Sunday, June 29, 20081:30 pm - 3:30 pmLocation: Disney Paradise Pier Hotel-Room Pacific C/D
Description: With fast approaching dates of the 2008 Olympic Games to be held in Beijing and a continuously rising economy, China has become a buzzword in the media nowadays. But how much do we know about library services to users in China? This program presents first-hand experience from U.S. librarians in working with the library community in China. One keynote speaker and the four panelists will present several successful ongoing outreach programs to the Chinese libraries.
Speakers: Beverly Lynch, Professor of Information Studies, UCLAHaipeng Li, Outreach Coordinator, Oberlin College Library Trisha Davis, Head of Serials, Electronic Resources and Rights Management Dept., Ohio State University LibrariesQiang Zhu, Director, Peking University Library, ChinaLian Ruan, Director, Illinois Fire Service Institute Library

ALA IRC Europe Subcommitee : ALA IRRT International Exchanges Committee - Alphabet Soup? Librarians in the European Union.
Sunday, June 29, 2008 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm Location: Anaheim Convention Center-Room 203 A
Description: What is it like to be a librarian in the European Union? Is it different from the United States? What is it like for a librarian from the States who wants to study or work there? What about the language problems? We will hear from librarians from several different types of libraries, including public, academic and school libraries, in Europe and from librarians from the United States who have spent some time in European libraries, and a public librarian from Germany.
Speakers: Johan Koren, Associate Professor, Coordinator, Library Media Program, Murray State UniversityRichard Sapon-White, Catalog Librarian, Oregon State UniversityBirgit Lotz, Director of Decentralised Libraries of the Municipal Library, Frankfurt, Germany
Moderator: Mara Saule, Dean of Libraries, University of Vermont

IRRT International Sustainable Library Development (ISLD) - Connecting with an International Project.
Monday, June 30, 2008 10:30 am - 12:00 pm Location: Anaheim Convention Center-Room 209 B
Description: This program will present ways that librarians can connect with international projects.Speakers: Jane Kurtz, Ethiopia ReadsCarol McAuliffe, Books Open the World, Uganda

IRRT Chair's Program - Professional Development Around the World: Meeting the Challenge of Rapid Change in the Digital Environment
Monday, June 30, 20081:30 pm - 3:30 pmLocation: Anaheim Convention Center-Room 203 B
Description: An international panel will address challenges and successes in providing professional development to librarians as they transition through the profession from the beginning to the middle and later in their careers, with an emphasis on technology. The IRRT also hosts the presentation of the John Humphry/OCLC/Forest Press Award for significant contributions to international librarianship and the presentation of the Bogle Pratt International Travel Fund award at the beginning of the program.Speakers: Dr. Gillian Hallam, Queensland University of Technology, Australia Dr. Antonia Neubauer, President, Myths and Mountains, Inc., Incline Village, NV Jane Kinney Meyers, President, Lubuto Library Project, Inc., Washington, DC Jane Mirandette, President, The Hester J. Hodgdon Libraries for All Program, Loveland, CO
Moderator: Joan Weeks, Sr. Instruction Librarian, Library of Congress, Washington, DC

International Public Libraries-Discussion Group
Date: TBATime: TBALocation: TBA

Description: Are you interested in International Public Libraries? Would you like to help create a forum to exchange ideas and share challenges facing public libraries from a global perspective? International and United States Librarians are invited to a discussion group sponsored by the newly formed IRRT- Public Library Interest Group. The discussion group explores how PLIG can serve the needs and interests of the International Public Library Community. Details TBA.

IRRT International Librarians' Reception
Monday, June 30, 20086 pm - 8 pmLocation: MUZEO, 241 S. Anaheim Blvd.
Description: The International Relations Round Table (IRRT) welcomes and celebrates with all conference-attending international librarians, usually from more than 80 countries, at the ALA Annual Conference. The International Librarians Reception will be held at the MUZEO, a new museum complex of the arts and culture, also the former Anaheim Public Library. Its front entrance is the former Anaheim Public Library, built in 1908. Open to all conference attendees, but free to International Librarians outside the U.S., this reception will offer a unique opportunity to network with hundreds of information professionals from around the world. Join us for a mixing of culture and ideas, regional cuisine, hors d'oeuvres and open bar.
Cost: Free for International Librarians outside the United States. Advance tickets for all others (available on the Conference Registration form): $30. Onsite: $35.
Sponsors: We would like to thank our sponsors for this year's International Reception:
*Blackwell Book Services
*OCLC/WebJunction
*Elsevier Science
*Innovative Interfaces
*VTLS: Visionary Technology in Library Solutions

IRRT Archivist Historian Needed!

Do you have an interest and/or background in selecting and preserving digital records of important historical value?

Are you a historian who would like to see the working legacy of IRRT maintained for future international librarians?

If you are that person, IRRT would like to ask you to apply for the position of:Archivist/historian

Term of officeThe Archivist/Historian is appointed for a two-year, once-renewable term by the IRRT Executive Board upon the recommendation of the Publications Committee.DutiesTracks decisions of the Executive Board at midwinter and annual Executive Board meetings that have a term limit and advises officers of the upcoming deadlines. In consultation with the Web Editor, determines what web files should be archived and/or removed from the web site.Updates the history of IRRT contained in the officers manual.Plans for anniversaries of IRRT and tracks major milestones.Maintains archival file of IRRT agendas, minutes, budget reports and committee reports and decides when they should be removed from the IRRT wiki.Works with ALA International Relations Office and ALA archivist to transfer files for permanent archiving at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.Attends the IRRT meetings at midwinter and annual conferences and serves on the Publications Committee.Performs other duties as may be assigned by the chair to preserve the records of IRRT.

We would like to set up interviews for interested candidates on Sat. just after the IRRT all-committee meeting in Anaheim. Please email weeks@cua.edu <mailto:weeks@cua.edu> a brief statement of interest and a resume detailing your archival work. IRRT is celebrating its 60 anniversary next year and we hope you the Archivist/Historian will play a major role in preserving our work for future librarians.

Joan S. Weeks
IRRT Chair