World Heritage Memory Net: World Culture and Heritage at Your Finger-tips
On April 17th, 2009, Dr. Ching-chih Chen gave the Annual Speech at the Simmons Beta Phi Mu Annual Meeting at Simmons College in Boston, demoing her World Heritage Memory Net Project for the audience. Professor Chen is author and editor of 35 books and more than 200 articles in the areas of information technology, management, and global digital libraries. She’s received countless awards, including the 2008 American Library Association Beta Phi Mu Award.
- Slide Presentation
- PDF Format / 3.85 MB
- Beta Phi Mu Award
- Announcement on ALA website.
- Professor Ching-chih Chen
- Presenter's bio.
- Project Director, NSF/IDLP Global Memory Net
- Global Memory Net website
- Project Director, World Heritage Memory Net
- In partnership with UNESCO/World Heritage Center
- Kevin MacLeod / One Sly Move
- Music used in this episode.
Learning From Brazil: Information Policy in the Giant of South America
Sergio Chaparro is an Assistant Professor at Simmons College. He has taught courses on human information behavior, communications, international librarianship, information technology, and Spanish. On October 2, 2008 he presented some of the work of his current research focus. His current research focuses on information technology and policy in Brazil and other Latin American countries.
- Slide Presentation
- 57 KB / PDF Format
- Sergio Chaparro
- The presenter's website.
- Kevin MacLeod / Radio Martini
- Music used in this podcast.
- Podcast Transcript
- Complete transcript of this episode.
Very Hue: A Report on the Vietnamese Librarian Project
In October of 2005, Simmons College received a $1.8 million grant from The Atlantic Philanthropies to train a new generation of Vietnamese librarians for leadership roles. Professor Pat Oyler, who oversees the grant, has been working with Vietnamese librarians for more than 13 years. This report describes a 10 week program of four GSLIS courses, taught by Patrick McGlamery (Simmons GSLIS adjunct teacher) and Terry Plum in Hue, Vietnam from June – August, 2007. Participating were 25 Vietnamese university librarians from four different areas of Vietnam: Can Tho (in the Mekong Delta), Hue, Da Nang, and Thai Nguyen (north of Hanoi). Many of the Vietnamese librarians were as new to Hue as the teachers. This talk discusses teaching LIS in Vietnam, technological determinism, the role of the academic library in supporting university education, and how constructions of the cultural landscape can affect teaching and learning.
This lecture was co-sponsored by Simmons International Relations and the GSLIS Research Colloquium
- Dispatches from the Field:Vietnam
- A blog documenting Terry's summer in Vietnam, with pictures
- Slide Presentation
- (pdf format, 18MB)
- Slidecast
- Slideshow with audio
- PianoAbstract02/ Yewbic
- Music used in this Podcast
- Podcast Transcript
- Complete transcript of this episode.
Rising from the Ashes: The Story of the Iraq National Library and Archives
Dr. Saad Eskander has served as the Director of the Iraqi National Library and Archives in Baghdad since 2003, keeping the library open against seemingly impossible odds. On Wednesday, November 7, 2007, he spoke at Simmons College about the history of the Iraqi National Library and the challenges of maintaining the country’s cultural heritage in a war-torn and politically tumultuous climate. Dr. Eskaneder was introduced by GSLIS Dean Michele Cloonan and by Jeff Spurr of the Harvard University Fine Arts Library.
Note: Dean Cloonan’s introductory remarks were re-recorded after the event due to a technical malfunction.
- Iraq Diary
- Dr. Eskander's blog from Baghdad
- In Baghdad, building order out of chaos
- Boston Globe on Eskander's visit to Boston
- Kevin McLeod / Folk Round
- Music used in this podcast
- Podcast Transcript
- Complete transcript of this episode.
On Being a Library Director in Kuwait
On Monday, July 23, 2007 Dr. Harvey Varnet spoke at Simmons College about his work as a library director in Kuwait. Dr. Varnet is twice an alum of Simmons GSLIS, has taught at the school, and is past director of the Simmons Library. He is currently the library director at the American University in Kuwait. The lecture was sponsored by Simmons International Relations, a GSLIS student group interested in international and multicultural librarianship.
- Slide presentation
- (PDF format, 1.4 MB)
- GSLIS Dispatches from the field
- Follow the category links to view Harvey's posts on Iraq and Kuwait.
- Simmons International Relations
- Event sponsor
- Kevin McLeod / Netherworld Shanty
- Music used in this podcast
- Podcast Transcript
- Complete transcript of this podcast.