GSLIScast: International Librarianship

World Heritage Memory Net: World Culture and Heritage at Your Finger-tips

Simmons College GSLIS — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 20:06:00 -0400

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.

File Download (49:05 min / 567.9 MB)

Learning From Brazil: Information Policy in the Giant of South America

Simmons College GSLIS — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 18:53:00 -0500

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.

File Download (51:29 min / 47.2 MB)

Very Hue: A Report on the Vietnamese Librarian Project

Simmons College GSLIS — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 15:45:00 -0500

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.

File Download (77:10 min / 88.3 MB)

Rising from the Ashes: The Story of the Iraq National Library and Archives

Simmons College GSLIS — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 18:17:00 -0500

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.

File Download (60:07 min / 55.1 MB)

On Being a Library Director in Kuwait

Simmons College GSLIS — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 16:47:00 -0400

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.

File Download (67:37 min / 61.9 MB)

Libraries: Global Reach, Local Touch

Simmons College GSLIS — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 02:23:00 -0400

On Friday, March 30, 2007, Barbara Ford spoke at Simmons College Alumni and Professional Development Day. Ford is a past president of the American Library Association, and currently directs the Mortenson Center for International Library Programs at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Ford spoke about the major theme of her presidency: Libraries: Global Reach, Local Touch.

Simmons Alumnet :: Story and photos from event.
Mortenson Center :: Website of International Librarianship center at UIUC
Deyo / Recuerdos de la Alhambra :: Music used in this podcast.
Podcast Transcript :: Complete transcript of this episode.

File Download (76:25 min / 70 MB)

Crimes of War, Crimes of Peace

Simmons College GSLIS — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 20:08:00 -0500

András Riedlmayer is the director of the Documentation Centre of the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at Harvard’s University’s Fine Arts Library. A specialist in the history and culture of the Balkans, he spent much of the past decade documenting the destruction of archives, libraries and other cultural heritage during the 1990s wars in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo. He has testified about his findings as an expert witness at the trial of Slobodan Milosevic in the Hague.

On Tuesday, February 13, 2007, he spoke at a Simmons College event sponsored by Simmons International Relations and the GSLIS research colloquium.

Slide presentation :: (PDF format)
About Andras :: H-Net profile of Riedlmayer
Simmons International Relations :: About SIR (co-sponsor)
GSLIS Research Colloquia :: About the Research Colloquia (co-sponsor)
Podcast Transcript :: Complete transcript of podcast audio.
''Música lliure II'' :: Introductory music used in this podcast.

File Download (76:58 min / 70.5 MB)

LIS, IT, and Career-Long Learning Down Under

Simmons College GSLIS — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 12:59:00 -0500

Dr. Gillian Hallam is the Course Coordinator for the graduate LIS program offered by Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Brisbane, Australia. She is also the Chair of the Education Reference Group for the Australian Library & Information Association (ALIA) as well as Immediate Past President of ALIA.

Dr. Hallam is undertaking a study tour as part of her sabbatical, supported by both QUT and ALIA, to investigate the issues that are impacting LIS education and workforce planning in the sector – from new career entrants through to retirement, with the need for ongoing skills development across the sector. Her ultimate goal is to develop and introduce a new model for offering career long opportunities to LIS professionals in Australia.

She spoke at a Simmons GSLIS Research Colloquia on Monday, October 30, 2006.

Dr. Hallam's Powerpoint slides :: PDF format 10.4 MB
Dr. Hallam's Homepage ::
Podcast Transcript :: Complete transcript of this episdoe.

File Download (67:43 min / 62 MB)