| Editorial:
International Officer
As Career Development Group Honorary International Officer,
I am delighted to be the guest editor of this special international-themed
issue of our journal, Impact.
Since
1984, the Career Development Group has been adopting international
library projects and fundraising both nationally and throughout
the divisions to support them. The initial project was in
Gaba Gaba; this was followed by a project in The Gambia and,
afterwards, in Montserrat when £5,000 was raised to
replace stock that had been destroyed after Hurricane Hugo.
CDG International Projects have continued throughout the years;
I am sure most of you would remember the last one, set up
in 2004 to create a library in Tholimfundo Primary School,
Soweto. This ended in May after a very successful fundraising
campaign, CILIP Heavyweights Sponsored Slim, details of which
were published in the Spring issue.
The current
feature article presents our partnership with the Sri Lanka
Library Association (SLLA) to reconstruct and develop libraries
for the new millennium in a post-tsunami Sri Lanka, via a
new international project.
CDG committee
member, Libby Gregory, introduces us to this year’s hottest
international theme, the World Summit on the Information Society
(WSIS), including ways in which us, as library and informational
professionals, can support and contribute to WSIS iniciatives.
We are
relaunching the Host Directory, which is alive and kicking
and has enabled us to provide accommodation to visiting information
professionals in two different instances in the last few weeks.
We are always looking for hosts around the country, and I
urge professionals interested in international matters to
register their details with us.
We are
also bringing you several contributions from young professionals
working in the international field: I am sure you will be
enjoy a short interview with Sarah Ellis who describes her
experiences as a Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO) Librarian
in Uganda; CDG Past President, Joanna Ball, shares with us
a really exciting time as a CILIP-sponsored IFLA first-timer
at the 71st World Library and Information Congress; CDG member
Potenza Atiogbe talks about collaborating and sharing expertise
with libraries in developing countries; and you will certainly
be inspired by the great determination of LIS masters student,
Farzana Qureshi, who this summer organised her own international
internship in what it has been described as ‘a leading
institution of the digital age and, above all, a center for
learning, tolerance, dialogue and understanding”.
This issue
is rounded up by a report on this year’s CDG International
Study Tour to two great East European capital cities, and
an exhibition of CDG International 2005 photographs.
If you
have any comments or suggestions about furthering CDG International
activities, or would like further details about any aspect
of CDG International work, please get in touch. Best wishes,
Maria
Maria
Cotera
m.cotera@ucl.ac.uk
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