CERLIM: Libraries without Walls 7: A Visit to Remember!
| Date | 30 October 2007 |
| Published date | 30 October 2007 |
| Pages | 8-10 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/07419050710874188 |
| Author | Maitrayee Ghosh |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science |
CERLIM: Libraries without Walls 7:
A Visit to Remember!
Maitrayee Ghosh
8LIBRARY HITECH NEWS Number 9/10 2007, pp. 8-10, #Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 0741-9058, DOI 10.1108/07419050710874188
This international conference was
organized by CERLIM The Centre for
Research in Library and Information
Management (www.cerlim.ac.uk/) and
was held on the Aegean island of
Lesvos, Greece from 14-18 September
2007. The conference theme was:
``Exploring `anytime, anywhere'
delivery of library services'', with an
international line-up of presenters on a
variety of topics. It was a stimulating
and enjoyable conference and the issues
discussed ranged from day to day
practical problems to the theoretical.
The LWW7 was indeed unique! As a
newcomer to an LWW conference, the
author was impressed by the friendly
welcome given by the CERLIM staff
and felt part of the group from the start
and had a marvellous time. The author
was also impressed that the topics for
discussion were so pertinent to issues
current in libraries right now. Friendly
camaraderie and ``blue sea in Lesvos''±
two very good reasons to attend LWW
biennial conference!
The ideas the author got from this
conference are practical, relevant and
not difficult to implement. Colleagues
were knowledgeable and fun and there
was a lot of positive interaction.
Conference venue and participants
A selection of photos are available
on the conference web site at: www.
cerlim.ac.uk/conf/lww7/photos.php
As Table I shows there were 54
participants from 16 countries with
contributors from Western and Eastern
Europe, the USA, Canada, Africa, Asia
and Australia who presented their
perspectives on the ``anywhere,
anytime'' delivery of library services in
a series of papers, workshops and
informal discussions. The conference
was small and friendly and provided
plenty of opportunities for networking.
The accommodation provided at the
Delphina hotel was cosy: no running
from hotel to venue to get to a meeting
which is a distance away. The chance to
mingle, in a less frenetic way, was
superb. The LWW7 conference is one
of the best library networking
opportunities around! It is a very
enjoyable way in which to share
important experiences and discuss
many issues we have in common. It is
also not as expensive as some of the
other big library conferences. Through
attending the LWW7 conference the
author had shared best practices with
other librarians, and established
professional relationships. Unlike the
experience of attending large library
meetings, which can be impersonal and
chaotic, there is a collegiality that is
generally not found in other
international meetings.
The author thoroughly enjoyed the
conference dinner on day two at the
Delfinia Hotel pool taverna that
included Greek dancing.
Keynote presentation, selected
papers and workshops
The presentations were interesting.
As the author was not distracted by
sunshine, beaches, ancient hilltop
castles, boat trips, swims in the sea, etc.,
she was able to concentrate fully on the
conference programs and presentations.
The author attended just about
everything that the conference had to
offer. The LWW7 had the widest
possible range of papers to reflect the
diverse current developments in library
service delivery:
.New kinds of service, especially
those which open up new para-
digms of ``library'' ± perhaps the
library equivalent of YouTube or
MySpace?
.Papers which describe the library's
role within new models of scho-
larly publishing, including experi-
ence of developing services based
on institutional or other reposi-
tories, and papers examining the
responsibility of the library for
digital curation.
.Service delivery in challenging
environments, especially where
the infrastructure may be sub-
optimal as in some developing
countries, or where the user group
represents particular challenges.
.New technological solutions, pro-
vided these are presented to illus-
trate the impact on users of the
improved services they make pos-
sible.
.Delivery and assessment of infor-
mation skills/literacies, especially
where this is achieved through
electronic environments.
Table I
Breakdown by country of number of
participants
SR.
No Name of the country
No of
participants
1. Australia 1
2. Canada 2
3. Czech Republic 2
4. Denmark 1
5. Eire 1
6. Estonia 1
7. Finland 2
8. Greece 3
9. India 3
10. Kenya 1
11. Norway 3
12. Quatar 1
13. Singapore 1
14. Sri Lanka 1
15. UK 29
16. USA 1
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