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OBERLIN DELEGATION TO ATTEND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LIBRARIANSHIP IN KUNMING, CHINA

MAY 30, 2001--A delegation from Oberlin College will participate in an international conference at China's Yunnan University June 4-6. The conference, Academic Librarianship in the New Millennium: Roles, Trends, and Global Collaboration, will feature 10 panel discussions consisting of presentations by librarians and information professionals from China, India, Indonesia, and the United States. Panel topics will address how libraries negotiate the use of information in a new digital environment. Discussions will also tackle issues of current importance outside the library profession.

Haipeng Li, a reference librarian at Oberlin College and a board member of Oberlin's Shansi Memorial Association, began organizing the event in collaboration with scholars from Yunnan University one year ago.

"To the best of my knowledge, this is the first international conference that has been organized collaboratively by Oberlin College and an Asian institution," says Li. "We’re going to emphasize this collaboration, because that’s the key."

Associate Dean of the College Bruce Richards will lead the Oberlin delegation, which will include seven Oberlin College librarians and a professor of history. Scott Bennett '60, a librarian at Yale University, and Ray English, director of the Oberlin College libraries, will attend the conference as keynote speakers. The event will bring together 150 delegates from around the world.

"I’m very happy about the conference," says Li. "That we are able to communicate at an institutional level, not just limited to librarians as a profession, but in terms of our collaborations, in terms of our exchange programs between Oberlin and Asian institutions. Who knows what ideas might come from the Indian librarians, or from Indonesian librarians, in terms of future collaborative efforts and projects."

The conference will be a new step for the Oberlin College Library. It is a chance, Li says, to "open up."

"The information world is changing rapidly," says Li, "and there are many social, political and economic issues that have implications in dealing with information and how to use that information. Issues like copyright and intellectual property are so important in our societies, not just in the U.S., but globally. These are the issues that professional librarians have been trying to address for a long time."

The Oberlin Shansi Memorial Association is the main sponsor of the conference. Other sponsors include the Office of the President, the Office of the Dean of Arts and Sciences, the Oberlin College Library, and Yunnan University in China.

"What really excites me is that the conference will emphasize the creation of an international academic community and communicate a collaborative spirit," says Li. "We need to look to the future and have a vision for the future--for the institution, for our library, for the profession, and also for all of us in higher education."

Media Contact: Sue Kropp