Librarians' conference a first

Oberlin is always pioneering new territory. Even though the object of Oberlin's explorations cannot always lead the way to monumental social progression, it still can make a difference in the academic and professional realm.

This weekend the Friends of the Oberlin College Library will sponsor the first-ever Conference of Oberlin Alumni Librarians. The event brings together members of the Oberlin community that work either directly or indirectly with libraries. The event's organizers hope to create networking opportunities, in addition to educating students on careers in librarianship.

According to the director of Oberlin's libraries, Ray English, there are about 600 Oberlin alumni working in the field of librarianship. The conference will bring together about 65 of those alumni from all over the United States, and as far away as England, for a weekend focused on all facets of librarianship. "This will be people from all kinds of libraries. The thing that they will have in common is Oberlin, and that they work in a library of some kind," said English.

As far as English knows, this weekend's conference will not only be the first at Oberlin, but possibly at any academic institution. English said, "It's the first time for Oberlin, and I think it may be the first time that any other college or university has done this." English plans on surveying his fellow librarians as to whether they have been involved in a similar event.

This will not be Oberlin's "first" in the library world. Oberlin also boasts the first African-American graduate to receive a librarian's degree.

The conference will begin today at 4 p.m., with a pre-conference program for Oberlin students, titled "Careers in Librarianship." Today's events will proceed with registration and refreshments at the Oberlin Inn.

Saturday will kick off the heart of the conference, with tours of Oberlin's libraries, followed by the first conference session, "How Oberlin Shaped My Career." English, President Nancy Dye and Conference Coordinator Molly Horst Raphael will welcome the attendees with their opening remarks over lunch. The conference will continue with its second session, "The Importance of Libraries for Society," and then wrap the evening with dinner and the keynote address by Yale University Librarian Scott Bennet, OC '60.

These sessions will unite librarians from varying disciplines, providing multiple perspectives. "One interesting aspect of it is that we have alums working in many different kinds of libraries," said English.

The conference will continue into Sunday with two more sessions: "The Oberlin College Library Today" and "The Library of the Future: Exploiting the Power of Technology While Preserving Humanistic Values."

English said, "It's kind of extraordinary what's going on in terms of change with libraries." English stated that Oberlin is at the forefront of library technology with OhioLink and its growing collection of electronic journals. English admits that libraries are rapidly evolving in this age of technological development, but he expects libraries to survive. "Some people think that libraries and librarians are not going to be around. I think that's just a silly point of view," said English.

This weekend's conference promises to connect alumni entrenched Oberlin's heritage. "Librarians, by nature, are do-gooders. They fit the Oberlin tradition," said English.