Past Grants
Fulbright Senior Specialist
Teaching in Bahrain
The new National Library of Bahrain is starting to build collections, develop public services, and prepare staff for the challenges of managing a full array of library programs. Serving as a Fulbright Senior Specialist, I contributed to these efforts in May 2009, teaching 12 different classes for the Library's catalogers, acquisition librarians, reference librarians, and administrators. As the last of four invited specialists, I provided a "capstone" experience for staff in my presentations on critical thinking, developing a collection management policy, and information seeking.
I also taught all-day seminars on user education, information seeking, and collection management to the staff of the University of Bahrain Library. This well established library has experienced staffers who requested additional in-house training as part of this Fulbright opportunity. In addition, I taught a two-part workshop on structured information retrieval to members of the Bahrain Library Association.
Library staffers at both institutions were highly engaged, deeply committed, and avidly learning throughout each session. The challenges faced at both institutions are substantial and long-term. My colleagues and I contributed to the libraries' growth in this Fulbright experience. Any opportunity to return to this vibrant region of library growth would be a powerful contribution to my understanding of their information resources across centuries and political boundaries. I cannot recommend the Fulbright Senior Specialist program or the Bahrain library community too heavily.