Summer Study Programs for Info Pros & Library Students

By Leigh Hallingby, SLA NY Chapter President | lhallingby@sorosny.org

The following summer study programs for information professionals and library school students do not seem to be well known among special librarians.  So I thought it might be helpful to compile information about these programs in one place.  Despite the difficult economic times, they may be of interest to some of our SLA-NY members, both professionals and students.  The two programs sponsored by University of North Carolina (UNC) offer library school credit for one course to students from all library schools .  All of these programs take place annually.

The UNC School of Information and Library Science (SILS) has sponsored for a number of years two summer study abroad programs, one in England and one in the Czech Republic. The London Seminar is in conjunction with the Department of Information Studies, University College London.  The Prague Seminar is in cooperation with Charles University there.  Each seminar is a combination of lectures, plus field trips to visit interesting libraries and see fascinating collections of books and other materials.  Each program is two weeks long and is open to both students and professionals.  Students taking either of the Seminars pay an extra fee if they want credit and write a paper (ca 15-20 pages) about some aspect of the seminar. The course credit should be good at any library school. 

• The London Seminar, entitled "British Libraries and Librarianship: Past, Present and Future," from May 16th - 29th, 2010, is already full for the summer of 2010, but is accepting applications for the waiting list.  Anyone who is interested might want to keep an eye on the website early in 2011.  This Seminar is new and replaces one that SILS held in conjunction with Oxford University for many years. http://sils.unc.edu/programs/international/london.htm
• The Prague Seminar, entitled "Libraries and Librarianship in the Czech Republic," is from May 23 - June 5, 2010, and still has openings.

Rare Book School (RBS), located at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, offers a wide variety of one-week summer courses in Charlottesville in June and July every summer.  Continuing-education opportunities are available for professionals and students from many disciplines and levels to study the history and preservation of written, printed, and digital materials with leading scholars and professionals in the field. RBS was founded (in 1983) and directed for many years by Terry Belanger, a professor at the former Columbia University School of Library Service. RBS moved to its present home at the University of Virginia in 1992.  Terry was honored in 2005 as a MacArthur fellow (AKA "MacArthur Genius Award") for his efforts to preserve one of the great inventions of humankind: the book.  Recently retired, Terry still teaches at RBS.

The London Rare Book School, which is part of the Institute of English Studies in the University of London, offers one-week courses in two sessions: June 28 - July 2 or July 5 – 9, 2010.

For more information, please check the websites.  If you have any questions, I am happy to try to answer.  Please feel free to share this information with anyone else whom you think might be interested.