This document discusses lifelong learning opportunities at libraries in the USA, Latvia, and Russia. It summarizes discussions between librarians from the National Library of Latvia, M.M. Prishvin Central City Children's Library in Russia, and UAA/APU Consortium Library in Alaska. While they serve different age groups and library types, all three institutions provide information literacy training and promote lifelong learning. The discussions highlighted similarities in their roles in education and how libraries support learning at all ages.

1. Lifelong Learning in Libraries:
USA, Latvia, and Russia
Christie Ericson, UAA/APU Consortium Library, University of Alaska Anchorage, USA
Mariya Suvorova, M. M. Prishvin Central City Children’s Library
Aija Uzula, M. philol., National Library of Latvia
Aija Uzula, M. philol.
National Library of Latvia
Email: aija.uzula@gmail.com
Website: www.lnb.lv/en
Contacts
1. www.lnb.lv/en
2. https://lnb.lv/en/librarians/competence-development-centre
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Library_of_Latvia
4. http://cgdb.liplib.ru/
5. https://www.lnb.lv/sites/default/files/media/par-lnb/institucija/LNB_strategija_EN.pdf
6. http://deti.liplib.ru/
7. https://consortiumlibrary.org/
8. https://consortiumlibrary.org/services/
References
As participants in the 2022 International Librarian
Networking Program, we serve at different types of
libraries (national, university, specialized), and we
had many discussions to determine what services
and values we might have in common. Even though
we serve different age groups, we discovered that
we all provide information literacy training and
promote lifelong learning opportunities, customized
for our users’ needs. By providing various learning
programs and services, libraries play an essential
role in lifelong education and ensure the continuity
of their social status. Our remote discussions have
been fruitful in discovering the key points of lifelong
education at each library. Key words: Library Role in
Lifelong Education, Information Literacy.
Introduction
The National Library of Latvia (Latvijas Nacionālā
bibliotēka), also known as the Castle of Light
(Gaismas pils), is a national cultural institution
formed in 1919. The current building was designed
in 1989 by noted Latvian-American architect
Gunnar Birkerts (1925–2017). It was constructed in
the early 21st century and opened in 2014. Today
the Library plays an important role in the
development of Latvia's information society,
providing Internet access to residents and
supporting research and lifelong education. The NLL
collection (4.5 million units) embraces all branches
of knowledge, the fundamental profile being Social
Science and the Humanities. The NLL is a centre for
theoretical research and practical analysis of the
activities of Latvian libraries. In 2018 the NLL won
the International Excellence Award in the category
Library of the Year Award at the London Book Fair.
Central City Children’s Library
The UAA/APU Consortium Library is located in
Anchorage, Alaska, USA. The building was opened
in 1973 and serves two universities – the University
of Alaska Anchorage (UAA), a public university
serving approximately 15,000 students, and Alaska
Pacific University (APU), a small private university
with around 500 students. With nearly 2 million
physical and electronic materials in its collection,
the Library supports teaching and research and is
also open to the general public, offering access to
resources for the whole community. The Library is a
founding member of the Alaska Library Catalog, a
consortium of 87 public, academic, special, and
K-12 libraries serving 92% of the population of
Alaska.
UAA/APU Consortium Library
Discussions were mostly held in written form by
email because of the participants’ very different
time zones. The INLP discussion prompts were very
helpful for formulating thoughts and comparing
experiences. We had only two Zoom meetings,
which were focused on finding similarities in the
lifelong education options offered by each library.
We also explored the websites of each library to
gain a more thorough overview of the topic. Since
libraries themselves possess a certain role in
education a priori, it was easy to formulate the
main educational directions: information literacy,
research support, and general-purpose reference.
Each of these directions was discussed, focusing on
each library’s experience. For example, NLL has a
Library Development Centre and a Competence
Development Centre which play important roles in
delivering educational programs for librarians. The
UAA/APU Consortium Library has experience in
collaborating with academic faculty to instruct
students on using library services and resources.
Central City Children’s Library focuses on
development, education and socialization of
children and teenagers. As the most accessible
socio-cultural institute, the Library forms the
framework for personal and professional “lifelong
learning.”
Discussion
As we covered so many different perspectives in our
discussions, it was not easy to focus on a single
topic, but we were pleasantly surprised to see how
much we had in common. Even though we are at
very different types of institutions, in different parts
of the world, we all share similar experiences
regarding the mission and values of librarianship.
We all believe that the library is an essential
educational and networking platform for supporting
learning among all age groups. As librarians we are
always striving to increase our own knowledge so
that we can support lifelong learning for others.
Although we learned so much from each other, we
all felt that three months of ILNP networking was
still not enough to learn everything we wanted to
know about each others’ libraries and job duties.
We are all very glad to have a new network of
contacts throughout the world, and we found the
ILNP networking program very beneficial in
formulating and re-focusing our future professional
goals.
Conclusions
National Library of Latvia
Photo 3. M. M. Prishvin Central City Children’s Library.
Photo 1. National Library of Latvia.
Photo: Indriķis Stūrmanis.
Christie Ericson, MLIS
UAA/APU Consortium Library
University of Alaska Anchorage
Email: lcericson@alaska.edu
Website: www.consortiumlibrary.org
The M. M. Prishvin Central City Children's Library in
Lipetsk is a laureate, diploma holder and winner of
city, regional, 13 All–Russian, and three
international competitions on environmental
education, patriotic education, advertising,
development of creative abilities of children,
promotion of Pushkin's heritage, and local history.
July 1, 1953 is the Library's birthday. The Library
was named after the writer-countryman M. M.
Prishvin in 2009. Today, the Library serves more
than 7,000 readers. The Universal Fund has more
than 35,000 copies of documents in both printed
and electronic form. The library implements
programs and projects aimed at promoting and
popularizing reading, and there are various clubs,
educational groups for preschoolers, and creative
workshops.
Mariya Suvorova
M.M. Prishvin Central City Children’s Library
Email: kolesniko_1988@mail.ru
Website: www://liplib.ru/
Photo 2. UAA/APU Consortium Library.
Mariya Suvorova is a Librarian at the M.
M. Prishvin Central City Children’s Library
from October 22, 2019.
She works with educational literature, creating
thematic exhibitions and events related to historical
dates and children’s authors. She also leads the
“Magic English” Club, where children learn about
holiday traditions in the UK and USA.
Before that, she worked at the Library of the
University of Latvia as a Librarian, Information
Specialist, and later as an E-resources Expert
altogether for 14 years. With a Humanities degree
background, her fields of professional interest are
e-resources management, data science, information
literacy, and the library’s role in research.
Aija Uzula serves as Metadata Specialist
at the Bibliography Institute (Metadata
Department) of the National Library of
Latvia from March 1, 2022.
Christie Ericson is the Electronic
Resources Librarian/Languages Liaison at
the Consortium Library, and holds the
faculty rank of Associate Professor.
She began working at the Library in 2001 and has
held a variety of positions. In addition to her
e-resource duties, she selects materials in seven
languages and provides information literacy and
research instruction for language students.