This document summarizes an email exchange between librarians from Oman, Russia, and the US who participated in an international librarian networking program. They discussed the current state of libraries in their countries, challenges they face, and opportunities for international collaboration. Waleed Al-badi from Oman directs the Majlis Oman Library and sees a lack of funding and legislation as challenges. Albina Krymskaya from Russia noted aging facilities and acquiring new publications as issues. Nicole Chase is a US student specializing in youth services hoping to help those with disabilities worldwide. The participants agreed advocacy is needed for library and information science education internationally and proposed a program for students.

1. St. John’s University, founded in 1870, is a college
found in New York, United States with two local
campuses in Queens and Staten Island and two
international campuses in Rome and Paris. St John’s
provides undergraduate and graduate program
opportunities, such as Library and Information
Science, where a student can choose to specialize in
areas such as academic librarianship, archival
studies, management, public librarianship, special
librarianship, and youth services. Founded by the
Vincentian Community, the staff at St. John’s
dedicates themselves in providing excellent
education services to all, especially those lacking
economically, physically, or socially.
The program participant, Nicole Chase, works full
time at a school for children with brain injuries and
is in her second year as a MLIS student. She aims to
graduate with her degree specializing in youth
services.
International Librarian Networking Program: An Opportunity to
Learn through Conversations: Oman, Russia and USA
Waleed Al-badi, Majlis Oman Library (Oman)
Albina Krymskaya, St. Petersburg State University of Culture (Russia)
Nicole Chase, St. John’s University (USA)
Waleed Al-badi
Majlis Oman Library
Email: w72161643@hotmail.com
Contacts
Majlis Oman library is the specialized Parliamentary
Library of the Sultanate of Oman. It holds a wide
range of information resources, such as books,
periodicals, government publications, records, etc.,
in both print and electronic format.
The library aims to support parliamentary work in
the Sultanate of Oman through the provision of
distinguished information services. It serves both
State Council and majlis A'Shura members,
committees, and staff by providing access to
information in the legislative, legal and regulatory
fields.
The program participant, Waleed Albadi, works as
the Library Director. He is keen to provide excellent
information services to the parliament members,
and constantly attends professional conferences
and encourages fellow library employees to do so
as well. He is also involved in activities of IFLA LIS
Education in Developing Countries SIG.
Majlis Oman Library
Oman Perspective: When we talk about comparing the challenges faced by
libraries between the Sultanate of Oman, Russia, and the United States, you are
surprised by the great differences between these countries, for example, public
libraries do not play a big role in the Sultanate of Oman. The lack of budget and
legislation may be the most important reason, while we find that academic and
government libraries play the role of public libraries, the absence of a national
library in the Sultanate may be one of the important obstacles as well.
Russia Perspective: Speaking of the current challenges of Russian libraries, two
most pressing ones may be identified. The first challenge is that library equipment
and facilities lag far behind the dynamically emerging technologies. The second
one deals with stock acquisition in libraries. 100,000 titles are published each year
in Russia. How to ensure decent acquisition of libraries in the country? In order to
solve these problems, the Russian Library Association initiated and developed a
program called “The Strategy for the Development of Library Science in the
Russian Federation until 2030”, approved by the Russian Government in March
2021. Hopefully, this strategy will improve the current situation of Russian
libraries.
USA Perspective: As a current student earning her degree in Library and
Information Studies, this was my first interaction with librarians outside the
United States. It was interesting to learn about the different ways libraries benefit
other countries and how they are perceived in their respective countries. Through
this experience, I learned I would like to continue to learn about the differences in
other countries as well as continue my studies to benefit youth with disabilities or
special needs and hopefully my work in that field will be able to assist those
around the world.
What We Learned
The St. Petersburg State University of Culture was
founded in Russia in 1918 to train instructors and
workers specializing in general education. Today it
has 5 departments and 2 educational centers. The
University has 5,000+ students and 600+ faculty and
staff. The LIS Department offers three Bachelor’s
programs, one Master’s program and one
Doctorate’s program.
The program participant, Albina Krymskaya, works
as the Deputy Dean of the LIS Department and an
Associate Professor. Since 2014, she has focused on
international cooperation of the LIS department
and initiated several projects. She has built
partnerships with international organizations and
universities. She also developed a training program
“International Library and Information Activities.”
Since 2017, she has been a SC member of IFLA
Section on Education and Training. In 2021, she
became a chair of this professional unit.
St. Petersburg State University of Culture
We often hear professional conversations about advocacy for libraries. But what
about advocacy for LIS education? Does “advocacy for libraries” include
“advocacy for LIS education?” We believe that LIS education is a foundation of a
library profession. There are different projects and activities in each country
which are aimed at or involve LIS students and help them to grow professionally.
Less projects exist on international level. Of the recent projects for supporting LIS
students are “A Webinar Series for LIS Students” and “Library and Information
Science Student Voices: Global Peer-to-Peer Dialogue,” initiated by IFLA units in
the spring of 2021.
As participants of the ILNP who benefited from networking with each other and
international colleagues during the last months, we think that it would be a great
idea if ALA IRRT initiates a similar program for LIS students. It would provide LIS
students an opportunity to network and create joint projects on international
level. This project might be implemented in partnership with IFLA. We will be
happy to assist in this initiative.
Final Takeaways
Placed in a group of three, we communicated exclusively through email from the
months of May 2021 to September 2021. We discussed our various interests and
experiences in our own library studies, whether it be professionally or
academically, and structured conversation around prompts created by the
International Librarians Networking Program team, in which we were able to
learn more about the various library programs in different countries and current
situation in libraries in three countries.
Challenges Comparisons
Albina Krymskaya
St. Petersburg State University of Culture
Email: krymskayaalbina@gmail.com
Photo CC: SPbGIK
Photo CC: mol.om
Nicole Chase
St. John’s University
Email: nlorelle@gmail.com
St. John’s University
Photo CC: St. John’s University