The Exchange

A Pilot Program for International Libraries to Learn, Create, & Collaborate

 

 

 
 
 

It all started with…

…a trip to Kenya! While traveling abroad, our founder, Corey Halaychik, arranged to meet with the Kenyan Library Association and faculty from the University of Nairobi, Kenya. From those meetings, an idea was born: how could we collaborate to help other libraries and librarians around the world to create their own versions of useful, fun, and affordable professional development?

Flash forward six months: the Library Collective uses Shuttleworth grant funds to launch our first LibCol Exchange program. Bringing Kenyan librarians and library students to our annual gathering and working with them on designing their own Collective Experience back in Kenya.

With the succesful launch of our first Lib Exchange, we hope to work with other partners around the world to bring our vision of fantastically fun, affordable, and useful professional development to where it is needed most.

A Shuttleworth Funded Program
 

Why Does the world need a Library Exchange?

Libraries around the world face similar challenges due to lack of infrastructure, digital connectivity issues, and funding for libraries and education. While our countries and cultures might be unique, some library problems are universal: affordable, fun, and useful professional development is a struggle around the globe!

Over the past five years, The Library Collective has developed an award-winning professional development model (2016 Mover & Shaker, 2017 ProQuest Coutts Award for Innovation, 2018 ACRL Outstanding Professional Development Award) that strikes a unique balance for learning, creation, and collaboration without large overhead or a huge staff. Our strategies for innovative conferences and gatherings have spread as we’ve published our open-source documentation and consulted with a wide range of conferences and professional organizations in the US to help librarians put the quality back into professional development. Our event regularly brings together librarians from over 40 states and hundreds of organizations, primarily in North America.

We're eager to expand our geographic impact and co-create something magical through our pilot partnership with the the librarians of Kenya and their surrounding region.

Two participants in our inaugural exchange program wear traditional Kenyan clothing during the plenary session at The Collective 2020.

What are the goals and outcomes?

Our inaugural pilot exchange program brought a cohort of two Kenyan fellows and several library science students to the US to attend The Collective 2020. Following this kickoff, fellows and their library and information science students have been invited to virtually shadow The Library Collective team over the course of the next two years to learn the Collective way but also to share their own insights and ideas with us.

Up next, we plan for the fellows to take part in virtual programming in 2021, in-person programming at The Collective in 2022, and will begin planning their own Collective-style event to take place in Kenya in 2022 or 2023!

Will this program expand to more regions or countries?

We’re not sure but we’re open to the possibilities! As our team grows or as more funds become available, we’ll see what we can happen. If you have ideas, input, or would like to explore sponsoring or participating in a new Exchange, please contact us to get the conversation going.