Library Projects

On the occasion of the 4th Leipzig Congress for Information and Libraries (Leipziger Kongress für Information und Bibliothek), the Goethe-Institut Toronto sponsored four library professionals to speak at the conference on a wide variety of topics:

Atoma Batoma (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign): What kind of Expertise is required of Teachers of Media Competence. Media Competence Word, 89 KB

Thea Lindquist (University of Colorado at Boulder): Integrating Information Literacy into Undergraduate Education
Information Literacy PDF, 239 KB

Stephanie Mikalatos (Horry County Library, South Carolina): Wie können Bibliotheken auch morgen noch Kunden gewinnen? - Bibliotheken auch für junge Leute - Ein Amerikanisch- Deutscher Vergleich

Tatiana Usova (University of Alberta): Optimizing our teaching: Teaching and learning with technology

Following the conference, a tour of the Sächsische Landesbibliothek’s facilities was arranged.

At the invitation of the Goethe-Instituts of North America, library directors from MoMA (Museum of Modern Art), The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Getty Institute, Art Institute of Chicago, National Gallery of Canada and the Musée des beaux-Arts de Montréal were invited to take part in a study tour of various art libraries in Berlin and Munich as well as the Anna-Amalia Bibliothek in Weimar, which has been extensively restored after a devastating fire. The study tour has created an opportunity for closer working relationships between art libraries on both sides of the Atlantic; a follow-up return visit for German art librarians to North America is planned for 2010.
Program PDF, 43 KB Report PDF, 67 KB

Along with our partners, the iSchool at the University of Toronto and Humboldt Universität in Berlin, the Goethe-Institut was able to initiate an exchange program for library science students between the two institutions. In 2008, one German student spent a month at the University of Toronto and one Canadian student spent a month in Berlin. Both students, completing their master’s degrees in library science, were asked to report on their findings – how their respective education helped prepare them for work in a foreign professional library environment.
Report - Anna Kosmol PDF, 49 KB Report - Monica Rettig PDF, 33 KB

In October, 2007, a group of German librarians working specifically with diverse populations were invited to take part in a study tour of libraries in the Toronto area to gain a deeper understanding of how multicultural services are delivered in Canadian libraries. The Toronto Public Library's outstanding cooperation with municipal, provincial and federal agencies was highlighted, and the group came away with lasting impressions to put into practice at home.
Program PDF, 31 KB

Copyright in Libraries: The Digital ©onundrum
The Goethe-Institut Toronto invited Dr. Silke von Lewinski to take part in “The Digital ©onundrum," a Canadian Library Association Conference event. Together with our partners, the Information Commons Interest Group (CLA) and the University of Ottawa, Dr. von Lewinski, a German copyright expert, joined Dr. Michael Geist in a workshop on the impact of copyright law on the library system´and on new technologies and value-added library services in the digital context.

Bibliographic Standardization Activities:
Library & Archives Canada and the Deutsche Bibliothek
A report by Margaret Stewart, Manager,
Standards, Intellectual Management Office,
Library & Archives Canada
Report on visit to the Deutsche Bibliothek (Word, 28 KB)

Visit to the Internationale Jugendbibliothek in Munich: A Transatlantic Encounter
A report by Leslie McGrath, Head, Osborne Collection of Early Children’s Books, Toronto Public Library
Report Osborne Collection (Word, 50 KB)

"Media Libraries in Germany: A Canadian Perspective"
A report by Michele Melady, Manager of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) Reference & Image Research Libraries. This article appears in the Spring 2007 edition of SLA’s News Library News.
CBC Report (PDF, 30 KB)