Vanna Sok (left) and Dejuan Li

Book Smart

Posted on August 12, 2010 - Permalink
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Vanna Sok from Pannasastra University in Cambodia, and Dejuan Li, from Beijing's Jiaotong University, spent part of this summer at Bridgewater where they received training in the use of library procedures and equipment.

"BSU has partnership agreements with these two institutions to foster exchanges of faculty and librarians," said Dr. Michael Kryzanek, executive director of the university's Center for Global Engagement, who helped coordinate the visit. "We're delighted to be able to have the opportunity to share ideas and experiences that benefit so many students, faculty and staff here as well as there."

Ms. Sok, who has worked in her university's library for eight years, is the acting director of its American Corner section, which introduces students to the United States through books, videos, CDs and other materials.

Bridgewater's library, said Ms. Sok, was quite different from her own.

"In Cambodia, everything we do is manual, while here much of the library's work is electronic, including an online catalog, so it's quite impressive to me," she said.

Because of her responsibilities in managing the popular American Corner section, Ms. Sok has found this trip - her first to the states - particularly valuable.

"Now I'll be able to go back and share information with our users about my own time in your country," she said.

Ms. Li, who is a reference librarian at her university, said she came to Bridgewater "in order to learn something quite different from what we offer in our library."

Specifically, she said a new library building is under construction at her university and "we want to make sure that it's equipped at a level that students both in China and those visiting from the United States have access to the kind of materials they desire."

Her own interest lies in the area of library services, and she said that her work with librarians at BSU "has been so useful because I've been able to learn what specific services are made available to American library users while sharing information about what we do in China."

Ms. Li's husband and three-year old daughter are awaiting her return home this month.

"The technology is wonderful, because we've been able to communicate daily using a satellite video service," she said. "I'm able to focus on my work here in Bridgewater, while also keeping in close contact with my family in China." (Story and photos by David K. Wilson, '71, Office of Institutional Communications)