(A small, cool thing about the visits, by the way, is that we saw the non-tourist parts of the city!)
First stop: Phenikaa University. 
We were greeted by Dr. Hien from the Faculty of Public Health. She was the one who set up all of our meetings in Vietnam, and for that, I am so very grateful. What excellent work she did in providing us with a variety of libraries to visit and share experience with. She led us up to one of the floors that the Information and Library Center occupied,
and there we found two things. First, an incredibly well-designed modern but very inviting space. Second, a very formal set up for presentation and meeting. It was a little intimidating, especially for our first meeting, This was no casual visit, and I admit I was a little shaky in how well I spoke. I think that improved through the trip. I hope it did!
We were greeted by Dr. Hien from the Faculty of Public Health. She was the one who set up all of our meetings in Vietnam, and for that, I am so very grateful. What excellent work she did in providing us with a variety of libraries to visit and share experience with. She led us up to one of the floors that the Information and Library Center occupied,
and there we found two things. First, an incredibly well-designed modern but very inviting space. Second, a very formal set up for presentation and meeting. It was a little intimidating, especially for our first meeting, This was no casual visit, and I admit I was a little shaky in how well I spoke. I think that improved through the trip. I hope it did!
But let’s talk about that space! 
Credit for the design goes to the director, Ms Nguyen Thi Dung.
We could not compliment her enough on how marvelous the library looked. It was a delight having her come with us to the later meeting that day as well. She, like Dr. Hien and the others we met, was so very enjoyable a host.
Credit for the design goes to the director, Ms Nguyen Thi Dung.
We could not compliment her enough on how marvelous the library looked. It was a delight having her come with us to the later meeting that day as well. She, like Dr. Hien and the others we met, was so very enjoyable a host.
After formal presentations about the university and library (from them) and the delegation (from me), we launched into discussion. What struck me was how very far ahead of us they were when it came to use of AI, and we spent a lot of time on that. They, in turn, had questions about cataloging, and thank goodness for having Ann in our cohort.
Following the discussion, there was a tour, and then we headed to the planetarium on campus. 
There we were given a show, not a long one, but a relaxing little end to the first visit. Back to the city with us!
There we were given a show, not a long one, but a relaxing little end to the first visit. Back to the city with us!
We had lunch at the same place Conrad and I had gone to two days before. I think I surprised the two Vietnamese guests with us when I ordered the dish of eel and young banana in a green sauce. Yes, I told them, I eat eel. A very tasty dish, one of my favourites to that point.
I don’t have photos from the meeting from from after lunch, but I do have photos from the tour. We met with colleagues at the National Library of Vietnam, including Mr. Nguyen Xuan Dung, director of the library. If we felt intimidated by the first place, we felt genuine awe at the second. I’m afraid it might not have been the most fruitful conversation, as kind as everyone was. We sort of found ourselves going down a rabbit hole on AI again, and they had questions about cataloging on a scale that was beyond what Ann was doing. There was more enthusiastic discussion of national associations, though. But for most of us, working at smaller academic instigations, the issue of scale and mission was too different from what the National Library folks were doing. The tour brought a welcome end to the meeting.
The National Library was an older building with a newer but not new building attached. The library functions in a public capacity, and that was clear from the spaces and the people using it. The preservation of Vietnam culture is key to their mission, and we appreciated seeing some of the efforts toward that.
That ended the day, and we headed back to our hotel where I took the team to the poolside bar for a drink (a sloe gin and tonic) and a debrief. 
The others felt similar to how I did, impressed by what we saw, appreciative of the discussions, a little intimidated by the formality. All in all, though, we agreed that it had been a very good day. I fielded questions about itinerary as best I could, and then we all went to rest and refresh before dinner.
The others felt similar to how I did, impressed by what we saw, appreciative of the discussions, a little intimidated by the formality. All in all, though, we agreed that it had been a very good day. I fielded questions about itinerary as best I could, and then we all went to rest and refresh before dinner.
A group dinner that night, reunited with the spouses. We dined at Épices d’Indochine, and I recall liking the soup with sea cucumber and the fried pork with pineapple the most from among the huge and delicious meal. 
We headed back to the hotel to ready ourselves for a library the next day and for travel south in the afternoon.
We headed back to the hotel to ready ourselves for a library the next day and for travel south in the afternoon.
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