Ok, this one is the biggie. Ready for it? Let’s do this and then get this blog moving on to group sightseeing and vacation!
Three library meetings plus a tour at a fourth library meant a long and very busy day ahead. We started out with a public library, the General Sciences Library Ho Chi Minh City, which is under the direction of Mr. Vinh Quoc Bao.
I really appreciated seeing a public library operation as a break from academic libraries. It was encouraging to see how very well used the library was and to learn more about their relationships with other libraries. What I liked even more was their effort to preserve culture and history, not just through collections but through their own preservation workshop that we got to visit. Very cool. Even better, though? Their commitment to accessibility. They make their own braille versions of books along with other tactile reading aids. They record audiobooks in their studio either using volunteers or leveraging AI. All of us on the group were buzzing about those things, and it was awesome to get the tour to see those parts of their library.
The second stop before lunch was at the Smart Library, University of Economic, Ho Chi Minh City.
Not a large space, but the traditional library space is elsewhere on their campus. What library Director Ms Hoang Tuyet Anh has achieved, though, is a series of library modernizations that has culminated in a facility for student research, study, and collaboration. An information commons, but beyond what I have seen elsewhere with monitors for noise and more that the students can see themselves. The whole team talked with us, and as with some of the previous visits, staff development was a big topic of conversation. The director was a Simmons alum, I should add, and that made for a nice connection with our delegates from New England. We had such an enjoyable visit there.
The group had lunch at Hoa Tuc, and although I liked it all, what really stood out for me was the beef wrapped in betel leaf (not pictured below). My introduction to that leaf, and the flavour was intriguing and good.
We were running behind by this point, and the drive to the next library was considerable. By the time we sat down with Dr. Bui Thu Hang and her team at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University-Ho Chi Minh City,
we were at least a half hour behind schedule, and I felt terrible that we had so little time left for conversation with them. Dr. Ngo Thi Huyen from the Department of Information and Management was also part of the meeting, and there was some robust conversation between her and Amy in particular given that Amy is at a university with an LIS program. Milena, meanwhile, was able to speak to sabbaticals and professional development opportunities, which I was grateful for. We didn’t see much of the library but we did get a short visit to their museum, and l know we would have loved more.
It was raining hard when we left, and I recall being slightly anxious about slipping on the stairs and wet surfaces outside. The last stop was a brief one, stopping at the new Library Center at the University of Economics and Law, Vietnam National University-Ho Chi Minh City.
And I really do mean new: it had opened a few days earlier. The second floor was not yet ready. But there were students using the facility, and it had that new library smell. A stark, spare space, it shunted the smallish collection to the side and emphasized student study and activity. Kudos to their library team on opening the center!
It was 6:30 by the time we got back to the hotel, and I spent a while in the lobby writing some thank you notes for Dr. Hien to take back with her. I was happy to do that. It was important to me that each library receive thanks and appreciation for hosting us and sharing the good work that they do.
By the time I got to the room, I was worn down. Rather than look for dinner, Conrad, Denelle, and I joined some of the others at the roof deck bar for bites and drinks.
The drinks were ok at best. The food was terrible. But it was convenient, the views were great, and when the rain returned to pound down, we could retreat under cover and then head back to our rooms without getting wet. The day was done, and I was glad to head to bed.
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