The 2010 Summer LAMP Institute was a great success! The Michigan State University Libraries, one of the members of LAMP’s partner network, hosted the Institute in a noteworthy display of generosity and professional excellence. The MSU Libraries were able to obtain generous donations from three vendors, QuestionPoint, Gale Cengage Learning, and ProQuest.
Cliff Haka and his wife showed great hospitality in inviting the the Institute participants over to their home for a catered dinner reception. The food and drink were delicious. For example, the dessert consisted of cute little shot glasses filled with a dark chocolate mousse over a bed of chocolate cookie crumbs and garnished with a stick of shaved white and milk chocolate. Yummy!
As mentioned on LAMP’s website, “Professional mentors at academic libraries give LAMP scholars real-world advice and guidance that is rooted in practical experience,” and this proved to be the case at the Summer Institute. The involvement of active information professionals helped to ground the sessions in practical subjects such as data librarianship, Asian studies librarianship, libraries and government information, and special collections librarianship.
One example of the many fascinating sessions is Xian Wu’s talk on collecting Chinese films. He explained how, although interest in and availability of Chinese films have increased, an Asian studies librarian still faces many challenges. Among these are the variety of languages in which films are produced and sold, the numerous technical formats and region codes in which films are distributed, the legal issues associated with acquiring, preserving, and displaying the cultural products of various countries, and the budget problems connected to selecting which works to acquire and preserving those that one has already collected.
Another highlight of the Institute was the presentation by Ruth Ann Jones on controversial materials. The MSU Libraries have impressive and popular special collections of comic books and cookbooks, but they also preserve for research, scholarship, and history a variety of controversial materials. The LAMP scholars were broken into groups, and each group considered a few selected controversial works from such areas as Holocaust denial, antisemitism, and crude jokes to pornography, suicide manuals, and LGBT erotica. LAMP scholars confronted questions related to the people, communities, and values they would serve as future information professionals. Would they participate in the censorship of dangerous ideas? How best could they serve the interests of present and future generations?
The above are but two of the interesting subjects to which the LAMP scholars were exposed at the Summer Institute; however, the Institute is not only a time for academic and professional advancement—it’s also a social occasion designed to encourage the LAMPers to get to know each other. In order for the LAMP community to remain a strong, supportive network, its members need to be bound to each other by human ties of friendship and mutual respect. Some of the LAMPers got to know each other better on the drive over. LAMP rented a bus for the trip, and, in addition to the other skills learned at the Institute, Damon, Rae, and Amani trained to be able to drive the bus. One evening, LAMP treated all the scholars to dinner at a local restaurant, and other evenings were spent dancing and conversing at campus bars.
The Sunday breakfast, which was sponsored by SkyRiver and consisted of a delightful abundance of fresh fruits, pastries, meats, eggs, and beverages, proved to be a final occasion for practical instruction. Cliff Haka and other MSU librarians gave the LAMP scholars some parting words of wisdom about applying to and interviewing for different LIS positions. Everyone left with an abundance of food and ideas to digest!
