The Sundberg Library at Kirkwood Community College has partnered with Global Learning to expand the Global Spotlight program. A new display will be added in the library starting in November.
Most prominently seen on the second floor of Iowa Hall, the Global Spotlight Program highlights a different country every month. In the Iowa Hall display students can find a variety of artifacts about the featured country as well as facts about the country.
Every artifact is provided by Kirkwood students from the spotlight country. In October, the featured country was Ghana and in November the spotlight will shift to Sudan.
According to Librarian Julie Petersen and Dean of Global Learning Dawn Wood, the goal of the library display will be to highlight authors and pieces of writing from the spotlight country as well as newspapers and artifacts from regions within the country.
“We’re going to have poetry books,” Petersen said. “We’ve got fiction, stories, maybe young adult stories or adult stories, then some things about the country. Maybe some political things that have happened in the country or just about the country. Maybe the culture of the country.”
She said the plan is to reach out to students from highlighted countries for recommendations on books, poetry and authors.
According to Wood, the librarians reached out looking to be more involved with promoting international students and opportunities to study abroad.
“We had a meeting with all the librarians and some of the Global Learning team and we talked about all the ways the library could support what’s going on,” said Wood. “Every month we designate one country as a global spotlight. So, the library could do a display. We have a display here in Iowa Hall but not everybody goes to Iowa Hall. Different people go there [to the library].”
Wood revisited the importance of spreading knowledge and information from countries around the world.
“I think it’s important that we provide opportunities for students and faculty and staff to highlight different cultures and get the most diverse set of learning materials we can.
“One of the first things to realize is that knowledge is infinite.
“If you’re talking about learning about the whole world, you never can do that. But you can start with one resource and connect with people from those different places. That’s how you’ll gain that richness, by building relationships with people.
“I think by putting those resources out there so students and faculty and staff can just take that first step to read something different if it appeals to them. Just another great idea,” she said.
Students from highlighted countries have input on what is displayed. According to Wood, Global Learning reaches out to students before the start of each month asking for recommendations and to provide artifacts they would like to share with the rest of the student body.
She added that Global Learning used to have an office in Linn Hall that had a display but since they no longer have that location, they plan on using the unused display case in the library.
According to Petersen, this is part of a push by the library to feature more international works and more information regarding responsible travel to celebrate International Education Week.
They already plan on adding titles such as “The Responsible Traveller” by Karen Edwards, “The Sustainable Travel Handbook: 100 Ways to Roam the World (Without Ruining it)” by Imogen Lepere, “Beyond Guilt Trips: Mindful Travel in an Unequal World” by Anu Taranath, and “The New Tourist: Waking Up to the Power and Perils of Travel” by Paige McClanahan.
According to Petersen, the library is seeking more books in non-English languages, particularly French and Arabic.
To provide a book recommendation you can contact the Sundberg Library at library@kirkwood.edu.
Categories: Campus News, News
