I am ALA INTERNATIONAL SPOTLIGHT is one of several new initiatives by ALA President 2018-2019 Loida Garcia-Febo to expand ALA’s global presence. By highlighting and recognizing talented international members from different regions around the world, ALA is truly a global association with a strong mission in supporting library workers and advocates. Each month, I am ALA INTERNATIONAL SPOTLIGHT will feature a new international member who will share how ALA has supported their work and how they see the profession today. This month, we feature Kathryn Philip, Academic Librarian/Lecturer, University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom, Nigeria.
Can you tell us about yourself and your work?
I was born in Dublin, Ireland though a greater part of my existence has been in West Africa, where I work as a librarian with University of Uyo for over 20 years and served as Head of various core library sections in same institution. I’m a former IFLA section officer, ALA member, a Fellow of International Science Community Association, India and a chartered librarian/ member of Nigeria Library Association. I’m involved in international/ comparative librarianship, basically understudying libraries and librarianship in nearly 15 countries visited (I lecture same at post-graduate level among other subjects). There is passion for community information services too, where I initially begun my information practice by reason of my initial background in Communication arts and Social Sciences. As an academic librarian/ lecturer, I have over 40 scholarly articles published in local and international journals, including conference proceedings. In view of my community service involvements, I became the first recipient of International Girl Empowerment award in India, and an awardee of the International Literacy Associations (ILA) Educators’ Travel Grant, where I’ve been a member from 2006 till date. There are other awards/ honours which I also got from Kenya, Jerusalem and Singapore. Some years ago at end of year event, the library management in my institution honoured me with ‘Most Innovative Library Staff of the Year’ Award, while two years ago, I was honoured as ‘distinguished Librarian’ during Nigerian Library Association Golden Jubilee Celebration in Akwa Ibom State. I was also enlisted enlisted in ‘Who is Who’ compendium of women achievers in Akwa Ibom State.
Why is it important to be a librarian today?
It’s just so cool to be a librarian in the present milieu of massive and seemingly uncontrolled information flow and exchange. Librarians as information processors can certainly help designate and encode each mass of information as appropriate and without bias. Librarians notably are developing and exploring models and modern facilities to maintain some of worlds’ relevant records which in some years to come, might not be traced, except for our remarkable intervention roles as knowledge managers and information disseminators. Let me categorically state that the success of SDG will to a great extent, be connected and shaped by the roles which librarians play in the present information society. I’ve a slogan which has gone deep into my students and mentees that ‘Librarians can work anywhere!’ (even where no physical libraries exist).
Tell us three words that describe you.
Enthusiastic, global, and proactive!
How has ALA helped you in your career?
My strong inspiration aside IFLA, has been ALA. It all started during my interaction in the ALA stand, during IFLA WLIC Singapore, and a friendly contact with Loida Garcia-Febo and other librarians from the United States, which encouraged my being a member of ALA and IRRT. I gained a gift offer of a book during same conference at the ALA stand. The book which was edited by Patrick Regains treated Information Literacy all through. It became a resource which intensively shaped two of my publication on information literacy in addition to ACRL Information Literacy Standards which was also among the four theories/ models employed in my doctoral thesis two years ago. Another essential book gift item was also issued to me at IFLA WLIC 2019, in the ALA stand, which being a recent publication on ‘Assessment Strategies in Technical Services’ has been useful reference tool for my tutorials with undergraduate students. I have been in tune with ALA-RUSA publications online through mails received. Their guideline on behavioral performance for reference service was a key construct in my doctoral thesis which examined staff conduct in the performance of reference and information services. As an academic librarian/ lecturer whom colleagues reckon with in terms of international librarianship, a lot of inferences have been drawn on global library issues from ALA’s daily post to my mails. I have used some of the ideas and deliberations to advance my knowledge and incorporate in my lecture delivery on ‘Information Society’ in particular. Some of the topics border on issues such as copyright, intellectual freedom, censorship, advocacy through collective voice & bargaining and so forth. In last quarter of 2019, I was invited to speak at annual library association conference in my state on issues of international conference and sponsorship. Ideas got from various ALA platforms, gave impetus to the highlights rendered at the conference. Additionally, in an academic environment where most students of library science have stereotype entrenched in conventional library practices within the academic domain, the content of ALA magazines which I often receive as a member, has awesomely enabled me to re-shape most of student’s mindsets to thinking ‘outside the box’. As a case in point, over 20 students in their first year of study last year who were not certain about practicing as librarians in their career, declared their willingness to continue in the profession which to them seemed exciting! One of the classes given was a group discussion and documentation on use of phones in library patron-services, which I later connected to an ALA’s post requesting librarians to mention ways they apply phone in library services. Overall, ALA has boosted my professional sphere and broadened my horizon as a library and information educator and practitioner.
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