Saturday, May 15, 2010

Re: A writer's retreat in Copenhagen, Denmark


Regina Andrews visited many countries in the 1950s and 1960s as part of her civic work for the National Council of Women of the United States. She visited: Europe (post-war Germany as part of the Marshall Plan), Asia (China, Japan, Korea, India and Thailand), the Middle East (Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran), the African nations of Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Liberia, Ghana, Senegal, and the Ivory Coast and Brazil in South America. She also briefly visited Rome and Lebanon.

Although Andrews never visited Denmark, I decided to take a two-month writer's retreat to Copenhagen. Copenhagen and their libraries are currently dealing with an influx of immigrants, much like Regina and the New York Public Library during her tenure there from the 1920s - 1960s. I met with a representative from The Danish Library Centre for Integration to discuss services for immigrants and refugees.

Next week I'll meet with faculty at the Royal School of Library and Information Science. I may have the opportunity to present my work on Regina Andrews. Some of their faculty have an interest in library history and library services to ethnic minorities. I'll teach a course, Information Services for Culturally Diverse Communities, this fall at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. I

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