Library staff had the delightful opportunity this past Tuesday to listen to our graduate student employees talk about their study abroad programs.

As part of their coursework for their Masters in Library and Information Science (MLIS) from the University of Washington, Erika, Kari and Zoe traveled to New Zealand, Australia, and The Netherlands, learning about information organization, children’s literature, indigenous rights and activism, new modes of inquiry, and much, much more! We shared pastries, looked at bilingually published children’s books in Maori and English, and enjoyed slides about how libraries organize their spaces (chess play areas in the State Library Victoria in Melbourne!). Notable tidbit: Maori New Year’s fireworks were postponed because there were whales in the harbor, and there was a strong ecological and cultural drive to not scare them away.

We’ve attached a few pictures from the event for you to enjoy.