IARU Librarians’ Group Exchange Scheme
The IARU Librarians' Group Exchange Scheme, which has been in the making since 2018/19, finally had its first exchange in May 2023 after facing many derails. The pandemic restricted travel for all the 12 applicants who were vying for the grant for a good couple of years, coupled with the war in Ukraine which diverted some flight paths.
A staff member from the UCPH Libraries undertook a five-day visit to the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) Library focused on open science and licensing.
The visiting librarian had a keen interest in the structure for licensing, in particular the close working relationship between data and scholarly publishing and the fact that some staff members involved in this area at UC Berkley have a legal background. The second visit took place in early 2024 between the ANU Library and Yale University (Yale) Libraries. This visit was centred around archives, especially how Yale cultivates scholarly interest in its archive collections, enables access through online portals, and manages expectations around collections that are not easily discoverable. As a result of the visit, there were several approaches that the visiting archivist hoped might improve workflows and expand the reach of their archives.
The group hopes to facilitate a final visit between Peking University (PKU) Library and ETH Zurich Library in the near future. Overall, the visits to date have been a great success and the group looks forward to reviewing the pilot and considering the next steps soon.