Partnership with Latvia

Submitted by Donna Flake

My SEAHEC Medical Library in Wilmington, NC has a new partnership with the Library of the University of Latvia, located in Riga, Latvia.   Diane

Darrow from my library works with me in this great endeavor. The main work of this partnership is to gather current print medical books and journals, and send them to Latvia. We work closely with the Auxiliary of the Latvian Welfare Group in the US who does the actual shipping of the books to Latvia.   The Auxiliary is a group of Latvian-Americans who take on projects to help their beloved Latvia, and they have been sending medical books and journals to Latvia for me for over 13 years. This method of shipping books to another country has been TREMENDOUSLY successful.  If any of you have current medical books or journals you would like to send to Latvia, please email me the titles. It is great to fill up landfills with these valuable materials.

 

Prior to this partnership with Latvia, I worked with another Latvian  library-The National Medical Library of Latvia, directed by Velta Poznaka.  Many of you will recall Velta when she attended MLA in 2004 in Washington, DC. From 1999 till 2001, MLA and ICS had a pilot project to have two sister libraries- one was in Antigua, and one was The National Medical Library of Latvia.  We accomplished great things during this time, including sending over 20,000 current medical books and journals to Latvia. At the end of the pilot in 2001, my SEAHEC Medical Library in Wilmington continued the work by setting up a formal partnership between my library and the Latvian Library.  I went to Latvia three times during the partnership, and the Executive Director of my institution and Diane Darrow went with me to Latvia one time!  But in late 2009, a terrible thing happened.  The economy got so bad in Latvia that the National Medical Library was closed. (Can you image what would happen if our own NLM closed due to the economy?)  I felt so very sad about this, and the only consolation was to know that great work we all did with the National Medical Library of Latvia assisted physicians and improved Latvian healthcare for the period the partnership lasted. I still feel terrible for the many librarians I met at the library.

But we all must go on. I was pleased to learn that the Library at the University of Latvia wanted to enter into a partnership with my SEAHEC Library.  A part of my heart is in Latvia, I must admit. (My interest in Latvia comes from a childhood friend who father was born in Latvia, and relocated to the US in 1945. I spent many hours hearing my friend’s father’s stories of Latvia.)  I am enjoying working with Gita Rozenberga, Librarian and also Library Director, Iveta Gudakovska. 

  Gita Rozenberga, Librarian and Library Director, Iveta Gudakovska. 

   

I encourage ICS members to consider international medical library partnerships.  It can greatly enrich your life and help you to look at life in a different way.

 

Donna Flake

Robert M. Fales Health Sciences Library

SEAHEC / South East Area Health Education Center

Email: Donna.Flake@seahec.net