In September, 17 young librarians from nine public libraries in Romania successfully graduated from Biblionet’s [12] first Summer School for Young Librarians.
During the Summer School, the participants – all librarians younger than 35 and in the profession for fewer than five years – attended courses on advocacy, communication, marketing, and project management. The experience connected the young librarians with other professionals to provide them with key skills to help their libraries best meet their communities’ information needs.
To encourage increased leadership and involvement from these rising library professionals, the course participants also started a blog [13] to share library news and ideas, with a focus on issues relevant for younger librarians.
Once back home, the Summer School graduates are implementing new library projects that meet their communities’ needs. In addition, the participants are returning home with an expanded network of colleagues around the country on whom they can depend for mutual support. According to Raluca Nuțiu of Mureş County, “The Summer School was wonderful, thanks to the relationships we established here with our colleagues, the knowledgeable trainers, and the relaxed atmosphere that encouraged us to work as a team.”