Collaborative visit to Berlin, 7-8 April 2011

23 November, 2010

The study tour is no more; in its place, following discussions by the Board and with German colleagues, we offer a collaborative visit to Berlin on Thursday to Friday 7-8 April 2011.

The core format is a full 2-day event: visits to 3-4 major new library buildings in Berlin, combined with 2 half-days of discussion of strategic issues. It is expected that the outcomes of the visits and discussions will be reported to SCONUL Conference, and give rise to continuing collaboration with German colleagues. Additional visits to new libraries elsewhere in Eastern Germany (e.g. Dresden, Leipzig, Halle and Cottbus) may also be arranged for the building junkies.

The four Berlin libraries are: the State Library, the library of the Humboldt University Grimm-Centre, the library of the Technical University Berlin (Volkswagenbibliothek) and the philological library of the Free University Berlin (Norman Foster's Brain).

One half-day's strategic discussion will be devoted to support for research, especially the VRE (led by German colleagues); the other half-day's strategic discussion will be devoted to support for learning and teaching (led by SCONUL colleagues).

And for those who like that sort of thing, Rattle and the BPO are playing Purcell and Mahler 5 (http://www.berliner-philharmoniker.de/en/concerts/kalender/programme-details/konzert/7990/termin/2011-04-06-20-00/).

Costs are flights (Easyjet and Ryanair fly to Berlin from nine airports in UK/Ireland) and accommodation. Our German colleagues will bid for some funding to defray costs!

Numbers will be limited to about 25. A formal registration process (to obtain German funding) is now in place. To register your interest go to http://www.sconul.ac.uk/events/berlin2011/form.html