Críticas Magazine

Loida García-Febo

ACURIL: Librarians in the Caribbean
March 4, 2008

ACURIL, the Association of Caribbean University, Research and Institutional Libraries is hosting its XXXVIII conference from June 1-6 in Montego Bay, Jamaica. This year’s theme is E-Librarian: Ideas, Innovation and Inspiration. The keynote speaker is Stephen Abram.

I’ve been a member of ACURIL since my days in library school in Puerto Rico. It is hands-down the coolest professional association. I am, after all, a Caribbean woman and I am biased- I think that anything Caribbean is the hottest ticket in town. ACURIL annual conference is a fantastic event where academic, public, school and special librarians from the region get together to discuss ways to better serve customers.

Each year ACURIL holds its annual conference in one of the 29 Caribbean islands with members in ACURIL:

Anguilla, Antigua,Aruba,Bahamas, Barbados

Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands

Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic

Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti

Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Nevis

Puerto Rico, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Kitts

St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Vincent

Surinam, Trinidad and Tobago

US Virgin Islands

Sounds like Paradise, doesn’t it? 
I’ve been to conferences in Aruba, Bahamas, and Puerto Rico.

This year, I will be conducting a workshop about IFLA/UNESCO Internet Manifesto Guidelines and about HIV/AIDS and Access to Public Health with a colleague from IFLA Head Quarters - I cannot wait! I have not seen many of my librarian friends in years. I really miss attending a library conference in a sunny island, reviewing notes while sipping Piñacoladas by the sea. So, if you happen to love the Caribbean and are into libraries, come to Jamaica and feel alright!  

Posted by Loida García-Febo on March 4, 2008 | Comments (0)