September 14, 2010
Four
years ago Joseph Hinger, Associate Director for Technical Services
at the Rittenberg Law Library, participated in St. John’s inaugural
Vincentian Mission
Certificate program. After engaging in a curriculum focused on
the practical expression of Vincentian service and leadership,
Hinger came away with a strong commitment to use his expertise in
librarianship and technical services to help colleagues in
developing countries throughout Latin America.
Photo Gallery
Hinger’s interest in this part of the world roots in his early
experience living in Costa Rica as an exchange student and
subsequent travels in the region. Over the years, he has taught
some 30 workshops on cataloging and other professional skills to
librarians in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Mexico in
their native Spanish. “My volunteer work in these developing
countries falls perfectly into the Vincentian mission that St.
John’s and the Law School uphold,” Hinger says. “To survive in our
world, humans need constant and easy access to information. By
learning current cataloging techniques, librarians in developing
areas can organize and share library resources so that their public
can get this essential information − information they have no other
way to retrieve.”
In
May 2010, Hinger traveled to San Salvador, El Salvador on a U.S.
Speaker Program grant from the U.S. Department of
State’s Bureau of International Information Programs (IIP).
Each year, the IIP organizes traveling and electronic events for
American experts to engage with foreign audiences on American
policies, values, society and culture. The grant allowed Hinger to
educate Salvadoran librarians so they can share and exchange their
bibliographic records with other institutions, locally and
internationally.
Closely collaborating with the Asociación
de Bibliotecarios de El Salvador (ABES), Hinger spent one day
at the El Salvador Supreme Court Library addressing the library
technical services community on the impact of electronic resources.
He also conducted two 10- hour intensive workshops on organizing
information resources using current bibliographic formats and
cataloging rules.The training sessions were generously hosted by
the Library at the Universidad Tecnológica de El Salvador and
marked the celebration of the Semana Cultural del Bibliotecario
Salvadoreño (Salvadoran Librarian Cultural Week).
“The feedback from ABES and the enrolled students was outstanding,
and I have been strongly urged to re-apply for another grant to
continue my work in El Salvador,” Hinger shares.“The trainings I
gave focused on cataloging print material, and there is still a
great need for these librarians to learn the cataloging standards
for electronic publications. I love to be able to teach others what
I have learned during my lifelong career. The ability to be able to
do this in Spanish, in an area of the world that I personally love
so much, and for colleagues who are so eager and willing to learn,
is the best reward for me.”
Adds Barbara Traub, Interim Director and Head of Reference and
Institutional Services at the Rittenberg Law Library: “Joe is a
very important asset to us. To be able to share his expertise with
others on local, national, and international levels not only
furthers the University’s Vincentian mission, but raises the
profile of the Law Library and, consequently, of the Law School and
the St. John’s community.“