AUA’s AGBU Papazian Library Hosts Interns from the Armenian State Pedagogical University

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YEREVAN, Armenia – From November 12 through November 30, 2018, the AGBU Papazian Library of the American University of Armenia (AUA) hosted three second-year Master’s degree students of the Armenian State Pedagogical University (ASPU) majoring in Museum, Library and Bibliography Studies. The three-week internship was organized as part of the agreement signed between AUA and ASPU and aims at providing graduate students with the opportunity to acquire new skills and improve their professional expertise.

Three interns – Narine Harutyunyan, Emma Ghazaryan and Mariam Shahbazyan – together with the internship program leader Zaruhi Tonoyan were warmly welcomed at AUA and coached by the knowledgeable and experienced library staff. The program covered key aspects of library science, as described below.

Satenik Avakian, Director of the AGBU Papazian Library, introduced the library facilities and services, explained to them the importance of close collaboration among the library staff, faculty and IT specialists for the successful operation of modern libraries, especially in managing the electronic and virtual environment of libraries.

“When we started the library internship program in 2014, we envisioned that this program would be different from what students were offered previously. We researched best practices and innovative ways for making this program closely and effectually tied to real world settings, and moved on to pulling together an internship program with everyone’s involvement in carrying it out” said Avakian.

Hasmik Galstyan, Head of Reference and Circulation Services, introduced the library databases, AUA’s international collaboration with local and international library consortiums and organizations including Electronic Library Consortium of Armenia (ELCA), the Electronic Information for Libraries (EIFL), the Consortium of American International Liberal Arts Institutions (AMICAL), and  OCLC WorldShare platform, including interlibrary borrowing and document delivery services.

The interns attended two seminar presentations titled “Copyright and Libraries” and “Information Literacy Standards in Higher Education”  conducted by Galstyan, and learned how to deal with copyright issues and use information effectively and ethically.

Araz Margossian, Circulation Desk Assistant, introduced the features of the Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC), like search strategies, online renewing and holding, as well as the Library Circulation Module for patron registration policies, email notifications and reporting.

Anahit Vardanyan, the Cataloguer, introduced the OCLC WorldCat platform, search strategies while providing detailed instructions on creating MARC bibliographic records for print and non-print publications.

“The Director of the AGBU Papazian Library and the whole staff were eager to share their professional experience with us. For me, the AUA Library staff have become role models as librarians,” Shahbazyan shared impressions of her internship.

Armine Melikyan, Learning Commons Desk Monitor, introduced students to the facilities and services of the Collaborative Study Space (CSS), and Online Room Reservation and  Chat services.

Tatevik Zargaryan, E-services Librarian, covered the AUA Digital Repository (DSpace), MOODLE Virtual Learning Platform, Libguides and tutorials on the AUA’s AGBU Papazian Library website.

Satenik Shahbekyan introduced the modules on the library software EOSi settings for creating user accounts for Circulation and Cataloguing, OPAC design and features, creating library website via WordPress, as well as uploading news and events to the Library monitor through Virtual Network Computing (VNC).

And lastly, the interns heard a presentation on the AUA digital library by Hovhannes Kizoghyan, Technical Director of AUA Digital Library of Classical Armenian Literature Project.

“The AGBU Papazian Library staff has taught us how a 21-century library should be like keeping pace with the developments in the IT sphere. They have totally changed our perspectives of library work. We will do our best to share the knowledge and skills gained at AUA with others,” summed-up ASPU intern Harutyunyan about her experience at the AUA’s AGBU Papazian Library.

Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia, and affiliated with the University of California. AUA provides a global education in Armenia and the region, offering high-quality graduate and undergraduate studies, encouraging civic engagement, and promoting public service and democratic values.