Meeting the Alumni

Last night the Institute had its second ever meetig with alumni. The alumni list is extensive, since the Institute was the only place in the old German Democratic Republic that offered a library degree. About 50 people showed up for dinner on a night that was cold and rainy, and perhaps 10 or so more came to the reception at the Institute, but did not stay to eat.

Alumni meetings are not a standard part of the German academic landscape, and neither is any sort of placement service or other help finding students a position after they graduate. That has always been left up to them, as has much of the learning process. The old model was that faculty provided information, particularly in the form of lectures, and students learned enough at some point to write a paper and pass an exam at the end of their studies.

A lot is changing. The Bolognia process is reforming higher education across Europe along an Anglo-American model. This includes introducing new degrees, like a BA, which never existed in the German academic name-space, and new expectations for students to finish a far more structured program within a far more limited time -- generally three years (remember German high schools run 1-2 years longer than US high schools).

At dinner yesterday I talked to the alumni about how they can help current students in their job search. We are planning another alumni meeting in Leipzig during the German Library association meeting. That should reach a broader group, and particularly those who are in leadership positions within their libraries. I plan to repeat the same message there. We have no money at present to hire staff for a placement effort, so much of it falls to me to organize,