Dear Colleagues,
I am writing on behalf of the ARLIS/NA International Relations committee, which is in the process of organizing a study trip for librarians from Germany to visit New York and New Haven after the ARLIS/NA conference in Toronto (April 14-21, 2012). This reciprocates the study trip organized and partially sponsored by German librarians in their country for US librarians in 2009. Five members of the group will continue onto Washington, DC to visit additional libraries from April 23-25, 2012. Kristen Regina and I are the local contacts for the DC part of the trip.
Based on the German librarians’ requests, we have drafted an itinerary that will include site visits to libraries at the following institutions:
· National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution
· National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution
· American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
· The National Gallery of Art
· Library of Congress
· Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection
While the schedule is not yet finalized, we wanted to let ARLIS/DC-MD-VA chapter members know that the trip is being planned. We also wanted to ask for some help with hosting our colleagues from Germany. So, we thought we would pose a few questions:
1. Would anyone be willing to host any of the guests for a homestay? Depending on their travel plans, the librarians will likely arrive in DC on Sunday, April 22nd and depart Thursday, April 26th, for a total stay of 4 nights.
2. Alternatively, does anyone have any suggestions for a hotel or bed and breakfast with affordable rates, which we can recommend to our visitors?
3. Would the chapter be interested in hosting an event for the German librarians, such as a potluck “farewell” party the last night of their stay (April 25th)?
4. Finally, does anyone have any suggestions for cultural or other events in the evenings during the trip that we might recommend?
We would really appreciate any suggestions from the membership. We are looking forward to showing our colleagues from Germany how rich and diverse the art libraries community is here in DC and we can’t do it without your help. If you are able to host one of the visitors or have any ideas about hotels or events, please feel free to get in touch with either Kristen or I directly (kregina@hillwoodmuseum.org and WhiteS@doaks.org). We will keep you all posted on the progress of the planning as the trip takes shape.
Many thanks,
Shalimar and Kristen
ARLIS/NA International Relations Committee