Oslo-Report

http://medweb.uni-muenster.de/people/obsto/text/oslor_e.html (Einblicke ins Internet, 10/1995)

Report of Experience on the 4th European Conference of Medical and Health Libraries in Oslo, Norway, from 28th June to 2nd July 1994

Right to start with I want to express my happiness being at this conference. Only just being in the job for a full year the conference gave me the very suitable occasion to get in contact with librarians from all over the world. Venerable institutions like the NLM, the BMA, and the EAHIL itself, which I knew only by hearsay, were becoming living organisms as I got into touch with their members. The composition of the conference delegates was very instructive. It was not surprising to me that the Scandinavian countries contributed to about 40% of the participants. The United Kingdom(65) and France(46) was also more than proportional represented. But what gives me really food for thought was the poor appearence of Germany(8), which even was exceeded by countries like Belgium(12), Iceland(10), the Czech Republic(10), and Hungary(9). But I'm convinced that through well-organized congresses like this (thanks to Arne and to all other persons, who made this possible!) and also through the Internet neighborhood the interest will grow more and more. What made a deep impression on me was the continuous presence of the Norwegian folklore at the conference. Beginning with wonderful lure songs and folk dances at the opening ceremony, to the pretty nice folk dress of some women of the local support team (and which reminded me strongly on Bavarian costumes), the welcoming reception and tour of inspection in the Oslo City Council, and the evening at the Norwegian Folk Museum everything was filled with the love of the Norwegian hosts to their country and culture - a love which they transmitted very well to the participants by their great friendliness and cheerfulness. Back to the congress. I will concentrate my report on four lectures. Right at the beginning of the congress, at one of the numerous coffee breaks, I heard a sentence from a conference professionalist: "A congress is nothing but tourism and talks in corridors." This made my naive enthusiasm suddently fade away, but slowly, from session to session I recognized that there was not a single presentation that didn't teach me anything. If not the content of the speech itself then the way someone spoke or presented his findings. The plenary session was opened by the women psychiatrist Dr. A.N.Heiberg of Oslo. She presented a clear, un-stilted, and fascinating speech about the hidden difficulties in the communication process. She made us both laugh and open-mouthed by the dialogue of a married couple, she demonstrated the effect of monotonous teaching by lulling us to sleep, and ended by reminding us to take care of the specific kind of each users perception.
Chris Atton from the Napier University Edinburgh, teached us a very real course in critical thinking. Accompanied by extensive pantomime he gave us the idea of how relieving it could be to leave the beaten path of dull bibliographic instruction courses. To teach critical thinking could be a living and real satisfying communication and learning process for both the librarian and the student. The secret of his success in teaching students seemed to be the concealment of just being 'a librarian' ! If his students knew, they would be overwhelmed by a sudden feeling of boredom. - Good chances for our profession, isn't it?
His lecture - one half hour before mine - also let me forget my own stage-fright. Nevertheless I felt more secure in reading my manuscript word-by-word. That's that!
I will not leave the charming city of Oslo without reminding you on the hundreds of human sculptures in the famous Vigeland Park, the overwhelming view from Holmenkollen over the fjords and the wide-spread city of Oslo, or the fish restaurants at the port - occupied by crowds of jolly Norwegians.
Overall, it was a wonderful background for meeting with remarkable librarians!

Maintainer: Dr. Oliver Obst (obsto@uni-muenster.de) 30.11.94