Bibliocycle

In 2006 I had the great fortune to be invited by the International Academic Partnership to present a workshop in Karachi, Pakistan.  I worked with an extraordinary group of librarians, teachers, and principals to foster the collaboration necessary for resource-infused 21st century learning.

Among the friends that I made on that trip, none impressed me more than Nooruddin Merchant, my  contact in Karachi for the Agha Kahn Educational Program.

I have returned home and the work of the Academy has carried me forward.  Nooruddin remained in Karachi, his home, though he has since left the AKEP.  As the situation in Pakistan has deteriorated, I have often thought of my friends, and have maintained email contact with Nooruddin.  Recently, he sent me a 23 page proposal for my “input.”  He is helping to design a “Learning Commons” for a new University of Science, Technology and Society, and, because his training is not in library science, he wants to know what I think about his ideas.

I have finished making my notes on his document, we will soon discuss it in “real time” using Skype.  You have got to love this technology!  Thank you Skype, for making it possible for me to continue an important collaboration even though it is not currently safe for me to travel to Pakistan.