Anniversary Celebrations of the Mortenson Center
30th Anniversary Activities
The Mortenson Center Celebrates 30 Years in 2021!
It all began with generous giving from C. Walter and Gerda B. Mortenson in 1986. The couple envisioned a program for the promotion of international education, understanding, and peace through library programs. Their $2 million gift created the Mortenson Distinguished Professorship for International Library Programs at Illinois. It was the first named academic position of its kind in the United States. An additional $2 million gift from the couple in 1991 expanded the activities of the professorship through a variety of unique programs with the creation of the Mortenson Center for International Library Programs. The Mortenson Center and the professorship seek to strengthen international ties among libraries and librarians—regardless of geographic location or access to technology.
Celebrate With Your Support – A Matching Gift in 2016
The Mortenson Center for International Library Programs has thrived in large part to external support. Realizing the importance of outside giving and its significant impact, Library Friends Bob and Kay Merrick agreed to match every single dollar given to the Center through 2016 — up to $25,000. The match was surpassed by the generosity of many of you, supporters of the Center.
Bob and Kaye have supported the Center through funding visiting librarians from other countries through the Associates Program. Their travels and international experiences have confirmed the value of the Center’s activities and especially the training programs for visiting librarians. They feel that this is a model for “citizen diplomacy.”
As we move into our next 25 years, we continue to need your support. Please make a gift on our online form.
30th Anniversary Celebration Program – November 8, 2021:
- 10:30-12:00pm CT | 30th Anniversary Forum | Recording | Anniversary Forum Transcript
- 10:30am – Welcome
- 10:40am – Tribute to Mortensons and the Center
- 10:45am – Past Directors Remarks
- 10:50am – Transformational Leadership Panel
- 11:20am – 30 Years and Beyond: Community and Sustainable Development Panel
- 12:00pm – Celebration and Connections Break
- 12:30-2:00pm CT | 31st Annual Mortenson Distinguished Lecture – “Engineering Change and the Power of Information: Otherness, Exclusion, Propaganda, Dislocation” featuring Dr. Agnes Kaposi.
– followed by a conversation moderated by Dr. Valerie J. Matsumoto, Professor & George and Sakaye Aratani Chair on the Japanese American Incarceration, Redress and Community, UCLA
Postcard Flyer: (JPG: front :: back | PDF) | Poster: (11″×17″ PDF high res | low res) | Recording | Distinguished Lecture Transcript
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- For up-to-date information, visit: https://www.library.illinois.edu/mortenson/lectures/
- “Yellow Star-Red Star” Book Giveaway: CLOSED – Thank you for your interest!
- CO-SPONSORED BY: Department of Asian American Studies | Center for Global Studies through support from the US Department of Education’s Title VI NRC Program | European Union Center | Grainger College of Engineering and the Department of Computer Science | Program in Jewish Culture & Society | Mortenson Center for International Library Programs | School of Information Sciences | University of Illinois Library at Urbana-Champaign | Women & Gender in Global Perspectives Program
30th Anniversary Celebration Activities:
- June 18, 2021 | “Library Services to Refugees during the COVID-19 Pandemic” – A World Refugee Day Webinar
Flyer: JPG, PDF | Recording: <click here> - September 16, 2021 | “Food Culture from Near and Far: Stories of Identify and Belonging” – A Welcoming Week Online Panel Discussion | Flyer: JPG, PDF | Recording: <click here>
- September 21, 2021 | “Libraries Recovering Better for an Equitable, Sustainable and Peaceful World” – A Libraries for Peace Webinar | Flyer: JPG, PDF | Recording: <click here>
To celebrate Libraries for Peace Day click here for more information. - Mortenson Center Alumni Maps: Historical Map & Where are They Now Map
- Acting Together for the Sustainable Development Goals: A Global Library Leadership Forum
25th Anniversary Activities
The Mortenson Center Celebrates 25 Years in 2016!
It all began with generous giving from C. Walter and Gerda B. Mortenson in 1986. The couple envisioned a program for the promotion of international education, understanding, and peace through library programs. Their $2 million gift created the Mortenson Distinguished Professorship for International Library Programs at Illinois. It was the first named academic position of its kind in the United States. An additional $2 million gift from the couple in 1991 expanded the activities of the professorship through a variety of unique programs with the creation of the Mortenson Center for International Library Programs. The Mortenson Center and the professorship seek to strengthen international ties among libraries and librarians—regardless of geographic location or access to technology.
Celebrate With Your Support – A Matching Gift in 2016
The Mortenson Center for International Library Programs has thrived in large part to external support. Realizing the importance of outside giving and its significant impact, Library Friends Bob and Kay Merrick agreed to match every single dollar given to the Center through 2016 — up to $25,000. The match was surpassed by the generosity of many of you, supporters of the Center.
Bob and Kaye have supported the Center through funding visiting librarians from other countries through the Associates Program. Their travels and international experiences have confirmed the value of the Center’s activities and especially the training programs for visiting librarians. They feel that this is a model for “citizen diplomacy.”
As we move into our next 25 years, we continue to need your support. Please make a gift on our online form.
25th Anniversary Events
University Library Celebration
A Celebration in the Field
- Costa Rica Reunion
A Celebration with our Associates and Partners
An International Celebration
- International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) Congress Celebration
Our Main 25th Anniversary Program and Celebration on October 14, 2016 at the Alice Campbell Alumni Center (601 S Lincoln Ave, Urbana, IL 61801)
- 1:00-2:30 Chai Wai and Mortenson Center Dialogue: International Perspectives on Censorship, moderated by Barbara Jones, Former Director of ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom, with panelists: Marianna Tax Choldin, Founding Director of Mortenson Center, and Author of Garden of Broken Statues: Exploring Censorship in Russia (2016) AND Ann Morgan, Author of T he World Between Two Covers: Reading the Globe (2015)
- 3:00-3:30 The Investiture of Mortenson Distinguished Professor Clara M. Chu
- 3:30-4:00 Reception
- 4:00-5:30 Lecture: Reading the globe: exploring the world’s literatures, discovering ourselves , by Ann Morgan ( Read more … )
Ann Mortan
- 5:30-6:00 Book Signing, by Ann Morgan
Our Impact
Impact by the Numbers
Since 1991 more than 1,300 library leaders from over 90 countries have been trained at the Mortenson Center for International Library Programs – the only one of its kind in the world.
The Center has raised $2.5 million in grant funds from multiple agencies.
According to the 2013 Arabella Advisors’ independent evaluation of the Center’s past five years of programs:
- Over 70% of Mortenson center alumni introduced a new tool, service, or resource in their library within five years of training.
- 79% of Mortenson Center participants believe that their library is more prepared to serve their users’ needs.
- 80% of alumni feel better prepared to take on leadership roles or additional responsibility in their libraries.
- 1/3 of Mortenson Center participants went on to take leadership roles in professional networks.
Our History
Directors
The Mortenson Center for International Library Programs has been shaped by its dynamic leadership, impacting the development of librarians and libraries in all corners of the world. From Albania to Zimbabwe, each Center leader has worked with a wide array of countries, infusing the Center with her expertise, strengthening and shaping its work and direction.
Mortenson Center Libguide [our history online]
Learn about our past work in the following program areas:
Recognitions
- American Library Association (ALA) Tribute
- Friendscript ( A Brief History)
- Brochure (A downloadable historical overview)
- Promotional Videos
- Mortenson Center in 3 Words (#MortensonIn3)
Quotes
“The influence of the Mortenson Center and CABCE [Center for updating librarians in Central America], as a means for growth and better services in libraries in Central America, is one of the most remarkable merits….All Central American libraries and librarians wish to acknowledge the vision and charisma of the Mortenson Center and its leaders in seeking and providing a better future for their countries.”
– Dr. Ana Cecilia Torres , Past Director, School of Library and Information Science, University of Costa Rica