US college confers MA degrees on local librarians

By Bui Ngoc Long

Representatives from Simmons College in the US granted master of arts degrees in library and information science to 25 Vietnamese librarians in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue on Sunday.

The program, launched in 2005 by the Massachusetts-based college and charitable organization Atlantic Philanthropies (AP), offered free MA courses for Vietnamese librarians in the US to improve the Asian nation’s library and educational systems.

Thanks to a grant of US$1.8 million by Atlantic Philanthropies, the 25 librarians took courses at Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science before returning to Vietnam to complete coursework.

The courses also focused on developing leadership and information management skills.

The scholarship recipients were from the province of Thai Nguyen in the north, the central town of Hue, central city of Da Nang and the southern province of Can Tho.

Atlantic Philanthropies, an international charitable foundation, focuses on fields including ageing, disadvantaged children and youth, population health and reconciliation, and human rights.

The Simmons Graduate School of Library and Information, established in 1902, is one of the most prestigious graduate schools of library science in North America.