- Monday, April 30
- Jerry Caswell and I traveled to Klagenfurt Austria by train after a
day of recuperation in Vienna. Library director Manfred Lube met
us at the Klagenfurt train station. After checking in to our pension
and depositing our baggage Dr. Lube gave us a brief tour of the
University of Klagenfurt campus and library - Universitatsbibliothek Klagenfurt. We reviewed our itinerary
and proposed presentations with Dr. Lube for the upcoming week, toured the
instruction room, and experimented with the newly installed
ceiling-mounted projector.
- Tuesday, May 1
- As this was a national holiday and the campus was closed,
Klagenfurt librarians Lydia Zellacher, Gerlinde Glas, Christine
Wolwitsch, and Gundie Kersche (as well as Gundie's husband, and
archive librarian, Peter Kersche) took Jerry and me to the medieval
town of Friesach to witness the provincial exhibition, "Friesach, the
Scene of the Middle Ages". On the return trip we viewed the restored medieval fresco "Dance of Death" in the town of Metnitz. A tour of the historic
"old town" district of St. Veit concluded this delightful and educational experience.
- Wednesday, May 2
- Jerry and I were given a more thorough tour and orientation of the
Universitatsbibliothek Klagenfurt by librarian Gundie Kersche and
then we met briefly with Library Director Manfred Lube and
University of Klagenfurt Vice-Rector Helga Rabenstein-Moser.
That afternoon the university arranged a tour, conducted by
Andreas Frank, of the historic old town of Klagenfurt.
In the evening we traveled to the Lube home in Viktring, there to sample
the many fine culinary creations of Sigrid Lube.
- Thursday, May 3
- Jerry and I gave the first of our five presentations, "Issues of
Electronic Journals: Background", a presentation that focused on
the costs, features, licensing issues and future of electronic journals. Twenty librarians attended this first two-hour session.
In the afternoon Jerry and I gave the second of our five
presentations, "Supporting Information Technology", a presentation that focused on training and support for L.I.T. staff,
interactions between systems and user services departments,
extended technical support and trouble shooting, and interactions
between L.I.T. and the university I.T. department.
Afterward we attended the opening of an art book exhibition
"Twelve Places in Coloured Palace," a series of twelve highly
illustrated prose and poetry works each arranged spatially, and
visually, by the artist and accompanied by audio recordings
composed by the artist. This exhibition was sponsored by the
Universitatsbibliothek Klagenfurt during which both the artist and
Manfred Lube gave opening remarks in both German and
English.
That evening we were again treated to fine Austrian cuisine at the
household of Gundie Kersche.
- Friday, May 4
- Jerry and I attended a roundtable "Information Technology at the
University Library, Klagenfurt" by the head of Library Systems
(EDV-Administration und Entwicklung), Harald Jele. At the
conclusion of this talk Lydia Zellacher gave us a tour of the Karl Popper special collection.
In the afternoon Jerry and I joined Freddie Sabitzer and Sigrid
Lube on a fascinating tour, conducted by Magister Wappis, of a
large Celtic/Roman archaeological site at Magdalensberg.
That evening Jerry and I joined a merry throng of librarians -
including Anna Lauchart (and husband Hans), Ingrid Bluch,
Gerlinde Glas, and Freddie Sabitzer for an evening of fine dining
and good conversation.
- Saturday, May 5
- Jerry and I continued our culinary adventures by touring the
Klagenfurt Farmer's Market with Gerlinde Glas - later to be joined
by librarian Regina Mortl.
That evening we joined Ingrid Bluch and her husband Manfred at
the Klagenfurt Stadttheater to view a rousing bilingual
performance of "Anything Goes" (songs in English, dialogue in
German).
- Sunday, May 6
- Jerry and I traveled to Gurk with Anna and Hans Lauchart - there
to tour the exceptional cathedral. On the return trip we visited the
medieval town of Strassburg.
That afternoon Gerlinde Glas hosted these four pilgrims-to-Gurk at
her home with dishes featuring ingredients purchased the day
before from the Farmer's Market by the itinerant Iowans.
- Monday, May 7
- On Monday morning Jerry and I gave the third of our presentations,
"Electronic Journals: Implementation Issues."
This presentation was followed in the afternoon by our fourth
presentation,
"Web-Based Databases as Tools for Students, Faculty, and Library Staff."
Later that afternoon Jerry and I attended a rather sobering
introduction to a University of Klagenfurt sponsored art exhibition,
"Mein Name war Z:5742" by the artist Karl Stojka. The works on display depicted the artist's experiences in a concentration camp as a Roma prisoner during the Holocaust.
That evening Jerry and I treated Dr. Manfred Lube and his wife
Sigrid to dinner at Oscar's in Klagenfurt.
- Tuesday, May 8
- That morning Jerry and I gave a fifth and final presentation, "The Migration from CD-ROM to WWW."
That afternoon we toured the historic castle of Hochosterwitz
with members of the Klagenfurt University International Office.
That evening we enjoyed a farewell dinner in Klagenfurt hosted by
librarians Gerlinde Glas, Anna Lauchart, Ingrid Bluch, Lydia
Zellacher, and Gertrud Svetlik.
- Wednesday, May 9
- Jerry and Chris were given a tour of the Universitatsbibliothek
Klagenfurt special collections by Christa Herzog. This tour
included a close up viewing of numerous manuscripts, incunabula,
illuminations, and other rare treasures.
At noon library director Manfred Lube accompanied us to the
Klagenfurt train station, bade us farewell, and wished everyone at
the Rod Library the very best.
- Thursday-Friday, May 10-11
- Jerry and I toured the streets, galleries, parks, and castles of Vienna
prior to our return to the United States on Saturday, May 12.
