Wow! It is over already...

Here is the whole group posing with Dale Dyce (KPL's Coordinator of Marketing and Communications) and their K.P. Owls, on their last day at the library. We had a great two weeks, and it went so quickly, a bit of whirlwind. So much anticipation, work, and worry, and now they are on their way home later today.

I don't know where to begin in describing this experience. It has been exciting, exhilarating, inspiring, and completely exhausting. It is definitely a highlight of my career to date. The speeches they gave on their last morning were overwhelming, we really made a difference. Mr. Selvajothy, the Reading Room Supervisor from Trincomalee (shown far left in the above photo), really said it best... he told us that he has worked in the library for 24 years, and for all that time he thought that libraries were just about books, and we have shown him that libraries are really all about people. So when he goes home he will look at his library with new eyes. To me this means we were successful.

It was just wonderful getting to know the group over the two weeks, building friendships, and professional trust. Now I think if I get to travel to Sri Lanka we will be able to work together well, and we will make great progress. I am excited to see how they take everything they have seen and learned here home, to make changes in their context.

(me with the staff from Batticaloa)





(Ari, our wonderful translator, and the staff from Trincomalee)


So, I am sure I will have more to say, after I have actually had a good nights sleep, and a bit of time to digest everything. In the meantime, I will be off to the airport later this afternoon to say a final goodbye... though, I KNOW that I will meet these friends and colleagues again... I will get to Sri Lanka! Now, I must!