REPORT OCTOBER 2016

Keynote Address – Ms. Kimberly J.
Parker (WHO – Geneva)
Ms. Parker based her Keynote address
on the topic “What makes a Librarian?
What makes the future?”
The presentation was based on the
comparison between the speaker’s life
and her work. It was an interactive
session in which she shared that her
early childhood in India exposed her to
life in a multi-cultural environment. During her childhood, she was able
to visit the WHO headquarters in Geneva while her Father was doing
some work there. Since she had developed the love for books at an early
age, it was a good coincidence that later she got a job to work with books
at the WHO headquarters where she currently works.
Ms. Parker went on to talk about the fellowship
which she was part of, working with the early
versions of computer and programming
software, hardware and internet and how she
continued to work as an early professional
within the field of health information at the
National Library of Medicine and later at Yale
University. She went on to describe how many times librarians are called
upon to perform duties beyond their formal training, how they
sometimes have to handle strange requests and how they have to
undergo on job training.
“Never consider any work
in the library to be
beneath you”
Her first supervisor
taught her the
importance of
Flexibility and the
need to support
those you supervise
The Keynote speaker emphasized the need
for networking since many times the work
done may affect one’s future plans or
outside networks might give one a job lead.
It also encourages resilience and commitment. For example, she
developed the latter two skills through her training and participation in
a two Triathlons.
She concluded by encouraging the listeners to keep learning, seeking
out training opportunities, building partnerships through which they
can meet exceptional people either in their field or influential people in
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