Friedensau organizes congress for ASDAL Europe

Functioning networks simplify work. With this basic idea in mind, the library of Friedensau Adventist University hosted the 4th Congress of the Association of Seventh-day Adventist Librarians in Europe (ASDAL Europe) from June 11 to 17, 2024. The declared aim of the conference was to strengthen the work and cooperation of all libraries of Adventist European educational institutions and to prepare for possible collaborations.

Greetings from the Rector of Friedensau Adventist University, Prof. Dr. Roland Fischer, and the Head of the Education Department of the Inter-European Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Marius Munteanu, as well as from Michelle Carbonilla, President of ASDAL International, placed the importance of literature and education as a whole on an objective level. Representatives of the libraries of the following institutions were addressed and involved: Salève Adventist University of France (Collonges), the Newbold College of Higher Education (UK), the Marienhöhe School Center in Darmstadt, the Belgrade Theological Seminary (Serbia), the Polish College of Theology and Humanities, the Friedensau Adventist University and the Historical Archives of of the SDA in Europe.

During the days of the congress, topics were discussed that focused on the current challenges facing Adventist libraries, including a workshop on the latest library tools and their practical application; digital archiving, e-books, deposits and remote access to scientific literature in online studies.

During the conference, an election of the board took place in order to better structure future cooperation. The following were elected: Raul Cervantes from Friedensau Adventist University (Chair), Petra Dürsch from Schulzentrum Marienhöhe (Vice Chair), Jessica Bessiere from Salève Adventist University of France Collonges (Secretary), Nevena Borcsok from Newbold College of Higher Education (Treasurer).

The next congress is expected to take place in Romania and will deal with topics of artificial intelligence (AI), digitization and consortial acquisition of e-books. The committee is open to other employees of Adventist libraries in Europe and other Adventist librarians not working at academic institutions. Contact:

Text: Andrea Cramer