Yesterday (23/01) 64 participants of the Community and Technological Camp (CommTECH) 2019 visited the ITS Library accompanied by International Office (IO) – ITS. At this time CommTECH participants came from 14 countries, namely Malaysia, Taiwan, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Japan, Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Turkey, Poland, Pakistan, and India. By continuing to combine culture and technology, CommTECH Camp Insight 2019 offers 5 courses that can be chosen by participants. Namely “Sociopreneurship in Action”, “Designing and Building Energy-Efficient Car”, “Introduction to Game Animation & Internet of Things”, “Ship Navigation Safety and Risk Assessment of Ship Collision” and “Exploring Indonesia Art & Culture”. Like CommTECH in previous years, the agenda for visiting the library was never absent.

During the visit, it was expected to increase their knowledge about any facilities in the ITS environment to support the learning of the ITS academic community, in this case, the ITS Central library. The participants were not only explained but also invited to tour the library so that they could directly see or be able to try the facilities directly, of course, this would add to the knowledge and unforgettable experience for Commtech participants, most of whom admitted that they had just come to Surabaya-Indonesia. Besides that,  there are also many positive things that can be taken from this visit, for example from the side of the library staff themselves. With this visit, of course, the ITS Library staff as the host must also prepare themselves to welcome and “entertain” their guests. Under these conditions, library staff can hone their English skills. Because on this occasion they can directly communicate with native speakers, of course.

During the library tour, participants were very active in expressing their opinions in the form of suggestions, questions, and comparing ITS libraries with their libraries. One of them is Lin, a CommTECH participant from China.

“In my library, we can bring in bags, food and drinks are allowed. The important thing is that there is a security gate I don’t think is a problem, and if I study without food and drinks it’s very boring, so if I study at ITS I hope I can bring it all in, “said Lin.

In contrast to Zian, participants from Malaysia had opinions that contradicted Lin.

“I like the ITS library, because some rules are the same as those on my campus, for example, the prohibition of bringing food and drinks is therefore to maintain the cleanliness and durability of library materials. And I think it would be more convenient to leave a bag in the locker so we don’t have to bother carrying our bags everywhere, “explained Zian while showing a picture of the locker service from his cellphone at one of the ITS Library staff.

And neither the opinion of Lin nor Zian is wrong or true because actually the rules of the library are indeed adapted to the conditions and needs of the library itself. For example, the good system in State Library A will not necessarily be good if adopted in libraries in country B, and vice versa. Because of this, cooperation, building networks, and making arrangements for both students and staff are needed so that they can make good changes without undermining existing cultures. (nrl/dav)