ASDAL Action Volume 44|Number 2|Spring 2025

ASDAL ACTION

PICTURE BOOK READING CORNER, MAKERBOXES AND EDURINO, P 4 ASDAL ACTION | SPRING 2025

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ASDAL Action Volume 44, No. 2 | Spring 2025 ISSN 1523-8997 Editor Tamara Karr

contents

About ASDAL ASDAL is an organization for individuals interested in Seventh-day Adventist librarianship. The Association was formed to enhance communication between Seventh-day Adventist librarians and to promote librarianship and library services to Seventh-day Adventist institutions.

The association holds an Annual Conference, publishes ASDAL Action, awards the D. Glenn Hilts Scholarship, and is a sponsor of the Seventh-day Adventist Periodical Index. The Adventist Library Information Cooperative (ALICE) is a service provided by the Association to give Member Libraries enhanced database access opportunities at reduced cost through collective efforts and resource sharing within the Cooperative.

Letters to the Editor We welcome your comments and questions.

Please submit letters to the editor to actioneditor@asdal.org

Judith Thomas Library’s New Meditation Gallery Read More on Page 12.

FEATURES

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Membership is open to those who support the goals of the Association. Members receive a oneyear subscription to ASDAL Action and discounted conference registration.

Get Involved with ASDAL

President: Adorée Hatton President-elect: Sheila Clark Past President: Michelle Carbonilla Secretary: Maryann Krueger Treasurer: Neal Smith ASDAL Action Editor: Tamara Karr

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NORTH AMERICAN CHAPTER CONFERENCE INFORMATION

BY PETRA DÜRSCH

BY MARIANNE KORDAS

JUDITH THOMAS LIBRARY; THE

PHOTO GALLERY FROM THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

12 MEDITATION GALLERY: 14 A SPECIAL CORNER

All members are invited to get involved in ASDAL. On the ASDAL website, select Get Involved on the quick links.

ASDAL Executive Committee

PICTURE BOOK READING CORNER, MAKERBOXES AND EDURINO

BY NORAH MAUTI

BY MICHELLE O. CARBONILLA

COLUMNS, CONFERENCE, ETC.

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ASDAL NORTH AMERICAN CHAPTER UPDATE

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FROM THE PRESIDENT Dear ASDAL Community, When I agreed to run for the role of ASDAL President, I never imagined that I would be serving during such a major transition! But we are well on our way to becoming a truly international group – and I love to see it. Of course, this comes with a few growing pains – questions without answers and a need for new ideas and processes. Thank you for your understanding as we develop new approaches and procedures. Change can be challenging, but it also opens doors to growth, connection, and renewed purpose.

If you aren’t aware, we now have four active local chapters: the African, European, Latin American, and North American chapters – and all four are hosting a local conference or meeting this year! More information can be found on the ASDAL website (https://www.asdal.org/). I’m thrilled to see these chapters become active and integral to their local librarian communities. We hope that other regions will see what’s happening and be inspired to build chapters of their own. Our next opportunity to meet as an international group is planned for 2028 in Latin America.

On behalf of the International Executive Committee, I want to share that we are launching some new processes to foster greater transparency and consistency across ASDAL. We will be collecting simple monthly reports from local chapters and international committees. These updates will be made available to all members, allowing you to stay better informed about the important work happening throughout our community and across regions. We also encourage you to use the forum on the ASDAL website to ask questions and share suggestions (https://www.asdal.org/Sys/ Login?ReturnUrl=%2fMember-Forum%2f). This is a collaborative association, and we’re always open to new ideas!

I know that in these challenging times, libraries and librarians are being asked to do more with less. I hope this Association can be a source of camaraderie, ideas, and inspiration. I recently returned from the Medical Library Association conference and found it incredibly energizing. I came back reinvigorated and excited to begin new projects. I’m confident that this year’s regional ASDAL conferences will have a similar effect. It was inspiring to connect with colleagues,

Adorée Hatton Makusztak is the Research and Instruction Librarian at Loma Linda University in Loma Linda, California.

explore new approaches, and see how other library organizations are navigating change. I’m eager to bring that energy into our ASDAL work and look forward to collaborating with all of you as we move ahead.

Thank you for being part of this vibrant, missiondriven community,

Adorée (Hatton) Makusztak ASDAL International President

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FEATURE

PICTURE BOOK READING CORNER, MAKERBOXES AND EDURINO New offers for primary school pupils at the school library at Marienhoehe School Center Darmstadt/Germany

Reading Cocoon

By Petra Dürsch Since iPads for school classes and WLAN have been available at the school, the research computers in the school library have been used less and less. So the time had come to use the space for something else. And as there was previously no reading corner for our youngest pupils and kindergarten children, who are regular visitors

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to the school library, it was only logical to create a new feel-good space for this age group. These cozy retreats were created with two Cocoons reading nests. And the new book troughs are a wonderful place to browse through the picture books. Makerboxes are a new, loanable offer for pupils to try out new technologies

and craft skills. Each box contains everything they need to experiment independently or in a group on the relevant topic. They take up little space and can be used anywhere. Whether electricity, wind energy, programming or dexterity, every pupil will find a Makerbox to suit their taste. The world of tomorrow is digital and

our students are also increasingly growing into a digitalized world. So we were looking for a way that pre-school children are responsibly introduced to digital learning so that they can find their way in the world of tomorrow. Edurino helps with this.

Edurino is a digital play and learning system for children aged 4 to 8 that works with a combination of real figures, an ergonomic stylus and an app.

Each of these characters from the Edurino universe unlocks an educational game with matching learning content by placing the character on the home screen. The triangular stylus trains pencil holding. This makes it easy for children to operate the app. We are pleased about the offers we are can make to our students and are excited to see how everything is used!

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Petra Dürsch is the Head of the School Media Library at the Campus Marienhöhe gGmbH, Germany

Book Vectors by Vecteezy.com

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FEATURE

NORTH AMERICAN CHAPTER CONFERENCE INFORMATION

By Marianne Kordas Registration is open for the North American chapter conference!

This meeting will be held on the beautiful campus of Andrews University from Friday, June 27 to Wednesday, July 2. This schedule is to accommodate those who would like to subsequently attend the General Conference Session in St. Louis, Missouri.

While the conference is primarily being held for those in North America, our international colleagues are also welcome to attend if possible.

Open Futures, Open Choices is our conference theme.

As textbooks, publishing, and primary sources become between Andrews University and the airport, please contact Marianne Kordas (kordas@andrews.edu) of the more open, so are our choices and challenges in how local arrangements committee. we innovate library services with them. Additionally, faculty and students using artificial intelligence applications, such as ChatGPT, has rocked higher education in If you have additional questions about the registration process, please contact Neal Smith ways that other, older applications have not. How do we thoughtfully use and teach generative AI while rec- (neal.smithjr@ahu.edu). ognizing its limitations?

Early Bird Rates are valid until May 1 — register today!

This is also a good time to renew your membership for Registration for the conference includes conference the low annual price of $25 and snag your membership attendance, the banquet on Friday, July 27, and lunch on Wednesday, July 2. Tickets for the optional tour on discount on your conference registration.

Sabbath, June 28, include a box lunch and dinner following the tour. Other meals are available from Andrews University dining services or local restaurants and are purchased separately.

Early Bird Member Registration – $175.00 Housing is available on the Andrews University campus and must be booked directly through Andrews University. For more information, visit Andrews University Hospitality Services (.https://www.andrews.edu/ services/convention/guest-rooms/index.html)

Early Bird Non-Member Registration – $200.00 Member Registration – $200.00 Non-Member Registration – $225.00

Andrews University is located within driving distance of several International Airports (https://www.andrews.edu/ about/visiting/airports.html). If you will need transportation

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The cost of registration covers a broad array of lectures and place-based, experiential learning opportunities, such as ·

a Bedouin tent exhibit, and Heshbon dig artifacts. (https:// andrewsarchaeology.org/museum/)

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Presentations o ASDAL member presenters, such as Dr. Cima and Dr. Adeogun

www.andrews.edu/agenda/64209/)

o Keynote speaker: Cheryl Wilson from the Michigan Department of Education

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o Book repair workshop with Kimberly the BookDoctor, sponsored by DEMCO ·

Andrews University Museum of Nature & Science, including the Prillowitz mammoth skeleton and updated approaches to indexing/ displaying their collections (https:// Arboretum walking tour while on rotations between buildings. (https://www.andrews.edu/life/studentmovement/issues/2023-11-03/humans-anarboretum-of-beauty.html)

Local Tours o Cultural outing to St. Joseph, Michigan ·

Krasl Art Center: inside galleries and outside sculptures guided tours (https://krasl.org/)

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Municipal band concert (optional)

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Free time for restaurants, ice cream, shopping, the Silver Beach Carousel, and sunset on the beach at Lake Michigan

o Andrews University Campus ·

James White Library, including refurbished learning commons, gallery, and Seminary library (https://www.andrews.edu/services/library/ index.html)

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Center for Adventist Research (https://centerforadventistresearch.org/)

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ADL digitizing lab

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Music Material Center, Hamel Hall

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Architecture Resource Center, Architecture Department Building Horn Archeology Museum, featuring their library that JWL catalogs,

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o Berrien Springs, Michigan ·

Berrien Springs Community Library

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Berrien County Historical Association & the History Center at Courthouse Square, site of AU/EMC’s first classes in the oldest remaining courthouse complex in Michigan (https://new.berrienhistory.org/): à

Tour grounds and facilities

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Interact with local history exhibits

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Dialog with the curator in the archives open-learning lab

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View organization efforts to preserve local history records

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Enjoy a suppertime lecture by the BCHA director, with catering from Town Hall Pizza (vegan and GF options will be available) (https://www.townhallpizza.com/)

Two Formal Meals 1. Opening reception & banquet dinner 2. Farewell Lunch

Extra tickets for the opening banquet are available as follows: 1 extra ticket $25.00 (USD)

2 extra tickets $50.00 (USD) 3 extra tickets $75.00 (USD) 4 extra tickets $100.00 (USD) One banquet ticket is included with conference registration. If you want any guests to attend with you, please purchase them along with your online registration.

OPTIONAL TOUR to the HISTORIC ADVENTIST VILLAGE On Sabbath, June 28, we are offering a day trip for those who wish to see the Oak Hill Cemetery (https://www.battlecreekvisitors.org/listing/oakhill-cemetery/2445/) and the Historic Adventist Village in Battle Creek, Michigan. ( https://adventistheritage.org/ahm-sites/historic-adventist-village/) We will visit the graves of the Kellog, Post, and White families, enjoy a boxed lunch, and then take a guided tour of the Village to get a taste of what life was like for nineteenth-century Adventists, including stops at the Parkville church and the White residence. This tour will leave you spiritually encouraged and better informed about our Adventist pioneers We will depart from Berrien Springs at 9am and return around 6pm for supper. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes as there is a significant amount of walking involved. Mobility accommodations may be made if arranged in advance with the tour coordinator at kordas@andrews.edu

The Sabbath tour is completely optional, so no ticket is included with conference registration. If you and your family/guests want to join the tour, please purchase tour tickets along with your other online payments for the conference.

1 tour ticket $65.00 (USD) 2 tour tickets $130.00 (USD) 3 tour tickets $195.00 (USD) 4 tour tickets $260.00 (USD) This tour is limited to 30 people due to transportation constraints, so sign up ASAP! ASDAL ACTION | SPRING 2025

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PROTECT YOUR TRIP – BUY AUTHORIZED TRAVEL INSURANCE Purchasing travel insurance through Adventist Risk Management in conjunction with your professional development funds is highly recommended and may be required by the Andrews University campus in certain cases.

More information can be found here: https://adventistrisk.org/en-US/Insurance/NAD/Short-Term-TravelInsurance We will update conference participants about travel requirements as we become aware of any situations or changes; even more reason to register soon and get on our mailing list!

TRANSPORTATION

Planes If you fly, four airports best fit your needs: South Bend Regional - SBN (40min drive) Gerald Ford Int'l airport in Grand Rapids, MI - GRR (80 minute drive) Midway in Chicago - MDW (2h drive) O'Hare in Chicago - ORD (2h drive) All airports have car rentals available.

Midway's orange Metra train line and O'Hare blue Metra train line allow for transfer in downtown Chicago to Amtrak, Greyhound, or the South Shore commuter train to the South Bend Airport.

Getting picked up from South Bend by car is quite reasonable.

Trains The days of steam locomotives and the electric Interurban tram delivering students directly to the Andrews University campus may have long passed, but you can easily reach locations near Berrien Springs by train.

AMTRAK: Amtrak serves Niles, MI with Bluewater and Wolverine lines from Chicago and Detroit. There are multiple trains a day.

St. Joseph, MI has an outbound morning and an inbound evening train on Amtrack's Pere Marquette line. (Pro tip: Silver Beach Pizza is located inside the historic train station!)

South Bend, IN also has Amtrak service on the Empire Builder and other lines.

SOUTH SHORE LINE: A commuter train connects various parts of Illinois and Indiana between Chicago, IL and South Bend, IN with multiple trains each way every day.

Cars Arriving by car? Andrews University is 20 minutes from Saint Joseph and Benton Harbor, and an easy 40 minutes from South Bend on the US 31 bypass.

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NEED A RIDE? We are considering running an airport shuttle on Thursday, June 26 and Friday, June 27 from Chicago and South Bend to fetch conference participants, and a return shuttle on Wednesday, July 2. Final decisions about the shuttle service must be made by June 6. Please help us gauge interest in this service by filling out the following survey: https://forms.gle/8BCZS2emakJ3Kekr7

We look forward to seeing you in June!

The Planning Committee Shiela Clark, Neil Smith, Marianne Kordas, Scott Peterson

Marianne Kordas is the Director of the Music Materials Center at Andrews University.

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FEATURE

JUDITH THOMAS LIBRARY THE MEDITATION GALLERY: A SPECIAL CORNER

By Norah Mauti The Seventh-day Adventists accept the Bible as their only standard of truth. The church, through intense prayer and study of the Holy Scriptures, identified pillars of truth or doctrines that have been organized into a total of twenty-eight fundamental beliefs. These beliefs constitute the church’s understanding and expression of the teaching of the scriptures.

Its four walls are dotted with a colorful collage of a summary of all the twenty-eight Seventh-day Adventist fundamentals beliefs that give every visitor to the gallery a constant reminder of the pillars upon which the Seventh-day Adventist Church is established.

It offers a perfect get away for meditation upon the user’s cares of life, as they take in the lessons from the Judith Thomas library at Adventist University of Africa ‘teacher’ walls. Therein, the students, faculty, staff and has exhibited these beliefs in form of a gallery which is other library users can also say silent prayers without referred as the mediation gallery. This gallery is for interruption, as they present their academic odyssey easy reference, consultation, and learning more about unto the master teacher, before resuming their studies. the Seventh-day Adventists. At the same time, the mediation gallery is a place of quiet and tranquility where Finally, the gallery is a place that integrates faith and users can retreat from the rigor of study, assignments learning – a constant reminder of the greater light, upand research, albeit for a few minutes, and “rest a on which each learner should aspire to reach, even as while”, as they soak themselves into the aura of peace they pursue their earthly education and calm spirit that the surrounding offers.

The gallery is located in the inner side of the second floor of the library building, and it is accessed from within the library. It boasts natural lighting that permeates from the transparent roofing materials that were conveniently used to illuminate the middle portion of the library all the way to the ground floor, offering natural lighting right within the building.

Figure 1: Meditation Gallery

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Figure 2: A Collage of the Fundamental Beliefs

Figure 3: A Section of the Meditation Gallery

Figure 4: The First Ten Fundamental Beliefs

Figure 4: The First Ten Fundamental Beliefs

Figure 6: In the Meditation Center

Norah Mauti is the Associate Librarian at the Adventist University of Africa.

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FEATURE

PHOTO GALLERY FROM THE 43RD INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

By Michelle O. Carbonilla

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Michelle O. Carbonilla is the Director of Libraries at the Adventist University of the Philippines.

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BYTES & BITS

NEW BOOKS AVAILABLE: A GENTLE CLASH OF

CULTURES

By Lance Millam Dr. Dale L. Clayton, retired professor from Southwestern Adventist University, and his wife have published a compelling book chronicling their mission experiences in the Philippines. This engaging work offers valuable insights and inspiration for readers with an interest in mission service.

Lance Millam is a University Librarian at Can Shun Centennial Library at Southwester Adventist University.

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BYTES & BITS

HERE TO SERVE: OAKWOOD LIBRARY AND THE COMMUNITY

By Nicola Palmer The Eva B. Dykes Library takes seriously its mandate to be an information and service hub, both for Oakwood University and the community of Huntsville, Alabama. It was with this consideration in mind that our Library responded to a need of a community member to serve as the host location for her book signing event. On Sunday November 10, 2024 ‘The Eva’ was the place to be for the celebration and signing of the book “When God Speaks, Do You Hear What I Hear” written by Janice I. Stevenson.

Janice expressed her hope to have a signing and sale of her book as she wished to share her story of her encounters with God and also offset medical bills. As a community gesture, our library offered to serve as the ‘place and space’ thus solving this particular concern of the author. The event was well received by visitors and students who were using the library that day. With tears of gratitude and relief, Janice acknowledged the contribution of the Eva B. Dykes Library to the success and impact of the event. We were more than happy to be God’s hands and feet, as we reflected one of Oakwood’s values; “Oakwood chooses to provide assistance, aid, help, caring, outreach and ministry in response to human need”.

Nicola Palmer is the Public Service Librarian at Eva D. Dyles Library at Oakwood University.

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BYTES & BITS

THE RAFAEL ESCANDON HERNANDEZ LIBRARY ACQUIRES ARTIFACTS

By Melquisedec Merchan The Rafael Escandon Hernandez Library at the Adventist University Corporation in Medellín, Colombia, continues to build an institutional museum within its facilities. To this end, it has managed to acquire several antique objects and artifacts that have been used within the institution. Some alumni have joined together to donate several antique artifacts used within the university.

Some objects were used by professors more than 20 years ago. When some students enroll at the university and visit the museum, they are surprised to see objects they are unfamiliar with and didn't know ever existed. This is the case of an object called a Walkman, which played music by inserting an audio cassette or CD. There is also an object called a Victrola, which played music on LP records. It is very moving to see the students' faces when they learn about these types of artifacts and know that they were used by their ancestors.

Melquisedec Merchan is the director of the library at the Adventist University Corporation in Medellín, Colombia. He is a librarian and holds a master's degree in information science.

He is currently married to Leidy Niño, a psychologist and educator. They have two children: Melissa, who is soon to graduate (in July 2025) with a nursing degree from Kettering College in Ohio, and Melquisedec Jr., who is studying biology at Washington Adventist University.

Melquisedec Merchan is the Library Director at Adventist University Corporation in Medellin Colombia.

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BYTES & BITS

ASDAL NORTH AMERICAN CHAPTER UPDATE

By Katharine Van Arsdale ASDAL North America is the newest chapter of ASDAL International. Recently elected ASDAL NA executives include Paulette Johnson (President), Lance Millam (Vice President), Don Martin (Treasurer), and Katharine Van Arsdale (Secretary). The executives have been meeting weekly to prepare a new constitution and by-laws for the chapter. They aim to propose a lightweight chapter structure that complements rather than replaces ASDAL International. New founding documents will be presented to North America chapter members during business meetings at the summer ASDAL Conference. Please attend these meetings or to view the material online afterward. Your votes are crucial to determining the future of ASDAL for North American libraries and librarians.

Questions? Concerns? Suggestions? Please share your thoughts with the ASDAL NA executives through this Google Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/ e/1FAIpQLScZA3Hp09wGqc_rR9qzD30UY5AGcdbuibZamMLjupWYADlfuA/viewform?usp=sharing

Katharine Van Arsdale is the Digital Librarian for the Adventist Digital Library.

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BYTES & BITS

CO-LED CONFERENCE HOSTED BY MCKEE LIBRARY AND HISTORY DEPARTMENT

By Jessica Spears "America’s Long Nineteenth Century: Ideas, Transitions, and People," was a dynamic conference co-led by McKee Library and the History Department at Southern Adventist University. Having taken place on April 3, 2025, this event dove into the rich tapestry of American history spanning from the early 1800s to the dawn of the 20th century. Attendees explored transformative ideas, pivotal transitions, and the influential figures who shaped the era.

This year's conference featured papers in honor of the memory of Ben McArthur, whose work as a teacher and scholar of the long nineteenth century covered subjects from American cultural history to US government, Christianity, pedagogy, and local history. Because of this special focus, our conference concluded with a plenary address in coordination with the Southern Scholar's Third Annual McArthur Lecture.

Jessica Spears is the Research Services Librarian at McKee Library at Southern University.

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