Throughout the year, the local branches of Fagforbundet arrange courses for members to attend. Recently, a course in vocalization was offered to members working in libraries. This was a very popular course among my colleagues.
Fagforbundet facilitates personal development, both academic and social. Meeting other librarians gives us inspiration and new ideas.
I applied for a scholarship from Fagforbundet to attend the IFLA conference in August 2015 – and I won this scholarship. Travelling to Cape Town in South Africa for a week is a great opportunity for me to meet library workers from other parts of the world. I hope to get a broader understanding of how libraries are run in South Africa. I think there will be both similarities and differences with Norwegian libraries, and I am excited to discover these. I look forward to visiting libraries in Cape Town to see how they are run. It will be interesting to learn what role libraries play in society, regardless of resources and location. I hope to gain new international experiences that will be useful in my future career in Norway.
I am familiar with Fagforbundet´s membership program for economical support for continuing education and short courses. All members can apply for this program, where parts of tuition are annually being covered by Fagforbundet. In addition to this, members can apply for financial support for books and study equipment. This is a beneficial program, and I am planning to make use of this when attending courses and conferences for my professional development.
As a shop steward in Fagforbundet, local gatherings give me the chance to connect with other disciplines in the cultural field. We often meet the same challenges despite working in different areas. These local gatherings give us the chance to exchange experiences and discuss common challenges, and help each other out. This is when we really see the importance of standing strong together, in a large Trade Union.
Name: Gunnar Vilberg
Occupation: Executive Officer
Works at: Deichmanske Library, Oslo
Worked there since: 2010
“One thing I like is that Fagforbundet focuses on professionalism”