<<FYI>>
One of my colleagues recalls her memories with late James Henri!
Kind regards,
*Zakir Hossain*
Teacher-Librarian
* IASL Director for International Schools *
www.theresearchtl.net
This message is privileged and confidential. If you have received this
message in error, please notify us and remove it from your system.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Library Grits <noreply+feedproxy@xxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, Mar 5, 2018 at 9:00 PM
Subject: Library Grits
To: amity.du@xxxxxxxxx
Library Grits <http://librarygrits.blogspot.com/>
------------------------------
James Henri - a lasting legacy.
<http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/zLvwr/~3/Ziw_CZzrLtY/james-henri-lasting-legacy.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email>
Posted: 04 Mar 2018 12:21 PM PST
<https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cMB1zLs2zhY/WpxEwMMPTCI/AAAAAAAAJSQ/6HKjsqme4mII9ldEpQ0AZjn8MGcuAycmQCLcBGAs/s1600/James_again.jpg>
James Henri 1952-2018
Yesterday we lost a giant in the Teacher Librarian field, a man who
mentored and championed so many Teacher Librarians across the world. James
Henri was a huge influence in my professional life and who opened so many
doors and opportunities to and for me. This post will be about how James
affected me.
I first met James as one of my teachers in the Distance Education Masters
of Applied Science (TL) course I started in 1998 through Charles Sturt
University. If my memory serves me correctly, he was the director of the
course and was steering it in the direction to be a leader in the field. I
was guided under his tutelage along with Lyn Hay, Linda Langford and others
I cannot remember the names of. I was based in Hong Kong at the time and
it was early days of distance learning - the internet had not been widely
rolled out yet, assignments had to be posted by snail mail and
communication was tough. By the time I finished in 2002, the internet was
running hot, email was the new norm, online platforms were being developed
and MOOs were the new big thing and, the course reflected this.
He and I had numerous online discussions about course expectations and he
dealt with my complaints and rants about too much work with grace and
compassion, and was always open to feedback on how the course could be
improved. I met him in person when he visited Hong Kong as a visiting
consultant for Hong Kong University. I met him at South Island School where
a librarian called Sheila worked. I was in awe, but as always, he was
humble, graceful and always open to learning something new. We had lunch in
a very local cafe and great conversation about his life and how he came to
do what he was doing. He often visited Hong Kong after that and we caught
up many times.
<https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aPbrYBr339A/WpxHXBIcg1I/AAAAAAAAJSg/aDrmwzbZ_e8BOQ0f_5-DihWCl4IfWFEcQCLcBGAs/s1600/james%2Bdinner.JPG>
Dinner with James on one of the many times he passed through HK
About the same time of my graduation in 2002, James accepted a job at Hong
Kong University to build a similar programme for teacher Librarians in Hong
Kong, and he moved to the same country I was based in. He quickly reached
out to connect to people he knew and we had a few lunches and dinners
planning and plotting. James had had some influence with the HK Department
of Education, and persuaded them that every school should have a teacher
librarian, as a byproduct of this, he encouraged and offered me
opportunities to work with the HK Education Department in facilitating
short (3 hour) courses for training these new Teacher Librarians.
Over dinner in Lan Kwai Fong one evening in 2002 James brought up the topic
of the IASL conference being held in Malaysia and asked if I had thought
about presenting. I mentioned that I didn’t really think I had too much to
offer as I had only just finished the Masters programme and really was just
a beginner. He was very patient with me and suggested that I had much to
offer, and we came up with “Short Cut cataloguing for Busy School
Liibrarians
<http://librarygrits.pbworks.com/w/page/35844921/Short%20Cut%20Cataloguing.>”
It was an interesting experience as I had planned for the workshop to be
interactive and online, however, I had made the assumption that the
internet would be available for the participants at the conference in
Malaysia. It was not. It was my first foray into presenting at conferences,
and it was baptism by fire with having to think on my feet. It was also the
first conference I had ever attended as a Teacher Librarian. I attended
with my colleague Andrea Walker, we had both been funded by our school to
attend and came back with so many ideas and after attending a session by
Dr. Blanche Woolls on how to write proposals
<http://librarygrits.blogspot.com.au/2011/04/>, we wrote one and it was
accepted. This conference was where I had first met Ross Todd, Lyn Hay,
Suzette Boyd and Linda Langford in person and we went on a shopping trip to
a mall in Kuala Lumpur. I remember James saying to me that even when you
are at the top of your game, there is a responsibility to not rest on your
laurels and to help to build others and that conferences are not just
about what you can get out of them, but what you can contribute. It was a
life changing comment for me and a phrase he lived by.
The HK EDB short courses quickly developed into a post graduate full course
with credentials through the Hong Kong University School of Professional
and Continuing Education (SPACE), he needed staff and I was one he asked
along with Betty Chu, Fanny Chan, Angel Leung, all HK Teacher Librarian
superstars. Others were invited into the fray over the years - Sandra Lee,
Dana Dukic and Clare Palmer, all with specific skill sets he needed to
build this course.
In 2003 the IASL conference was coming up, again James encouraged me to
present, this time in Durban, South Africa: "School Libraries: Breaking
Down Barriers” My presentation was "Don't Buck it - bend it. Using your
school system to increase your influence, to create the working environment
you desire <https://www.slideshare.net/Dimac4/dont-buck-it-bend-it.>”. This
conference was where I had met my now friend and colleague in IB crime,
Gary Green.
In 2004 James was the drive behind ensuring Hong Kong was the host for the
2005 IASL Conference "Information Leadership in a Culture of Change”. He
gathered a team together of those who were living and working in HK
including Sue Garner, Carolyn Sinclair, Clare Palmer Livesy Luk, Betty Chu,
Peter Warning and others I cannot remember now. It was a tough and long
term role, but very rewarding working with these people. The conference was
a much different style to the regular IASL super extravaganzas as it was
focused on the learning and minimising costs to the participants. It showed
us that conferences could be modest affairs and still have learning and
networking happen.
<https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1l4vX_-0VRk/WpxHbAvLKoI/AAAAAAAAJSo/LRieUAHphjsoj8kuINFtWTx5PGQiMfDpgCLcBGAs/s1600/IASL%2Bcommittee.JPG>
The IASL HK organising committee - not sure why James is not in this photo,
maybe he got his own photo.
In 2007 James became president of IASL - this was a long time coming, and I
am unsure of why it didn’t happen sooner. He was a bit of an outsider with
making things happen and pushing people, so perhaps people were a little
bit scared of what may happen if he held the Presidency.
In 2009 James focused on developing online conferences with Sandra Lee with
Your School Library and again he invited me to be a part of this new way of
learning. I did so using voice thread
<https://voicethread.com/myvoice/thread/340877/1836009/2002073> on how I
developed a new library in 23 days. He was always pushing the edge of what
was possible. Online learning was still in its infancy outside of education
institutions. Sandra and James developed 6 of these online conferences over
a few short years.
James left HK University and moved back to Hobart to be with his family,
but would travel back and forth often on his way through to China, where he
was working as a consultant through the Chairman of The Chen Yet-Sen Family
Foundation for building and developing school libraries in China. He loved
working with the Chinese people, and they enjoyed his company, expertise,
and wry sense of humour very much.
It was good to see him fairly regularly after his departure from Hong Kong
and hear about his family whom he cared deeply about.
He was also involved in organising the Int'l Education and Technology
Conference of Web Symposium Consortium in HK in 2014 in connection with the
HK Government and Charles Sturt University, and again he asked me to
present.
The last time I saw James in person was in 2014 when we were in
negotiations about building a conference in partnership to be held in HK
for Teacher Librarians, it didn’t happen due to a number of reasons, but it
did lead to me to organise and facilitate a initial mini conference in Hong
Kong (which has since been repeated in Beijing and Prague) and to start my
own business to move into consulting, workshop development and conference
organisation. Going way beyond what I thought was possible as a fresh
graduate from CSU in 2002.
James Henri was a gifted man in the field of not only school librarianship,
but in negotiation, persuasion, future vision and for not only taking bold
and calculated risks, but also encouraging others to do so. He was an
outlier according to Malcolm Gladwell's definition “of being a truly
exceptional individual who, in his or her field of expertise, is so
superior that he defines his own category of success”. James was never
after the limelight, and seemed to take pride only in what he could get
others to achieve. He thrived on working with others who needed him the
most.
To continue with the Gladwell connections, James Henri was also a connector
- he knew people across an array of social, cultural, professional, and
economic circles, and made a habit of introducing people who work or live
in different circles so they could benefit from each others expertise and
connections. (The tipping point, Gladwell)
He was a maven by being an information broker, sharing and trading what he
knew about School librarianship, politics, people and anything he could
connect with, and if he didn't know it he would find out through research.
He was also a salesman, he was charismatic with powerful negotiation
skills. It was hard to say no to James when he asked. He had an indefinable
trait that goes beyond what he said, which made others want to agree with
him and travel the path with him. I know James would protest about me using
Gladwell's terms to describe him, but I think they are the best descriptors
for what he did.
He was an integral part of my professional life for so many years, a
friend, a mentor and confidant. I will miss him and miss seeing what he is
up to next.
Vale James Henri, you are a remarkable man who has left a huge legacy
behind.
<https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tAsWGq7qO9Y/WpxHXO0df_I/AAAAAAAAJSk/FqOMy2LmUv4taHsiKt7IzYqaOBVL1-gKACEwYBhgL/s1600/james%2B%2526%2Bme.JPG>
Post Script: Along with James enthusiasm for helping others, he was not
always the best at asking or expecting payment for his services. His
daughter has set up a page to help with funeral and left over medical
expenses, if you would like to contribute to help his family at this time
as a way of thanking them for his mentorship, I am sure they would
appreciate it. Donate here
<https://www.facebook.com/donate/173330743301616/1563357110379840/>
This post originally appeared on Library Grits
You are subscribed to email updates from Library Grits
<http://librarygrits.blogspot.com/>.
To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now
<https://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailunsubscribe?k=4nV-G27UBK11AUWC-JxMkCszy3I>
. Email delivery powered by Google
Google, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States
<https://maps.google.com/?q=1600+Amphitheatre+Parkway,+Mountain+View,+CA+94043,+United+States&entry=gmail&source=g>
