Summary
The paper presents the Jay Jordan IFLA/OCLC early career development fellowship program, as seen through the eyes of the three fellows from Serbia who attended the program in 2007, 2009 and 2011. The Fellowship Program is for library and information science professionals who are in early stages of career development and from countries with developing economies. On an annual basis, up to five individuals are selected for participation in this intensive five-week Fellowship program based at OCLC’s headquarters in Dublin, Ohio, USA. The program gives Fellows opportunities to see the trends in libraries, cultural heritage institutions and library organizations of United States and west Europe; explore latest technology trends, meet with leading information practitioners, learn about the importance of open mindedness, networking and further sharing of ideas and experiences. The Fellows also observe OCLC’s governance structure in action, gaining insight into issues affecting the global library cooperative. Everything the Fellows have been through in a five week time they successfully transferred to their libraries and community. One of the key elements of this program was creating professional development plan which later served the fellows as a guide for further career development.

Keywords:
IFLA, OCLC, program, fellowship, career, librarianship, development, developing countries, lifelong learning

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