Associate Fellowship Program: International Associates

The National Library of Medicine hosted an international associate in 1968, Rahesh Bhatt from India. In the early 1990's, international associates became a formal part of the Associate Fellowship Program. One associate position is usually made available each year for international associates.

International associates are mid-career, institutionally-settled librarians. These librarians leave their families and friends behind and travel to Bethesda, MD, where they spend a year at the National Library of Medicine. Upon completion of the program, they return home and contribute their new knowledge and skills to their institutions.

International associates participate in the same program year as U.S. associates, although many of the fall and spring project themes are related to their home regions. Program objectives vary slightly for the international associates. Because they already have established careers as librarians, the Associate Fellowship Program serves as a form of professional development rather than a preparation for a future career in the field.

View larger map of International Associates (Google Maps)

The first official international associate, JiJun "Harry" Guo from China, entered the program in 1992. Since then, the National Library of Medicine has hosted associates from Lithuania (Egle Locatis), the Czech Republic (Zdenka Geisslerova), and another from China (Tao You).

More recently, the focus has been on identifying skilled medical librarians in the Sub-Saharan Africa region for the Associate Fellowship Program. Five African associates have completed the program since 2001 and returned home, resulting in a network of African alumni associates.

Former International Associates