International visitor to Belk

Ms. Fumiko Soda, a librarian from Seinan Gakuin University in Fukuoka, Japan, toured Belk Library Monday, Sept. 14 — part of a nationwide study of exemplary learning commons.  Belk’s first floor is an early example of such a commons, in which technology, library, and support services such as media, writing, and tutoring are combined in one location.

Ms. Soda arrived in North Carolina after visiting major universities in California, Arizona, and Georgia and was accompanied by language assistant Ms. Azusa Kondo-Suggs, Charlotte architect.  In addition to meeting with staff in Belk Library, the women toured the Isabella Cannon Centre and met with Dr. Woody Pelton, Dean of International Programs, and Dr. Yumika Araki, visiting assistant professor in the Department of Foreign Languages.

Seinan Gakuin University is a private Baptist-affiliated institution of 8000 undergraduate and graduate students.  A United Nations depository, the university is unique in its sponsorship of pre-school, elementary and secondary schools housed on its campus.