Reading now: Global Librarianship (Books in Library and Information Science)

Martin A. Kesselman and Irwin Weintraub (Editors), ISBN-10: 0824709780, CRC Press (2004).

About the book: "Providing new insights into the role of librarianship in an age of socioeconomic, environmental, and political transformation, Global Librarianship illustrates how globally networked environments promote and increase the sharing and dissemination of ideas, information, and solutions to obstacles affecting libraries. This reference showcases methods to tailor and build collections and technologies that continually support worldwide scholarly and business communities through the utilization of digital tools and electronic media. It Illustrates breakthroughs in the organization, management, and dissemination of information to facilitate easy access to libraries anywhere in the world."

Contents
Foreword Barbara Ford v
Roots of Global Librarianship
1. Historical Perspectives on Global Librarianship 1, Tom Glynn
2. International Library Organizations 19, Robert Wedgeworth
Libraries in a Global Perspective
3. The Role of Libraries in Rural Development 33, Daniel Ruheni and Thelma Tate
4. Can You Say Swiss Without a Smile? Multicultural Approaches to Library Services in a Multilingual Context 45, Daisy McAdam
5. Public Libraries in Developed Countries: A Success Story from Scandinavia 67, Barbro Thomas
6. Library Services in Multinational Corporations 79, Maria Novella Castagnoli
7. Library Collaborations 89, Martin Alan Kesselman
Libraries and Education in the Global Community
8. Preparing Library Users for Productive Global Information Use 101, Hannelore B. Rader
9. Academic Library Support for the Cyber-University of the Future: The Best of Times, the Worst of Times 119, Kathy Kunneke
10. Global Education Information in the Digital Environment 135, Patricia O’Brien Libutti
Global Information Flow and Access
11. The Digital Divide 151, Linda Ashcroft and Chris Watts 12. Intellectual Freedom 163, Marianna Tax Choldin
13. Globalization in the Lives of the Selectors of Foreign Materials and Their Collections 177, James P. Niessen
Global Digital Libraries
14. Toward the Global Digital Library: Information and International Development 191, Richard Gartner
15. Copyright and Related Issues in a Global Economy 209, Marianne Scott 16. International Standards for Global Information 219, Alan Hopkinson
Selected Bibliography of Literature on Global Librarianship (Compiled by Irwin Weintraub)
257

2 books cite this book:

• Electronic Theses and Dissertations: A Sourcebook for Educators: Students, and Librarians (Books in Library and Information Science Series) by Edward A. Fox in Front Matter
• Becoming a Digital Library (Books in Library and Information Science Series) by Susan J. Barnes in Front Matter

On the same shelf:

• International Librarianship course syllabus and outline
• LSC 518 INTERNATIONAL AND COMPARATIVE LIBRARIANSHIP
• National Conference on KNOWLEDGE ORGANIZATION IN ACADEMIC LIBRARIES (KOAL-2012)

   

Students commemorate on August 13, 2013 the spirit of librarianship

Shreya Bhandary, TNN Aug 19, 2013

MUMBAI: Librarians' Day was celebrated at Principal LN Welingkar Institute of Management Development (WeSchool) on August 13, 2013 to respect the spirit of librarianship.

The event commemorating libraries and librarians across the world was aimed at elucidating the various steps taken to kindle the lost connection between a library and its reader. Libraries are trying to liberate themselves from the traditional cocoon to hone their information sharing capabilities through the adoption of state of the art technology. Channelling the myriad potential of technology, libraries are today getting accustomed to the likings of digital natives such as e-books, audio-visual materials, online databases etc. continue reading

On the same shelf:

• WeSchool celebrates Librarians Day to deliberate on the use of ... 
• B-School starts an interactive library portal

Launch of IFLA Trend Report in Singapore, Aug 19, 2013

Trend Report @ World Library & Information Congress (Session 93: Plenary session):

• Trend 1: New technologies will both expand and limit who has access to information

Questions posed by the IFLA Trend Report include:

1. When information is so easy to share – can anyone really own it?
2. “You don't have permission to access that”: Will your Internet stop at the border?
3. The world's information at your fingertips – but what can you do with it?

• Trend 2: Online Education will democratise and disrupt global learning

Questions worth considering:

1. If online education is free, then how much is it really worth?
2. If we’re learning together but studying alone – will online education change the face of learning forever?
3. Will you ever need to remember anything ever again?

• Trend 3: the boundaries of privacy and data protection will be redefined

Questions worth considering:

1.  What are the resulting impacts on privacy, and protection of our personal information?
2. Who’s profiting from your personal information?
3. Does your government know more about you than you do?
4. Who’s to be trusted more: your government or your search engine? Or neither?

• Trend 4: Hyper-connected societies will listen to and empower new voices and groups

Questions worth considering:

1. What impact will hyper-connected societies have on traditional political parties?

• Trend 5: The global information economy will be transformed by new technologies

Questions worth considering:

1. When your phone, your car and your wristwatch know where you are at all times – who runs your life?
2. Ymmärrätkö minua? Will automated translation lead to greater multi-cultural understanding?
3. Will individuals and businesses be able to be economically active from anywhere in the world?

Indian Contributions @ IFLA / WLIC 2013, Singapore

VADODARA: "For the first time in the history of HansaMehta Library, a university librarian has been sponsored by government of another country for World Congress on library.

Dr Mayank Trivedi has been invited by the Singapore government to attend World Library and Information Congress (WLIC) 2013 which is being held at Singapore by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA). .. Trivedi, who will be attending the conference which started from Saturday and will continue till August 23, told TOI. Over 2,000 delegates from across the world are participating in the conference, which is being held on the theme of 'Future Libraries: Infinite Possibilities'. " Maharaja Sayajirao University's librarian invited to World Library and Information Congress, The Times of India, Aug 18, 2013.

• AHAS, Shahina P. and BANERJEE, Swapna (2013) The Indian National Bibliography: today and tomorrow. Paper presented at: IFLA World Library and Information Congress, 17 - 23 August 2013, Singapore.
• BHATTACHARYA, Udayan and ROY, Avik (2013) Digital reference services for people with special needs: what, why and how?. Paper presented at: IFLA World Library and Information Congress, 17 - 23 August 2013, Singapore.
• CHAKRABORTY, Susmita (2013) Going green or not: realities of the Indian metropolis libraries. Paper presented at: IFLA World Library and Information Congress, 17 - 23 August 2013, Singapore.                   
• DUTTA, Bidyarthi, MAJUMDER, Krishnapada and SEN, Bimal Kanti (2013) Classification of keywords selected from research articles on physics and development of a quantitative subject access tool. Paper presented at: IFLA World Library and Information Congress, 17 - 23 August 2013, Singapore.            
• GAUR, Ramesh C., CHAND, Mahesh, GAUR, Kavita and SINGH YADAV, Amar (2013) Online newspaper clippings & news services for libraries: Experiences in Indian Libraries. Paper presented at: IFLA World Library and Information Congress, 17 - 23 August 2013, Singapore. 
• GHOSH, Maitrayee (2013) Health literacy for all- an investigation into consortia and partnership amongst libraries to promote health care information in India. Paper presented at: IFLA World Library and Information Congress, 17 - 23 August 2013, Singapore.
• JAIN, Anil Kumar, KUMAR, Sudhir, CHOUDHURY, Subhajit, JAIN, Keerti Bala and SHARMA, Bal Krishna (2013) Rare handwritten manuscript collection in Indic Languages at Scindia Oriental Research Institute (SORI), India. Paper presented at: IFLA World Library and Information Congress, 17 - 23 August 2013, Singapore.
• GOPAL, Nalina (2013) Encounters with the public archives & collective memory: researching the Indian community in Singapore. Paper presented at: IFLA World Library and Information Congress, 17 - 23 August 2013, Singapore.
• JAIN, P.K., BABBAR, Parveen and PALIWAL, Geeta (2013) Government information sources for economic development: a case study of the Institute of Economic Growth Library, India. Paper presented at: IFLA World Library and Information Congress, 17 - 23 August 2013, Singapore.
• KUMAR, Sudhir, JAIN, Keerti Bala and SHAH, Leena (2013) Education and training for medical librarianship in India. Paper presented at: IFLA World Library and Information Congress, 17 - 23 August 2013, Singapore.
• KUMBAR, Rashmi and PATTANSHETTI, Deepti (2013) Essential competencies of Indian school librarians in the digital age: A study. Paper presented at: IFLA World Library and Information Congress, 17 - 23 August 2013, Singapore.
• MURARI, Durga and NAGARKAR, Shubhada (2013) Information requirements of women entrepreneurs in Pune City. Paper presented at: IFLA World Library and Information Congress, 17 - 23 August 2013, Singapore.
• NARAYAN, Uma (2013) Indian initiative to provide free access to authentic legal information. Paper presented at: IFLA World Library and Information Congress, 17 - 23 August 2013, Singapore.
• NARAYANANKUTTY, Narat (2013) Inspiring library patrons through an open book written quiz: an innovative library marketing tool. Paper presented at: IFLA World Library and Information Congress, 17 - 23 August 2013, Singapore. Item availability may be restricted.
• RAJU, Jaya (2013) The LIS school in the ICT age: a casualty, or catalyst for making a "cross-border" shift of a different type? - the case of South Africa. Paper presented at: IFLA World Library and Information Congress, 17 - 23 August 2013, Singapore.
• SINGH, Ajay Pratap and YUVARAJ, Mayank (2013) Scenario of Indian agrarian librarianship: an evaluative study. Paper presented at: IFLA World Library and Information Congress, 17 - 23 August 2013, Singapore.
• VIJ, Rajeev (2013) Government information, publications and information dissemination strategies for the future: a case study of DRDO, India. Paper presented at: IFLA World Library and Information Congress, 17 - 23 August 2013, Singapore.

On the same shelf:

• Indian Contributions @ IFLA 2010, Sweden
• IFLA 2010 - Papers from South Asia
• International Conference on Academic Libraries (ICAL 2009) at University of Delhi Campus at Delhi, 5 to 8 October, 2009.

PhD Theses and Online Availability in India, Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt

PS. India of today has exceptions/unique characteristics even in academic scenario. The  extracts below, very nicely pinpoint the crux of the problem as far as the 'e-access' to the same is concerned. In terms of marketing and outreach by personal efforts of the individuals, there are many Indian dissertations in the market (many customized to meet the market; and hence no exact statistics will be available to quantify), some of these go out to reach a wider audience, with a permission of the university authorities. More and more dissertations are appearing via scholarly open presses--beware of what the critics say about this open source market. Ask me more about this pattern/approach.

Extract:

"Locking away awarded PhD theses instead of publishing them for public and academic knowledge only encourages mediocrity and enhances poor academic practices. It also propagates unhealthy hierarchy among universities and hinders the advancement of knowledge. ..."

"Most Indian librarians are reluctant to allow others to consult and borrow earlier PhD theses probably because of the belief that it will enhance the chances of academic dishonesty. Plagiarism is indeed an important issue, and it has been difficult to hinder it effectively in India where the use of detection softwares (such as Turnitin) is still rare, excepting in better-funded central universities like the JNU."  

"I am fully aware of the inequities in the world of knowledge production, and the mutual exclusion of different actors in it who seem to converse within their respective silos of knowledge. An argument, often made by academics, based in the less developed world, is that the unfair use of their research (“we are treated as sources of data by them”, “they take our stuff to theorise”) by their academic counterparts located in more developed countries. Such grievances are often genuine; I remember when I taught in Burdwan University in West Bengal, my 1990 book In Search of a Homeland on McCluskiegunge, the homeland planned by the Anglo-Indians in early 1930s, was used by a renowned British-based film company to make a film on the same name. Someone from the company’s local office visited my home, took copies of all the old documents and maps, never to return them and never to even acknowledge that the film’s name was borrowed from that of my book..." [sections in this article include: Different Academic Cultures, “Confidentiality Culture”] Continue reading: PhD Theses and Online Availability in India @ Economic and Political Weekly

On the same shelf:

• What Ails Doctoral Research in Library and Information Science in India? by M.P. Satija, DESIDOC Journal of Library & Information Technology, Vol. 30, No. 5, September 2010, pp. 61-66 @ International and Comparative Librarianship  Blog -- Abstract: The paper discusses research in library and information science in India. It delves into the history of library and information science research crediting the institutionalisation of research to Ranganathan. While presenting the growth of the research, the article discusses the factors responsible for poor standards. It also provides an international comparison by citing examples at places.
• The IFLA/FAIFE PhD Project, by Stuart Hamilton. Opening quote: "To what extent can libraries ensure free, equal and unhampered access to Internet-accessible information resources from a global perspective?"
• Do Open Access Electronic Theses and Dissertations Diminish Publishing Opportunities in the Social Sciences and Humanities? College and Research Libraries by ML Ramirez  and others.

The Countries You May Like to Go with your American / Canadian MLIS - A literature survey

PS. What is required to work outside the United States / Canada for Library Science Graduates (aka Working Abroad by American / Canadian LIS), is a question, many ask. The answer to this is not clear to many, and professional bodies don't necessarily post this in their FAQs. As the literature survey, below, shows, there are green signals (wherein ALA accredition is recognized), yellow signals (ALA recognized, but...) and red signals (Stop: and ask the respective country's professional bodies).



Here is a thought for the day: 

"I do feel that the level of LIS education here in American is far superior to many other nations." Extract from the Librarian Alternatives Discussion Linkedin discussion: Michael H. Gelman, MLIS, MBA

"I know someone from a foreign (mideast) country who received an undergraduate degree in library science. Of course, she couldn’t get a professional job, so she went ahead and got the MLIS. Similar to someone with significant work experience in libraries prior to entering the masters program, she didn’t feel she learned anything new in the program. She’d already covered it all. Yet, she needed it. That points out two things… 1.) the MLIS is undergraduate-level work, and 2.) an undergraduate degree in library science is useless despite being essentially the same curriculum."
source: Library Journal's comment @ Library Science Majors as Unemployed as High School Dropouts November 14, 2011 By Annoyed Librarian

Literature Survey (here is a sample ask me for more):

5 Things to Know When Taking a Librarian Job Abroad : 1. The Job Titles Aren’t the Same; 2. The Workplace Culture is Different; 3. Your Responsibilities May Differ; 4. Your Job is to Provide Training;  5. Contracts and Benefits May Be Flexible – or Surprisingly Inflexible. Details are at   Hack Library School

 Oh, the Places You'll Go (with your MLIS)! | Hack Library School

Places where no additional qualifications or knowledge are required: Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore

Places where you may need to learn a new language or jump through a few more hoops: Germany, Denmark, Finland, Belgium,

• Librarians need an MLIS: True or false?
• Immigrant Librarians in Britain
• "Employment of Foreign Trained Librarians in the US and Canada: An Enquiry on Behalf of the LED Committee on Equivalencies and Reciprocity, in American Library Association Office for Library Education," (1970) [cited in Encyclopedia of library and information science, 1965. v. 57, p. 262]
• "The evaluation of international credentials and the hiring of internationally trained librarians in Canadian academic and public libraries, Keren Dali and Juris Dilevkoa, The International Information & Library Review Volume 41, Issue 3, September 2009, Pages 146-162
• Assessing the Transferability of Library and Information Science (LIS) Degrees Accredited by the American Library Association (ALA) and the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP), by Dana Goblaskas, Library Student Journal, February 2012 
• "Lucky Seven" in Get Started!: Library and Information Studies Programs in Canada, Canadian Library Association Blog
• ALA Abroad: A Perceived Elite, by Berry, John, Library Journal 8/1/1986, Vol. 111 Issue 13, p4 
• Oh, the Places You'll Go (with your MLIS)! | Hack Library School
• Exchange programs for Librarians@ International and Comparative Librarianship Blog
• Factors in success or failure of foreign-trained librarians in Canada
• Mister Taxman: Why Some Americans Working Abroad Are Ditching Their Citizenships, Time -- Tina Turner says she’s turning Swiss because she’s lived in Switzerland for years now. But there are tax benefits for giving up an American passport
• We move to canada, by Laura Kaminker -- A Librarian's Blog
• A Well-Kept Secret: How to Become an International School Librarian, by Laura Sanders
• Researching Careers in Foreign, Comparative, and International Law (FCIL) Librarianship, Or, It's a Wonderful Life! by Lyonette Louis-Jacques, Slaw: Canada’s online legal magazine
• Factors in success or failure of foreign-trained librarians in Canada